Sunday, November 15, 2009

Day 44, 45 & 46: Fed Up

I am feeling so done with Cheat Days. They are, almost without exception, always disappointing. Yesterday was no exception, save for a delicious Thai meal that I was able to share with my friend. But for the most part, I ate crap and felt like crap for pretty well the whole day.

Neither my body or the scale thanked me this morning. And you know what? IT JUST WASN'T WORTH IT.

I have been dieting and exercising with such momentum over the past couple of weeks. It's been lovely to see that scale go down down down. I guess it's true what they say: Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.

However, I can't just cut out Cheat Days. Or rather, I won't. I think they're extremely valuable for learning how to eat as well as for hormonal regulation. So I've decided to try something radical in light of all the recent Cheat Day disappointments: I am skipping next week's Cheat Day. I'm a little nervous about this because despite the constant disappointment, I always do look so forward to Cheat Day. So here's the thing - I will take TWO Cheat Days in a row the following weekend.

This plan was borne more out of necessity than science. My birthday is coming up and on November 27th, we're having a big family birthday party and on November 28th, I'm having a birthday lunch (and spa day!) with a friend. There truly will be no easy way to even remotely count calories at these events. So, since I have to take two Cheat Days in a row in two weeks, I am skipping next week's Cheat Day altogether.

I hope this will accomplish three things:
1. I will actually enjoy a Cheat Day.
2. Since there are 2 Cheat Days in a row, I won't feel the need to pack a bunch of crap into 24 hours.
3. I will have two solid weeks of awesome dieting momentum. This weekly break, while it certainly hasn't hurt me, always does throw things off a little.

And you know what? Instead of intentionally gorging myself on whatever crosses my path, I'm really going to try to just behave. And eat like a normal person. Of course there will be birthday cake and such which I fully plan to enjoy, but the rest of my day doesn't have to be unhealthy.

This should be interesting.

My big bowl of plain oatmeal has never sounded so appealing this morning. That's the one great thing about Cheat Day - eating on The Plan sounds so fantastic the next morning by comparison. I know I'm going to eat well and feel great all day and I love that.

Another 2 pounds are gone and my BMI is now right smack dab in the middle of "overweight". Since I started on the cusp of "obese", I'm quite happy about that.

Getting there. Slowly but SURELY.

2 comments:

JavaChick said...

My opinion - for what it's worth - it's best to use the "cheats" when you really want/need them - like a birthday, or a dinner out with friends. I think it's a good theory - there is room in a healthy eating plan to allow yourself treats, and just because you indulge for a meal or a day or two doesn't mean you're done with healthy eating (or weight loss). But maybe cheating just for the sake of it is not worth it.

Mimi said...

See, I tend to find treats...uh...treat-like because of stuff associated with them. Like, if I walked down to Wendy's and got the orgasmic-looking Cookie Dough Frosty...I doubt I'd enjoy it. I'd wonder what I really got out of a big ol' cup of sugar. But if a bunch of friends and I were going to a movie and stopped to grab a treat and laughed and talked and took pictures, then you BET I'd adore that Frosty.

So perhaps, instead of a "cheat day," why not set aside a sexy, nice dinner with hubby? Or a fun little bistro outing? Order whatever you want and of course have dessert--but make it about your relationship, not just the food.

Think about it--people always talk about the food on cruises...but what winds up in a picture frame is the sunset.

Oh, awesome progress pics by the way!