Cheats and Mental Health

Cinnabon is my favorite.



I think I ate Cinnabon at least 2 times a week in high school; sometimes more. That's pretty disgusting, and what's even more disgusting is that I didn't look like I ate that much Cinnabon. Thinking back, I ate whatever I wanted ALL THE TIME in middle and high school. I could eat Cinnabon and whole containers of frosting (which I sometimes did- stop judging me) and wouldn't gain a single ounce and I would only work out when I felt like it (other than some school sports which were few and far between).



Anyhow, Cinnabon has become one of my "go to" for cheat meals. No idea what I'm talking about? When you eat really "cleanly" every day like I've been trying to do, it's a good idea to give yourself a "Cheat Meal" once a week. This is good for a couple of reasons.



Reason #1: If you eat close to the same amount of calories every day, your body gets used to it and your metabolism won't stay at a higher level. If you increase your caloric intake every now and then just for a meal or so you keep your body from getting used to the set amount of calories and it will burn those extra ones instead of storing them.



Reason #2: Mental Health. I may go crazy if I don't eat what I want to eat every now and then. It's purely psychological. I don't get cravings per se, but I do get upset because I'm very "Don't tell me what to do". And I'm telling myself what to do. Does that make sense? So in order to not feel deprived I need to cheat a little.



Reason #3: Variety. You can't eat the same thing all of the time. Your body will stop absorbing nutrition effectively from the foods you eat if you keep eating the same things over and over again, and when you are dieting or trying to eat healthier, it's sometimes easier to find foods that you like that are easy and just stick to those. I'm not saying that you'll get any nutrition at all from Cinnabon, but if you have a more sensible cheat meal (which I sometimes do) your body can work with that.



Today I'm having fun looking at all of the delicious things I can eat for my cheat meal on Valentine's day. Actually it won't be on Valentine's day; BF and I are celebrating on the 13th instead because the 14th falls on a Sunday this year. Can you tell I'm a little stuck on this today?



Here is my list of favorite cheat food:



Gelato

Cinnabon

Chocolate Mousse

Banana Pudding

Lemon Meringue Pie

Cupcakes

Frosted Sugar Cookies



It's all for my well being...