“What harm can two pizza slices — plus extra crusts — really do?” I asked myself last night (as if I didn’t know).
Turns out, plenty.
This morning when I stepped onto my feedback-device (we once called a scale), I’d gained which is likely just water weight, but still. (Being 56, water weight might actually be weight-weight).
Here’s the thing that annoyed me the most: the pizza wasn’t worth it.
Not at all.
Does this happen to you too?
Have you noticed that junk food looks omg delish until you actually eat it only to find out it’s bland, greasy or too-melt-in-your-mouth-and-disappear-ish?
How I take control.
First, a caveat: if you’re using and loving the intermittent fasting plan – limiting all eating to a specific window during the day – feel free to ignore this week’s post. (Or, better still, leave a comment telling us what you love about intermittent fasting.)
When my eating habits go teenage, here’s what I do.
I eat like a king for breakfast, a princess for lunch, and a pauper for dinner. (This plan isn’t mine. A weight loss author wrote about it in 1954, but the idea first appeared in a book in 1584!
Breakfast like a King.
When I’m breakfasting like a king I might have scrambled eggs with cheese and I’m not adverse to a waffle or three on the weekends.
Lunch like a Princess.
At noon I’ll have a healthy Kale Salad (salad kit in Costco’s walk-in freezer) with baby carrots, cooked broccoli, cucumber, and brown rice (I add the rice). I drizzle a very small amount of the Kale Salad’s dressing over the whole thing.
Around 2:00 I’ll have my second “lunch” which is relatively small. In the winter I might have a veggie burger on toast, a small burrito, peanut butter on toast, or onion soup (Trader Joe’s freezer).
In hot months, I’ll have watermelon or strawberries, avocado on toast, cold cucumber soup, a Popsicle, a small pre-made burrito so that it’s cold and you get the idea.
Around 4:00 I’ll have another very light “meal” similar to my 2:00 “snack.”
Eat Dinner like a Pauper.
I have something small for dinner and if I’m in the mood for an adult drink, I reach for champagne (lowest calories per serving).
When I Stop.
I stop eating by 6:00 p.m. thereby combining intermittent fasting with the “king, princess, pauper plan.”
I hope you’ll share what structured eating plan puts you on the best path for certain success. 🙂
No, it’s not just your imagination. Health is hard!
♥, Wendy
P.S. Are you new to the Inspired Eater? Welcome!! This blog won’t make much sense until you first read the Aunt Bea post (and you’ll find Aunt Bea on this page to the right under my short bio). On your cell you’ll see it immediately following the first post. After you enter your email address, the Aunt Bea article will be sent to your email’s inbox. If it’s not there, you might check the spam folder. And always feel free to email me at Wendy@TheInspiredEater.com and I’ll get Aunt Bea right to you!
You know the scoop: I’m an Amazon affiliate. If you buy from a link in my post, I’ll receive money, but the arrangement won’t cost you a dime.
18 Comments
Pizza is my weakness! And I never met a slice I didn’t like. I like your plan of largest to smallest meal first! Makes sense!
This is very interesting. I am not sure I could follow your eating plan as I love a nice dinner in the evening. But I do leave a good 14 hours between dinner and breakfast. I guess we all need to find what suits us. Well done.
Ooooh, Pizza is for sure my weakness! Love using a mantra throughout the day.
Sounds like such a little thing, but mantras really keep you on the straight and narrow.
Laughing and Learning once again my friend! Thank you thank you for the royal meal plan and mostly your wonderful support in this extreme sport! 😉
Hi Barbara! I think about you often. How are you?
Wow – has it really been two years already?! All good here. I still love your great advice and am ready to journal about pizza at any moment!
This is a great post! I do enjoy a huge breakfast and sometimes I don’t eat dinner at all. I completely agree with your approach!
Awesome! Somebody who doesn’t think this idea “ruins life.” It’s been life altering for me. In the evenings I tell myself that if I really want ice cream or a brownie, that I can have it in the morning.
I’ve had a brownie with my coffee but so far I’ve never attacked the ice cream in the morning.
Totally know what you mean when that dang pizza looks so good, but was it really? Weight gain is no joke…so easy to gain, but so hard to lose.
One year I gave up pizza — just said no to it entirely. It really helped me get un-addicted to pizza.
You said it: no joke.
I will give this a try. I enjoy dinner, but I will give it a shot!
Believe me, I enjoy dinner too! Sometimes I eat what the family is eating and only have a small amount. I “eat before I eat” by having something filling but low cal, so that a small portion is do-able.
Awesome to meet youo!!
I often feel that way after overindulging; it just doesn’t seem nearly as worth it AFTER I’ve eaten!
One hundred percent agree.
Wendy
Yes it is an extreme sport. Lucille Ball also used that quote when asked how she stayed slim later in life.
Thanks for adding this good post to the Friday with Friends link party.
RR
I had no idea! The funny thing: I have a good friend from India who LOVES Lucille Ball. We watched a lot of I Love Lucy when I lived five mins. from her. 🙂
Wendy
Pingback: 5 Pearls: My Wrinkles, My Self-Sabotage, & My Best Fitness Hack Ever (humor me: I’m late to this party) – The Inspired Eater