Friday, March 4, 2011

Just A Treat

by Kris Pitcher

Healthful eating shouldn't be an all or none pursuit. A mindset as such can be a set up for failure. The way I see it there are good choices and better choices. We can also look at it as planning for "not so good choices". Knowing you can have a treat once in a while can be a relief...when it's done right.

The trouble comes when we don't or are not able to manage it. In that case it becomes a threat. So let's look at the difference between a treat and a threat.

A level 1/2 cup...
A treat is a managed portion planned into your diet. It's not something you have every day. It's not something you need or require or must have. It isn't a reward for doing what you were supposed to do, or for sticking to your plan for a certain amount of time. It's just a treat. You see, we've taken the sparkly glitz away from it. You get to have it.

It's arch nemesis is the threat. The threat is the treat gone bad. Way bad. You need it. You feel entitled to have it. You want a lot of it. It will damage your plans, your progress, your goals and your integrity. The threat will pull you into dark places. It will sneak up on you. You didn't plan it. You were lulled by its spontaneity, pressured even. The threat will have you staring into the depths of an empty Doritos bag in fifteen minutes flat.

Many of you know I have a "free choice" or "cheat meal" each week. This is our managed treat. It is planned, calculated, and executed with precision. Recently though it's become necessary to more tightly manage it. Honestly, I had mixed feelings about that. Feelings of entitlement slipped in, of resentment...I had to quickly reason these feelings out with logic. But they were there. See, my 1/2 cup of ice cream had become a hearty cup. So, it's time to bring out the measuring cups this Saturday night. My treat had become a threat.

How are you doing with your treats? Are you managing them well...have they snuck up on you to become threats?

Remembering the difference helps us to stay on track. We all can work a treat into our plan. I bet I'll be just fine with my measured 1/2 cup of ice cream...it is after all just a treat.

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