Indulge
Hi guys! Hope you’re having a lovely night <3 This is supposed to be a reader’s request post, but I couldn’t think of an idea that sang to me, so instead of writing something mediocre, I’m just going to wait on it.
The pilot came home last night at midnight with a half-eaten order of McDonald’s fries.
I sat at the bottom of the staircase and helped him finish them :) [That was before I Googled for a picture and found out that Mickey D’s fries have beef flavoring in them…..]
I love baking for friends
but I especially love the dough I save myself at the bottom of the bowl. Sometimes I bake for the pure reason that I want some dough.
Working out is something I look forward to every day. It makes me sane, is great for my health, and *almost* nothing feels quite as good as a triumphant gym sesh.
But sometimes…
it feels really good to skip out on the gym and crash on the couch with puppers.
When we go out to dinner, I never think to order dessert.
But many times, when the Pilot orders it anyway, I’ll take more bites than he does.
The last bite is MINE 😀
I’m fully convinced that wine can make every meal taste better. I just wish there was a way to just have a glass without the commitment of opening an entire bottle.
When I first started my weight loss journey, I rarely indulged. Everything was fat-free, sugar-free, diet-y and gross. Even after I lost the weight, I was still a little apprehensive that I’d unravel all of my hard work. After I got into maintenance mode, I had to figure out how to add back in more *real* treats and it was some time before I fell into my groove.
Now, I eat pretty dang healthy about 80-90% of the time. I crave healthier foods because when I eat well, I feel it. When I eat more processed or sugary stuff, I feel lethargic, get headaches and my skin doesn’t like me so much. I just wanted to show you guys that I’m definitely not a robot. I prefer to mostly post healthy, whole meals on here so you guys can get ideas, but definitely don’t post all of my eats. (A random piece of toast, handful of chocolate chips or dip into the almond butter jar would get old, fast)
It’s healthy TO indulge every now and again. That is definitely something I’ll raise my fork to 😉
See ya in the morning <3
Gina
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Amen, sista!
I have a 12 year old who protests McD’s food, especially their fries. Her 6th grade teacher told them how they are made and she is dead set on never eating them because she says they are rolled in sugar to help preserve them. Not sure if it’s true..but if my kid wants to skip McD’s..I’m game 🙂 Never thought about beef flavoring?
beef flavoring. i feel ill.
Yes! Here here! I agree 100%. I was a total couch potato today and it felt great. So necessary to have balance and listen to what your body needs. I just added you to me blogroll, by the way. Love your site:)
I am exactly the same way about dough. Sometimes I go to allrecipes.com, find a cookie recipe, and adjust the portions to 1 or 2. Then I make the dough just to munch on! For me, it beats making the entire batch and wanting to eat all of it!
Embrace that girl! I think your approach to living well, being well and feeling well is fabulous. That is how you can enjoy indulgences while still feeling alive and energized. 🙂
Thank you for this post! I just started last week doing personal training and nutritional counseling at my gym and I’m trying to adjust to reducing calories and finding healthy options that are filling to meet a 1,500 calorie a day requirement. It’s good to remember that it’s okay to indulge every once and a while in order to keep sane. It’s also good to see that even you indulge 🙂
mmm… I agree!! Sippin’ on some pinot noir right now 🙂 but I also hate having to commit to the whole bottle. Luckily Hubbs usually helps over a day or two 🙂
That’s disgusting about the fries. I never knew that. Indulging is such a key point to weight maintenance. I think it’s the main reason why people have such a hard time losing weight and keeping it off…they feel like they can’t enjoy food anymore.
i totally agree
i’m the exact same way. i don’t post nearly everything i eat on my blog. it’s too much! and i agree, little posts about a tortilla w/pb or a peanut butter finger wouldn’t be too interesting after a while! 😀
I absolutely agree! By indulging sometimes I make it less likely to binge, and that’s always a good thing.
Thank you for this post and for being real! 🙂
Love it! I need to indulge to keep myself SANE!
could not agree more. life is too short to skip out on birthday cake and wine!
What a refreshing post. Honest and refreshing! Thank you!
Thanks for being so real with us. Sometimes it’s hard for readers to remember that bloggers are real people too. It’s nice to know that you indulge too. Also, posts like this help people realize that you can’t compare how you eat to someone else, especially bloggers who don’t post everything they eat or snack on (and has made it clear many times that this is the case!). Thanks Gina, I always look forward to your posts.
I still struggle with guilt about indulging but I am getting better about it. I think the key is to look at the whole week and not one treat. I thought McD’s took out the beef flavoring because a vegetarian sued them a few years ago for it.
i hope so!
what a great post! I think a lot of women (including myself) forget that balance means to step back and indulge a little to stay balanced and happy 🙂
Gina I really appreciate this post — I love your blog, don’t get me wrong, but you seem to eat perfectly, and it is nice to know that you do indulge. It makes me feel like I’m normal for craving McD fries or ordering dessert 🙂
You’re the best!
We all STRIVE to balance areas of our life such as career, relationships, friends so why do so many of us STRUGGLE to balance health with the occasional indulgence??? Seems plain silly to me 😉
I just wrote on Julie’s blog (PB Fingers) how my friends and I often go out for Dinnert (dessert for dinner) 😉 And OF COURSE that pairs nicely with a glass of vino 🙂
i think the problem is that so many of us have an all or nothing attitude, which makes balance a lot more difficult
Thanks for this post. I think it can be really easy to follow healthy blogs and feel like you have to eat perfectly 100% of the time. It’s great to see my favorite bloggers eat “junk food” because it reminds me that indulging is part of a healthy and balanced lifestyle.
BEEF FLAVORING?! Gross. Guess you really can’t expect much from Mickey D’s…what did the Pilot think?
Love this post =)
Since losing 25 pounds and changing the way I eat I struggle with my ‘cheating’. The fact that I look at it as cheating and not as an occasional indulgence is something I’m trying to change. Thanks for helping me feel better about those treats!
Thanks for keepin it real!
I have an idea for reader’s request, how do you tell people about your diet? I don’t eat meat but I don’t consider myself a vegetarian either. This is an especially awkward convo to have on a first date because I don’t want him to worry about where to go, most menus have some veg options. So usually I don’t tell them right away, order something veggy and hope they don’t notice.
I don’t know if anyone else has this problem but any help would be appreciated!
yum. dessert is my weakness, its what I really struggle with!
I just wanted to thank you for the inspiration; and let you know that I mentioned you in a post of mine 🙂
Thanks again!
Beef flavoring?! Bleh bleh bleh!!
It’s good you indulged though:) Good, important post. Cheers to indulging 😀
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! Beef? Sick! I haven’t had fries from a fast food place in probably 8 years now….I had no idea Beef flavouring.
Lol, I bake sometimes just for the remaining dough too! I thought i was the only one….I will leave myself a lot of extra “because it won’t fit in the pan” 😉
xxoo
You CAN have a glass of wine without opening a bottle. It’s called Franzia, my friend. 😉
AMEN. You just pretty much summed up my entire blog, lol. Eat clean 80-90% of the time…never ever stress about indulging and enjoying the sweeter things in life ;-)Thanks for saying this, a lot of people look up to you, and you have A LOT of readers….so it’s refreshing to see that message get across on a larger scale!
Oh..and I totally knew about the beef flavoring…you don;t even want to KNOW what else is in them….unless you already saw……I make my own fries if I wanna indulge…the smell of McDonalds is overpowering, and addictive, luckily Michael never brings them home….
yes i saw. i feel a little ill, but know for the future i might choose another fry instead 😉
Could not agree with you more…life would be really without ice cream!
Having had my weight fluctuate by about 10-20 lbs off and on for years, and finally trying to conquer this up and down battle, while I’m still young, and have the fight in me to maintain healthy habits, I sometimes stress if I don’t have the “perfect” day of eating and exercising. I’ve never been “fat” but not in my optimal body or happiness with my appearance, and feel like I’m finally settling into not a diet but a lifestyle, that will help me stay in a good place.
Its VERY encouraging to hear that even people who are in great shape, and strive for health still allow themselves to “indulge”, without that indulgence becoming a habit.
Thanks for being an awesome example of a balanced life!
Great post! I was actually thinking of you this morning of how pure you always seemed to eat!
I love this post. You seem to be perfect when it comes to food, so it makes me feel a little better about myself knowing you indulge a bit, too.
Thanks for this post! I used to and still do struggle from time to time with allowing myself to indulge since I have lost weight. Even when I would let myself have a treat it was generally fat free or sugar free. I am making great progress in not feeling guilty about my splurges and posts like this help me remain motivated to stay on the right track 🙂
thats kind of really gross about mcds fries. ew
Hmmmmm, didn’t know about the beef flavoring…but what does that actually mean?
Probably not really beef, but a bunch of chemicals?
I definitely never thought of beef when I ate McDonald’s fries. If anything they’re on my list of occasional indulgences…usually when my husband gets them ;-).
First of all, I worked at McDonalds and I do not think that is true about the beef flavoring(not saying that it isnt true, i worked there when i was 15). But I do want to say that you are such an inspiration to me. I am absolutely terrified of indulging in too much because I am scared that I will gain weight. I am so glad that you shared about today because it helps to she me that I can eat my favorite foods in moderation and not gain weight!! 🙂
I’m totally with you on that wine thing. 🙂
Beef flavoring? Really? Do they even need to add that?. Oh poop.
Target has some pretty tasty boxed wine! It stays fresh after you pour yourself one glass. Love it!
desserts are always great!
I’ll raise my fork too!
Thanks, Gina! I always appreciate when a food blogger is honest that indulgent things happen, too. 🙂 Banana soft serve is fantastic… but sometimes you just want the real thing!
I totally agree about wine making every meal taste better. Also:
> I just wish there was a way to just have a glass without the commitment of
> opening an entire bottle.
But there is! Get one of those vacuum-caps (you can get little ones – just a couple dollars – at most cooking stores and, here in Canada, at the Liquer store; or you can go fancy and get a whole air-removing mechanism).
Just pop one on after opening and your wine is (almost) as good as new. I’m a huge wine fan and always hated the idea of either drinking or pouring out a whole bottle after opening. With those corks I find a bottle can last surprisingly long (I’ve cut down how much I drink and we had friends over a MONTH ago, who left behind half a bottle that I capped. I apprehensively opened it when I felt like a glass and…it was delicious)
i have one of those!! maybe i should take it out of the package?? hahah
I’m having trouble maintaining my weight! i want to stop losing…any advice?
hey girl,
you’ll have to start adding back in some more calories to stop losing weight. add in a snack or small meal each day, or up the nutrient stats of your current eats
This post is reaching out to A LOT of readers! I think it is so important to indulge and as healthy living bloggers we have to show that we DO so others can know it’s possible and needed in life. I recently did a very similar post (McDs included even) on my blog. http://www.faithfitnessfun.com/3615/i-cannot-tell-a-lie/
I love hearing about your favorite ways to indulge and how they can still be a part of your healthy lifestyle. And no one can deny that you’re FIT so this is fabulous. I think one of my favorite posts of yours yet even.
There are soooo many things in this post that I agree with 100%. Like the commitment you have to the entire bottle of wine. LoL, I think this all the time, especially since my hubby never drinks it so I know it’s all up to me in just a day or two.
I always try to convince my hubby to order desert just so that I can eat it and I definitely bake for others just to get some of the licks from the bottom of the bowl! 😉
I fully believe that indulging is a part of life and we are all entitled to it. Now, I feel that I am able to indulge without guilt, which took a very long time to be able to master, and I still have my moments, but for the most part, I just tell myself “I’m wroth it.”
I never new there fries had beef flavoring in them.
This is so true. For years I was afraid that a single treat would be the death of me, but now I make sure to have a mini-treat every day (dark chocolate, a SCM cookie, etc) to keep myself sane and a bigger treat once a week or so. Life is too short to miss out on the foods you love…I just wish McD’s fries didn’t have beef!!