Keeping it balanced

Hey guys,

Can you believe it's Thursday already??? I mean, seriously, where does the time go? I'm back with the plan today ... in fact I've had such a busy morning, when I didn't have any time to eat at all, that I've just been able to have a luxury lunch of panini and Tyrells crisps and a bit of me-time in a coffee shop ... mmmmmm! Feeling a lot less stressed now I've stepped away from my desk for an hour!

The Importance of Being Nutritionally Balanced

One thing I forgot to talk about yesterday was my nutrition report, which I got back from the gym on Tuesday. I was super excited by this, because as it turns out ......

....I'M PRACTICALLY PERFECT!!!!!

Oh yes, I am! I was reading it at the gym with a big grin on my face, because the basic gist of the report was keep doing exactly what you're doing now. Sweeeeeeeet!

For the week they reviewed - which was in fact one of my less brilliant weeks because it was the week I was stuck at home with a completely caned back and hip - I was bang on an adjusted calorie target of 500 under basal metabolic rate. Their target was a daily allowance of 1437, and I was averaging 1407. Booyaka!!

My carbs were at 99% of my suggested RDA - whooop! My proteins were a touch over, my fibre intake a touch under - just need to balance those a bit. My sat fats were under, which is definitely good, my trans fats were a bit over. That last one's something to watch as trans fats are the really nasty ones - however I take comfort in the fact that I was eating much less fresh, home-cooked food that week and more prepared stuff from the supermarket / takeaway - so that explains that - I suspect on a normal week, my trans fats would be quite a bit lower.

Basically though, I've arrived at a place where I eat a nutritionally balanced diet, even on an off week. Awesome job, Sue!! I shall now perform that lesser known manoeuvre - the pat on your own back.

Cheat days

I'm intrigued by this, as I know quite a few people have cheat days after weigh in, and the lovely Lindsay was talking about it earlier.

Now I understand the concept of the cheat day, but I have to admit, it's just not for me. I can't imagine having free-reign over what I eat, for a period each week, and not having to pay attention to the points, because I'd certainly have to pay the consequences on the scales.

I think the problem is that I'm far too logical. Throughout a normal week (we'll ignore holidays or special occasions, because they're a bit different), I approach the whole WW's thing in a very logical manner. Generally, I look at each piece of food and decide whether I want it based on it's impact on my numbers for the day vs. the gratification I'll get. Basically the outcome is how much I want it - and if I really want it, then I'll have it, and work around it.

The outcome of that is that I get everything I want throughout the week. And I decide everything else is just too high a cost for what it is, and I'm not bothered about it.

So here's the thing - why would I then have a cheat day? There's nothing I can't have at any other time during the week. And if I didn't want it then; if I didn't consider it worthy enough of my points on a normal day - why would I suddenly want to eat it on a "cheat day".

The concept of a cheat day kind of feels like going to a shop in a sale and buying everything just because it's a bargain .... whether or not I actually genuinely wanted it before it was a bargain. All you end up with is a load of stuff you didn't really need, and the cost usually adds up to be far more expensive that you'd intended - far more expensive than if you'd just bought the one or two items you actually needed / wanted at full price. Do you see where I'm going with this? A cheat day, for me, just seems like an excuse to eat a load of stuff I don't really want, just because I can.

On the flip-side I can understand that those people who have cheat days are quite possibly much stricter than I am during the rest of the week and need to blow off steam sometimes .... I just don't think I could function like that.

Do you guys have cheat days? Or even cheat meals?

And how do you cope with the constant switching on and off of your point-counting brain? I find mine's pretty much constantly switched on, even when I'm on holiday, or supposedly off plan for some reason - I just can't forget the numbers (even if I then choose to ignore them lol).

Overall, what I discovered, thinking about cheat days, is that I've been doing this so long, that I don't need a day off as I've just fallen into a pattern. I have what I need as I go along, and just try and balance any splurges . Every couple of weeks, I relax up a bit, last week was one, but I never think of giving up on the plan altogether, and that's just how it works out for me.

What I really discovered though, is that I'm happy now with how I eat. And that kinda feels really nice.