Day 9: Splurge Strategically Part 2 | 30-Day Weight Loss-athon
It’s Day 9 of the 30-Day Weight Loss-athon. Time for part two of our secret splurging weapon.
Read the steps first, then take 10 minutes to think about them and take action. Ready?
What You Need:
- Honesty.
Step 1
First, let’s recap. There are two keys to splurging strategically – knowing what to eat sometimes, which we talked about yesterday, and knowing what to eat pretty much never, which we’ll turn to now.
So here’s the all-important second part of the splurge strategically concept: If you don’t love it, eat it never.
It’s not enough to only eat your beloved treats on the occasions you really want them, as we discussed yesterday. You also have to say sayonara to those calorie-saturated foods you don’t love.
Step 2
This part of the deal is crucial. You now have to be super-honest about the high-calorie foods you don’t care that much about. Sure they might be pretty yummy, but unless they totally tickle your toes, don’t waste your splurge calories on them.
Here are some ways I put this into practice:
- I adore chocolate – but not if it’s too creamy. If I’m offered creamy chocolates, I happily say no thanks, and save myself for the harder stuff.
- I love fries – but only if they’re golden and well cooked. I always ask for my fries to be well done, but any time they’re not, I leave them on the plate.
- To be honest I could take or leave cake. So I always leave it.
- If my dessert is served with ice cream, I have just enough ice cream to go with the dessert, and leave the rest. Ditto fudges and sauces.
- I love burgers but often find the bun too big, so I happily leave half the bun.
- Pizza is a favorite. Garlic bread is expendable, so I always skip it.
- I really enjoy red wine, champagne and the occasional G&T. The rest, including most cocktails, I graciously decline.
- If I’m eating anything high-calorie and not loving it, I abandon it pronto. It’s not worth wasting my precious splurges on anything sub-par.
In some ways this is a psychological chicken-and-egg. You find it hard not to want everything if you’ve never let yourself enjoy the special things. So you have to kind of ease in to allowing yourself occasional treats.
But once you get used to the idea that you can have your most-loved treats, you’ll start to feel okay about saying a haughty no thanks to the other stuff, which you’ll soon come to regard as extremely blah.
Step 3
So now it’s time to take action. Decide on the high-calorie foods you used to eat, but that you don’t truly, madly, deeply love, and let them go. Toss them, give them away, burn them in a ritual.
Save yourself for the good stuff.
Check in!
And you’re done!
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See you tomorrow!
There are many things that I only love if prepared a specific way or from a certain restaurant, so I will have to keep that in mind when I’m contemplating mindlessly eating other junk food.
There are many things that I only love if prepared a specific way or from a certain restaurant, so I will have to keep that in mind when I’m contemplating mindlessly eating other junk food.
This is so true – WHY eat the things you don’t like? Excellent point and I’m glad you brought it up.
This is so true – WHY eat the things you don’t like? Excellent point and I’m glad you brought it up.
Great concept. I can see how this strategy could work in other areas of life as well. I got my scheduled exercise in today!
Great concept. I can see how this strategy could work in other areas of life as well. I got my scheduled exercise in today!
Great concept. I can see how this strategy could work in other areas of life as well. I got my scheduled exercise in today!
my greatest two addiction, lays potato chips and oreo cookies the chocolate ones the rest of my junk food needs are really based on my mood. the good news is we are swapping out the stuff we don’t need with the stuff we do. more fruits and veggies.
Great idea! I love french fries too, but not the frozen kind. Need to remember not to bother eating them when I’m in a restaurant….could always ask to substitute for something I really like.
Great idea! I love french fries too, but not the frozen kind. Need to remember not to bother eating them when I’m in a restaurant….could always ask to substitute for something I really like.
Great idea! I love french fries too, but not the frozen kind. Need to remember not to bother eating them when I’m in a restaurant….could always ask to substitute for something I really like.
This will definitely take some thinking; However, I will get this figured out 🙂 Awesome challenge.
There have been times I’ve said, “It’s not worth the calories”, but probably more often I eat something & say “Why did I eat that?” I need to be more aware & not eat mindlessly.
There have been times I’ve said, “It’s not worth the calories”, but probably more often I eat something & say “Why did I eat that?” I need to be more aware & not eat mindlessly.
There have been times I’ve said, “It’s not worth the calories”, but probably more often I eat something & say “Why did I eat that?” I need to be more aware & not eat mindlessly.
I can do without chips, donuts. But ice cream is one of my favorites. BIG favorite and it has to be the really good stuff and so are eclairs. REAL eclairs with the puff pastry and custard filled. These are definitely my “strategic splurges”.
I can do without chips, donuts. But ice cream is one of my favorites. BIG favorite and it has to be the really good stuff and so are eclairs. REAL eclairs with the puff pastry and custard filled. These are definitely my “strategic splurges”.
Normally can pass on candy, pies, cookies (except home baked choc. chip), and most chips (other than Doritos). I try to save my splurges for my hormonal fluctuations. That is when I’m at my weakest. Otherwise, I can usually either pass or substitute something similar that is healthier.
definitely like this less than part 1 haha. your list was a good starting point – I feel similarly about most of those foods. will continue to keep this in mind as I continue to make food choices to work out what I should be cutting out of my diet. this has been a great exercise.
definitely like this less than part 1 haha. your list was a good starting point – I feel similarly about most of those foods. will continue to keep this in mind as I continue to make food choices to work out what I should be cutting out of my diet. this has been a great exercise.