It doesn’t work to just eat as much as you want of only healthy foods. Ask anyone who’s tried it. Eventually, you realize that you have to eat within the structure of what your body can handle — the incinerator. Or, you realize that it can’t be sustained because you can’t stay away from the brownies for the rest of your life. And then because of that, you throw in the towel and eat the rest of the pan of brownies. Oh, little by little, of course… just one more sliver. You know the drill.
And, if you’ve gone through enough deprivation, the body tries to make up for lost time. Ever wonder how long your “off-the-wagon” time will last? Possibly as long as the deprivation has lasted. Oooooh, that’s a sobering thought, isn’t it? The permission section is an excellent place to quote a famous food author: “Absolutism in the quest for food is a huge mistake,” said Michael Pollan in his approach to being a happy and healthy eater.79 With ONE-TWO PUNCH, you’re not depriving yourself; you’re making choices.
Does balancing protein and carbohydrate mean that you will always have to have one bite of chicken breast and then one bite of cheesecake every time you want it? No. Your stomach and your digestive system don’t work that quickly, thank goodness!!! It does mean making decisions. If you know there’s cheesecake or (insert your favorite treat) available, you make a decision to have that as your carbohydrate. Maybe you have grilled chicken over a salad or steamed vegetables with a steak and then your treat as your carb. Enjoy it, and call it a day! Rather, just call it a yummy meal and wait until the next time your incinerator door is open – the next time you get hungry.
Permission indeed makes a big difference. Don’t skip over it and try to forget that you EVER wanted a cupcake, or candy bar, or key lime pie or donut. You can’t justify eating more than the size of your fist just because you’re eating healthy foods. You still have to honor the first foundational principle, which is physical hunger and need. Sure you might really, really WANT a particular food, but that’s very different than NEED as we discussed in the last section.
REFERENCES
79. Pollan M. In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. New York, NY: Penguin Books; 2008.
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