It’s OK to indulge!

I so often hear of people who try to lose weight by strictly removing “indulgent” foods from their diet.

For some, this means the removal of all added sugar (so basically, no chocolate, no cakes, no cookies). For others, this means the removal of most fats (in other words, no whipped cream, no butter, no fatty meats).

Generally speaking,  I don’t agree with this concept.

In my experience, if someone labels a food as “indulgent”, it is because they believe it to be unhealthy or something they should not consume on a regular basis. By this description, people “indulge” in french fries, pizza, chocolate milk, and of course desserts. It is widely believed that these are unhealthy foods.

But are they?? 

One of the first things I teach any client is that any food comes in many versions. Take for example: chocolate. You can eat chocolate that has artificial flavors and sugar as its first ingredient, or you can eat chocolate that is simply cocoa, fat, and a small amount of sugar.

Chocolate in itself is not an unhealthy food. In fact, it contains antioxidants, flavanols, and micronutrients. The sugar content is what becomes an issue with chocolate, but to be honest, there is usually less sugar in a serving of chocolate than there is in a serving of juice.

The main reason I don’t agree with eliminating “indulgent” foods, is that many foods that people THINK fall into this category do not actually deserve to be there. Like I said before, some versions of that food may in fact be indulgent, whereas others could actually be considered healthy! (gasp)

For those who still restrict fat from their diet….. I get it. It’s high in calories, and calories turn into fat if they are not burned as energy. HOWEVER, fat is not in itself unhealthy. Fat (as well as any other source of calories) is only a problem if you’re eating too much, or you’re eating the wrong kind. Keep in mind that fat is extremely useful to the body and helps you to feel satisfied and full after meals, so you can’t only look at the calories.

The other reason I don’t promote the restriction of “indulgent” foods, is due to the fact that most people LOVE the foods they consider indulgent. So by eliminating all of these foods, they are also eliminating much of the joy they get out of eating. How sad is that??

What Do I Do??

Instead of restricting the foods that I enjoy, I find the best possible versions of those foods. By doing this, I am not indulging; I’m just eating 🙂 Check out some great and indulgent delights at Aloha.