During the last 10 months... Saturday has always been "treat day". I take that day to recover my muscles from my vigorous Monday to Friday workout routine AND I eat whatever I want. The theory behind "treat day" is to satisfy the food cravings and also to spike my metabolism by substantially increasing my calorie intake during a short period of time. I'm pretty certain that Devin and Gina originally suggested that I just have one "treat meal"... but I took the liberty of extending it an entire "treat day"!

All my friends know Saturday is the only day that I will eat out at restaurants or enjoy unhealthy food - guilt-free! Without a doubt, there definitely are some staple foods on "treat day". There has always been the power breakfast (hahaha): white bread, toasted with margarine and covered with Kraft peanut butter... washed down with an espresso. Then of course there were Humpty Dumpty Cheesies (I had to have them every week) or Haagen-Dazs ice cream for a snack... usually nachos for lunch... for supper it was always a high carb, high fat and high calorie meal... consisting of donairs or fish and chips or BBQ steak (never all 3 in one day though - now that would just be ridiculous). Compared to the quality and quantity of food I consumed the other 6 days of the week... it was really obscene the amount of carbs, fat and calories to consume in a 24 hour period. Actually, now that I've actually written it down... it sounds really bad!

A couple weeks back I posted a disgusting photo of the left-over cheesies that sat in a brown paper bag for a couple days (cheesie reality check). Seeing that on my counter really flipped a switch for me. The last couple of weeks my desire for "treat day" hasn't been as intense as it has in the past. Yes, I still had my morning toast and treats during the day but not at the magnitude that I used to and the anticipation of treat day has subsided as well. Seeing those cheesies in the bag really sent a message home to me that I didn't eat these foods 6 days a week for a reason... because they are bad for me and I usually feel disgusting after I eat it anyway!!!

In the past if I didn't go hog wild on "treat day", I often felt like I had cheated myself (especially after all that hard work during the week) and sometimes would extend "treat day" to Sunday as well. I realize now... that's a really stupid way to think about "treat day".

This weekend I didn't gorge on "treat day", but I was satisfied. We had my a couple people over for a bbq to celebrate Gord's birthday and though I ate red meat at the BBQ (which is a treat), I had green beans and grilled zucchini on the side instead of fries or a baked potato. I did have some whole wheat nacho chips and dip but probably about a ½ dozen.

Gord had requested that I make this amazing cheesecake/lemon pound cake/lemon custard filling/whip cream cake for his birthday (it's quite a production and takes 3 days to make). I did look forward to eating it and enjoyed one slice on Saturday... but I didn't even finish what was on my plate. I was already suffering from ITIS from eating my supper (hahaha). Half the birthday cake sat untouched in our fridge since Sunday. In the past... I would normally drop off samples to close friends to get the treat out of the our house and into theirs... but most of my friends seem to be trying to lose weight too... so I didn't want to sabotage their efforts so no deliveries were made... the cake just sat there... uneaten in the fridge... and I didn't touch it either! This morning I realize the cake was gone... Gord must have took it to work or put it in the green bin.

A medical doctor that has been monitoring my progress for a couple months had voiced concerned about my "treat days" and the strong desire I had to basically bing one day a week. Deep down I had the concern too... it definitely had "eating disorder potential" written all over it. He had suggested that I try to eliminate "treat day" all together. The thought of a complete abolishment of "treat day" would be too extreme for me, especially because I use "treat day" as a way to control my eating the other 6 days of the week. During the week... if I get a food craving... I tell myself that if I still want to eat that food by Saturday then I can... but most of the time by Saturday I don't want to eat it anymore! A perfect example is the new truffle blizzard at Dairy Queen. I keep hearing the advertisement on the radio, I've wanted to try one for weeks. This Saturday when I drove by Dairy Queen I thought to myself, you know it probably is all hype. I decided not to bother trying the blizzard. I knew I could if I wanted to (it was Saturday)... but I made the decision that it wasn't worth the calories or the money. The doctor did bring up an interesting point about supplimenting my cravings with something positive. I've been doing that and it really has helped the few times when I was tempted to have pizza to console myself with a different stresses in my life... I'll go out for a walk on the boardwalk instead.

Though I appreciate and listen to professional advice, I need to make the decisions for myself on what I should and should not be doing in order to feel good about the choice. This has also occurred with my training. Devin and Gina thought my previous plateau was due to overtraining. I didn't modify my routine right away, but after few weeks I decided to follow their instructions. I agreed to cut back on the running and implement some weight training and voila the pounds started to shed again. I knew they were right... but I was getting really addicted to running 1 hour a day and I wasn't sure I was ready to give up that adrenaline high.

The more healthy I become, the more I realize that changing my life has to be done on my terms... I seriously think this is why I've been successful this time around. Instead of just taking advice and moving forward like a robot... I'm thinking about my body, the reasoning behind the change, and if it's right for me before I make the decision to change what I'm doing. Having this control over my health is helping to make this a lifestyle change that I can live with... it is my life after all so I need to "buy into it" in order to stick with it.

I'm going to continue to have "treat day" because I think it's helped me to become successful in "keeping on track" the rest of the week... but I have noticed that the more I exercise and lose weight... "treat day" seems to become less important to me.