This is the joy for me -- I love sweets. I love sweets. OK, now I'm sounding completely like Oprah Winfrey in her ad for Weight Watchers (which is seriously entertaining; for those of you who have never seen it before, I've embedded the video into this article. You're welcome).
Seriously, though, I do love sweets. Cake, pie, (gasp) ice cream; they're my absolute weaknesses. But at the same time, I'm very interested in health and exercise. Juxtaposed with my love for sweets, this seems to be a bit of a paradox.
But again, like Oprah said, you can eat what you love and still be able to get into or stay in shape and be healthy. The key to it all is simple: moderation.
We constantly hear, "All things should be done in moderation," specifically when referring to health. Because, yes, it is incredibly important to find a balance when it comes to your diet and exercise regime. Extremes are where things begin to go wrong.
Take my love of sweets as an example: If I enjoyed a small dessert once a day while still eating well and keeping up with my exercise regime, then I would still be healthy. However, if I had a huge piece of cake and three pieces of chocolate a day, or if I neglected to eat other healthy foods and exercise, then my body would be in trouble. This binge side of eating is one that we tend to focus on, for the moments where we really mess up our diets and over-eat tend to stick with us.
But what about the moments where we over-do it in the opposite manner? What about the days where we restrict ourselves just a little too much? We tend to ignore these days, though they can be just as detrimental to our health as bingeing.
Once again, I am going to use my love of sweets to demonstrate this point. Let's say I completely restrict myself from eating any desserts at all. First couple days, I'm doing great, everything's good and I'm not eating any sweets. Then, the third day hits and on that day, I'm having a major craving for some ice cream. But I choose to ignore it, and continue restricting myself from eating sweets. The fourth day comes around, and I'm dying for this ice cream, so I decide to eat some. Now, I'm more likely to binge with this dessert instead of eating a smaller portion. And all of this could have been avoided had I stuck to enjoying sweets in moderation.
Listen, I'm not saying that you have to eat what you enjoy every day. I totally support detoxes and cleanses, and if you seriously need or want to avoid these foods, go for it. There's nothing wrong with that at all!
I simply believe that if you really want to eat these things, but are afraid to because you feel like it will completely destroy your diet -- don't be. Life is too short to worry about every cookie we shouldn't have eaten or every day we should have spent at the gym. In health, we will all have those amazing days where we feel like Olympic athletes, and those horrible ones where we finish a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's on our own. We're human after all, and we can't always be perfect!
As a parting gift, I leave you with the iconic words of Oprah Winfrey: "I eat bread every day. I don't deny myself bread, I just manage it."
