The common concept that is out there today is to eat well 80% of the time and then cheat the plan for the other 20%.
Personally I hate calling these foods cheat meals, mainly because the relationship between a person and food becomes unstable. When food is called a cheat and is restricted usually it makes a person want it more. It is the nature of a human being, say you can’t have something then you want it even more. I know it does for some foods for me. So for me I call them extras, things that do not fuel your body for that time of the day. It keeps it simple and most people know what these are.
My advice is to pick two to three things each week. The evidence says and my experience tells me, bingeing once or twice a week rather increases body fat levels more than consuming one small thing every day. Don’t sit down and eat as much as you can for dinner with a drink of wine and the dessert after. It is one thing, normal dinner with dessert, or a fatty or carby dinner when you shouldn’t be having it. A chocolate bar over a chocolate block or a small fun size pack of chips to a family size packet. Small portions sizes but you still get what you want. It can take time to adapt, but that’s ok, it is about making small changes over time to get to the destination you want to be at.
Choose wisely, as hard as it can be at times, plan ahead. Know what you love and want to eat and try to buy a single serve portion. Also, spread it out during the week, or try and place it around exercise so your body can use it as fuel rather than store it. These are just a couple damage control tips to help you enjoy life
The more stress is placed on nutrition, the complicated it gets, and the more frustration and anger comes out. Stress less, nutrition is ever evolving, there is always a different way to get to where you need to go.
