R U CRAVIN THAT SUGAAAA???

CHOCOLATE, COOKIES, BROWNIES, SUGAR-COATED GOODIES, etc.. And the list goes on & on & on!! What happens when we eat clean all the time and ignore those cravings that our body yearns for once in awhile? I eat clean pretty much most of the time but what I have recently found out is that denying my body that treat when the craving is strong may not always be the right decision.

I think that if you eat clean all week long you should allow your body that "cheat" meal on the weekend or whenever you decide that cheat meal should be. I found that ignoring that craving to allow myself that treat was only leading to over-indulging when I decided to have that sweet temptation. That only resulted in consuming excess calories & feeling miserable afterwards because I was making up for lost cravings. Obviously if you are training for something, have some photo shoots or whatever it may be coming up then of course you may want to wait on having those cheat meals till afterwards. I would say as a general rule of thumb when you eat clean all week you deserve a reward and you should treat yourself to something yummy.

I don't mean go drive to the largest buffet in town & pig out for an hour as your cheat meal but eat something yummy that your craving while maintaining portion control. Once you've had that cheat meal that your body is craving then your body should be satisfied and back on schedule till the next cheat meal. I find that solution works best for me in maintaining balance in my diet. If I ignore that craving when it hits me then when I do finally give in my calories for the day quadruple. That's not a good thing so to avoid that from happening I enjoy my cheat when it comes time!

Eating healthy is about finding balance within yourself & depriving yourself all the time only results in the opposite! All I am trying to say is that you can eat healthy all the time but if your body is craving something sweet or salty you need to reward yourself that meal sometimes. Your body just as your mind needs change so we need to listen to it and do it!!

Many times you will find that after you consume that cheat meal you may even look better then you did before! Allowing yourself a treat is not a bad thing, it only becomes bad when you have no portion control & you start binging. You will not have a binge if you do not deprive yourself all the time.

I am a sweet lover over salt so on the weekends or whenever I designate my cheat meal to be I take it in sugar instead of salty foods! You need to enjoy life and taking away all the good stuff it has to offer will only lead you to misery!!

My advice! Eat clean & make sure you have that cheat meal in your eating plan somewhere! People get very cranky especially when it comes to food and eating clean in general! Don't make those miserable around you because you are depriving yourself of something you shouldn't have to!!

**REMEMBER** keep counting your calories daily and know how much you need to burn!! That way it won't matter when you have that yummy treat! It won't show anyhow-or it may surprise you & you will look better...:)