One fried egg. Four pieces of bacon. Two or three pieces of salami. One chocolate croissant. One piece of cheese. One pancake. With syrup. Double shot espresso. One tiny glass of apple juice. One big bowl of mixed cocoa frosties and regular frosties. With milk.
For the past three days vacationing in Bangkok, those were my guilt-free all-inclusive breakfast buffet choices. Some options changed daily, but I stuck to my trusty favorites and enjoyed every second of it. GET THIS. I didn’t get fat overnight or lose all my daily metabolic burning potential because my day wasn’t started with a Power Smoothie or Quinoa Bowl. #gainz.
In fact, I felt very happy and full and was able make a great decision about what to have for lunch because my wonderful carb, fat and protein-filled breakfast wasn’t too far from my memory bank. I could even skip the “mid-morning snack break” because my body was still occupado.
The best thing about those three days was I knew exactly how many of them there would be. Three. Not enough to do much permanent damage, but enough that I could have a nice and welcome mental break. How many adults get to sit down and enjoy a nice big bowl of frosties for breakfast these days without feeling tiny bits of guilt and shame from, if no one else, themselves? I remember my favorite part about training for a marathon was that on long run days, I knew I could eat as many carbs as I want and not feel bad about it. I THINK WE NEED MORE OF THOSE MENTAL BREAKS!
Because guess what it did? I came back home and was a-okay with my scrambled eggs, yogurt and fruit for breakfast. And this, folks, is the major difference between people who seemingly get to eat “whatever they want all the time” and people that are constantly switching from diet to diet to magical pill to unanswered prayer.
The ability to have a meal not fit your macros/ adhere to your diet/ be organic, but enjoy it and get over it and go back to what works afterwards is BALANCE.
Okay, so here’s your real-life application. Next time you go out for a meal or have a cookie or eat a piece of cheesy garlic Texas-sized toast, enjoy it. Enjoy the people you are with, the smell and the taste. And then make a healthy decision at your next meal. Be more conscious of how often you actually need/want to have those unhealthy foods and see if you don’t find a little more balance.
This is half of the story. How in the heck do we actually do this is real-life, over time? Especially if we are looking to lose weight??
Stay tuned for Part 2.