Save the Sweets

http://www.flickr.com/, photo by Mihoda

If a regular Oreo has 53 calories, and a low fat Oreo has 50 calories, which one will you eat? What if you discovered that the "healthy" ice cream you've been forcing down has just as much added sugar as the really good stuff--which one would you eat? I'd definitely choose the less healthy option!
Our family tries to get in a good cheat about once a week, where we slurp down a giant bowl of Sweet Cece's frozen yogurt, throw down on dessert at a birthday party, or load up our plates at a church potluck. We say no most of the time to sugary, processed, junk food, so it's fun to actually say yes on those planned occasions.

http://www.flickr.com/, photo by tsakshaug

Here's the thing: foods like Oreos, ice cream, and candy should only be consumed on a very limited basis, no matter what their clever manufacturers lead you to believe. They're processed--they're full of damaged fats, refined sugars, and a bunch of additional ingredients none of us can pronouce. They taste fabulous, but they really need to be saved for a special treat. Even if they're low fat. Even if they're labeled "100 calories." Eating foods like these too often has gotten our nation into terrible health.

It's so easy to fall into the trap of trying to eat healthy and depriving yourself of foods that taste great, and yet still eat foods that are terrible for you. Let me give an example. After not darkening the door of a fast food restaurant for months, our family decided to eat lunch at Chick fil-A one afternoon. We had eaten healthy all week, so I ordered the chicken nugget meal with waffle fries. It was a complete cheat.

My husband, on the other hand, decided he was not going to cheat. He really wanted to stick with healthy eating, so he ordered a salad. With croutons. And dressing. His croutons were made out of white bread, and his dressing? Don't even get me started. Full, full, full of stuff way worse than what was in my meal. I walked out of there completely satisfied with my splurge, while he walked out, well, probably wishing he had splurged! His body got all the refined flour and damaged fats he would have gotten from a cheat, yet he didn't get to enjoy the pleasure of one.

Please don't hear me saying that you shouldn't bother to order a salad if you eat out. A salad can be a great option, provided you carefully watch what you put into it. Drowning it with dressing is going to present a problem, along with adding processed bacon bits or croutons. Another option is to just choose a burger or chicken breast wrapped in a large romaine lettuce leaf with fruit on the side.

Eating healthy is totally worth it. However, when it comes to "cheat" foods, rather than trying to go low-fat, low-cal, low-taste, so you can eat them all the time, try eating non-processed foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, local meat (preferably grass fed, if you can get it), and good fats most of the time, then reward yourself later with a full-out cheat that you will really enjoy.