MODERATION…
Today, I want to talk about MODERATION. I know, I know moderation is so….blah blah. We hear it all the time from nutritionists, magazines etc. But on some level, we don’t like moderation because it feels like failure. We think that what we really need is a more hardcore approach.
But hardcore approaches don’t work. We know this, don’t we? We might lose a couple of kilos, feel good for a time, until we either plateau or start gaining the weight back. This happens because the approach is Extreme and not even close to something we could do FOREVER. Remember what will work long-term is an approachto eating that you can actually DO long-term. When we make more moderate choices, we’re creating a way of eating that can be done FOREVER. It’s effortless because we feel satisfied and satisfied. The desire to Eat Everything Right Now vanishes because there are fewer feelings of deprivation.
The first step for me was implementing what I cal “little cheats.” These are food items that help me take the edge off so that I don’t binge on more and worse stuff later. These are things that are not necessarily rubbish, but also not typically things you’d find on a strict diet plan. They are mid-rangers. They help preventthe ‘deprive-the-binge-cycle.’ ( You know good,tight, clean eating Monday through to Thursday, eat rubbish nonstop Friday through to Sunday)! Which occurs when you eat at the extremes.
Example of “little cheats” include a single glass of wine, avocado/guacamole, dark chocolate, dairy products like cream, cheese, butter and nuts etc.
My personal go-to’s are wine, nuts and full fat milk in my coffee. Are these healthy? Not the most healthy. But having at least one of them every single day serves several purposes:
1) Takes the edge off. I always say that the fastest way to bring on a binge is to deprive yourself. How you eat at breakfast affects what you will choose for lunch. And how you eat at lunch will affect how you eat at dinner. And even, how you eat on Monday will affect how you eat this weekend! Yes! Your choices have consequences, good and bad. Deprive and you’ll binge later. Non-negotiable’s help me never to feel deprived, so when I approach Friday, I’m just good. I eat the same on Mondays that I do on Saturdays. And it’s effortless.
To try this, you’ll have to ditch the old, “It’s Monday, time to tighten it up”. Mentality. Fine, be a little more mindful of your choices, but the idea that you can and should be perfet little eater on Monday will only leave you worse off come Friday. This has to do with will power and focus, actual biochemistry and simply not wanting to walk around like a low-carb zombie.
2) While getting lean is brillian. If you are white-knuckling your way through some crazy strict diet in order to “get results” any results you get will inevitably be unsustainable. Why? Because a strategy of resist, resist, resist is not a long-term solution. And eventually gets you in trouble.
Moderation on the other hand, never gets you in trouble. It’s a forever solution and it also doesn’t have to mean no results either. Think about it. 90% clean 7 days a week will always beats 4 days tight, 3 days of straight bingeing. When it comes to BOTH results AND sanity. Imagine waking up and eating the same satisfying meals every day. Never too hungry or craving. And never too stuffed or remorseful. Moderation serves this lifestyle up on a platter. Use your “little cheats”!
So what’s are your “little cheats”? Name three items that will be your go-to’s.
Remember, these are not blatant cheats, because even those can become obsessive and make us feel like we have to ‘earn them’, or have to go to the gym to ‘burn them off’. Little cheats are built in part of your normal eating. They are also not ‘rewards’ for a week of well-eaten. They are not ‘special treats’ to have when we some how deem ourselves worthy. Nope!!!
“Little cheats” are simply part of your everyday eating strategy. Daily.
Ok! That’s it for today.
Until then have a great weekend ladies
Bye for now
-Louise
Fitness & Nutrition Coach
www.fnltransformation.com
Ps let me know about your “little cheats”
