On Wednesdays...

I hope you all wore pink today!

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I didn't.

I totally spaced off the tenth anniversary of Mean Girls. But, considering the fact that I'm stuck in high school for the rest of my life, I think I pay enough homage to that flick.

Not only did I not wear pink this morning, but I barely pulled myself together enough to look somewhat presentable. I woke up this morning more tired than I think I have ever been. Conferences last night truly did me in.

I chugged my coffee but still had a hard time waking up. It was a rough morning.

But, the day got better.

After my afternoon professional development, I headed home to change and grab the Scheel's gift card that my aunt gave me for Christmas: I need a new race outfit, after all.

Side note: you should never, ever, ever wear new clothing on race day. I, however, don't like to listen to solid, tried-and-true advice. Instead, I like cute, new clothes.

Unfortunately, Scheel's did not have the Under Armor tops that I like, so I headed to my favorite place for workout gear, Old Navy. I had some Super Cash burning a hole in my pocket, and I ended up getting over $100 worth of goodies for $60: two sports bras, one pair of capris, and three workout tops. I was pretty stoked.

Then, I met one of my bowling buddies out for dinner. His birthday was yesterday, and we needed to celebrate. Per his choice, we hit up Sakari for some delicious sushi. After, we headed to our last bowling night of the season.

And now I'm about ready to pass out. :)

Breakfast:

This looks oddly similar to yesterday's, doesn't it? Well, friends, that's because it is exactly the same: three eggs scrambled with sauteed mushrooms and onion and topped with avocado and salsa.

Lunch: I didn't even bother to take a photo of my lunch because, like breakfast, it was the exact same as yesterday's. I need a little variety in my Instagram masterpieces. Again, it was a super-delicious burger, sauteed mushrooms, and avocado. (Oh, and I also ate an apple.)

I'm pretty sure those burgers are going to be a fairly regular item on my menu. Holy yum.

Snack: MB forced two pieces of chocolate (mini Krackel bars) down my throat. Just kidding: as I mentioned before, this was a choice that I made.

It was, however, not a choice I needed to make. I could've refrained from eating the chocolate and would've been just fine.

Dinner:

Clearly this was a Whole30 break, but it was oh, so worth it. We ordered four rolls: the godzilla, the dynamite crab, the avocado, and the spicy tuna. And, we devoured all of it.

Snack: On the last night of bowling, we always have "fun night," where a strike only requires nine pins (for men) or eight pins (for women), and people bring lots of goodies to share. Well, I had approximately zero ounces of self-control tonight, and I indulged in a cookie that one of my teammates made as well as a small cream puff bite.

Again, I could've totally just passed those up, but I did not. It was completely my choice, but wish I had thought about the choice I was making before I absent-mindedly grabbed for the treats.

I am in no way saying that eating the chocolate at the meeting or the cookie(s) at bowling was wrong and something that I shouldn't have done; I am saying that it is something that I could have thought about a bit more in order to make a more cognizant, less habitual choice.

But you know what? Tomorrow is a new day. :)


What is your favorite high school movie?

The Breakfast Club is a definite winner in my book, but I absolutely love Mean Girls, too. Oh, and 10 Things I Hate About You. And Can't Hardly Wait.

Clearly I have an unhealthy attachment to high school...

How to Cheat on a Diet and Not Feel Bad

I feel like this is a common issue: the guilt that comes after cheating on a diet, a healthy living plan, whatever you want to call it.

Before I get into that issue, though, I must say this: food should not have that much control over us. What we put into our bodies should in no way make us feel good or bad about ourselves in a guilt vs. non-guilt manner. Do not give it that power.

If you are like me, however, and are still trying to cut ties with the dominance that food has over you, read on.

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Picture this scenario:

You have been eating well for several weeks. You have filled your shopping cart -- and your tummy -- with nothing but vegetables, lean meats, healthy fats, and a bit of fruit. Your clothes are fitting better, your endurance and recovery is improving, and you just feel goooooood.

Your friends invite you out to happy hour, and you don't want to look weird (and you think "I've been so good lately -- I deserve it," so you order a cocktail and share some appetizers: a cheese plate, some onion rings, a plate of nachos. Pretty soon you're a few cocktails in, and dinner rolls around. You're tired of eating salads and good-for-you food, so you say screw it and share a pizza with a friend. And then comes dessert. You figure since you've already messed up with the drinks, the apps, and the pizza, why not? You order a slice of cheesecake and devour it in just a few minutes.

You wake up the next morning: not only does your stomach hurt from the crap that you ingested (and your head is pounding from the cabernet), but you feel a huge sense of guilt. "Why did I eat like that? I had been doing so well!" The guilt is overwhelming.

We've all been there.

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Personally, I have been there 1,000 (and one) times. And most of the times that I feel that insurmountable guilt, I just keep eating crappy. I think to myself, "Well, I already ate one Oreo and messed everything up. I might as well eat four more. What do I have to lose at this point?" And the vicious spiral continues -- and the guilt over one cheat meal turns into a crazy amount of guilt over one (or two or three) cheat months.

One reason that I stuck to my Whole30 for longer than 30 days was because I was nervous of what would happen when I stopped being so vigilant about my diet and nutrition: would I fall back into old traps? Would I gain back all of the weight that I lost? Would I go back to sleeping horribly every night and feeling bloated every day? How could I get back on track if I slipped?

And then I remembered one of the things that Melissa and Dallas stressed in It Starts With Food and on the Whole30 website:

Information from Whole30's website

How true is that? No one is making you eat that French fry. No one is forcing you to order the tiramisu. No one is pouring tequila down your throat (unless, of course, you're in Cancun on Spring Break -- I wouldn't doubt that someone would be pouring Jose straight from the bottle into your mouth).

The food that we put into our bodies is our choice and our choice alone.

So, let's get back to the topic at hand: how are we to cheat on a diet and not feel the crazy guilt afterwards?

It's easy:

Don't consider your "cheat" a cheat. Instead, view it as a "choice." When you think of "cheating" as a "choice," the guilt inherently goes away.

I am currently on Day 57 of my lifestyle choice. That means that 27 days ago, I finished my Whole30. In the last 27 days, I have had six days where I have "cheated." But, on each of those days, I made a cognizant choice to do so, and I gave my permission to eat non-compliant (according to Whole30) food. I did not necessarily "go overboard" and throw myself in a dumpster of Sour Patch Kids, but I consciously chose to indulge in the few items of food and drink that I did.

As a result of making intentional choices to stray from my usual nutritional plan, I felt no guilt. (I did, however, feel a whole lot of tummy issues. But guilt was nowhere in my system.)

So there you have it: the easiest way to not feel guilty after cheating on a diet is to not consider it cheating but choosing.

Thank you for listening to this week's PSA. :)

How have you avoided guilt after a splurge? How have you ended food's reign of control in your life?