Permission to Indulge

March 30, 2009

Adopting a healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean you can never indulge in a yummy dessert again. In fact, it means just the opposite — a healthy lifestyle means that you learn how to work all sorts of foods into your eating plan (notice I didn’t use the word ‘diet’).
Here’s a bit of information it took me a long time to accept:

One piece of cheesecake is not going to make you unhealthy or fat or sick.

If you are overweight, I can assure you that the occasional dessert didn’t pack on the pounds. The truth is that it takes an extra 3,500 calories to put on one pound - that’s 3,500 calories more than you burn.

Chances are it took you months or even years of bad eating habits to get where you are.

OK, so it’s not going to be the end of the world if you indulge once in awhile. The question is how to do it without derailing your healthy lifestyle. Here are the guidelines I use to give myself permission to indulge.

• I allow myself a treat no more than once a week — many weeks I don’t splurge at all.
• I NEVER eat a treat on an emotional whim. I ALWAYS take time to think about what I’m about to do and consider whether I really want the treat, or if I’m having an emotional reaction to some other situation (boredom, stress, etc.). The question I ask myself is, “If you eat this, will you enjoy every bite and not feel guilty afterward?” If the answer is yes, I treat myself. If the answer is no, I walk away.
• If I do decide to indulge, I make a promise to myself that I will not have any regrets or beat myself up. I will enjoy the treat and then get back to my healthy meal plan.
• When eating a treat, I eat it very slowly and savor every bite. After all, if I’m going to splurge I want to enjoy it.

My point in writing this post is not to tell you to go out and eat sweets or other high calorie foods. Rather, it is to say that you are only human and it will do you no good to deprive yourself completely.

The key is to make wise choices, limit your splurges to a couple of times a month, and enjoy every bite when you do decide to treat yourself.

You may find over time that the foods you choose to splurge on become more healthy. I’m finding that instead of a bowl of ice cream, I’d rather have a frozen juice bar. Instead of cookies or cake, I eat a granola bar.

Give yourself permission to indulge occasionally and then hold yourself accountable for eating healthy the rest of the time.

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