The Quick Cut:

• Sometimes, you may find yourself in a situation where all you have are poor food choices.

• So the dilemma becomes either you starve or eat junk.

• I recently found myself in this situation, where all there was available to eat were pizza and cupcakes.

• By limiting my portion size and balancing these foods with clean, detoxifying foods later, I was able to indulge a bit and enjoy the party, while losing weight!

The Long Slice:

If the title of this blog post caught your attention, then you're probably thinking, “No way, that's impossible!”

Well, let me tell you about the time I ate pizza and cupcakes and had lost weight by the following day.

Ultimately, this is a story about what to do when you find yourself in a situation where all you have are poor food choices.

The Dilemma: Eat Junk or Starve

This past Saturday was my cousin's engagement party.

It was a casual party, set in her backyard. She mentioned that it was going to be a pizza-themed party and that was the only food item available on the menu.

There was a variety of pizza with different toppings, such as broccoli, mushroom, pepperoni, etc. 🍕

Now, I was faced with a bit of a conundrum because normally I don't eat pizza.

First of all, I'm lactose intolerant, and I can't consume cheese.

Secondly, I don't eat pizza because it's just not healthy and it doesn’t align with living a healthy and fit life.

I usually recommend my fitness coaching clients stay away from foods that contain gluten and dairy.

Since, pizza has bread, which contains gluten, and cheese, which is dairy, it's not an ideal food when trying to lose weight and keep it off.

That's because these foods are two of the '7 Deadly Sinful Foods', which cause inflammation, disrupt our gut health and our hormones, and make it harder for you to lose weight.

So again, I was facing a dilemma because I was hungry but pizza is all there was available. 😬

Sometimes You May Eat Some Junk

So what did I do?

I was hungry, and options were limited. So despite risking stomach issues, and eating food that is not optimal for my health and fitness goals, I ended up having one - and only one - a slice of pizza. (sometimes, we have no choice).

To make matters worse, one of my aunt's friends had made some Romanian-style cupcakes, which I also had, due to a lack of other options. 🧁

Make Up For Eating Poorly: Alkalize & Detox

Having eaten lousy food during the day, I decided I was going to make up for eating poorly by having healthy food, in smaller quantities, at dinner.

Things like gluten, dairy, alcohol, etc. cause inflammation and acidity in the body. The best strategy to detox and counteract their effect is to 'go green'.

This means eating green veggies such as spinach, broccoli, kale, etc. because they decrease inflammation and alkalize the body (i.e. reduce acidity, which is harmful and causes fat gain). 🥦

So, I made a spinach salad and threw in other detoxifying and alkalizing ingredients, such as peppers, almonds, cabbage, and mushrooms, along with olive oil and apple cider vinegar, which is great for cleansing the liver and improving insulin sensitivity.

You Can Indulge a Bit As Long As You Balance

Sometimes, you'll be in a similar situation where you go somewhere and the food is not what you would normally eat or impedes your goal of losing weight.

So what do you do when faced with that type of dilemma?

You can choose to either:

1. Not eat at all (helps with your goal but is no fun and may offend your host), or

2. Have some of the junky food but treat it like a cheat meal and create balance shortly afterward by eating foods that will detox and alkalize the body.

You want to make sure that if you do indulge, it is not something you're doing frequently. 

In my case, I hadn't had pizza in over a year. 

If you are going to indulge in certain foods because there's nothing else to eat, then go ahead and have it! 

Don't freak out about it or beat yourself up.

Have that certain food, be happy, enjoy the event, and enjoy yourself, but then create balance with healthier foods immediately afterward.

That's literally what I did, and believe it or not, I had lost a pound by the following morning!

If you're struggling with situations that are setting back your health and/or your goal to stay lean, I might be able to help.

If you'd like to learn more about how I help my fitness coaching clients lose weight while still eating the foods they love - including pizza and cupcakes - let's connect.

Start by booking a quick call on my calendar with this link.