Cheating

I read somewhere that one of Jackie O's responses to finding out she had cancer was "All those sit ups!"  No matter how healthy we are, we can die tomorrow, right?  Do I want my last meal to be garbanzos and rice crackers?  Well, maybe, because I have issues - but I'd rather have a chocolate feast, y'all, in my heart.

I like to cheat; I have to cheat to trick my brain.  A little splurging goes a long way - whether it's eating desert, or sleeping in (when I can), or skipping a workout to play guitar.  Or even having a boozy night to remind myself why I don't need to have more boozy nights.  Cheating is necessary.  Some people believe that cheat days shocks the body into processing fat and carbs; Some people feel that skipped workouts or easy workouts allow your body time to rest.  I don't know about all that - I just know that it lets off some steam so I can get through the day without eating a block of chocolate and humping the furniture.

Here are my thoughts about cheating:

1. Don't do it too often - if you do, it isn't a cheat, it's your "normal."  The very fact that you think of a splurge as a cheat insinuates that you know where your balance lies: Small meals throughout the day, exercise 3 or more times a week, some physical activity each day of the week.
2. Put your cheats into categories: a desert cheat, a main course cheat, a crappy workout cheat, the "I'm willing to walk two miles...to the ice cream store" cheat.
3. Cheat on the micro level ("Bro, can I get a bite of your pie...") and the macro level: Take a few days off from heavy exercise every couple of months.  Let yourself splurge a bit on vacations or at the holidays.  These remind you what balance feels like - and if you overdo the splurge, what imbalance feels like.
4. Remember - a cheat is a cheat; let it be the exception, not the rule.