05/31/2022
Oh cheat days🗓️.
We all want ‘em.
They satisfy our inner rebel.
They make us feel alive.
Cheat days depend on you👉, your tolerance, your underlying biochemistry and therefore, sensitivity level to sugar and/or carbohydrates, your willingness to change, and of course, your personal definition of “cheat day.”
Here are my 5 considerations for Cheat Days🗓️:
1️⃣. Change your mindset
If you’re feeling deprived, remind yourself that you get to make the calls and you get to eat 🍽️ whatever you want! For our clients, this might mean having that ice cream 🍦 they’ve been craving all summer long, only to find that it’s not even half as good as they played it up to be in their mind.😩
2️⃣ Self-Experiment with Cheat Days 🥼
Now, let me explain this one before you go out and binge on pizza 🍕 and ice cream🍨 and cookies🍪. If you can honestly say you don’t know how you’d handle a cheat day, then this may be a helpful exercise. Some of our clients have one bite and they’re back on the blood sugar roller coaster🎢 for a week or even a month, while others find that having a “sinful” bite🍴 every now and then reminds them that they are in control and can eat whatever they want… they just CHOOSE to eat real food because it makes them feel amazing.
3️⃣. Assess Your Goals
I think it’s important to step back and take a good, hard look👀 at what’s most important to you. Maybe the goal of weight loss that you initially set just isn’t as important as ordering a margarita or three at happy hour🕧 with your coworkers. On the other hand, if your goal is weight loss, then the fewer “cheats” you implement, the better.
4️⃣ . Re-Define your idea💭 of a Cheat Day
When I say, “whatever you want,” I’m not talking about going totally crazy and un-doing everything good you’ve done since your last cheat day. This messes with not only your brain🧠, but your metabolism, too. I don’t recommend having a strict list of “cans and cant’s” but I do encourage you to be empowered by your choices, knowing that you get to make the calls.
5️⃣. Get Honest with Yourself
Are you someone who has a single bite and goes off the deep end? How in control of your food choices are you feeling, in this very moment? It’s okay if you’re not ready yet. It can be frightening to try something new, especially something that just might work. As odd as it may sound, we see clients deliberately hold off on making healthy🥗 changes because they’re afraid of reaching the goals they so desperately want to achieve!
What are your thoughts💭 on “cheat days”? Let me know in the comments.