The crock pot saved dinner for me again last night. When planning meals for the week I didn’t intend to have two crock pot meals back to back. Then, I two very long days and I became very thankful for crock pot options. Who cares if that meant potato, bean, and veggie dinners two nights in a row?

Monday, we had the golden potato, veggie, white bean, and pesto mix…

[recipe from Monday night’s post]

…and last night we had sweet potato, veggie, black bean, and salsa as a chili.

[recipe from Gina]

As I was enjoying dinner last night a thought struck me. A couple years ago I would have never had such a mix for dinner. Then, here I am happily enjoying meatless meals two nights in a row. I wouldn’t have avoided such meals in the past because I loved meat that much. No. I would have avoided such meals because they didn’t have what I would have considered a protein source back then.

With my old food rules, protein only came in the form of lean meats – a source that would provide almost purely protein with limited added fat or carbs. Tofu? No. It has extra fat. Beans? They have more carbs! That just isn’t possible. Plus, I thought the only way I could get enough protein would be with such meat sources.

When I was at my most restrictive I tried to severely limit carbohydrates in my diet. I remember calculating out my macronutrient splits (% of carbs/fat/protein in my diet) and having only about 35% of my calories coming from carbohydrate sources…most of that in the form of veggies, not oats. 50% of my calories came from protein like chicken. How sad considering I don’t even really like chicken!

Then, after becoming pregnant with Makenzie I wizened up and began eating more intuitively. I certainly ate more carbohydrates, but still strived for more protein. I couldn’t give up the notion that I needed at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. I honestly believed my body needed it to function normally. Then, somehow I stumbled across the fact that the recommended amount of protein for a woman of my size and activity level is only around 60-70 grams per day. Say what?!

Over the past year I have grown even more in tune with my body and the things I prefer to eat. Intuitive eating is a continuous growth process, after all. I discovered that while I do still enjoy meat, I love meatless meals too and enjoy eating them numerous times out of the week. Now, I get most of my protein from sources like beans, tofu, eggs, nuts/nutbutters, Greek yogurt, and maybe 3-4 servings of meat a week. I actually inputted my meals for yesterday into Sparkpeople just to see how my eating balances out these days.

Yesterday, I ate 2184 calories. 54% of that came from carbohydrates, 25% came from protein, and 21% came from fat. I don’t normally track (and proved to myself I have no desire after taking the effort for that little experiment), but I believe these stats are standard for me these days. You know what? I feel better. I feel like I have more energy for workouts. I have steadily been making what I consider great progress in my “Body After Baby” goals and likely even better progress than I did after Makenzie. I feel more satisfied and less hungry than when I ate more meat. Even without meat, I still exceeded my recommended protein amount. I enjoy all my food and no longer eat anything because I “should”. Listening to your body works. Food rules don’t. Each body functions differently and you have to fuel it a way that suits you best. I truly believe my body functions best with more carbs and I’m not afraid of that anymore. Bring on the beans! <—I think I just scared my husband with that statement. 😉

Question of the Day – What type of eating do you think your body thrives on? More carbs? Higher fat? Lots of protein? A very equal split?

“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.