So you’re doin’ the Sugar Free Day, huh?
ohh, what? not helping?
Well, you’re kinda going to have to get used to seeing that (or those cream biscuits, or those waffles, or that cake.. oh, the pain!) without losing the integrity of your Sugar Free Day. Hey, if you still want it by the time it’s your Sugary Day, then have half of what you’d usually have (BE HONEST. Now is not the time to admit you would have had a triple serving…)
But while I’ve been doing my one day on/one day off thing, I’ve found some strategies that helped… me not to tear my hair out or knock the socks off the person who brings home Vanilla Slice for dessert.
1. For the love of God, stay busy. Boredom is one of the top reasons that people overeat. Especially when you’re starting out, schedule Sugar Free Days on your work days or when you know you got a lot of shit to do
2. Again, when starting out and weak to the temptation of caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake *drool*, schedule Sugar Free Days on days you know you don’t have social plans/they don’t involve a likely incident of dessert-gorging. I scheduled one on a family get together. Two croissants, five chocolate brownies, and three shortbread biscuits later – figured it wasn’t the smartest thing I’d done
3. Have some hearty snacks on hand: celery with heaps of nut butter (yum!), sliced apple with almond butter & cinnamon, poached pears with cinnamon, carrot sticks with home-made guacamole (read: mashed avocado), strawberries & macadamia nuts, rye crackers and Brie cheese…
4. Don’t skimp on meals: have plenty of lean protein to keep you full (fish, lean red meat, grilled chicken, tofu, nuts) and make sure you reach your daily fibre intake (high fibre foods: rye bread, oats, bananas, apples, berries, brown rice, quinoa, rye crackers, vegetables [duh]). This seems like a no-brainer but keeping full of healthy food means you’re less likely to unleash the beast
5. See something you really, really, really, super, duper want? Go for a walk/run or do just 20 minutes of exercise – afterwards, you won’t feel like it so much
6. Late night snacker? Eat your dinner a little later if you need to; keep busy between after dinner and bedtime
7. Limit TV today! I know that I ruin all my hard work when I watch Gilmore Girls (the food in it… just. so. good. Danish, anyone?)
8. Think of how shit you’ll feel if you blow it. A negative outlook? Yeh. But it works for me!
9. If all else fails and you find you really suck, take a lesson from Oscar Wilde. The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it: I can resist anything but temptation.
Go on. If you must.
*Disclaimer: then do an hour more exercise, and then face-palm yourself, and then schedule an extra Sugar Free Day. It’s not so worth it, is it?*
Good luck! (You’ll need it.)
xxxo Faith
