My top 5 preemptive cheat foods

Published: Thu, 03/22/18

Hey !

Okay, first thing’s first. I know you don’t like the word “cheat” because it infers that we are somehow doing something “bad” or "wrong" and I actually agree.

To me, eating certain foods are not “good” or “bad,” “right” or “wrong,”—it’s all about discernment, balance, mindfulness and of course, #moderation365.

But, with all that said, a) I believe a word only has the power that we give it and b) a “preemptive cheat” is actually the opposite of a cheat in the traditional sense.

A preemptive cheat is a food that you strategically place into your eating days/weeks to help take the edge off feelings of deprivation and to curb the urge to binge. These are not what we’d consider full-blown junk, but foods that maybe you’d not see prominently placed on most traditional fat loss meal plans.

But here’s the thing.

We KNOW that deprivation leads to overindulgence. Small deprivations might lead to small overindulgences, whether this weekend, next week or next month. And larger deprivations, such as when we follow a strict diet for weeks and months, lead to larger binges and yo-yo dieting.

I’ll never forget the 15 lbs I put back on WITHIN 2 WEEKS after my first show. I’d like to say it was because of “hormones” (later that was more the case), but it was actually just because my physiology was so depleted and my psychology was so deprived that I just ate everything in sight. I was eating things I didn’t even like or want!

That’s the trouble with deprivation and putting foods on a do-not-eat list. We end up wanting them regardless of if we even like them—even when those exact foods might have been available to us months prior.

Discipline is smart. Deprivation is silly.

And preemptive cheats are the tactical solution that I use to help people overcome feelings of deprivation earlier, so that later this week or next week, the compulsion to binge is stunted.

Today I want to share with you the top preemptive cheats I am currently using, but first I want to invite you to a FREE live workshop I am hosting this Monday all about #Moderation365 and how to actually do it.

I speak to women daily who complain of obsessive thoughts around food, deprivation practices and incessant dieting, but feel helpless to do anything else. So many of us have tried diet after diet that left to our own devices we don’t even know how to eat normally anymore.

So, in the free training I am going to be breaking down how we got here, and how we can begin to UNLEARN old habits to make space for normalcy, balance and (despite your fear it will happen) how to NOT gain that 50 lbs you’re scared you will if you loosen up on the reigns.

At its core, dieting is about control.

I know because I did it, for a long time. Dieting feels organized. Like, having a plan keeps us safe. But unfortunately, when we train ourselves to only follow rules, it leaves very little space to learn our own bodies and how to recognize feelings of hunger, cravings, energy fluctuations and more.

If you are ready to courageously dip your toes into a new way of doing things with your eating—a more balanced and less obsessive way—then sign up for the workshop, it’s free!

Yes, I’ll be sending out the recording after the fact, but you still have to register to get it!

Now … the preemptive cheats I am currently loving. You can read about them here.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Xo,

Jill