Taking the Guilt Out of Pleasure
This may be the most appropriate week to address this: GUILTY PLEASURES! We all have them. Some of us take them in the form of salt, others in the form of sweet. Either way, they are there. They’re lurking at the coffee bar, on the menu, next to the cashier, and in the most well-lit area in the entire spot. Coincidence? I think not. They’re on that aisle at the grocery store, that you have to race down, like a kid scared of the basement. They’re at your best friends house, conveniently located in plain view. You hear what she’s saying, but chocolate covered almonds are distracting as hell!
You’re not alone. We know this about guilty pleasures. One of the beautifully common things that come with being human. What we don’t know is how to give in without giving up on restraint, self-control and sabotaging all the hard work we do to stay healthy and fit. I thought of some easy-to-follow guidelines that keep me strong when I fear my craving will take over. I know rules suck, but I am a person that operates really well in structured situations with boundaries. So if it helps me, it may help you!
Rule #1: Allow yourself a timeline for your guilty pleasure. If the only time you crave sweets is when you are PMSing, then that is the only time during the month that you can have chocolate, or french fries. That’s once every 28 days! That’s pretty good! You have time to plan what you will treat yourself, and as you get closer to the date, you have an image of what will satiate this craving. When you walk by a frozen yogurt store, you remember that you’ve got 12 days until you can indulge.
Rule #2: Have a plan. You can’t pick french fries off of your friend’s plate. Do you know how many of my friends eat french fries regularly? Or how often I have switched plates with them to finish “their” french fries? That’s why I have a plan. If I’m going to have french fries, I make them. I bake them, with salt and garlic and I love them. They are exactly what I want. They are also probably lower in fat, oil, salt and cellulite. The way I see it.
Rule #3: Try to make it as healthy as possible. If you know you’re going to a wedding in March, then that will be the night you have your cake for the month. Since you don’t want to go crazy, choose the smallest slice. You’ll feel better trust me.
If you follow these three simple rules, I swear, you will feel okay about it. You have to give in sometimes. Maybe it’ll be every two weeks? Whatever works for you. But if you go into a craving not making a decision beforehand, you could end up getting really upset with yourself afterwards! That’s never worth it, so make sure you go into your decisions, especially with what you put in your body, consciously. It’s when we lose ourselves, lose track of what we are eating, that we truly start to lose our grip. And the more you practice this kind of eating, the easier it will be.
It’s this approach that keep us in our bodies. They are called “guilty pleasures” because they probably aren’t that good for you. But if you approach them with a level head, then you don’t have to feel guilty. Then, it’s just pleasure. Clean and easy. Who doesn’t love that?!
I will let you in on my secrets…my guilty pleasures. I know you find some pleasure in these as well..come on just admit it! No need to be shy here.
