Reward Yourself

I spend most of the weekend proving to myself what I already know and have known for well over a decade.  Eating like sh*t makes me feel like sh*t!! Friends in town on Friday, (who can resist truffle fries from Rockit?); Atlas anniversary party on Saturday (tequila and celebration cake); and a chili-cookoff at Jay and Rachel's on Sunday (Chris's chili placed 2nd!).  These are the temptations that we face... everyone faces.  It's easy to revert back to a little of this and a little of that knowing that you're good 80% of the time.  But it's also easy for that 80% to gradually slip down to 70, 60... you know where I'm going with this.  Eating well 50% of the time, while better than none, is not going to get you where you want to be.  There are ALWAYS temptations, especially in the urban jungle in which we reside.  Parties, happy hours, College game-day, these are all things that we shouldn't give up yet they are disastrous to our health-seeking quest.

As I woke up this morning still feeling the effects of my sugar-laden 3 days, it hit me that it's just not worth it. We call our diets restrictive and we reward ourselves with cheat meals.  The way I felt this morning was not in any way rewarding!  My body and my health are valuable, even precious if we want to get dramatic.  I plan on rewarding my body with optimal nutrition this week... I challenge you all to do the same.  Be strict, don't "cheat", be good to yourself, fuel your body to thrive, not just survive, and most importantly have a good attitude... don't think "I can't eat that, I'm on a diet."  Instead, think about your nutrition choices as a lifestyle... today, tomorrow and 5 years from now.  We all want to be lean and lose those last 5 or 10 lbs.   More importantly, we should also want to feel great on Sunday so we can spend some quality time with friends and family instead of wasting an entire day on the couch either hung-over or just plain tired. 

Challenge for the week:  Use the fancy new Zone Block chart below that I created this weekend (while on the couch) and eat ONLY Rx Choices in Zone ratios this week.  See how great you feel, I promise it will be worth it.  Post thoughts and results to comments.

   Download this chart here.