I know I've been posting a lot about Paleo and cleaning up your diet, but I want to let you know that although I do think it's good to be strict sometimes, it's also good to splurge!
What I ate today:
- Breakfast - 2 cups of black coffee, way too many chocolate covered coffee beans that were in the kitchen at work
- Lunch - Leftover Mexican from last night's dinner out, steak and shrimp with onions peppers and mushrooms covered in a white cream (possibly mayo) based salsa with some carrot sticks that I also dipped in the sauce
- Dinner - Will be leftovers from Saturday night's dinner out, a crab cake over rice in red curry sauce with carrots
Did I eat 100% Paleo? Nope! I had chocolate, cream, bread crumbs in the crab cake, some rice... But did I make healthier choices than I could have? I skipped tortillas that are typically a staple in any Mexican meal. I also avoided the rice and beans that came with my meal. Why waste stomach space on those when I had plenty of tasty steak, shrimp, and veggies? I'd also like to note that today is kind of a splurge day in general, because I'm not usually eating restaurant leftovers as the majority of my daily intake!
I am not perfect, nobody is. I ate froyo twice this past week. Was that a healthy choice? Ummmm no (and writing that makes me realize maybe I need to reel it in a bit). But I believe in the recommendation from Mark's Daily Apple... eat healthy 80% of the time and let loose 20% of the time! For me, the 80/20 principle means if I'm cooking at home, I'm trying to keep it as Paleo as possible, but if I'm going out for a special occasion and I want something noncompliant I don't feel guilty.
I am not obsessed with every morsel going into my mouth, because I know I eat healthy enough on a regular basis that the 20% is not going to make or break my gut health or my efforts to maintain my weight. The question you should ask yourself is are you finding an 80/20 balance or are you closer to 50/50 or worse? Are processed foods and excess sugar a special treat or a regular option?
Do you follow the 80/20 principle or something similar?
