A celebration....to last throughout the year.
OK, my eighties brain is coming out. I hope you are singing along with me to those lyrics. The song everyone knows. Kool & The Gang. But I digress.
How can I digress? I haven't said anything yet.
So there you go. This is how my brain works.
What I wanted to say, the reason I started with thinking about celebrating is this: I want to teach you a secret. A concept that my friend Dr. Andrea Hazim taught me. It's a good one that really helps me make better eating decisions.
Are you tempted by your tongue to eat things that you know you shouldn't? (We all are!) Do you argue with yourself about your level of self discipline (or lack of it) and then get angry at yourself for either depriving your inner princess of the yummy stuff or for giving in to that inner princess of yours? I do! Or, I did. Until I learned this concept:
Celebration Days vs. Regular Days
It's just as it sounds. On a celebration day, you are free. You are celebrating. Whether it's an anniversary or a family reunion, a party or a night out, it's not your average day. So, relax your standards and have fun.
And on the flip side, if it's not a celebration day, don't eat cake and ice cream!
You can even decide how many celebration days per month to allow. For me, we allow such things once a week, for a period of 24 hours. Don't get me wrong. This does NOT mean that for 24 hours we eat nothing but sugar and junk! But it does mean that we might indulge some. And I know that our bodies will have at least 6 days free of things hard on our systems.
What happens when things come up that are not on our normal "free" day? Well, we have to adjust for it. Our family attended a pot-luck picnic on the 4th. For dessert there was an array of sugar filled options. I allowed my children to each have 2 items, (their choice). And when it comes time for our end of the week treat, I'll keep that in mind when choosing a dessert to make for everyone. Instead of brownies, I'll make apple crisp. See how it goes?
You can't listen to this without dancing. Go on, try it!
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Oh my gosh, thank you for putting that song in my head!!!
ReplyDeleteMy ridiculously fit 75yo dad has a similar philosophy. He eats nothing but vegetables all week - lots of beans (toot). Then on the weekends, he eats out and pigs out on whatever he wants. I live by sort of a modified version of that. Not as well as I should tho!
I love this idea! I have such a hard time deciding whether to allow myself to have a "treat" on a given day. This will help. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAnd I LOVE the song. Thanks for posting!
Great song...indeed did have a boogee
ReplyDeleteAs for the celebration days, I do every weekend, for a period of 24 hours. It's just how I need to do it. If I'm feeling strong, I switch it for a day in the middle of the week, if there's some kind of event to go to. But unless it's really something special, I just prefer to stick to my schedule. Thanks for posting.