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No Such Thing as Cheating
There's No
Such Thing as Cheating
By Chad Tackett, President of Global Health and Fitness
It's normal.
There's no right or wrong way to eat. Healthy
eating is all about motivation, balance,
and flexibility. There will be times when
you eat a high-fat meal or eat beyond fullness,
or when your schedule gets so busy that
you miss a work- out. This happens. It's
normal. But it's very important that you
don't get down on yourself and abandon
your new healthy lifestyle when this happens.
I blew it.
If you're like most people, your reaction
to these diet/ fitness obstacles is guilt.
You feel as if all your hard work has been
for nothing. "I blew it; I was doing
so well. Oh well, I might as well enjoy
this weekend and start over on Monday." Or
even worse:
"I just don't have the motivation or
will power to start over and be successful.
I quit." Feeling defeated, many people
discontinue the healthy living and return
to their old routine until some mythical
time in the future: "Maybe this spring
will be a better time to start over again." This
kind of scenario is a perfect example of
the diet mentality at work.
Too much structure.
An all-or-nothing attitude is why so many
people have so little success; we choose
structured programs because they relieve
us from making choices for ourselves. A
properly designed program makes sense,
but expecting to stick to a structured
eating and exercise plan for an extended
period of time without ever deviating makes
no sense at all. In fact, this is so unrealistic
as to be a set-up for failure. If you begin
to change your habits with the assumption
that any deviation from your plan will
ruin it, you might as well not even begin.
Life is full of unplanned obstacles, distractions,
and temptations. Your best approach is
to prepare for them, keeping an open mind
and maintaining a positive attitude.
No guilt.
It's very important that you begin your healthier
lifestyle with an understanding that there
will be days when you will stray from healthy
eating and exercising.
Before you begin, tell yourself that no
matter what happens, rather than abandoning
your new lifestyle, you'll resume your healthy
habits as soon as you can; it is equally
important that you feel confident, not guilty,
about doing so. Whatever the temptation or
obstacle is, keep in mind that it's not wrong
or bad to eat fattening foods once in a while
or to miss a workout. Just remember to resume
your healthy lifestyle. If you keep moving
forward and you don't let guilt and discouragement
stop your program all together, you'll eventually
have improved eating and exercise habits.
A recent survey showed that more than 75
percent of people feel guilty about eating
so-called "bad"
foods. The greatest obstacle to adopting
healthy eating habits is guilt. Attaching
a value to foods only makes you feel bad
for eating them. When you do decide to eat
a high-fat food, enjoy it. Don't beat yourself
up over it. Just make a special effort to
eat low-fat the rest of the day. Remember,
there is nothing wrong with splurging now
and then. It can even be good for you if
the satisfaction of a higher-fat meal that
you've been craving helps you stick with
a low-fat lifestyle the rest of the time.
Deviations, not failures.
With this approach, there is no such thing
as cheating. When we feel we are cheating,
we often punish ourselves; we make ourselves
feel guilty, frustrated and defeated. Replacing
the negative concept of
"cheating" with the idea of "straying
from healthy habits" takes away the
all-or-nothing emphasis on right and wrong.
If you treat every deviation from your plan
as a failure, you won't get very far.
Substituting the idea of a brief straying
away from your plan instead of feeling guilty,
and learning to return more and more quickly
to healthier habits, is more realistic. It's
also easier and more enjoyable.
The non-diet approach.
In the non-diet approach, all foods are legal.
There are no
"good" foods or "bad" foods.
You must believe this. Sudden changes and/or
drastic restrictions of high-fat foods when
you have a preference or craving for fat
will result in feelings of deprivation. No
one can or should go through life depriving
themselves of foods they really enjoy. You
must learn how to make gradual healthy changes
to the foods you love while experimenting
with and learning to appreciate new flavors
and textures.
Punishment vs. Pleasure.
If you're having a special diet meal that's
different from what the rest of your family
or friends are eating, you'll feel as though
you're being punished. In order to be successful
in changing your eating habits, you must
look forward to and enjoy each meal you
eat. This doesn't mean that you have to
learn to like rice cakes and celery. It
means you must learn how to make simple
changes in the foods you love.
Perhaps one of your favorite meals is fried
chicken, a baked potato, and salad. Small
changes in how the food is prepared can turn
this traditionally high-fat meal into a low-fat
well- balanced one. Simply marinating a skinless
chicken breast in sweet and sour sauce, rolling
it in bread crumbs, and baking it makes the
chicken a lot less fattening than if it's
fried. Instead of butter or regular sour
cream on your potato, try low-fat or nonfat
sour cream or a reduced fat ranch dressing.
Try using a non-fat or low-fat salad dressing
rather than a regular dressing and adding
as many vegetables to your salad as possible
for their additional flavor, texture and
nutrients. Any or all of these changes drastically
reduce the amount of fat in the meal without
sacrificing flavor or feelings of satisfaction.
Making it last.
Healthy eating patterns can only occur when
you're enjoying all the foods you eat.
If you're eating low-fat foods just to
be healthy but without enjoying the flavors
and textures or how they make you feel,
this most likely won't be a permanent change.
However, if you begin enjoying healthy
foods, you're far more likely to stick
with healthy eating for life.
Many people also enjoy eating out but associate
this with being "bad" or eating "illegal"
foods. Fortunately, it is very possible to
eat a healthy, low-fat meal in a restaurant.
You don't need to forego your favorite foods
or eat before you go out with friends or
family. The same decision-making process
occurs whether you eat at home or go out
to a restaurant. Many people think that they
have two options when eating: eating for
taste and pleasure or eating for health.
As you learn and practice healthy eating
techniques, these two options will become
one and the same. Good luck and enjoy all
the wonderful benefits of a healthy, active
lifestyle.
Contributing writer Chad
Tackett is the President
of Global
Health and Fitness (GHF),
has degrees in Exercise and Heath Science
and Nutrition, is a Certified Personal
Trainer, and is a regular guest lecturer
to both professional and lay audiences
on the principles of effective exercise
and good nutrition. |
