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!
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!
Checking in for Day 9, I’m a little late but I have 15 minutes left here in the Midwestern US 🙂 I’m going to do away completely with my ice cream, may be hard over the summer months but I can do it! Going to check out Day 10 now since I noticed that in my inbox as well!
I will have to revisit this. Being on Whole30 I don’t eat sugar of any kind is grains. So there isn’t much cheating. I do know at holidays and birthdays I will pick one item to enjoy at that event. So a cookie, or a slice of cake but not both and only one piece.
This should be easy – except when offered treats from co-workers. They mean well especially at this time of year but I will have to learn to graciously decline the things I don’t absolutely love.
This should be easy – except when offered treats from co-workers. They mean well especially at this time of year but I will have to learn to graciously decline the things I don’t absolutely love.
We’ve had Easter candy around this week, but not too much, and on Sunday when my husband, son, and I ate out, I had a lunch salad, but we splurged by splitting a dessert plate 3 ways!
We’ve had Easter candy around this week, but not too much, and on Sunday when my husband, son, and I ate out, I had a lunch salad, but we splurged by splitting a dessert plate 3 ways!
I can leave dessert, cake, ice cream, milk chocolate, liqueurs, donuts, cream. Wine, cheese and really good dark chocolate are my strategic splurges. Crisps I am undecided about – are they really that good?
I can leave dessert, cake, ice cream, milk chocolate, liqueurs, donuts, cream. Wine, cheese and really good dark chocolate are my strategic splurges. Crisps I am undecided about – are they really that good?
This reminds me that I am making progress. Last week I made brownies – family wasn’t eating them, so rather than eat the entire batch myself, I took them to work. And at a work breakfast, I passed on ALL the pastries and stayed with the eggs and guacamole. Given my penchant for all things sweet, I think these baby steps are far better than the mindless putting it on my plate I’d have done in the past.
This reminds me that I am making progress. Last week I made brownies – family wasn’t eating them, so rather than eat the entire batch myself, I took them to work. And at a work breakfast, I passed on ALL the pastries and stayed with the eggs and guacamole. Given my penchant for all things sweet, I think these baby steps are far better than the mindless putting it on my plate I’d have done in the past.
This reminds me that I am making progress. Last week I made brownies – family wasn’t eating them, so rather than eat the entire batch myself, I took them to work. And at a work breakfast, I passed on ALL the pastries and stayed with the eggs and guacamole. Given my penchant for all things sweet, I think these baby steps are far better than the mindless putting it on my plate I’d have done in the past.
This was the perfect post (Easter holidays and a sick child got me a little off track this weekend.) I left fries on my plate today at lunch. They just weren’t worth the extra calories. And it didn’t seem like a lot at first. Portions in restaurants can be so deceiving.
This was the perfect post (Easter holidays and a sick child got me a little off track this weekend.) I left fries on my plate today at lunch. They just weren’t worth the extra calories. And it didn’t seem like a lot at first. Portions in restaurants can be so deceiving.
I love this idea and can relate it to a situation the other day when I purchased sundried tomatoes in vinegar, not oil, as they are the healthier choice. I didn’t really enjoy them at all, and now I know that I will only purchase the ones in oil and have them, only occasionally, without guilt. 🙂
I love this idea and can relate it to a situation the other day when I purchased sundried tomatoes in vinegar, not oil, as they are the healthier choice. I didn’t really enjoy them at all, and now I know that I will only purchase the ones in oil and have them, only occasionally, without guilt. 🙂
checking in…i did this yesterday but forgot to comment. It makes sense – I don’t know how many times I’ve had something I don’t really enjoy – just for the sake of having something.
checking in…i did this yesterday but forgot to comment. It makes sense – I don’t know how many times I’ve had something I don’t really enjoy – just for the sake of having something.
Hello to everyone: When you attend parties; potlucks and OVER holidays it is ok to take a smidgen of various foods you shouldn’t eat and it will not hurt your diet. The same thing if you get a craving for a particular food just take a smidgen to eat and get it out of your system. I had a doctor tell me this years ago. I’m proud of all of you. Keep up the good work and continue to post to be accountable. Good Luck.
Vanilla icecream. Can’t stand the stuff! If served it with something like pie or cake I can tolerate it but on it’s own I find it horrible. Actually, most ice cream falls into the don’t really like basket. Even the good quality stuff still tastes a bit of chemicals. So, for me, I will really enjoy ice cream when I make it which happens maybe 4 or 5 times a year! Moving the whole family to sugar free means my wonderful daughter will stop making delicious puddings that are too hard to resist. Maybe that will be my birthday treat this year.
Vanilla icecream. Can’t stand the stuff! If served it with something like pie or cake I can tolerate it but on it’s own I find it horrible. Actually, most ice cream falls into the don’t really like basket. Even the good quality stuff still tastes a bit of chemicals. So, for me, I will really enjoy ice cream when I make it which happens maybe 4 or 5 times a year! Moving the whole family to sugar free means my wonderful daughter will stop making delicious puddings that are too hard to resist. Maybe that will be my birthday treat this year.