There are only a few things which bring humanity together without any barriers, and food is among the best ways to get a glimpse into a culture. While some may argue that the depiction of a culture lies in its traditions and art forms, we believe it is food that truly connects people regardless of where they are from around the world.
Unfortunately, we now live in an age where our lifestyles have become significantly sedentary, requiring us to control our calorie intake.
This means that we must work out and also follow a strict diet plan if we hope to maintain a healthy lifestyle and a lean physique. These diet plans usually entail strict regimes which disallow followers from indulging in indulgences as they carry thousands of calories without much nutritional value.
However, we believe it is not necessary for diet plan followers to curtail their favorite treats altogether. In fact, there is a way that you can incorporate your high-calorie indulgences within your plan without significantly disrupting your calorie intake.
Change What You Call Them
Usually, dietitians call them cheat meals, however we are going to shift away from that guilt-infusing name and suggest something that is more inviting of positive energy: we will call them treat meals! According to Martha McKittrick, when we call them cheat meals, we are basically saying that those foods are bad in themselves and consuming them is detrimental to our health, which is not true.
McKittrick, who is a registered dietitian, believes that foods are not good or bad in themselves; rather the amount we consume determines what kind of impact they have on our health. For example, if you consume a little bit of cake, it will not have any detrimental impact on you, however consuming the same in a large quantity can be very unhealthy.
If you have to cheat on your diet in order to consume delicacies, then that means you are not satisfied with the way your diet has been planned, at least according to Mascha Davis who is also a registered dietitian. The first step is to accept that they are not bad for your health, and so calling them a treat or something similarly positive helps take away the guilt and also improves your satisfaction with your diet plan.
How Planning Out Your Treats Benefits You
As human beings, we are automatically attracted to rewards and find them to be great motivators for working hard. Whether it’s a job or a competition, a reward is essentially what we aim to achieve. When you know that, after a week of eating only low-carb meals to help you achieve your weight loss goals, you will receive a treat, you will have something to look forward to at the weekend, which would motivate you to stick by your diet without compromise.
When a treat meal becomes part of your diet plan, you are no longer cheating your diet. Rather, you are simply following a plan that includes a treat. However, this does not mean that you binge-eat on your favorite high-calorie snack when it’s time for your treat. To ensure that you consume your treats in moderation, Davis suggests that it’s best if you consume a small treat every day after dinner, like a oat cookie or a piece of dark chocolate.
You Must Love Your Diet
The whole idea is to make your diet lovable enough so that you follow it on a daily basis in the long term. If your diet is too strict for you to follow, then it would become very difficult for you to maintain it. According to Davis, the best way to improve your diet’s attractiveness is to make your favorite foods healthier.
This means that you may still order pizza but only with a crust that is whole grain, toppings which are mostly vegetables, and cheese that is half in quantity, or instead of having ice cream perhaps a scoop of sorbet would be better for you.