Cheating on Your Clean Diet?

CHEATING.

That word brings all kinds of negative thoughts to mind - cheating on a spouse, cheating on a test, etc. However, these are a few questions we are asked all the time: "Do you ever cheat?" "How often do you cheat?" "What do you eat when you cheat?"...

This post has been in "draft" status for over a year (no joke) but I decided to finish and post it after hearing from some of you about the photo we posted on Instagram. These are hard questions to answer because everyones version of "cheating" is different.  Just like I mentioned in our "Getting Started with Clean Eating" post, everyone has a different view on what exactly constitutes "clean eating"...same goes for "cheating".  We even get emails from readers that some of our ingredients are not clean enough!

So, I will say we don't "cheat".  Let's use the word treat instead of cheat anyway. We eat clean meals 5-6 times per day, every 2-3 hours.  We drink water.  We workout 4-6 days per week.  We do allow ourselves a few "treats" but normally save those for special events or vacations.  Notice that I said "few", we don't let our treats turn into a week of fried chicken, cheeseburgers, french fries, and milkshakes.  We just feel better when we eat clean food.  Our body functions better.  Our skin looks better.

We eat clean because it is good for our bodies.  We also love the way we feel because of clean eating (along with weight lifting).

We don't keep "treats" (candy, chips, etc.) in our house.  However, we also do not deprive ourselves, if we want a treat we eat one. Sometimes we eat the real thing (ice cream, pizza, etc) but still try to find the better alternative such as pizza from Whole Foods or Mellow Mushroom and ice cream made with real ingredients. Sometimes we even try to make the treat on our own (which is where many of our dessert/treat recipes came from). We have come up with some amazing clean(er) recipes that I actually prefer over the original!  When we make clean treats I do not even consider those cheats but some people would.  How can you go wrong with our cookie dough, oatmeal cinnamon raisin cookies, or our cinnamon rolls?

If we are on vacation or out to dinner and want something special we normally split whatever it is (cake, brownie, etc.) because restaurant dessert portions are huge (plus you save money)! We do not just eat a donut, ice cream, chips, etc. every time they are placed in front of us (which is pretty often in an office environment, unfortunately). We choose our treats wisely. It's easy to feel pressured into eating a treat just because co-workers or family members are giving you a hard time. If you want the treat that is fine but don't eat something just because someone else is pressuring you. We want to make sure that when we do treat ourselves that it's worth it! We aren't going to eat a piece of strawberry pie (which we don't even like) just because our great aunt made it or because it's sitting in front of us. We choose our treats and when we eat them.

I posted the picture above on our Instagram and Facebook but we don't always post pictures of our treat meals because we don't want people to think we eat that way all the time. There's a lot of "fitness accounts" out there that only post pictures of ice cream, pizza, and then their abs. We don't think that is realistic. We also don't want to trigger anyone who is just starting out. We still believe that it is important to refrain from too many treats when first starting just so that you can re-train your tastebuds and build up your willpower. How often we treat ourselves just depends on what is going on in our lives. Every single person will be different because of how our bodies react, our goals, etc. There is no right or wrong answer, you will just have to take time to find out what works for you!

This is our lifestyle.  This is how we choose to live.  This is how we choose to eat.  We are not fitness models or fitness competitors.  We do have a life.  We do know balance.  We hope you find it too.

3 Ways to Break a Weight Loss Plateau

Have you been eating healthy and working out but feel stuck? First, ask yourself how long your progress as stalled. A true plateau is no weight loss or inches lost in three or more weeks. We covered (in this post) why you can't rely on the scale and shouldn't weigh yourself very often. However, if you still aren't seeing any difference in the way your clothes fit or your energy levels you may have hit a plateau. They are common and can be broken - Don't lose steam or give up! Try one or all three of the tips below to get your body moving in the right direction again.

3 Ways to Break a Weight Loss Plateau

1. Change up your workout routine and/or nutrition plan. Our bodies are smart and they get used to what we do. If you've been doing the same workout over and over (which you shouldn't!) you need to switch up your routine. It could be as simple as switching out the days that you lift each week, lifting different body parts together (instead of chest and back try chest and tris, etc). Also, try incorporating one HIIT session per week but make sure that you are NOT doing too much cardio. Sometimes just reversing the order of your workout or finding new workout music can help! Try one of our workout plans and our FREE cardio/HIIT routines!

I will admit, I actually enjoy eating the same foods all of the time. I'm not a very picky eater (never have been) so even though I do own this "food blog" I tend to stick with the same recipes week after week! If you are like me, try switching up your meals or eating different sources of fat, protein, and/or carbs. For example, if most of your healthy fat comes from almond butter try to get yours from coconut oil. Eat breakfast for dinner and just have a shake in the mornings. Try different things out of your normal routine!

2. Journal your food. Journal ALL of your food (especially the food you eat and don't want to write down!). I don't think that counting calories and/or macros all the time is necessary but when you need to take a close look at your food it can be helpful! Journaling is a good way to see if you are over OR under-eating. I actually find that most people are UNDER eating. Your body needs food to fuel your workouts. Eat up (healthy foods) and watch your body transform! While journaling you might find that you are "snacking" on your kids goldfish more often than you thought or you might be eating more than 3 squares of dark chocolate at a time (see this post on moderation and balance).

3. Take a complete {workout} break. While you should already be taking a complete rest day at least 1-2 times per week we also recommend taking an entire week off. If you have been working out for 12(+) weeks straight, take a break. Your body will thank you for the rest. You can use this time to think about your goals for the next three months, spend time trying new recipes, or catching up with friends and family! Keep eating healthy and give your body the rest it deserves.

You do need to be honest with yourself. Do you still have a lot of excess weight to lose or are you trying to lose "vanity pounds"? If you have 5-10 pounds that you are trying to lose - and that is all you need to lose - it is going to be tougher to lose that weight because your body wants to hold onto it! You will need to be patient and trust the process!

You may be interested in these additional resources:

• 7 Easy Tips to Slim Down For Your Next Event
• Stories From My Scale (Why You Need to Ditch Yours For Good!)
• 5 Things I Did to Achieve My Dream Body
• 5 Reasons Why You Aren't Achieving Your Dream Body
• 5 Things We've Done to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle 5+ Years

7 Easy Tips to SLIM DOWN for your Next Big Event!

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This was posted on my personal website but I decided to move it here so that more of you could benefit from it since we get a lot of emails on this topic. ;-)

Every time I have a photo shoot or an event I am always asked what I do to prepare. Of course, the main thing that I suggest is to eat healthy consistently before your event. You shouldn't do anything unhealthy or drastic to drop weight quickly. Some people think they will just basically starve themselves or do cardio for hours a day...please don't do either! With that being said, there are some changes that I do make to my diet and exercise to lean out as much as possible when I have a special occasion coming up - usually starting about 2 weeks out.

To prepare for my last photo shoot and our beach trip right after, I did the She Sweats Extreme 4-Week Shred workouts (I started with the She Sweats 12-Week Transformation). I was able to shred the last bit of fat by doing the high-intensity circuits that are part of the Extreme workout plan.

If you are preparing for a fitness photo shoot or competition, I highly suggest hiring an experienced coach but the tips below will give the average person just trying to drop water weight a starting point for that special day (whether it's a wedding, vacation, reunion, etc.).

7 EASY TIPS TO SLIM DOWN FOR YOUR NEXT EVENT

2 weeks out from your event (or even earlier...if you can):

1. No alcohol.
2. Aim for a gallon of water per day
   • Only drink water or unsweetened tea (We also like to incorporate some of these detox waters - the Jillian Michaels Detox Water one is our favorite!)

5-7 days from out from your event (all of the following plus the 2 above):

1. Eat only whole foods.
   • Limit or eliminate protein powders and protein bars
2. Avoid dining out as much as possible.
3. Limit your intake of foods that bloat you.
   • This might take some trial and error. I have found over the last few years that eggs, dairy, gluten, protein powders, protein bars, gum, some veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, etc) bloat me. I do eat these (some of them every day) but will cut them out the week before an event.
   • Check out this post for more information on foods that may bloat you and how to beat belly bloat (again, we love the Jillian Michaels Detox Water to help reduce bloating).
4. Avoid sugar and artificial sweeteners.
5. Avoid adding extra salt to your dishes (This is another reason why it's best to try and avoid dining out during this time).

Remember, the best way to prepare for an event is to live a healthy lifestyle year-round! Just a few minor tweaks {as listed above} will help you feel more confident when a big event is coming up but nothing can replace eating healthy and working out on a consistent basis!

Let us be your personal trainers with our detailed 4, 6 and 12-week She Sweats Workout plans! We guide your workout each day, telling you exactly what to do and what intensity to work at. We have everything you need! Find out more!