Cheat Day...and the Rest of the Week!

Today is my "cheat day" where I allow myself one treat. I started this recently because Hey! You gotta enjoy a treat once in a while, but I tend to go over board when I have them often. For the rest of the week I stick to a diet low in refined sugar and enjoy the natural sweetness of healthy foods...Yes, even in vegetables!

To continue with a healthy diet I want my treat to be somewhat "healthy." I put together these Oatmeal Raisin cookies today by substituting regular ingredients with healthier choices and decreasing the amount of more unhealthy ingredients, like butter. Next time I make them I'm going to try different types of flours/grains (like oat, spelt or even quinoa) and different sweeteners. But today they turned out great with the perfect amount of sweetness. One reason why I do this is that my body doesn't tolerate junk/super sweet food very well anymore because of my recent change to an even healthier eating style! This is a wonderful thing.

Here's what I came up with today...

2/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sucanat
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon (I love cinnamon!)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cup rolled oats.
Raisins

Have any of you heard of sucanat? A friend of mine introduced it to me recently. It's basically unrefined sugar and even has a good vitamin and mineral content! And the volume content of actual sugar is lower vs. refined sugar. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sucanat.

Here is the eating schedule I have decided to follow.
This is what works for me. Other people might do better allowing themselves a small treat every day or more leeway in another area. If you can have the willpower to not go overboard, by all means do. But following an eating schedule that will encourages the healthiest eating possible, with the most nutrient-dense foods possible will ensure the healthiest YOU possible!! I don't believe in dieting, I believe in healthy eating.

Monday- Friday

• Clean eating
• Fruits & Vegetables (Lots of salads for me!)
• Lean meats (chicken, fish) and beans, unsalted non-roasted nuts
• Only whole grains but not many servings
• No dairy (I'm finding that my body's not a fan of it!)
• Healthy oils from natural PB, all-natural salad dressing, olive oil, etc...
• Low in saturated fats, refined sugar and salt.
• I avoid white foods: potatoes, refined grains, and excessive amounts of salt.

Saturday/Sunday

• One cheat day with a treat and one serving of red meat with dinner.
• Clean eating

One tool for healthy eating from Beachbody that I love is "Michi's Ladder"--> CHECK IT OUT! I LOVE having a simple list telling me what foods are best for clean eating and what foods might be a better choice over a similar food item. I've also heard great things about MyFitnessPal.com and how it's wonderful for keeping track of what you're eating, and being able to easily look up a certain food and see calorie/nutrition content, etc.

What has helped me change my diet?


The #1 thing that has help my diet is Shakeology!! I used to be a HUGE sugar-aholic. Now I don't crave it nearly as much. Hardly at all actually. Shakeology is great for curbing cravings for junk and sweets and I am living proof. The #2 thing has been getting junk food (specifically those sweets for me) out of the house!! You are much more likely to eat something when you have easy access to it. And #3 is chewing gum! If I am craving food (especially at night) when I know I've already had plenty to eat, I chew my favorite flavor of gum, Doublemint and it helps tremendously!

One thing is for sure when it comes to nutrition- it's a continual learning process! It's important to continue to learn about nutrition and fine tune your diet the way you need to.