“Enough is as good as a feast”
My dearest friend Barbara attributes this saying to her late Mother who was English, and I remember hearing it growing up courtesy that other maven of politesse, Mary Poppins. Simply put, there is no benefit in going overboard (on food, if taken literally, but can be applied to many areas of life.)
Boot campers are nearing their first weigh-in checkpoint, and those doing the “classic” plan are gleefully plotting their cheat days. For the uninitiated, cheat day is the first day after two weeks of following the Meltdown food plan, when newly ‘detoxed’ participants have the opportunity for one day, morning to night, to partake of whatever they want to eat (or drink.) After this weekend, 25 bootcamps-worth of Meltdowners will attest to the notion that there is little comparable to the dietary debauchery of a first cheat day. One long-time friend of the program was famed for his ‘McWenby’s’ combo - three drive-thrus, and a meal fit for a death row inmate’s final feast.
Since Little 500 also happens to fall this weekend, I will put up the most bedraggled Sunday-cheating Meltdowner with a ‘carbover’ Monday morning against the bleariest-eyed participant of Sunday Court. In many ways the effect on your body of suddenly infusing it with mass quantities of sugar and fat is the same as an alcohol hangover. It feels really good, right up until it doesn’t.
Many people find that despite having a culinary wish-list a mile long, they don’t get near the amount of food in after weigh-in that they think they will. As soon as that first meal hits the bloodstream, they hit the couch, sometimes waking up in a panic that perhaps the day has completely passed them by! NO? Phew! Time for one more run - Jiffy Treat, Chocolate Moose or Brusters? QUICK - THE SUN IS SETTING!!!!!!!
That first class the next day will be the real challenge. It’s like your legs are filled with the pureed remnants of jelly donuts. Please, for the love of all that’s good and right and pure in this world, Trish, DON’T DO THE BURPEE SINGLE SET IN T60!
Ooooh - that’s gonna hurt.
Now, I say all this NOT to be a biscuits and bonbon buzzkill. I’m merely throwing out the seed of an idea - I hope it will take root. This is NOT your last meal. You _will_ enjoy your whatever your food drug of choice is again. I’m just asking you to be mindful in your eating, even on cheat day. Especially on cheat day. Stop and enjoy the journey. Ask yourself if the next bite is because you are hungry, or because of something else. Once we are able to ascertain what it is food is doing to us and for us, then we will truly start to gain control over it. Long term, this is not the rote recitation and repetition of a proscribed food plan for eight weeks. It’s the beginning of a journey that I hope will find you healthier in the months and years to come.
Now where’s my carrot cake?
Coach Marcey Tidwell is started as a client with NGPT in January 2011. Joining the team as an accountability coach, she wears many hats in assisting the Meltdown Nation! Nurse Marcey by day, she brings a wealth of knowledge the program!
