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!
I can say goodbye to donuts, chips, cream cheese pies and sugary drinks.
There are alot of things I don’t really love but just eat, this is an interesting concept.
There are alot of things I don’t really love but just eat, this is an interesting concept.
There are alot of things I don’t really love but just eat, this is an interesting concept.
Going to seriously think about my favorite splurges…
Going to seriously think about my favorite splurges…
Great concept! I can give up those Egg rolls that I don’t really enjoy!
Great concept! I can give up those Egg rolls that I don’t really enjoy!
A whole new way of thinking of what foods I love. I trend to use that word too much with food that is just good and not great.
A whole new way of thinking of what foods I love. I trend to use that word too much with food that is just good and not great.
no to milk chocolate… yes to dark chocolate (plus I get some iron too)!
I can do without takeway burger places. wont miss it at all. will keep the cocktails though 🙂
I can do without takeway burger places. wont miss it at all. will keep the cocktails though 🙂
I can do without takeway burger places. wont miss it at all. will keep the cocktails though 🙂
NO dessert at lunch no matter what and never order dessert when out to eat.
My weakness is Dr. Pepper! I love them, and am totally addicted to them. For this month (and hopefully ones to come), I’m trying to cut down to one a day. Today is a holiday, so I splurged and had one and a quarter.
My weakness is Dr. Pepper! I love them, and am totally addicted to them. For this month (and hopefully ones to come), I’m trying to cut down to one a day. Today is a holiday, so I splurged and had one and a quarter.
My weakness is Dr. Pepper! I love them, and am totally addicted to them. For this month (and hopefully ones to come), I’m trying to cut down to one a day. Today is a holiday, so I splurged and had one and a quarter.
so true. had lost focus with the ‘it’s not worth the calories’ mentality – easiest way to cut what aren’t actually even treats if you think about them on a lovability scale!
so true. had lost focus with the ‘it’s not worth the calories’ mentality – easiest way to cut what aren’t actually even treats if you think about them on a lovability scale!