Am I a Cheater?

I hate the word cheat.  If I use the word cheat, that insinuates that I am dieting and I am not- I am living a new and healthy lifestyle.

No matter how healthy a person I am, no matter how much willpower or self determination I may have, lets face it- I am only human.  A human with real cravings and a real sweet tooth.  Now and then I do have something that isn't on my "healthy list" but I don't call it cheating, I call it a reward.  A reward for taking care of myself, for my determination.  Here is the catch...

There is a fine line between an occasionally reward and slipping back into the mentality where my subconscious begins to try and convince me that it's okay to do more indulging because:

• a bite here and a bite there is OK because after all,  it is just a bite and I have been doing so good that it wouldn't even offset the good I've done
• I can have two portions of that because it is the "healthy" version of this which is way fattening and loaded with sugar, so really I am not making a bad decision, I am still doing good
• everything in moderation...if I just have a little bit to "satisfy" me then it won't effect my goal
• since I have already had a bite of it, I have trashed my day so I may as well finish it
• I will eat this and then make it up later by not having dinner or taking an extra long walk (does that ever end up happening?  NO!  In addition, skipping a meal is bad news..a topic for another day)

The truth is it isn't OK to cheat.  Cheating opens the door to old and bad habits, especially if you have not made it to your first year anniversary of your new healthy lifestyle.  Cheating is the gateway drug to overindulgence. 

Make a conscious decision to stick to your plan all week- no rewards until you have earned one.  Once you have, get something (just one thing such as a dessert- don't choose dinner as your indulgence because collectively- it is one thing), something that you really love- something that you have been looking forward to, but stick to the serving size- in other words don't reward yourself with two pieces of cheesecake...that is a binge not a reward ;)  If you don't want to indulge sinfully, choose something that will just do the trick.  My reward is a chocolate hershey's kiss or a Nature's Valley Granola Thin.  (Notice the first ingredient is WHOLE GRAIN ROLLED OATS).

 

I choose this for two reasons:  1) The serving size is just one and each one is individually wrapped.  There is no guess work here.  If you go back for another one, you know you are having too much.  2)  It has just enough chocolate to make my tastebuds happy and keep my fat/sugar/carb count under control.

My rewards are not once a day, they are are once a week.  I actually have a day picked out for myself so that I can count on it.  I get to Saturday, I have done well for myself all week, I treat myself to a reward and then I get busy doing something else.  Usually I fix myself a nice cup of coffee first so that after I         S  L  O  W  L  Y   eat my treat, tasting every hue of yummyness, I pick up my coffee and move on.  This puts a definate beginning and a definate end to my reward.  No seconds, I have moved onto my coffee.

Take good care of yourself, making healthy choices and then be kind to yourself and give yourself a reward once a week.