You all are such a fabulous resource for racing tips! Thanks for the great suggestions in my last post. Some popular ones included:

• don’t go out too fast
• hydrate the day before so you don’t have to drink too much before the race <--- my weak bladder appreciates this one
• get enough sleep the night before
• believe I can do it

I am so excited for Saturday! Now, hopefully the weather will hold off from storming. Any tips on how to change the forecast? 😉

So, yesterday I had a nice little mid-week lunch date with Peter.

We had yet another Groupon to use up before its impending expiration date and I figured breaking up the week with a meet-up could serve us both well. We visited The Rising Roll – a “gourmet” sandwich shop found in the metro Atlanta area and a few other locations in Texas. They had a wide variety of sandwich choices, but one kept drawing my eye back to it. Clearly, I had to order it.

The Rhythm & Blues on multi-grain bread. Chicken salad topped with blue cheese, bacon, lettuce, and tomato.

It involved many of my favorite sandwich components all in one sandwich. Yes, please! On the side I had some delicious carrot salad with carrots, cranberries, walnuts, and apples in a light dressing with a hint of cinnamon flavor.

We picked up a brownie to split as well. They looked too decadent to not try one! And they were. Super fudgy inside with a nice chew on the outside and a bit of crunch from some nuts on top. Perfection.

This made for quite the pick me up during a rather standard day and week. In my opinion, little moments like this truly make such a difference.

On the drive home from my lunch with Peter, I got to thinking about how differently I approached that meal compared to years ago. Even though I currently am working towards achieving my “happy weight” post-baby, I felt no need to deprive myself of what I wanted for the sake of ordering something “good”. I originally did plan on eating one of their lighter sandwich options and did not anticipate having any dessert. Then, when looking at my options I knew I really felt like what I ended up ordering. I feel no guilt for it, either.

Beforehand, I would have found myself in a binge from this scenario. I would have felt so deprived and restricted from not ordering what I wanted that I would inevitably binge out of frustration. Or, on the other hand, I would have felt so guilty for “blowing my plan” that I would have just given up on trying to “be good” that day and binged as well. Now, I know that consistent choices for my health brings me my progress. Consistently not going overboard, paying attention to my hunger, honoring cravings reasonably, and not putting myself down will work to my advantage. I know I can have special meals and treats like this on occasion because on the whole I still make very wise decisions with how I choose to eat.

I enjoy my food, don’t allow myself to feel deprived, and therefore keep up my healthy habits, which bring me progress. Please don’t think you have to eat super strictly and never indulge to make progress on your fitness goals. If you can’t achieve a goal with some fun along the way, then you are probably working towards an unrealistic one. That’s my two cents anyways. Now, go find a moment of fun while working towards one of your goals today. I promise it is possible.

• What is a goal you’re working towards? How do you keep it fun/exciting?

“Free” day. “Cheat” day. “Treat” day. “Refeed” day. No matter what it’s called, you’ve likely heard of this phenomenon where you pick one day each week with no limitation or restriction. A day to eat whatever you want. You may expect me to sit here and tell you my disbelief in such an approach to eating. You know what though? I think many of us practice one ourselves. And that’s okay to me! The key lies in how we approach it.

I personally find myself managing my eating with such a day each week. During the week, when in my regular routines, I eat numerous healthy meals.

Oats for breakfast…

…fruits, nuts, yogurt, etc for snacks…

…and a variety of meals that include veggies, whole grains, and quality proteins.

On the weekend, typically Saturdays, I find myself indulging a lot more readily though.

We have dinners out…

…hit up dessert as a way to relax together…

…attend social events with lots of food…

…and sneak in little extra treats that somehow appear in our shopping carts. *cough*

Recently, Katy posted about the “refeed” days included in the 4 Hour Body eating plan she reviewed. It got me really considering the pros and cons of eating more openly a particular time each week. Right now, this style fits into my balanced relationship with food because it comes as my natural eating routine. I have also experienced the detrimental side when I allowed the following to happen:

• No wiggle room. If something happened, like a dinner with friends, on a night that wasn’t my specified day, I would get anxious and end up going overboard because I didn’t “stick with the plan”.
• Too restrictive at other times. When it wasn’t my “treat day” I did not allow a single thing to pass my lips that you could consider a treat in any sense of the word. This only led to intense cravings that I would tally up in my mind to get my grubby hands on every Saturday. As you can imagine, this always led to a binge and eating way, way too much junk from morning until night .
• Not enjoying food. This turned the food I ate regularly during the week into things I '”had to” eat and not that I wanted to eat. I lost pleasure in eating. I also lost my understanding of my body, because I would be either hungry during the week or stuffed on my treat day.

These three issues caused numerous binges and a very messed up relationship with food. So, how can I say I still view a “free” day each week as reasonable?

It’s about not labeling it so and it coming as part of balance and moderation. It’s about not feeling guilty when I have times during the week that I find myself in situations where I don’t eat optimally health-wise. I strive to eat healthfully 80% of the time. For my life, this ends up with eating balanced meals during the week when I cook and being okay with splurging a bit when we go out to eat or get together with friends. I still allow small treats basically every day. For example, I love my coffee and square of dark chocolate during the kiddos’ naps. I no longer label days or food as cheats or treats. They are food and I can enjoy them as I wish any day, but will have to keep in mind how they affect my body, my energy, my goals, etc. I go with cravings and take the time to savor them so I end up more satisfied eating one cream egg than five.

All in all, I think the negative connotation that comes with “treat/free/cheat/off/refeed/willy nilly/etc” days is unnecessary. I would say the majority of us do it. We just have to step with caution in our view of eating at different times.

Question of the Day – Do you eat differently some days during the week? Have you ever actively deemed a day as a “treat day”?

Reminder - Atlanta Blogger Meet-Up NEXT SATURDAY for dinner. Email me [tina @ faithfitnessfun dot com] if interested.