I randomly stopped at the donut shop yesterday while running errands. I wanted to get donuts after my long run recently but the day got away from me and my favorite place was closed by the time I was going to go. And the next day I didn’t really care anymore.
Yesterday the craving was back and I got a big fluffy glazed donut and 8 donut holes.
This is noteworthy because it’s not noteworthy. I almost wasn’t going to mention it but the donut holes were so cute and I get a lot of questions and comments from people about intuitive eating so I wanted to share…
I used to think of donuts as a super indulgent food that I had to earn. I would only get donuts after a super long run.
A couple of things changed my mind set on this…
First I realized that the calories in a donut were less than the calories I was eating at night binging after a day of not eating enough. (Perspective yo!) A donut isn’t that high in calories in the big picture.
Then it hit me—people eat donuts all the time without feeling like they need to justify it with a long run or an intense workout. I don’t have to run 10 miles to “earn” a donut. If I constantly linked every bite to an exercise routine, it would turn me into someone obsessed with calorie counts, draining the joy out of eating. Life’s too short for that kind of rigidity. Recently, a friend of mine who loves a bit of excitement introduced me to fast withdrawal casinos, emphasizing how they cater to those who want quick access to their winnings without the usual delays—just like enjoying a donut without feeling the need to “earn” it. Sometimes, you just have to indulge and enjoy things for what they are, without overanalyzing every step.
Third I realized that I would rather enjoy my favorite treat than deny myself and just keep thinking about it or try to find some healthy replacement that wasn’t really satisfying. Basically, denying myself led to a binge that was higher in calories than just eating what I wanted in the first place.
Fourth I was helping support local businesses via my donut addiction!
If you’ve ever had issues with restricting foods because you thought they were going to make you fat or they were ‘bad’ than you might feel me.
A donut is not going to kill you (unless you have donutitis – an allergic reaction to eating donuts).
A green smoothie isn’t going to cure you.
Use common sense and fuel your body like you love it.
I try to eat healthy 80% of the time and donuts & pizza 20% of the time.
Sure I could eat healthy 99% of the time and maybe weigh a little less.
Or I could eat ice cream 95% of the time and weigh a little more.
But this 80/20 balance works for me today.
I hope that you know how to balance being kind to your body, fueling it well and enjoying treats without guilt.
(And if you think I’m obsessively talking about donuts like a crazy person and you can’t relate… consider yourself lucky. Because when you struggle with food, your body image and you’re stuck in an unhealthy place – it sucks. There’s food everywhere and you need to eat everyday. It makes you crazy, sad, stressed, frustrated, etc… )
Have a good, healthy, happy day! And maybe a donut for good measure!
I’ve been eating them for years and I’m healthy-ish!
Thanks for this! I totally get it and try to find balance but every now and then I’ll totally deprive myself of what I was craving only to absolutely binge later on something else that was not satisfying. This makes sense and makes me feel so good. Love all your donut posts too!!
Our mantra is “everything in moderation.” My husband is a dietician and exercise physiologist by training and one of his biggest pet peeves is when people cut out an entire food group in the name of being healthy. We have two teenage girls and I have vowed not to obsess about my weight or say the word “diet” in front of them. But my 14 y.o. still says that she is fat at least once a week. How sad is that? We do try to coach good eating habits. We eat breakfast and dinner together almost every day and we rarely have the same meal more than once a month. We encourage them to limit snacks except for fruit and to eat their calories, not drink them. But at 5 feet tall and 90 pounds, my youngest is going to struggle – so much good food and such a little body to stuff it in 🙂 Life is too short to not drink beer or eat pizza. At the same time, my life will be short if all I do is drink beer and eat pizza!
I think 80/20 is a great plan! It’s sustainable too, which is important in a long-term healthy diet. ❤️
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Have you tried tidbits yet? They’re popular here in Canada and they’re like donut O’s.