Not necessarily a bad thing...
Wouldn't it be great if we all had rock solid will power and the ability to say "No" in any and every situation? Well, maybe not. I look at it this way...
Why the heck am I working so hard to look good? I want to be healthy so I can enjoy my life to the fullest. If I had rock solid reserve and will power and always said no and kept to my daily calorie intake, I fear I would become a very boring person. I am changing my life in order to enjoy the finer things sometimes, but with control. I never want to be "that guy" who never deviates from my set menu for the week, otherwise my friends would get VERY bored with me and stop calling me, and I would get terribly bored myself, which in my case, leads to binge eating. Life shouldnt only be about deprivation, nor should it be about guilt.
I now am following a different strategy which many here are following, that being the day-off plan. One day a week I don't count my caloires at all, if I want a beer or two, I have them, if I feel like eating in a non-calorie controlled environment (like a friends house or restaurant) I do. No big deal. I work out so hard everyday, I deserve to take a little break. And it just makes going back to the same old 2200 calories a day for the other 6 days of the week that much more bearable. Instead of pining over that new yummy looking icecream that just came out and thinking I can never try it, I just make it a little treat on my off day. If my birthday or an invitation comes on a different day, I just switch days that week.
We are not machines and shoulodnt treat ourselves as such. Without a little diversity we are more likely to lose focus and begin to question why we are doing it in the first place, and experience guilt over things which we shouldnt.
Another thing I noticed is that since I have been taking "off days" I have been losing more weight. I think this is because I am shaking up the metabolism periodically and not letting it get into a steady state or even possibly starvation mode. By mixing it up once a week I think it keeps the metabolism more active and is definitely showing better results. I began this day off plan during a very long and stressful plateau, and somehow, eating more (or bad foods) that one day a week made the difference, and oddly enough I started to lose weight again, and more than ever!
Sorry for the long winded response, but in a nutshell, don't beat yourself up. If you are following a healthy plan of exercise and diet most of the time, you are entitled to days off and they could even be beneficial. I chuckle at my wife all the time. She will see me with an ice cream or a beer in my hand on a saturday night and she will lose it, thinking "losing weight = no beer, ice cream, fast food or fun" I calmly remind her to look at the calendar and see how much weight I have lost this month and how many saturdays I have had beer and snacky foods.... She doesn't understand the idea that it doesn't have to be all or nothing, but she can't argue with results!
Have a great time on your birthday! Eat some cake, have a drink, have some fun. Off days are great and as long as you dont go too overboard, any extra calories you consume on that day can be worked off later.
Happy B-day in advance!
sirant
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