Have Your Cake and Eat It Too

I just celebrated my 33rd birthday in Ellijay, Georgia, and I’m here to tell you that you can have your cake and eat it too when it comes to whole health living.

First, we need to change our mindset from “dieting” to just simply living a healthy lifestyle. When you practice eating in moderation and consuming proper portion sizes, it becomes easier to allow yourself to "splurge" without the guilt. So, in order to achieve this, my first suggestion is to fill your plate with colorful vegetables and some fruits. Yes, vegetables and fruits have carbohydrates, but they also have fiber. Carbs minus fiber equals net carbs. Net carbs is the more significant number, in my opinion. Unless you are diabetic, I recommend eating fruits as you please. I know, for some, that can be a lot to comprehend, but to keep it simple: eat the rainbow. Make a colorful plate your norm. My next suggestion is to choose a lean protein and a small amount of healthy fat to complete your plate. Once you switch your habits, it truly makes your splurges so much more enjoyable, and you'll find that a little goes a long way.

Second, we need to get a better understanding of splurging. The term "cheat meal" gets thrown around a lot, which is fine for some people; however, a cheat meal can easily turn into a cheat day. This is still acceptable as long as it doesn't turn into a habit or derail your progress. Some people tend to get discouraged the day after they allow a cheat meal to turn into a cheat day and decide to just continue with the bad habits. My suggestion is to let it be. Every day is a new day. You don't have to wait until the next Monday to start. If you want to allow yourself a "cheat meal" or a "cheat day", that is fine. Do what works for you and allow yourself some grace because we are only on this earth for so long, and we should enjoy good food and good wine with good company!

So, onto my trip in Ellijay. We had the best time! We have a camper that stays there permanently and have a few places that we like to go when we don't have the kids with us. Not saying that we wouldn't take our kids to all of theses places, because we definitely do, but it's just fun to have some adult time every now and then. We actually did have my three boys with us for the first evening (before my parents took them off our hands). We went to downtown Ellijay to eat at Ellijay Wood Fired Pizza, which is always a good idea. All of their pizzas are so good. I highly recommend the Traditional Grandma and the Mild Sausage and Peppadew pizzas. You won't regret it.

The next day, we packed a picnic and went to Buckley Vineyards. We love Buckley because it is so relaxed and welcoming; the wine is pretty great too! I'm a dry wine drinker. My two favorites are the Jeanne Sauvignon Blanc and the Farmhouse Red Blend. After settling in with our wine choices, we dug in on our picnic spread. We had spinach salad with garbanzo beans, avocado slices and tahini dressing. We had smoked salmon with cheese and homemade bread. We had salami and prosciutto with nuts and berries and crackers. We had the best selection of food. After our feast, we ended up meeting a group of ladies at the winery that were all in a book club, and we invited them to meet us for karaoke later that night. We ended up at the American Legion in Ellijay because it is such a good time and right on the river, and they do karaoke very often, which our group really enjoys. The book club ladies met up with us, and we all sang our hearts out until about 10pm. We had such a blast!

I write all of this to make a point that it's okay to splurge every now and then. I try my best to make healthy decisions when I'm on a trip, but if I'd like to have a slice of cake (I did), I'm going to have it. Again, it's the practice of moderation and eating proper portion sizes that will help create healthy habits in your diet. And I say "diet" meaning what someone habitually eats (not restrictive eating). Allowing yourself to splurge on occasion is completely fine. Allowing yourself to get back on track the next day is also fine. Don't get stuck in the cycle of allowing a cheat meal or a cheat day turn into a cheat week, which turns into giving up on new healthy habits altogether due to discouragement. Simply pick back up where you left off and know that it's okay to get a little off track sometimes.