No matter how much self-discipline we have or how strong our willpower is, there will come a time when we want chocolate real bad. Guess what? There’s nothing wrong with that – and I encourage you to go ahead and enjoy it mindfully and in moderation!

Enjoy a Planned Indulgence

Does indulging in chocolate or another “fun” food sound counterintuitive to everything you’ve heard about losing weight or healthy living? Let’s dig into this.

Let’s say you’ve been great for 12 days. You’ve been exercising and eating well and you feel amazing! All of a sudden, the Girl Scout cookies are right in front of your face, and because you’ve deprived yourself of everything on the “forbidden foods list” (and I hate calling it that because no food should ever be forbidden!), you dive into that box of cookies. It felt good in the moment, but not too long afterward, you find yourself trapped in a cycle of food guilt. You think things like, “I’m a failure. I ate a whole box of cookies! I’m going to be fat forever. I can’t do this.”

Yikes! Now you’re on a downward spiral! And it’s hard to escape those! Instead of falling into this cycle, we choose not to deprive ourselves. We make room for the foods we love with planned indulgences. We follow the 80/20 rule.

The Parameters

Here’s how we do it:

• Plan For It. Know that at some point you will crave something from the not-so-healthy-or-helpful list. Plan for it. The strategy works whether you want to lose 20 pounds or 150 pounds. And we don’t think of this as a cheat because cheating implies you’re doing something wrong. There is nothing wrong with enjoying your favourite foods in moderation. This is where the 80/20 rule comes in. Aim to have at least 80% of your food intake as nutrient-dense helpful foods that will move you towards your fat loss goals, and no more than 20% of your food intake to come from not-so-helpful foods.
• Choose Your Plan. Your healthy diet includes planned indulgences. There are a couple of options for your Planned Indulgence Strategy:
  • You may choose to have a small daily treat (which might be a small handful of chocolate or a few French fries);
  • Or, you can schedule one or two treat meals during the week – decide how many based on your unique goals.
  • If you know you crave junk foods before menstruation, you may want to give yourself a green light a day or two before your period. It’s totally up to you.

The point is that you plan for it in advance. You don’t choose to indulge just because someone unexpectedly brought donuts into the office, or you walked by the Cinnabon in the mall and were pulled in by the smell. Don’t deprive yourself. Just plan your indulgences.

• Avoid Red Light Trigger Foods – At First. When you’re planning your indulgences, it could be tempting to treat yourself to the one food that you crave the most. However, if you know that after you get a whiff of the Oreos you will be an unstoppable Cookie Monster, choose something else. I recommend a food that you know will give you pleasure but isn’t going to send you on a downward spiral. After some practice, you may be ready to integrate your trigger food into your planned indulgence strategy. Just make sure you’re ready first.

Now, when we plan a treat meal, we don’t mean a full-on binge (4 boxes of Thin Mints is not a “meal”). Portion size is still key. Don’t eat a Brontosaurus burger suitable for the entire Flintstone family. However, if you want to go out on a Wednesday night and have a great steak and a glass of wine, please do it! At the beginning of the week, choose your strategy and stick with the plan. No exceptions. Your indulgences must be mindful, not decided on a whim. You’ll thank yourself afterward.

It Must be Mind-Blowingly Good

So you planned for it and are certain this indulgence won’t trigger a binge. Now what?

• Treat Your Diet Like Your Checkbook. Think about it in terms of budgeting. If you only have $200 and you need to purchase a new outfit, you have to be smart about where you put your money. If you decide to blow $150 of the budget on a pair of stilettos that you just can’t live without, you have to scrimp a little on your dress. Otherwise, you’ll go over budget. Now, this isn’t about self-deprivation or never letting yourself be frivolous. Just know your plan. When it comes to my food budget, my favourite planned indulgences are things like gooey desserts, a plump burger with half salad/half fries, chips and salsa, and fresh, hot sourdough bread out of the oven at my favourite restaurant!
• It Has to be Worth It! I love my planned indulgences, but they have to be indulgent. My indulgences must be mind-blowingly, food-orgasmically good… or I’m not going to eat it! Period. I refuse to waste calories and planned indulgences on average food. It’s not going to happen! Over the years, I’ve learned to dislike cheap chocolate, for example. If your planned indulgence doesn’t send you to the moon with pleasure, spit it out! Send it back! You have my permission to do whatever it takes to get that food out of sight. Save your calories for something that’s really worth it. And no, I don’t care if you paid $8 for a slice of pie — if it’s not mind-blowingly good, throw it out. It’s a bigger waste if it gets in your body and does nothing but harm, especially if you hardly even enjoyed it!