Love What You Eat. No Cheat Day!

Are you eating clean now in an effort to see a change in your weight? That’s great! But if you ever find yourself using the words “cheat day”, you’re most probably fighting the urge to indulge in your favorite foods and feel resentful about your current meal routine. So how long do you see yourself sustaining this diet plan? At some point in time, you’ll break away from your plan and start eating like the way you’re used to and before you know it, that goal you had in mind will drift further and further to a land far far away.

Here’s the big question, why do you see people licking on ice cream and munching on chips but still have the body of a Spartan that came straight out from the movie 300? The answer to this question is that they are in control of what they eat and they CHOOSE to eat those sweet treats knowing exactly that it will not affect their usual nutritional routine. In this article, I’m going to share some ways this group of people manage to keep their physique without worrying about the type of food they are consuming.

1. Good nutritional habits, starts somewhere

Start by listing a few good nutritional habits and pick the easiest one for you to follow. Then try to sustain it for a week. After a week, pick another habit and add on to the first habit that you have already achieved. Repeat this cycle till you have achieved all habits on your list and chances are you’ll see a change in your body.

- Drink at least 3 liters of water

- Include vegetables in every meal

- Include a source of protein in every meal

- Lower your carbohydrates intake

- Lower your dietary fats intake

2. Pick your healthy favorites

Write down a list of your favorite foods and identify the healthier ones. From there, simply shuffle them around to make up your daily meal routine. You may refer to the sample below:

My favorite food list

Grilled salmon with brown rice

Macdonald’s Big Breakfast

Oatmeal

Milk tea

Black coffee

KFC fried chicken

Yoghurt

Chocolate cake

Pasta

Grilled chicken salad

Steamed chicken

Coke

Water

Potato chips

Mixed nuts

Fruit juice

My meal sample

Breakfast: Oatmeal (I can add bananas and skimmed milk to make it more tasty), black coffee with no sugar.

Lunch: Grilled chicken salad (I can replace thousand island dressing with olive oil), bottle of water.

Pre-workout meal: Pasta (I can choose pasta made out of whole wheat), sparkling water.

Post-workout meal: Greek yoghurt (I can choose to add honey and berries), freshly squeezed orange juice.

Dinner: Steamed chicken (without skin), bottle of water.

3. Familiarize yourself with servings

Almost everything you eat comes with calories and eating in large quantities even if it’s healthier food choices will cause you to put on additional weight. One great way to gauge your calorie intake is to eat till the point of satisfaction and not fullness.

Of course, having a good eating habit does not mean that you have to totally give up on the sweet treats. In fact, taking a break from your usual nutrition routine may help in losing more weight when you get back on track again. While it is obvious that having ice cream and chips every two days causes weight gain and potential health problems, having them once in a while (every 3 - 4 weeks) won’t kill you either. The key take away is to have everything in moderation.

Use the tips above and try to develop a good nutrition routine that’s unique to you, and hopefully one day you’ll be joining those people licking away at an ice cream and munching on chips while having a great physique!