In the past week I have eaten: Pizza twice, Chocolate twice, Cupcakes twice, A sugar cookie, Macaroni and Cheese, and a Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Oh, and I have brownies, cookies andcookie dough in my freezer. How can I possibly not feel bad about that? A nutrition columnist? Consuming fatty, sugary, calorie-laden meals, hoarding desserts in her freezer and still considering herself a prime example of a healthy individual?
Well, I don’t feel one ounce of guilt. In fact, I’d consume every fatty, sugary laden bite all over again. I actually feel healthier for doing so.
There are two elements of nutrition: A physical aspect, and a mental/emotional aspect. You can feel the physical, stomach rumbling pangs of hunger, but you can also experience the emotional and mental yearning for the taste of a certain food. You may be satisfied physically by a large salad, but you won’t be mentally or emotionally satisfied if you’d been thinking of a hamburger or a slice of pizza the entire time.
However, you were trying to be “healthy” so you ordered the salad in an attempt to maintain the stigma behind healthy eating that our nutritionally uniformed society assumes is the only path to physical fitness: Plain grilled chicken breasts, green beans, and romaine lettuce. It’s low sugar, low carb, low fat, and high in protein. It’s all a bunch of garbage, really, and it tastes like it too. It’s impossible to maintain a diet so stringent that it requires you to cut out all of your favorite foods. And even if it were possible (which would require the self-control of an Army Brigade), it would be absolutely un-enjoyable.
Even if you’re attempting to lose weight, a rigorously healthy diet may not be the best tactic. Dietary practices are an emotional relationship. And just like any other relationship, it’s difficult to maintain if you’re miserable. Take my mother, for instance: she struggled with her weight her entire life, losing and regaining weight for years. This trend is known in the health field as “yo-yo dieting.” She went from one diet to the next, losing a few pounds here and there but eventually falling off her new diet and regaining the weight.
After years of her losing and gaining trend she was exhausted, fed-up, fat and unhealthy. She wanted the weight off-for good. And she didn’t want to have stick to a diet of iceberg lettuce and rice crisps to accomplish it. So, instead of another crazy diet wherein she was forced to give up “normal” food, she familiarized herself with the caloric information of her favorite foods and commonly consumed items, as well as her own nutritional needs.
Then, she ate only when she was hungry and stayed within the parameters of her Daily Intake Values (DIV). After adding exercise to the mix, the weight began to melt off-iceberg lettuce free! She felt and looked better than ever, and this time, the weight stayed off.
By allowing herself to consume foods that would be considered taboo in other diets (cheeseburgers, chips, etc.), she actually lost weight. Her willpower was ten times stronger when she was allowed to change her emotional/taste connection to food instead of surrendering it altogether. She may not have consumed a Big Mac every single day, but if she was hungry and craving one, she would consume it within the framework of her diet. In essence, she adhered to the “Everything in moderation” approach.
Even dieticians agree that this is the best approach, recognizing that people who are forced to make dramatic dietary changes will become discouraged and quit. For example, a dessert lover would not be advised to give up sugar entirely. Instead, they would be advised to limit their dessert intake to once or twice a week. This would save the person calories of consuming that food daily, but it would still allow them their favorite indulgences in moderation while maintaining proper health.
I also adhere to this rule of thumb: I consume what I want, but listen to my own hunger cues to tell me when I am truly full, instead of continuing to eat past the point of fullness just because it tastes good. I eat pizza regularly, but I stop after 2 or 3 slices because that is when I am truly full and satisfied. Also, pizza is high and calcium (from the cheese) and lycopene (an antioxidant found in tomatoes and tomato products). Be sure to avoid high-fat meats like bacon, pepperoni, and sausage, as well as “deep dish” or “Cheese stuffed crust” options.
When preparing a box of macaroni and cheese, nix the butter: it adds 540 Calories and 43 grams of saturated fat. Simply use the amount of (nonfat) milk called for on the box. To prepare a healthier grilled cheese sandwich, again forgo the butter and grill your sandwich on a pan with calorie-free nonstick spray or on a sandwich grill. You can also use whole-wheat bread and reduced fat cheese if desired, although I choose to use white bread and full-fat cheese because I prefer the flavor of the full-fat product and the consistency of the white bread is more reminiscent of the grilled cheese I grew up on.
So how does one go about consuming their favorite items without “going overboard”? Don’t consume them in such large quantities or so often that you are exceeding your necessary intake. Also, even if you do over consume, don’t feel guilty or as if you should forgo your healthful lifestyle altogether. Simply carry on and pick up your healthy habits the next day, and remember to go a little easier on “treats” the next time.
Standard (approximate) 2,000 Calorie Consumption
Breakfast
Two slices whole wheat toast with 1 tbsp of I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter Light Spread
1 Medium Orange
1 Yoplait Nonfat yogurt
Tall Sugar Free Vanilla Latte with nonfat milk
Lunch
Sandwich with two slices whole wheat bread, 3 oz lean ham or turkey, 1 slice American cheese and mustard, 1 medium baked sweet potato or 1 cup baby carrots
Dinner
1 cup cooked pasta mixed with 1/2 cup chickpeas, 2 tbsp light Alfredo sauce, 1 tbsp Pesto sauce
Salad made with spinach, shredded carrot, mushrooms, red pepper strips, onion, bean sprouts, beets, broccoli with 2 tbsp light dressing
Snack
½ Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich with 2 tbsp peanut butter and 1 tbsp Sugar free Jelly
Banana
Treat/Dessert
1 cup Dreyers slow churned ice cream, 2 cups Fruit Loops, or 12 Squares Lindt Dark Chocolate bar, or 4 regular Oreos, or 1 standard sized pack of skittles…..(Are you getting this? The options are pretty endless, with all options listed above around the 200 Calorie mark…..)
So go ahead and consume your guilty pleasures with a guilt-free conscience. As best said by the French Philosopher Voltaire, “Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.”
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