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| Friday, May 22, 2009 |
| Smart Ways to Cheat! |
Everyone wants to “cheat” on their healthy diet sometimes, but cheating the wrong way can ruin your attempts at losing or maintaining your weight. On the other hand, you shouldn’t feel deprived either since that can lead to overeating and binging. Most of my clients ask me how they can cheat and still stay on track, so I decided to share my top five tips for “smart cheating” on your diet. Perfect to keep in mind this holiday weekend!
- Control Your Portions. When you decide to cheat, don’t overdo it. Pick the food or meal you want to cheat with and then make sure your portions are reasonable. Cheating at one meal or snack won’t derail your diet, but a day filled with large portions of high calorie, high fat foods will definitely take you off track.
- Eat the Real Thing. If you crave ice cream, then eat ice cream. Too many times people tell me how they were craving something like ice cream, but ate a low fat frozen yogurt instead, and ended up eating the whole container because they were never really satisfied. Try taking a small portion of what you’re really craving and that should satisfy your urge to cheat more than a low fat, sugar free or low calorie version. Leave the low fat, low calories foods for your every day diet.
- Add Some Water. When you decide to cheat with a certain food, try sipping water in between bites. Sipping water will slow down your eating which will allow you to enjoy the food and will help you fill up faster.
- Mix It Up. When you cheat, try to mix up your meal or snack. Add some protein and carbohydrates at your cheat meal. Try not to over indulge on just carbohydrates. This will lead to a rapid rise in your blood sugar followed by a fall in your blood sugar which can lead to the urge to binge or overeat. Remember, small portions are important. Some balanced cheat foods include: tortilla chips with cheese and shredded chicken or ice cream sprinkled with nuts.
- Balance It Out. If you usually splurge on Sunday morning with pancakes, bacon and a mimosa, make plans to walk it off later in the day. Go for a long walk a few hours after your meal. It’s important that you keep up your exercise on the day you cheat. You can even increase your cardiovascular exercise a little on the day that you decide to cheat to help burn off some of those extra calories.
When you do cheat, don’t dwell on it and don’t feel guilty. All foods can fit in a healthy diet. I tell my clients who are at their healthy weight to live by the 80/20 rule. If you eat a balanced healthy diet 80% of the time and keep up your regular exercise, you can be a little more lenient the other 20% of the time. This will keep you healthy, satisfied and help maintain your weight.
- Jennifer
Labels: healthy tips, Jennifer, Mindful Eating, Portion Control, Weight Loss
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posted by My Sensei @ Friday, May 22, 2009   |
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| 3 Comments: |
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Great post! All so true! I know some people like to do that all day thing. I just don't. I pick 1 or 2 things I really want & they are usually the dessert type things & the rest of the day is my normal healthy stuff which I prefer over the other food. Sweets has always been the thing I wanted.. and bread BUT I have found a way to get my bread & eat it too! Loved your suggestions!
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Love the point about eating the real thing! Often things like 'regular' ice cream' and 'regular' cheese are far more satisfying than the low fat, low cal versions so you end up eating less of it anyway. That way you can enjoy the full flavor for about the same amount of calories anyway!
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This is a great list and very helpful. I am going to give this a shot next time I can't resist a sweet...like tomorrow.
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Great post! All so true! I know some people like to do that all day thing. I just don't. I pick 1 or 2 things I really want & they are usually the dessert type things & the rest of the day is my normal healthy stuff which I prefer over the other food. Sweets has always been the thing I wanted.. and bread BUT I have found a way to get my bread & eat it too! Loved your suggestions!