A slim figure and a healthy body are some things we all desire, and some of us even work really hard to achieve it. Although we encourage body positivity, it shouldn’t be confused with promoting unhealthy lifestyles and obesity.
Obesity can be destructive and often leads to dire health conditions. Hence, it is essential to stay in good shape. To do so, everyone should adopt a healthy lifestyle that includes a balanced diet and exercise.
We are on the same page on this staying on a diet is not easy. It is pretty hard to control all those cravings, especially if you’ve got a sweet tooth. There are way too many delicious distractions to put you off track.
But, hey, what if we say you can have some delicious sweety goodness while still being on a diet? Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, whether you believe it or not, it certainly is the truth. Now you can cheat a little on your diet without actually cheating on it.
Yes, you heard us right. Now you don’t need to give up on your diet to devour your favorite cakes. Want to know how that is even possible? Let’s go through the comprehensive list of ways we’ve come up with you to have and enjoy some mouth-watering cakes while still being on a diet.
Healthy Cake Recipes
Dietitians and health experts say that forcing yourself to control and encage your cravings is not at all healthy as it ends up making you feel annoyed and frustrated, which might also result in you giving up on a diet.
Instead, you can always opt for healthier versions of your favorite dessert, be it a cake or anything else. All you will need is a bit of research and some basic cooking skills to get going. There are many healthy and guilt-free cake recipes available on the Internet that taste incredible as well.
You can pick and choose from dozens of healthy cake and dessert recipes depending on what suits your likes and dislikes the best. Another essential tip that can come in handy is to keep a check on the calories and the size of the portion you eat.
Treat Yourself Occasionally
Experts believe that occasional cheat meals and treats can fasten the weight loss process. So, next time when you have a craving after a very long time, don’t let it go in vain. Instead, treat yourself to a tasty cheat meal.
Occasional cheat meals tend to boost the metabolism by increasing the amount of leptin in your body. Leptin is an anti-starving hormone that gets into action when your diet is calorie deficient. It is responsible for making you feel hungry.
However, when you treat yourself to a deliciously rich meal, it tricks the hormone into believing that you are making up for the missed calories and eating just enough food. So, instead of conserving energy, it gets on burning the stored fat.
So, next time when you start on a strict healthy diet, and it doesn’t seem to work, know where you’re going wrong. It is imperative to have occasional cheat meals when on a diet, so don’t miss out on this crucial step of dieting.
Never Go with An Empty Stomach to An Event
Well, we agree it is tough to resist a gorgeously delicious sweet treat lying on the cake turntable when you are at a party. Hence, always remember to follow the rule. Never go out on a birthday/wedding of any other party without eating something from home.
This way, you will go with a feeling of fullness in your stomach and end up skipping most of the main courses. Thus, it implies that you won’t be having any fried or oily items on the menu. Some plus points for that!
It also means that you get to taste some of the sweet goodness lined up on the menu. You can treat yourself a little for being on your best behavior. However, don’t ever forget less is much more when it comes to sweets.
You can also skip your cheat meals if an event is lined up in the same week. This way, you can save all those sweet cravings and have a real party time at the event when you finally get to treat yourself!
Don’t Let the Bad Boy Guilt Play You
Whenever you have a sweet treat or end up having a cheat meal, don’t feel guilty about it. Just don’t let your conscience play with you. Feeling guilty about having your favorite food eliminates all the joy you could have while eating it.
This emotional turmoil and depressing feeling might lead you to things like overeating and stress eating. It will completely mess up your diet and adversely affect your previously excellent and healthy relationship with food.
Always remember that a controlled portion of your favorite food won’t harm your diet in any way. So, enjoy every bite of it while it lasts. Your overall health matters are a lot more critical than criticizing yourself for a cheat meal.
Don’t be too harsh on yourself. The diet is not only supposed to make you look good but also feel good.
Eat At The Right Time
Whether you decide to treat yourself or are having a regular diet meal of the day, timing is crucially important. Not eating at the right time leads to unwanted fat buildup in the thighs, arms, stomach, etc.
Firstly, it is vital to slowly train yourself to not indulge in midnight snacking and devouring on sweet cakes. At midnight, what happens is that we eat and go straight to bed, which leads to improper digestion and builds up fat.
The ideal time to satisfy your sweet cravings is the daytime when you still have time to work out and eliminate the calories you just gained. Furthermore, it is vital to build a schedule for your treat meals or cheat days.
This way, you can have your favorite cakes without any guilt in an organized manner.
Final Thoughts
Staying on a good, balanced, and healthy diet is inevitable for a healthy lifestyle and a fit body. However, we must not be too harsh on ourselves. Containing and forcing others to give up on cravings has negative impacts on both body and mental health.
We often don’t realize the importance of treating ourselves when following a diet. However, apart from just satisfying those unavoidable cravings, it also boosts the weight loss process, as mentioned above.
Hence, treat meals and cheat days must be incorporated into a healthy diet to achieve your fitness goals efficiently in a short period. It is also essential to choose the right treat meal or cheat meal, whatever you may call it.
Often people refrain from choosing what they are actually craving as it would include too many calories. But, choosing the proper treat meal is very important as you can always make up for the calories later on.
The whole point and purpose of a treat meal die when you are actually not treating yourself and instead just taking a break from the regular diet food. Do let us know how you end up tricking your favorite food into your diet!
