I was naughty

http://bodybuilding.about.com/od/bodybuildingfaq/f/dietcheatmeal.htm


I had a cheat meal today and it was Heaven. Pure Heaven. I may have glimpsed the very face of Jesus for a moment. I had Mexican food followed by a cupcake that was made for me by my friend, Jo, and it was wonderful. The cake part was dark chocolate and the icing was milk chocolate. I have no idea what the nutrition stats were and I don’t care. I am not even going to think about it. There is some disagreement in the fitness world (like so many topics) about whether splurge meals are necessary. Some say they have a biological function and others say it’s all in your head. I dunno. But I can tell you that even if it’s a placebo, the occasional splurge meal does seem to stoke my fire up. It could be that because you’ve had a fatty meal you feel extra motivated to workout harder than normal but I believe in the idea that a well-timed feast shakes your body out of homeostasis and makes it say, “What the hell is this? I’m not accustomed to this.” If Jo’s cupcake puts me in the hospital with a diabetic coma, y’all can come visit me in the ICU and point out that the cheat meal theory was wrong, LOL. Or if the button on these pants comes flying off and takes someone’s eye out, I’ll be taken to jail. I’m certainly willing to admit when I made a bad call. But I think today’s feast was a great call. I read a good article from Prevention on MSN Health last week and one of the points it made was that when women are ready to have a cheat meal, they shouldn’t agonize with guilt over it. Just have the meal, enjoy it and move on. Essentially the article argued that men take that type of attitude and as a result, are not as likely to have a bender of depressed/anxious eating later. That makes sense to me. It’s easy to get negative and to feel like no pleasure ought to be allowed when you are trying to get in good shape. Like one burrito is going to be the breaking point between whether you are fit or obese. Logically, you realize this is stupid but emotionally, it’s hard for us women not to beleaguer ourselves when we just want a damn donut or we just want a lunch of Mexican food and a homemade cupcake. The older I get the more I realize that it’s about making long-term goals a journey and not a sprint race. I know that sounds corny as hell but it’s true. This is America: we want a quick fix. We want everything to happen overnight and if it doesn’t, we get frustrated. I have been in that majority of people many times before. I suppose maybe that’s part of what makes this time different for me. I may not be ready for “maintenance” mode for another year. Maybe two. Who knows. It’s liberating in a way when you look at it as part of the lifetime relationship you are having with yourself. We all have to eat. And we all ought to get some degree of exercise. These facts are not going to change. So why rush the process? Or why deny the occasional splurge? A few weeks ago, I checked out the Eat This, Not That 2010 Edition from the library. I don’t care if this sounds heretical, I disagreed with the writers on several things. One example is that the authors want chocolate milk obliterated wholesale. I get that the book is written most likely for people who are not turning themselves into full-time weight lifters/part-time runners. I get it. But to tell people that certain foods are always off-limits is stupid. Chocolate milk is a popular recovery drink because it’s a cheap one-stop-shop for calories, fat, protein, carbs and vitamins after a grueling workout. Another example is that they argue the breakfast cereal Cream of Wheat ought to be eliminated because it’s “pure carbs.” Interesting. Because it’s also low calorie, fat-free and full of vitamins and minerals. I was reading the book like, WTF? Common sense would tell you not to eat a plate of food at a restaurant that has 2200 calories and 150 fat grams. Clearly this tells me that it’s a basic book with a very basic function of making people aware that greasy restaurant food is unhealthy. Thanks for the info—it was quite a newsflash. My friend, Johnny, told me the story of pizza sopping with ranch dressing and how anyone ought to recognize prima facie that this is not a healthy choice. I think that pizza-ranch combo should go in the 2011 issue of Eat This, Not That. “Hey kids, pizza soaking in ranch dressing is not good.” Golly, gee. I had no idea!


Alright, I must allow this cheat meal to digest. All the blood has left my brain to go to my stomach and it’s making me cantankerous. (And sleepy.)