Fit Friday!

Lets just call this week what it was: Temptation week. I had a work breakfast meeting, work lunches all week, a cupcake on my desk, my favorite sugary coffee drink on my desk, Cinco de Mayo, etc. So yeah. It was a REALLY hard week to be off carbs and sugar. 

If that wasn't enough, there was also So. Much. Traffic. this week. A semi truck full of liquid asphalt flipped and spilled the entire contents of the truck. The freeway was closed to and from work Monday and the back roads were JAMMED so we headed to 25% off sushi night to avoid the traffic jam. I don't even regret it.

There was also lots of late nights, more traffic during the week and overall tiredness of working full time and commuting a long way with added time for back ups. Thursday we went to a friend's house for dinner. I know it could be worse. So much worse. But there was good. I walked everyday for at least an hour, most days 1.75 hours! I ate green beans and a chicken brat.

I did have a chicken patty and asparagus for lunch Wednesday. When I was at a work lunch I ate grilled chicken salad with dressing on the side AND I had leftovers for lunch the next day.

All that to say, this week was busy and hectic and full of surprises so I didn't always photograph my food. I didn't always follow the meal plan. It stressed me out. I know the meal plan is temporary, but I also didn't want to be difficult or the "weird one not eating with everyone else." So I did the best I could. Also, who can pass on free meals?! Am I right? And I'm not going to pass on dinner with friends because I can't eat what they are eating. I'll make do. Do the best I can. Part of fellowship is breaking bread together. 

I did keep track of everything I was eating on MyFitness Pal. I kept my calories to 1200 and surprisingly my carb intake was at about 25%, which is so much better than before! The old me was always over 50% carbs so I am incorporating more lean protein in my diet and that is a benefit to the meal plan right there. Just for fun I estimated what my meal plan calories would have been last week and was quite alarmed I was only eating 1000 calories a day AND about 50% fat. I want to be thin, but I don't want a heart attack! Also, I love to walk on lunch and after work with Manny so really I was eating about 800 calories a day last week. Those reasons alone made me feel better about incorporating a few carbs and extra calories to my meal this week. I don't feel regret or that I failed this week. I kept portions in check and chose pretty wisely in the food department. I cut my carb intake drastically. Those are all success in my book!

I also did a bit of research on "cheat meals" and found that if you are doing a really low calorie diet a cheat meal can actually increase your weight loss. The reasoning was because a low calorie diet can trick your body into thinking it's in starvation mode and a cheat meal will help your body realize it is not and does not have to hold onto everything and speeds up the metabolism again. Obviously, I'm not a doctor but this made sense to me. Body for Life encourages one cheat day a week. WW has flex points for a cheat meal. Jillian Michaels recommends a little cheat treat (200 cals) every day. I just knew if I was going to stick to this and continue losing I needed something that would work for me. Sure, I had a little cheat here and there. But you know what? It just satisfied the craving and I was ready to get back into the meal plan. 

What are your thoughts on a cheat meal? Cheat day? Treat every day? I want to know!