Last week I spoke about 4 food you should avoid in your day to day life. Simply avoiding those four things are a fast track to excellent health, but we need to be a little more real with our expectations. In life, you can’t stay inside and eat your own organic whole food meals every night. Especially in this modern world, the opportunity to compromise your health is going to be in your face every day. The key to wellness is finding balance with all the negative stimulus around.
The 80/20 Rule
This is a rule common with many wellness professionals, and it definitely makes sense. It is centered around the goal that 80 percent of your consumption is comprised of whole foods that are in line with your goals of health. So that means that you can have a blast with the other 20 percent! So take the typical 21 meal week for an ordinary person (3 meals a day over a week). That means you can eat about 4 meals that are considered “bad” and still be in the clear for health.
So you can have your cake and eat it too, literally., but tread lightly. Here are my three tips for cheating and getting away with it.
1. Don’t do back to back cheat meals.
In my opinion, habits are predicated on momentum. So just because you can eat 4 bad meals a week, doesn’t mean you should stake them all up. After a cheat meal, you are going to have a heightened craving for lousy food. So the more bad meals you have in a row, the more the desire to continue is going to increase.
2. Take a prebiotic
If you are eating healthy, then a cheat meal is going to throw your body out of whack. A big reason for this, your gut doesn’t contain the necessary bacteria to break down the unhealthy things like gluten and sugar. Taking a prebiotic is going to help you process the junk and get back to 100 percent faster.
3. Be present and mindful
If you are doing it right, then your cheat meals don’t come around very often. So enjoy the hell out of it. Savor each bite, knowing that the sensation isn’t going to last. When it is over, forgive yourself for eating like a goon and get ready to eat healthy again.
I know this was a quick one, and it won’t be the last time I share my tips for cheating like a champ. The key to wellness in the modern world is to find balance, and that includes your nutrition. Enjoy your food, just be mindful about what you are doing. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. If there is anything you would like me to write about as well, please let me know.
With big love,
Robbie