You already ruined your diet today with bubble tea. Might as well just have a box of cookies. You’ll get back to your diet tomorrow. This is the LAST bubble tea you’ll have until you get to your goal. After this, you’re really going to be serious. (Note: We use bubble tea here, but you can replace it with whatever your “junk food” is.)
If you’ve told yourself these things, you’re just like countless others who have been struggling with the same problem since people first started caring about their nutrition. And that’s okay.
The reality is that all food serves a purpose, whether it be physiological or psychological. Bubble tea might not offer very much in terms of beneficial vitamins and macronutrients, but if it truly gives you joy, it serves a very important purpose. It’s when you drink too much of it that it defeats its own purpose: the joy that it brings turns into guilt, which becomes a self-defeating cycle.
If you tell yourself that you’re going to totally cut out bubble tea, you’re setting yourself up for anxiety and an inevitable rebound into unhealthy eating when you give into human nature and allow yourself to enjoy something that you love.
The truth is, not even most professional athletes maintain 100% clean eating habits, and even then, it’s only when they’re preparing for a major event. Don’t put that unrealistic expectation on yourself. Here are three simple rules for getting the most out of your bubble tea, and therefore, a healthy relationship with food.
1. For sustainable progress, at least 80% of your calories should come from clean sources
Without getting too in-depth about macro- and micronutrients, make sure that most of your food is coming from foods that are natural and rich in vitamins and minerals. That means about 4 out of 5 meals should be clean. But it’s important to note that “junk food” like bubble tea or fast food tends to have a lot more calories than clean food, so you can’t eat as much volume. So pick a smaller serving, take your time eating, and focus on really enjoying your meal.
2.Schedule your bubble tea
Set yourself a weekly limit for your bubble tea, then choose a specific day and time for your bubble tea. If you drink bubble tea to relieve stress, you should schedule that bubble tea around a stressful meeting. If you drink it to reward yourself for hard work, drink it after a tough workout. Pro tip: if your junk food really is bubble tea, post workout is a great time for it, as it has sugar to help restore a bit of energy as well as a small amount of protein to help aid muscle growth- just be sure to supplement it with more nutrient rich foods.
3.If you fall off the wagon, pick yourself back up again
While this strategy is much more lenient than most that you’ll read, it’s still a possibility that you might stumble from time to time. Maybe you have a social obligation to go out for drinks when you just had a piece of birthday cake. That does not mean that it’s time to just give up. Drink responsibly, and find a way to make up for it. Remember that to progress, you’re looking for about 80% clean over the long term, not just day by day.
The moral of the story is, nutrition is equal parts for your body and your mind. Eating for a healthy life requires not just that you be disciplined, but also kind to yourself.
The reality is that all food serves a purpose, whether it be physiological or psychological. Bubble tea might not offer very much in terms of beneficial vitamins and macronutrients, but if it truly gives you joy, it serves a very important purpose. It’s when you drink too much of it that it defeats its own purpose: the joy that it brings turns into guilt, which becomes a self-defeating cycle.
If you tell yourself that you’re going to totally cut out bubble tea, you’re setting yourself up for anxiety and an inevitable rebound into unhealthy eating when you give into human nature and allow yourself to enjoy something that you love.
The truth is, not even most professional athletes maintain 100% clean eating habits, and even then, it’s only when they’re preparing for a major event. Don’t put that unrealistic expectation on yourself. Here are three simple rules for getting the most out of your bubble tea, and therefore, a healthy relationship with food.
1. For sustainable progress, at least 80% of your calories should come from clean sources
Without getting too in-depth about macro- and micronutrients, make sure that most of your food is coming from foods that are natural and rich in vitamins and minerals. That means about 4 out of 5 meals should be clean. But it’s important to note that “junk food” like bubble tea or fast food tends to have a lot more calories than clean food, so you can’t eat as much volume. So pick a smaller serving, take your time eating, and focus on really enjoying your meal.
2.Schedule your bubble tea
Set yourself a weekly limit for your bubble tea, then choose a specific day and time for your bubble tea. If you drink bubble tea to relieve stress, you should schedule that bubble tea around a stressful meeting. If you drink it to reward yourself for hard work, drink it after a tough workout. Pro tip: if your junk food really is bubble tea, post workout is a great time for it, as it has sugar to help restore a bit of energy as well as a small amount of protein to help aid muscle growth- just be sure to supplement it with more nutrient rich foods.
3.If you fall off the wagon, pick yourself back up again
While this strategy is much more lenient than most that you’ll read, it’s still a possibility that you might stumble from time to time. Maybe you have a social obligation to go out for drinks when you just had a piece of birthday cake. That does not mean that it’s time to just give up. Drink responsibly, and find a way to make up for it. Remember that to progress, you’re looking for about 80% clean over the long term, not just day by day.
The moral of the story is, nutrition is equal parts for your body and your mind. Eating for a healthy life requires not just that you be disciplined, but also kind to yourself.
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