There's no such thing as CheatingThere's no right or
wrong way to eat. Healthy eating is all about motivation,
balance, and flexibility. There will be times when you eat a
high-fat meal or eat beyond fullness, or when your schedule
gets so busy that you miss a work- out. This happens. It's
normal. But it's very important that you don't get down on
yourself and abandon your new healthy lifestyle when this
happens.
If you're like most people, your reaction to these diet/
fitness obstacles is guilt. You feel as if all your hard work
has been for nothing. "I blew it; I was doing so well. Oh well,
I might as well enjoy this weekend and start over on Monday."
Or even worse: "I just don't have the motivation or will power
to start over and be successful. I quit." Feeling defeated,
many people discontinue the healthy living and return to their
old routine until some mythical time in the future: "Maybe this
spring will be a better time to start over again." This kind of
scenario is a perfect example of the diet mentality at
work.
An all-or-nothing attitude is why so many people have so
little success; we choose structured programs because they
relieve us from making choices for ourselves. A properly
designed program makes sense, but expecting to stick to a
structured eating and exercise plan for an extended period of
time without ever deviating makes no sense at all. In fact,
this is so unrealistic as to be a set-up for failure. If you
begin to change your habits with the assumption that any
deviation from your plan will ruin it, you might as well not
even begin. Life is full of unplanned obstacles, distractions,
and temptations. Your best approach is to prepare for them,
keeping an open mind and maintaining a positive attitude.
It's very important that you begin your healthier lifestyle
with an understanding that there will be days when you will
stray from healthy eating and exercising. Before you begin,
tell yourself that no matter what happens, rather than
abandoning your new lifestyle, you'll resume your healthy
habits as soon as you can; it is equally important that you
feel confident, not guilty, about doing so. What- ever the
temptation or obstacle is, keep in mind that it's not wrong or
bad to eat fattening foods once in a while or to miss a
workout. Just remember to resume your healthy lifestyle. If you
keep moving forward and you don't let guilt and discouragement
stop your program all together, you'll eventually have improved
eating and exercise habits.
With this approach, there is no such thing as cheating. When
we feel we are cheating, we often punish ourselves; we make
ourselves feel guilty, frustrated and defeated. Replacing the
negative concept of "cheating" with the idea of "straying from
healthy habits" takes away the all-or- nothing emphasis on
right and wrong. If you treat every deviation from your plan as
a failure, you won't get very far
Substituting the idea of a brief straying away from your
plan instead of feeling guilty, and learning to return more and
more quickly to healthier habits, is more realistic. It's also
easier and more enjoyable.
In the non-diet approach, all foods are legal. There are no
"good" foods or "bad" foods. You must believe this. Sudden
changes and/or drastic restrictions of high-fat foods when you
have a preference or craving for fat will result in feelings of
deprivation. No one can or should go through life depriving
themselves of foods they really enjoy. You must learn how to
make gradual healthy changes to the foods you love while
experimenting with and learning to appreciate new flavors and
textures.
A recent survey showed that more than 75 percent of people
feel guilty about eating so-called "bad" foods. The greatest
obstacle to adopting healthy eating habits is guilt. Attaching
a value to foods only makes you feel bad for eating them. When
you do decide to eat a high-fat food, enjoy it. Don't beat
your- self up over it. Just make a special effort to eat
low-fat the rest of the day. Remember, there is nothing wrong
with splurging now and then. It can even be good for you if the
satisfaction of a higher-fat meal that you've been craving
helps you stick with a low-fat lifestyle the rest of the
time.
If you're having a special diet meal that's different from
what the rest of your family or friends are eating, you'll feel
as though you're being punished. In order to be successful in
changing your eating habits, you must look forward to and enjoy
each meal you eat. This doesn't mean that you have to learn to
like rice cakes and celery. It means you must learn how to make
simple changes in the foods you love.
Perhaps one of your favorite meals is fried chicken, a baked
potato, and salad. Small changes in how the food is prepared
can turn this traditionally high-fat meal into a low-fat well-
balanced one. Simply marinating a skinless chicken breast in
sweet and sour sauce, rolling it in bread crumbs, and baking it
makes the chicken a lot less fattening than if it's fried.
Instead of butter or regular sour cream on your potato, try
low-fat or nonfat sour cream or a reduced fat ranch dressing.
Try using a non-fat or low-fat salad dressing rather than a
regular dressing and adding as many vegetables to your salad as
possible for their additional flavor, texture and nutrients.
Any or all of these changes drastically reduce the amount of
fat in the meal without sacrificing flavor or feelings of
satisfaction.
Healthy eating patterns can only occur when you're enjoying
all the foods you eat. If you're eating low-fat foods just to
be healthy but without enjoying the flavors and textures or how
they make you feel, this most likely won't be a permanent
change. However, if you begin enjoying healthy foods, you're
far more likely to stick with healthy eating for life.
Many people also enjoy eating out but associate this with
being "bad" or eating "illegal" foods. Fortunately, it is very
possible to eat a healthy, low-fat meal in a restaurant. You
don't need to forego your favorite foods or eat before you go
out with friends or family. The same decision-making process
occurs whether you eat at home or go out to a restaurant. Many
people think that they have two options when eating: eating for
taste and pleasure or eating for health. As you learn and
practice healthy eating techniques, these two options will
become one and the same.
Good luck and enjoy all the wonderful benefits of a healthy,
active lifestyle.
Chad Tackett is President of Global Health
& Fitness. Learn how you can have your own personal online
trainer, dietician and motivator at
global-fitness
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