I hope this post-Superbowl Monday finds everyone content with their eating decisions from yesterday.
I don’t mean that you should have only ate healthy things. Rather I hope you are content with the fact that you made conscious decisions of what you were going to eat, enjoyed it, and feel no guilt about it today.
I think we “dieting” women spend far too much time feeling bad about what we’ve eaten. Food becomes “good or bad” and let’s face it; except for those that are trying to get on stage and compete in a figure contest, the rest of us healthy minded but “real” women are going to eat those “bad” foods sometimes. What I often hear the next day is “oh, I was so”bad” I ate…..” . Well it hit me in the last few months that that mindset, the “I’m so bad” mindset, is way unhealthier than the food. I mean who wants to live in a constant state of guilt?
So here are 5 quick questions to ask yourself before you indulge in treats. I know it sounds like a lot but once it becomes your habit it takes about 10 seconds to think it through:
The first one can eliminate the need for the next four:
1). Do I really want this? Or am I just bored, sad, excited, stressed, feeling hopeless, depressed, trying to fit in, afraid of standing out, etc…
If not, leave it (you may need some tricks to get over cravings). If you DO really truly want a certain food then quickly ask yourself the rest…..
2). Do I know the facts of the situation?….do you know how many calories are in beer, chips, pizza, chicken wings, cheeseburgers, etc. Do you know what a serving of the above 
actually is and looks like? Do you know what the above mentioned things do to your blood sugar and fat burning abilities? Again, it’s not about good or bad, just: do you know? That’s all I’m asking, Do you actually know?
So as you can see, this is going to require that you educate yourself on food and nutrition. It’s not long and tedious. In fact, I try to clue my clients in on all this stuff in small doses so that they can absorb it without feeling like its hard work.
3. Do you have a goal and a plan? And do you know what it is going to take to reach that goal as planned? “I want to lose weight” is not a goal and a plan, it’s a wish. You see, if you know that you want to get into X skirt by X date, and to do that you need to lose Xlbs (or inches) then you also know that you need to exercise X times a week and eat a certain way X% of the time. It gives you a new perspective on skipping workouts or not, and eating “off-plan” or not.
I can help you fill in the X’s. And btw- your plan can and SHOULD include treats and goodies.
4. Is eating this in line with my plan? -I’ve allotted myself a certain amount of treats, is this in line with that number?
Ok and now the big question:
5. Have I been living according to my plan and therefore can enjoy this treat, still be on my plan and feel no guilt tomorrow? And here is the super duper, crazily important step: If the answer is YES then enjoy and absolutely do not allow yourself to feel any guilt WHAT-SO-EVER. NONE. I am telling you this as the 100% truth, as soon as I adopted this mindset, I have been reaching my goals faster and more consistently than ever before. Let me 
tell you eating a (small) bacon cheeseburger and cajun fries and finishing it off with a Magnum ice cream bar feels sooooo good when you can wake up the next day guilt-free! As opposed to the way I used to be, waking up thinkin “I gotta go run 5 miles cause I was so bad this weekend”. All week I would stare longingly at some treat food and think “no, that’s bad” and then cave in on the weekends of course and feel guilty on Monday. No more. If you see me at a restaurant with a (mini) poozookie in front of me I’m going to proudly say “heck yeah, I’m eating this and it‘s D-licious and I feel no shame cause you know why? I have a plan and I’m working it baby. Poozookie included.” It’s liberating. Food is my friend! I can have anything I want, anything. I just need to make sure I work my plan. That’s the only catch. You can feel the EXACT same way. You just have to change your mind about good and bad food (and work your plan).
Now if the answer is no……….you have to repeat this to yourself: I know that this week I have not stuck to my plan, I have missed workouts, I have been off-track with my eating. I know that if I eat this I will be setting myself back on my goal since I have been off plan. By choosing to eat this I understand these facts and promise not to complain about my jeans that won’t zip, the Costco size muffin spilling over my skirt or the fact that my unexpected reflection in the mirror causes me to do a double take. I am making the decision to eat this and I am ok with it.
If you need help figuring out your goal and your plan, how to work in your treat and how to live food-guilt-free then give me a call 916-57BOOTY.