This is a short post (well, it was going to be) in order to point out something. American's have this mentality that if you do something, you deserve a reward. ESPECIALLY Americans who "diet and exercise". Dieting is great. Exercise is fantastic! But just because you went to the gym does not mean you have earned a reward.
What brings this up is the increasing number of recipes you can find on how to make Paleo desserts/candy/cakes/pies/pudding/indulgentsnackinsertnamehere. We eat Paleo because we want to be healthier. We exercise because we want to firm up and look better and feel better about ourselves. I am a guilty as anyone on this. I'm a bang-up whiz in the kitchen.
So let me say this again: Working out and eating well does not mean we deserve any kind of treat. So if you are going to make a dessert (and yes, I will be posting some great recipes at some point), do not tell yourself it is a reward. YOU DO NOT EARN FOOD. You eat food because your body needs it to be healthy. Learn the difference. It is okay to be hungry sometimes. (As long as you are only hungry, if you have a medical condition and you need to eat something, by ALL means, eat something!) You won't die if you wait four or five hours between meals. Not learning this can easily get you into a ping-pong mentality and soon into a ping-pong craving habit (like we talked about yesterday) because what do all of these indulgent treats have in common? SUGAR! Yes it's RAW honey and PURE maple syrup, but carbs (sugar) are still carbs. Lets compare:
***1 Tablespoon Raw Honey = 17 carbs
***1 1/2 Tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup = 19 carbs
OR
4 cups sliced cucumber or sliced white button mushrooms = 16 carbs
3 cups of steamed cauliflower = 15 carbs
2 1/2 cups of sliced red, orange or yellow bell pepper = 15 carbs
2 cups of steamed broccoli = 16 carbs
2 cups diced watermelon = 16 carbs
1 1/2 cups of carrots = 18 carbs
1 cup diced honeydew melon = 15 carbs
1 medium peach = 14 carbs
1/2 banana = 14 carbs
1/2 medium apple = 12 carbs
How BADLY does that cup of coffee or tea need to be a little sweeter?
So, the moral to the story is this. You deserve nothing. You want everything (the good stuff, anyway). So if you are going to indulge yourself and it can't wait for a meal, that is fine. I EAT DESSERTS AND SNACKS, TOO, but I don't eat them all the time. That thirty minutes on the treadmill does not make me eligible for anything, and my reward isn't eating a bunch of calories. My reward is wearing smaller pants, dangit! THAT is what I earned. So if you are going to eat dessert, just tell yourself you're eating dessert because it tastes good.You want dessert? Eat dessert.
Following this, over time, will help train your body to "need" less. If you are starving after a work out, maybe plan to work out just before meal time, but remember: your body needs about 20-30 minutes after you work out before you eat in order to really get the most out of your workout. Your metabolism will still be up for the next couple of hours so you don't need to shove food down your gullet in order to take advantage of your boosted metabolism the second you step off the treadmill. By the time you stretch and make it home from the gym your twenty to thirty minutes will have gone by. (Again, being hungry is ok, if you are dizzy that is NOT okay and you may require a small snack like some fruit or some juice. Either way, drink plenty of water before and after your time at the gym as dehydration can easily make you feel under the weather.)
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