I Told My Weight Loss Client to Eat More Cheez-Its
Yes, you read the title correctly.
It probably makes me sound like the worst (or coolest) Nutrition Coach around…
Regardless, it’s what I did, and I still think it was the best thing for her. In fact, I can prove it.
We all know the downsides of processed foods. We all know how they’re hyper-palatable and easy to overconsume, that they lack vital nutrients and are usually packed with an excessive combination of sugar, salt, and fat. We also know that they’re very prevalent in our society and are almost impossible to avoid.
What we might not know are the downsides of fully restricting ourselves from these foods.
Even with all of the negative health outcomes associated with processed foods, research shows that completely avoiding them can have detrimental effects on our health and weight loss goals. Today, you’ll learn some of why that is.
When I checked in with my client, Karly, she told me that even though things were going well most of the time, when she did decide to indulge with friends or on date night, it would often turn into a binge.
Simply allowing herself to have a chip at a party would often end with having half of the bag, and it didn’t always stop there. She said she felt like she had to take advantage of letting herself enjoy these foods as those opportunities seemed so rare.
She Was Falling Victim to The Scarcity Mindset
This mindset is common, especially amongst “dieters”. It’s the line of thinking that comes along when resources or opportunities are scarce. It pushes us to be competitive or to take advantage when those scarcities do become available.
This mindset warps our perception. Things that are seen as scarce are automatically elevated in value. When we fall into the scarcity mindset with food, it’s pretty obvious what plays out.
We restrict certain foods, making them seem “scarce”
We start covetting and obsessing over those foods
We accidentally binge when we do allow ourselves to have those foods
We feel bad about the binge and often decide to restrict even harder to compensate
Repeat step 1…
So I Recommended for Karly to Eat Some Cheez-Its
When we’re battling the scarcity mindset, the first step is to prove to ourselves that these foods aren’t scarce. I asked her what she felt the most deprived of, she said, “Cheesy and salty snacks”.
Cheez-Its turned out to be a ringer for both, so I recommended she pick up some small, single-serving bags at the store.
There were two conditions that went along with this recommendation:
When she did let herself enjoy a small bag of the cheesy, crunchy treat, she would do so mindfully and deliberately. Absolutely no distractions and complete focus on savoring. I had her use my favorite mindful eating drill.
She understood that the goal wasn’t to just eat more total Cheez-Its. The goal was for her to find the necessary balance she needed to overcome the scarcity mindset, satisfy her craving, and still feel in line with her goals.
Ideally, she’d find that allowing herself to have them a few times over the week would demystify them and similar foods, allowing her to interact with them in a more healthy way when they make an appearance at parties.
What Happened When She Started Eating Cheez-Its
Nutrition Zealots are probably rolling their eyes at me, waiting to tell me that the toxins, preservatives, and coodies in the Cheez-Its will ruin her results… blah, blah, blah.
Well, the opposite happened. When she added Cheez-Its to her diet, she actually started seeing more consistent weight loss.
Because Nutrition, like everything else, is dose-dependent.
What Karly did was she stocked up on single-serving, Cheez-It 100 calorie packs. The first week, she had about one-ish a day, then as the scarcity mindset waned, it moved to about 2-3xweek. We found that to be the sweet spot.
300 calories a week is extremely easy to account for, especially when it does so much for her relationship with food.
Yes, this is 300 calories of additional food, but when we weigh it against what was happening before, which could be as much as 800+ calories in a single evening, we can see that the return on investment over time is well worth it and easily accounted for.
In follow-up conversations, Karly has reported that she feels more confident, more in control, and more optimistic about her ability to sustain the lifestyle changes than ever before.
I’d call that a win.
Closing Thoughts
It’s important to remember that the key to sustainability with nutrition and lifestyle is balance. If we’re robbing our mental or emotional health to only “eat clean” then something’s bound to give. The real trick is finding that sweet (or cheesy) spot.
If Karly’s experience speaks to you and you want to better your relationship with food while still striving towards your goals, then click below to schedule your exploratory call with one of our Coaches. It’s free, it’s easy, and it can save you a lot of headaches with how you move forward on your goals.
