Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Food hangovers & pushing "reset"

So I know I am really chatting y'all up about my Cinch! experience. I feel I've got to post one more review, and then I promise to get some new material. And no, author Cynthia Sass is not paying me to yammer on about her book of awesomeness. It's just that, simply put, her plan has helped me transform healthy eating from an interest to a hobby, and a priority.

As I mentioned yesterday, I was a little frivolous this weekend with my cocktails and sunshine frolicking. I think it's safe to assume we're all familiar with the post-weekend food & beverage hangover - the bloating, the guilt, the off-track sentiment. Don't know about yous guys, but I often wish there was an "erase" button.

It's tempting to starve ourselves after a heavy weekend, but extreme measures won't help you loosen your belt and will instead likely encourage you to tear our your hair and continue the roller coaster cycle.

Before panicking after falling off the healthy eating wagon, it's imperative that we STOP and put it all in perspective. You have to consume 3,500 extra calories to gain ONE pound. Even if you challenged yourself to dominate the entire McDonald's dollar menu last weekend, and no matter how nasty-licious you feel after a bad weekend, keep this in mind and realize you likely haven't unraveled all of your hard work.

Nature's Reset Button

I like to use these five foods to bring my bloaty body back down to planet Earth. Cynthia Sass calls this the Fast Forward diet, and she encourages readers to follow her plan for 5 days in order to eliminate toxins and start curbing cravings.

The superheros:

Eggs 


Raspberries ... Amazing this time of year! Yummm.


Spinach 


Slivered Almonds (& unsalted almond butter)


Plain, lowfat yogurt


& Slimming and satiating spices (SASS) - Cinnamon, hot peppers, ground black pepper & red pepper flakes (also balsamic vinegar & citrus juices are approved)


So pure and tasty-looking, right? I know, you're feeling healthier already.

Simple? Yes it is. Easy? Not as much as you think.


The magic bullet for me when it comes to Fast Forward is the emphasis on cutting out salt. Before I discovered Cinch! I loved me some sodium, but it really is amazing how natural flavors came alive after I stopped covering them up with salt. 

The other key is to really get yourself connected with your physical signs of hunger. Your stomach should start to growl every 3-5 hours, and that is when you should eat. When you can start determining these triggers, it truly carries over to your regular eating habits and keeps you from eating just because it's "lunchtime". 

An example of a day in the life

SCRAMBLE - 7:30am - 3 egg whites scrambled up w/1 C. chopped spinach, jalapeno, black pepper, served with 1 C. raspberries, 2 T almonds & cinnamon 

PARFAIT - 11:00am - 3/4 C. plain yogurt w/1 C. raspberries, 2 T slivered almonds & lots o' cinnamon

SALAD - 3:00pm - 2 C. chopped spinach w/1 C. raspberries, 2 T slivered almonds, 1 hard boiled egg, chopped jalapeno & pepper. (You can add balsamic if you're into that but I loathe, so I eat it dry.)

SMOOTHIE - 7pm - Best part of the day! 1 C. frozen raspberries, 3/4 C. plain yogurt, 2 T almond butter, cinnamon. Blend that sucker up! 

After just 2 or 3 days of this, I'm back on the right track and feeling great! 

What do you do to recover from a splurgey weekend? Any tips? I know some of my buddies have tried this plan per my obsession on the blog - any shy guys want to share your experience? 

1 comment:

  1. hi--thanks for the comment yesterday! love your blog. I was in need of a detox this week real bad. I usually have green smoothies for breakfast in those situations. And also working out helps because I feel like I'm sweating it out AND being active makes me crave healthy food. Win win. :) I also drink LOTS of water!!

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