DEVIATION!!!

Missing: the green bandit! If found please contact Joshua McMahon. (pictured above)

This post is dedicated to when you deviate from your diet. When I say deviation I mean eating outside what you normally would consider healthy. This on other diets is celebrated as this great time. I feel if you have to deviate from you diet for a great time, the diet is not working. I eat how I eat cause that is what makes my body and spirit better. The reason I do not call it “cheating” is that I feel like I am not cheating. The deviation is what helps stay the course.

There are three reasons to deviate, to help stay course, if mood calls for it, or hospitality. The first one, to stay the course is tricky. This is not to say that I need the deviation to stay on the diet. It just sometimes is necessary to remind your body why you avoid certain foods. I eat the foods I want to eat, when I feel like I want them. The same urges that tell me to eat brussels sprouts instead of bread are the exact same urges that tell me I want ice cream. A side note, I have been doing this for a while and it takes a while to listen to what you body wants and not what you desire.

The mood calls for it is another tricky one to judge at first. Of course you are always in the mood for ice cream. However is your spirit always in need of ice cream. When I say mood I mean you have had a bad day and it will help you feel better. In these times food can give my spirit a boost it desperately needs. In these cases ice cream or dark chocolate is what I eat.

The final reason to deviate is hospitality. This is a strict rule of mine. Under no circumstances do you refuse food that is a gift. If someone is willing to bake or cook you dinner you eat what they cook for you. The only exception is if it is family that cooks for you often. However, if anyone every makes you food for a special occasion, you eat it. It would be rude not to.

The final part of deviation to discuss is the frequency. If you are deviating every day, you are no long on the diet, but a completely different one. The number I like to think about is 90%. This does not have to be exact. Just like weighing and measuring food, I feel to go over board with exactness of deviation is an eating disorder. If you think about it this way you have 21 meals a week. If you deviate 2 meals a week, you are at 90%. This is not the golden bar though. If by all means you had a rough week, eat what you spirit needs.

There is absolutely no point in torturing yourself over your diet. It takes time to understand your body’s urges, especially after big changes like cutting out sugar. It is best to make many small changes. Do not be scared to take a step backwards every now and then, you might find it was unnecessary to cut out. You should eat how you like because it is best for you body and spirit. If you are not enjoying your diet, you are not going to stick to it. It is the same with everything; you should do things because you love to that is when you produce your best results.

Workout: 100 burpees with 25 lb weight vest. 8:49 was my time. It felt good, the vest shifted a lot on me. I missed my workout partner, but he is spending some time with his mommy.

Inspirational quote: “Habit is habit and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.” –Mark Twain