Day 8: Splurge Strategically Part 1 | 30-Day Weight Loss-athon
Time for Day 8 of the 30-Day Weight Loss-athon. If you go crazy trying to deny yourself food that diet boot-campers forbid, then today’s 10 minutes could restore your sanity.
Read the steps first, then take 10 minutes to think about them and take action.Ready?
What You Need:
- Your sanity, right?
Step 1
First, before anyone starts planning a lifetime of lettuce and lima beans, let’s take a reality check about what’s forever forbidden.
I adore chocolate and a lot of what’s considered junk food – burgers, fries, pizza, chips, and cookies. People are always asking me how I can eat that stuff yet stay slim. The answer is: I splurge strategically.
Splurging strategically helps me to stay slim and – just as important for a chocoholic – it helps me to stay sane.
But there are two keys to splurging strategically – knowing what to eat sometimes, which we’ll tackle today, and knowing what to eat pretty much never, which we’ll deal with tomorrow.
Step 2
With all things ‘naughty’ or calorific, there’s only one solution to staying slim and staying sane: If you love it, eat it sometimes.
- If you eat it all the time, then you’ll get fat. It’s cause and effect: cruel, but unavoidable.
- If you don’t let yourself eat it at all, then you’ll go berserk – and eventually binge. Then you’ll be crazy and fat. Oopsie.
By letting yourself strategically enjoy the foods you love, you avoid feeling deprived, which stops you sabotaging your own weight-loss efforts.
The big proviso here is the word strategically. You can’t make treats a habit – they need to come out only when you want to satisfy a strong desire.
Maybe you’re one of those fabled individuals who’ve mastered emotional eating. (Note: 52 Weight Loss Missions customers, we deal with this tricky topic in Mission 43: Address Emotional Eating – Part 1 and Address Emotional Eating – Part 2). Well then, yay for you.
But for the rest of us, a little chocolate, cake or ice cream when you’ve had a crummy day is not the worst thing in the world, and can be an effective way to release the pressure valve now and then.
In the same way, something delicious and calorific when you really crave it can be pretty cool.
I’ll say it another way so there’s no misunderstanding: you cannot have these treats as a standard, habitual part of your diet: have them only when you really feel like them.
So make the decision that when it comes to high-calorie treats, you’ll eat only the foods you love, and only when you really feel like them. And when you do, thoroughly enjoy them.
Step 3
Okay, so we’ve agreed that it’s okay to have the things you really love when you really feel like them.
To help you avoid them the rest of the time, we need this final step.
Whatever treats you decide you want to have in your house, don’t have them in plain view.
Keep them out of the pantry or any place where you may accidentally come across them. Put them in a box or bag (not a clear one) and store them in a cupboard you don’t use. They’ll be there when you really feel like them, but they won’t pop out and tempt youwhen you weren’t even thinking about them.
And if you like, pop a post-it on there that says something like,
‘I can have this if I really want it. Do I really want it?’
Step 4
But wait, there’s more. The splurge strategically concept has two parts to it – so please be sure to check back for tomorrow’s action.
Check in!
And you’re done! Be sure to leave your comment below to check in and stay accountable.
If you’re reading this by email or in a reader then please click here to leave your comment. See you tomorrow!
Step 3 says it all. I’ve stated in previous comments that my splurges have gotten out of hand. I know how to properly splurge and I am working very hard to get that balance back. Can’t wait to see what Part 2 says…
I’m the same way, gotta get out of the habit of dessert after meals…or having treats several times a day. If I feel the need for something sweet I’ll have an apple or yogurt.
I’m the same way, gotta get out of the habit of dessert after meals…or having treats several times a day. If I feel the need for something sweet I’ll have an apple or yogurt.
What a novel idea…I do this all the time for my daughter (out of sight, out of mind), but haven’t blessed myself with this self-discipline model :-). Off to the cupboards I go…
What a novel idea…I do this all the time for my daughter (out of sight, out of mind), but haven’t blessed myself with this self-discipline model :-). Off to the cupboards I go…
What a novel idea…I do this all the time for my daughter (out of sight, out of mind), but haven’t blessed myself with this self-discipline model :-). Off to the cupboards I go…
Ugh, I am a sucker for sweets. It IS my downfall!
Ugh, I am a sucker for sweets. It IS my downfall!
As for putting the snacks away, it is done with a note on it. However, I love snack foods, so it is going to take a little time to adjust to this change.
As for putting the snacks away, it is done with a note on it. However, I love snack foods, so it is going to take a little time to adjust to this change.
As for putting the snacks away, it is done with a note on it. However, I love snack foods, so it is going to take a little time to adjust to this change.
I agree with Ann, the less I eat them the less I crave them. Things I loved before are now “too sweet”. Dark chocolate usually satisfies me. And greek yogurt and fruit. Who would have thought.
I agree with Ann, the less I eat them the less I crave them. Things I loved before are now “too sweet”. Dark chocolate usually satisfies me. And greek yogurt and fruit. Who would have thought.
I agree with Ann, the less I eat them the less I crave them. Things I loved before are now “too sweet”. Dark chocolate usually satisfies me. And greek yogurt and fruit. Who would have thought.
chocolate has been moved to the back of the freezer. It’s there if I really want it but not in sight. Plus, the frozen chocolate lasts a lot longer because I can savor it.
chocolate has been moved to the back of the freezer. It’s there if I really want it but not in sight. Plus, the frozen chocolate lasts a lot longer because I can savor it.
I have got the “strategically splurged” part down! But I have got to do better with drinking my water!
I have got the “strategically splurged” part down! But I have got to do better with drinking my water!
I have got the “strategically splurged” part down! But I have got to do better with drinking my water!
Should have read this before I splurged on Easter candy. But now I don’t feel quite so guilty and I know I will be back on plan. And it’s o.k. to splurge *sometimes*.