I’m sure you have heard the saying “Big surprises come in small packages,” but have you ever heard the saying “Even bigger surprises come in bigger packages?” Well, while not true in all cases, it will usually hold true for eating while you are dieting.
A treat is just that, a treat. Therefore you should treat it as a treat…am I confusing you? Hold on. A treat is great as long as it’s planned. That’s the key word friend. If it’s planned smartly, then it’s not cheating, but treating. Cheating is where it is not planned. If hunger gets the best of you for example, or someone offers you something sweet to eat and you just don’t
have the tact or the will to refuse it. Cheating is also characterized by a feeling of guilt afterwards.
Are there any reasons for treating? You bet! The first reason being it keeps you from uncontrolled bingeing. If you go too long without the real foods you like, no matter how strong your will power is you will eventually break.
And that’s not the best thing for your head.
Second, it helps to keep your metabolism up. Let me explain. If you keep eating the same amount of restricted calories day in and day out your body will become used to it therefore regulating itself. But if you introduce a higher amount of calories, say once a week, your body will then be given a higher number to work with and the end result will be an increased metabolic rate. The body will think, “Whoa, what’s going on here! I better shape up!”
How do you regulate this? Just pick one day in seven like a Saturday and just eat normal foods while not counting calories. Also, throw in some junk foods for good measure. As mentioned above this will cure those cravings! Thirdly, this is great if you know you have to go to a social or something like a wedding where food will constantly be around you. You won’t have to worry for that day and you also won’t have to worry about blowing your diet.
Many times people get discouraged because they feel ‘forced’ to cheat due to the pressure and they also don’t want to come across as rude. This is true, a lot of people don’t understand what you’re going through but this little tidbit of information will fix the problem.
Once a person gets stuck in this rut it is very hard for some to get out. They often think that because they let this happen that they will never achieve their goals. Well, this isn’t the case! They also feel depressed because they feel they have lost their direction and they have to start over. “Well, back to the old drawing board!” But! If you know something like your treat day is logically planned and has scientific backing to it you will not feel guilty but good! You will also feel good knowing that you didn’t cheat and that you deserve it! And once you start losing the weight, people might wonder how you do it! With a bit of common sense you can work with this idea. If your junk day is on Friday for example and you have that party on Saturday just improvise!
Switch your days and be flexible. Remember that with fitness, nothing is written in stone.
Scheduled Rests
This is a very important concept. Don’t mistake burnout or a lack of enthusiasm for failure. Watch for the warning signs and keep ahead of things. That’s why I prefer to ease into a program. If not you’ll be like a hunting dog that has never slept all night. Your master will call you in the morning and you’ll run with unsurpassable joy and then 5 minutes later you’re down for the count. Saw that in a cartoon once O Some good warning signs to look out for are constant fatigue (higher than normal) and wanting to give up totally on your dream. To the point where your goals don’t mean anything to you anymore. Don’t wait until that point.
Take a complete and total break from your program as mentioned once every 7 days on a smaller scale and possibly once every 6 weeks if you feel you need it on a larger scale.
Key points
- Treats are planned while cheating is not
- Treating keeps you from uncontrolled bingeing and will cure
cravings
- Treating helps to increase your metabolism therefore burning
calories at a faster rate
- With treating you never have to worry about being forced into
unwanted cheating
- Using these techniques you can be flexible and guilt free
