Eat Your Cake
You will not find very many people in the fitness and nutrition industry who would advocate eating cake as much as I do. Is it a daily occurrence in my meal plans? Not a chance!
So how often then?
Like any professional in any field, the only true answer to any question is, “It Depends”. Context is everything!
Are you gearing up for a race, competition, photoshoot or otherwise absolutely need to be your prime? Lets stay away from the cake.
Are you on a weight loss journey but it happens to be your or your family member’s birthday? I almost insist on a slice being plated up!
Why? Because a single slice of a cake in a month is going to have about the same effect on your overall goals as having a salad every time there’s a full moon!
I urge all my clients to find their happy medium of a lifestyle that is sustainable long term. Ideally one which involves the occasional slice of chocolate truffle. Just know when to call it quits and remember to ask yourself who is in control of the situation, you or the cake?
Being happy with the food you eat and being able to enjoy the human experience is absolutely critical. Cake must be had to honour a celebration. All I ask of my clients is to actually cherish it and not cheapen its value by having one for their best friend’s aunt’s cousin’s engagement party. Be honest with yourself and you’re halfway there.
That’s why one of my primary goals with any client is to get a smile on their face at every meal, and not only for the 3 seconds in a week that they do a weight check. Remember why you signed up and know that you’re in it for the long run. Don’t get on a diet. Diets end. Change your relationship with food and watch the magic happen!
Closing thoughts: “Healthy Cakes” are a lie. If you are going to have a cake then just eat whatever you enjoy. 100g of honey/jaggery in a serving is no better than 100g of granulated sugar by any respectable stretch of the imagination.
Bonus: Refined sugar is a drug. An addictive one at that. Broadly speaking, it is used to either:
1. Give an instant boost of energy (Think sports energy gels, sports drinks etc)
2. Make us “happier”.
If your use case is restricted to the first, that's fantastic. If you find yourself having a low key dependency for the second then know that getting off it can be genuinely hard. The day we acknowledge and accept that is the day we can begin the process of understanding our own mind and body and consequently start healing.
