"Cheat Days"
Yeah, we have them. Some of us do it in "secret", because we don't want to be seen eating something we shouldn't. Who cares? It's our body? We either want it back, or we don't. If you don't, don't eat right. If ya do, eat right. period. I don't care if someone sees me eating a donut. If I want a donut, dammit, I'm gonna eat one. It's my body, not yours.. <grin>. That said, when you "cheat", its your decision to do so, who cares if someone sees you. The fact it was dark in the kitchen at 1am when ya snuck the donut, and no one seen ya, ya still did it, and your body is going to react or not. So, why hide it. Eat the damn donut in broad daylight, enjoy it, and smile at someone who is looking at you (but knock the confectionate sugar off your chin first).
That said, call it cheating if ya want, but, it is one of our pleasures to treat ourselves. If we do each and everything in our lives we are supposed to, guess what, we all die in the end anyway. Die happy. But, being truly happy is really living a healthy life, and enjoying your time on this earth that God had given you. If part of that enjoyment is stealing a donut every so often, then steal the donut and enjoy it, then move on back to your regularly scheduled diet. If done smart, and with some forethought and even planning (yes, make it premeditated), it won't even matter to your thighs. My chart, and actually my life over the past year is proof of that. If ya want to see 14 months of charts, I'll gladly show em to ya. I'll even show you my diary of every single calorie I stuffed in my mouth in the past year. You will be shocked that it isn't all, or barely any of it is considered "diet" food. It is regular food we all buy at our local grocery store. No fads, no "secret plans" no nothing. It is just food. Real food. The key word here is "REAL" food. Not the processed crap, chemicals and fake foods. That my fat friends is what is killing us, not the food. It's all the crap industry puts in it to make it more convenient, or the ability to sit on a grocery shelf for 4 months while it waits for you to eat it. On top of that, all the other crap and chemicals you put on it yourselves when you prepare it. My food is fresh, real food, as raw and as close to it's original form as you can get it. If ya don't garden or hunt, you do depend on the industry some. But, the key is to buy your food as close to as it was in nature as you can. As "whole" as you can. Buy meat from a individual butcher you trust, not Wal-Mart, or even Kroger (sorry to my son whom works in the Kroger meat dept). I don't care if the meat is a little "gray" or not as red as it is displayed at Wal-Mart. It's that way naturally, not because some bonehead soaked it in red dye so it looks scrumptious. I don't care if a whole grain looks weird, and not powdery and smooth as when it is processed. That is the way God gave it to us for our bodies. I don't care if my salt "looks" a little dirty and grayish in color instead of pure white like it was soaked in bleach (why else would it be truly white?). I don't care if my chicken looks stringy and fibrous like it is muscle tissue instead of all one color, consistent in texture and smooth with an air bubble here and there. When I eat it my way, I know it's chicken, and not whatever they pulverize and shape it into. Chicken don't have air bubbles in it fokes. "processed" chicken might however.. <grin>.
Point is, eat real food as God intended. Prepared with real spices, and not chemicals & salt. If ya have to use salt, use it as raw as you can get it like sea salt etc. even if it isn't pure white and consistent.
The Cheat days.. Yeah, I do it.. I am not formally educated in health and nutrition. I learned what I learned from a personal trainer that saved my life, and also by learning my self with my own research, and experimenting with my own food and body, and how they work together. When I do "cheat" I found that my body uses it's fuel (calories) as I eat them. If I gorge, I fill my body with calories. My body used what it needs, then stores what it doesn't need as fat reserves for later. If I eat again, it never really needs that fat reserve, because there is more food to use just a few hours later.. So, fat reserves just keeps getting larger and larger and never really used. So, I take my total caloric intake for a day, and spread those calories out all day. I basically eat all day. I eat from 200-500 calories, go on with my day, my body used all of them, then some (as my fat reserves get used), a couple hours later, I give it another 100 calories or so, which it uses.. I eat like this all day, so my body never has the chance to store anything to fat, it used all of it, and then some of the already fat reserved in-between. My cheat days, I will buy a meat lovers pizza for instance.. Yeah you bet, Im gonna eat the whole damn thing myself like any self respecting fat guy would do. But, I don't sit down and gorge on a whole pizza. That is crazy, because my body would use a little and the rest of that pizza will go straight to my ass. How I eat that whole pizza is I sit down eat a couple slices (about 600 calories). I get up and continue with my day as my body uses that 600 calorie splurge over a couple hours. I will walk by my pizza and grab another slice, and then my body will use that 300 or so calories. A couple hours later, grab another and so on and so on.. By evening, my whole pizza is gone. is that good? Not really, but this is my cheat day dammit...
. But, I gave my body all the opportunity to use that entire pizza binge, in lue of cramming it in my thighs. I got to eat pizza all dang day, and my body used most of it. The next day, I eat lean chicken meal I prepare, and simply get back to my health eating... As you can see in my chart, sure, there was a quick spike as my body was wondering what the heck I was doing? But, after a day or two settled down and back into the health thing, and my drop in weight continued.. I got to cheat, and eat pizza all day one day, and it had very little effect on my over all goal. I never feel neglected, and have the feeling I have to do without. I don't. I still get the regular fat guy treats, but I do it smart, and out smarted my fat self and never skipped a beat in my health trek.
That said, I noticed over the past several months, that I find myself actually NOT feeling the need to do that as often. I used to do that about once a month. I do it now about every 2 to 3 months.. Who knows, in a year, I may not even think about doing that at all, and might be gone from my life completely. It might not, but either way, I'm gonna make it and be ok..