There's No Such Thing as Cheating
By Chad Tackett, president of GHF
There'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.
This article was provided by Chad
Tackett, president of GHF.
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