Hey everyone,

Reading Jimmy’s email yesterday night made me recall a very important point, which I’d like to share in today’s TIP: What about “cheat” meals?

Well, first things first. I do believe that there is a case to be made for cravings possibly indicating a lack of a certain nutrient in your diet. When it comes to potato chips, for instance, it can signify a need for sodium or perhaps a lack of fat in the diet. That being said, however, we must consider that many processed foods nowadays, especially snack foods, are chemically engineered to trigger certain parts of our brain that make us instantly want more. Literally similar to a crack cocaine or heroin reaction! Given that, it’s almost impossible to determine the real cause of the craving, so then, what to do?

My personal approach, now (wasn’t always this way), after having transformed my life through years of healthy eating, is to let myself indulge a bit, when the situation naturally arises. This means, if I go out to a restaurant (which is something I avoid as much as possible due to low food quality almost everywhere outside our home), I try not to worry too much about the exact ingredients in the food I’m eating, and I may even try some dessert at the end, if it looks like a real treat, not just senseless sugar consumption.

This may not work for everyone and may not be advisable for people who know they tend to go off the deep end at such opportunities (and/or afterwards).

Another approach that many people have is to eat well all week and then reward themselves guilt-free with absolutely anything they desire, for one meal per week, not an entire day of the week. This is also fine as long as it works for you. As before, know yourself and try different things until you find your favorite.

If you’re a person who likes to dedicate one meal per week to something you love but shouldn’t have often, I believe a good guideline is to avoid gluten containing grains (mainly wheat, rye and barley) particularly because of their opiate-type proteins called casomorphins – literally resulting in addiction to those foods. Not to mention that gluten causes inflammation in the gut lining and changes the gut’s bacterial colonization. This can have some seriously deleterious effects in the long run, because it acts silently and without obvious symptoms for prolonged periods of time – probably in a ton more people than those officially diagnosed with a sensitivity or full-blown Coeliac disease. But even on the short-term, what good is pasta if it’s going to derail you from your goals in the coming days? Be careful about your choices!

What I don’t agree with and I think is completely counter-productive and unhealthy, is those people who plan all week and look ahead to that one gratifying meal. Once again, this resembles the behavior of a drug addict, so you can never achieve a healthy and sane balance this way. If you feel deprived, you’re going to binge at some point – period. And that’s when the wheels start to fall off the wagon…

So how not to deprive yourself then? Simple: forget about SAD recommendations and current conventional wisdom. To function optimally, your body needs a lot of fat, some protein and very little carbohydrates, the latter being largely dictated by your level of activity. You should literally eat fat to lose fat (entire books have been written about this), but the idea goes so contrary to the lie we’ve been sold for the last 50+ years that people still find it impossible to believe. Also, when eating right, there is no need to limit the quantity of food. Whole foods (with plenty of added fat!) are very satiating and will fill you! In any case, you don’t have to take my word for it; I highly encourage you to educate yourself, experiment and discover the truth.

In the end, whatever you choose, be honest with yourself about how well it’s working. Sometimes we need to go back to the drawing board and try something completely different.

Cheers, in good health.

Choice, not chance, determines destiny.
–E.C. McKenzie

What you eat in private will show up in public.
–Unknown

Nothing tastes as good as healthy feels.
–Dr. Wayne W. Dyer