18 Jan 2012
Cheating
Cheating is considered bad. Always has been.
Hence, cheating on one’s diet is bad. And many popular diet plans include “cheat days” or “cheat meals”.
It appears to me that some folks just can’t cheat on their diets without ending the diet.
What to do?
One of the current buzz phrases in the diet and nutrition world is, “intermittent fasting”. This means you do without food for longish periods of time, outside of sleep. This is a 180 degree turn around from the six meal per day blueprint.
One of the first programs (if not the original) to tout the idea of intermittent fasting was the Warrior Diet by Ori Hofmekler. There are also periods of OVER-eating. This point tends to be “overlooked”. This is integral to the programs effectiveness.
If “cheating” is a problem, try “OVER-EATING”.
Try to do this a few meals per week, or one day. A great to approach this is to double your usual protein and vegetables for this bigger meal. 16 ounces of sirloin instead of the usual eight. Don’t measure, weigh, or count. Just have 2 servings, or 3 of what you would eat as an “Intelligent Ingester” of food.
You may find the next day that you are not hungry. Don’t eat. You may discover yourself eating and not hungry. Why? Do you tend to eat when bored or in social situations? Change this. Eat only when you’re truly hungry - hunger pains.
Combining intermittent fasting and occasional over-eating is a great way to shed jiggly fat and keep shapely muscle (you must strength train).
Our Caveman ancestors ate when they could and as much as they could. The food they consumed was more difficult - meals were fewer and farther between, they had to be caught and prepared. They couldn’t pull into a drive thru and get a half pre-digested meal deal.
*NOTE* You should discuss any dietary changes with your medical professional, and a nutritionist or dietician. You should research any proposed changes on your own as well. The traditional medical community has helped put us where we are today.
I propose you might eat only when you can prepare a healthy meal with fresh ingredients. Stop at the store grab what you need for the nights meal, prepare and eat. If you can’t get to the store, well, you might have some leftovers. Or you might be fasting.
No time for breakfast? No problem. I don’t think our ancestors had pancakes and bacon every morning. Maybe some nuts and berries or dried meat as they left on the hunt.
Take home messages: Do your own research. Listen to your stomach and your body - carefully. Eat when you are hungry (that means hunger pains). Drink plenty of clear liquid - water. Micro managing your food may not be a good idea for you. Stay away from wheat and wheat gluten, trans fats, milk (not doing what you think), and artificial anything. Limit sodium and sugars.
Hint - keeping processed foods out of your life accomplishes most of this.
