Anniversaries and Cheat Meals (INSANITY Day 6)

Yesterday was my parent's 28th Anniversary, and that's why I didn't post. But I promise that I still did my workout! I slept in and then ate a few snacks because I knew that I had a cheat meal coming up. When you hear me say "cheat meal", what I'm referring to is the ONE meal a week I treat myself to keep myself sane and reward myself for my hard work during the week. It's okay to eat unhealthy food in moderation, which is why I give myself ONE meal to do that a week. A big mistake a lot of people do when dieting is eat really strict during the week, and eat whatever they want on the weekends. This completely undoes all the work you put in during the week! One meal is not enough to ruin your diet, and it is also enough to make you feel like you're still living and can splurge a little. You can save this meal for a social gathering or special occasion so that you do not feel deprived. This week it was sushi at Kenichi Austin, a swank Japanese restaurant downtown since my parents were celebrating their 28th anniversary.

I know what you're probably thinking... "isn't sushi healthy?" and in a way it is. A simple roll with fish and some veggies is only about 200 calories for the entire roll (typically 6-8 pieces). We were eating at an upscale sushi restaurant with fish supposedly from Japan, so the sushi wasn't corrupted with the toppings that you may find at more commercial restaurants (spicy mayo sauce, tempura and panko; and some rolls are even deep fried and contain high-calorie ingredients such as cream cheese and avocado). If you want sushi, go with Sashimi. You avoid the white rice and the extra calories. The fish used in sushi is high-fat, but they are healthy fats. The sushi we had was simple and clean, but the white rice still had me feeling sluggish and hungry again a few hours later. I also tried some Wagyu beef tips, which is a type of beef where the cows are grass fed and almost papered. You can really taste the difference in the beef. However, this type of Wagyu was swimming in a gravy and served over sauteed bok choy and radishes. It was still delicious. Overall I probably had about 600 calories at dinner, which was fine considering I only had a few small snacks before I went. I also did the INSANITY Plyometric Circuit before I got ready to go out, which helped make up for some of the splurging I did at dinner. I try to schedule my cheat meals on days that I work out so that I can somewhat "negate what I ate".

What's good about eating healthy is once you get into the groove of things, you start to prefer healthy foods. Not just because of how they taste, but how they make you feel. Back in my dance days, I would always pack lots of fruits and salads and nothing heavy during campus because I hated feeling sluggish while trying to dance for 6 hours a day. Now that I'm doing INSANITY, I know that the best thing for me is to put healthy things in my body, because after all, abs are made in the kitchen :)