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Cheating Yourself Out of Good Health
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Heaven forbid you “cheat” on your diet! If you “sneak” a cupcake in an empty room, does it really count? If you decide to “splurge” on donuts, is there really any difference between one and three? We have come up with all of these anti-health verbs to describe making less-than-healthy choices, but what do these words really do to our weight loss efforts?
The majority of us have a few lists in our brains. One list contains all of those foods that are “healthy” and okay for dieters to eat. The other list is the “bad” foods, surrounded with all types of negative baggage and feelings of guilt. This latter list is the one that seeks to jeopardize all of our good intentions. Of course you cannot eat chocolate cake everyday for lunch and expect to lose weight. But, what if it was the list itself and not the foods that were on it that was causing diet failure?
When we categorize foods as either “good” or “bad” we automatically attach a lot of power to them. This is where those nasty little verbs come in. We justify eating off the “bad” list by saying things like “I deserve to cheat” or “a little splurge won’t hurt”. While these comments seem innocent enough, they can easily transform into “Well, I already cheated today so the day’s a failure…bring on the French fries!”.
What if we do away with the lists? Of course they will always be in the back of our heads, but what if we make no food completely “off limits” and just go by what feels right. This means we will truly have to listen to our body and not our brain. Our bodies naturally gravitate towards those things that make it run more efficiently. It’s our brain, filled with lists and emotional baggage, that thwarts our healthy living plans.
So, you want a piece of pie. Have it. Don’t overanalyze. Don’t add ice cream with chocolate syrup and whipped topping just to make it “worth it”. Just have the pie. Enjoy it. Don’t allow your lists to make you feel guilty. Eat the dang pie and move on!
When we truly begin to listen to our bodies and eat what we know our body needs for nutrition’s sake, a sugary selection doesn’t become a big deal. It’s no longer the “anti-diet” or the “pie that ended it all”. It’s pie. We can have a sweet treat and then continue on our healthy way. Learning how to drop the emotions that we connect to food is key in weight loss success and overall health.
Yes, I know that this is much easier said than done and that undoing emotional attachments to food can take time and serious effort. But, being aware of the tricks your mind plays and how giving food so much power can be detrimental is a start. Food is food. An inanimate object. You are the one with the power, stop handing it over to the pie!
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