Yes, I eat. All the time. And that includes cookies.

I know, I’m pretty irregular here. But hey, I work, and my effort goes there – to the people I train. I’m not a flashy sales person, so if you’re looking for a coach that’s flashy and spends a lot of time being flashy – you had better look elsewhere. Otherwise, if you want no-nonsense and just plain informed coaching from someone who has an actual educational background in what they are doing, you’re in the right spot.

However! I digress.

This post is about eating, and how to enjoy it with all of those enjoyable foods that are out there. Or, how I do it, at least. And maybe it will prove to be some food for thought for you as well (pun intended).

It is rare for someone to see me without food in my mouth, and there are times when that food is something on the sweet side of things – and I’m not talking about fruit. I am not afraid to admit that I love foods such as ice cream, cookies, cake – and of course, peppermint patties.

So how do I do it? How do eat these things, how do I incorporate them into my day without going overboard? I budget. I know that the chances of myself consuming something on the sweet side of things is pretty high, so I allot for that. Whenever I have my morning tea, I also have two peppermint patties (the small ones). The days that I have my tea in the afternoon, I have two peppermint patties and a cookie. Boom. Done. Sweetness accounted for; just a little does the trick. But what happens when I am tempted with more, such as today – cake AND donuts! What do I do?! I make some swaps. Today, it worked out quite well, because it was an afternoon tea day. I had the cake (it wasn’t that big of a piece) with my lunch, and I saved the half of the rather plain donut I took to have with my tea -instead of the two mini peppermint patties and the cookie. There. Sweets incorporated, balance maintained.

It is unfortunately all too common for people to think that they need to completely abolish sweets from the dietary routine. I’m sorry, but I just cannot condone this type of dietary restriction. If you like sweets, and you know that if you do not eat them you’ll end up going overboard on them, BUDGET them into your daily consumption. Just a little. That will do the trick. That is much better than saying you won’t eat any sweets – which might last a couple of days, maybe – and then you start getting cravings, can’t take it anymore, and then over-indulge. Come on now. Does that sound sustainable and successful? No. No it does not. One a day. That’s it. You can do that. That’s what I do. And if I am tempted with more, I make swaps. It really is not difficult. The rest of my daily consumption is filled with all sorts of good-for-you things. Hey, I love vegetables too, and I certainly get my fair share in. It is prime garden harvest season, after all. Enjoy it!

You don’t have to agree with me on this. It is just my take on things, how I balance everything in my daily consumption out. Yes, it does require a little bit of discipline, and no one can instill that in you, but balance is possible. You can do it.