Death by Cheat Meal?

So this new eating plan thing is horrid. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but I just need to state that up front. Bleah, horrid. I don’t think it’s the increased calories that is the problem; I think it’s more what I’m eating. I’m not used to eating rice, oatmeal, and sweet potatoes. I haven’t had them in so long since I typically follow the Primal Blueprint way of eating. Occasional rice and sweet potatoes are eaten on the PB but not often. The reason being that cavemen only ate those things every now and then and that they are much easier to digest than intestine scraping grains and such. That being said, I rarely if ever ate them since converting this past January.

This week I’ve felt lightheaded and basically drained completely of energy. It’s almost been as if I wasn’t getting enough to eat and was shakey for that reason. I know it couldn’t possibly be that since I clearly get enough calories at 1500 per day and was stuffed with the quantity of food. Yesterday I was shakey enough that I dropped my breakfast down my leg. Let me tell you raw egg whites and oatmeal poured down one’s leg is quite gross. It was like wiping off a huge loogey. Not to mention it left me without breakfast and in a foul mood after that until snack time.

It was at that point that I made the decision to finally opt for my cheat meal. I decided to cheat last night with whatever I wanted and start fresh on my old way of eating this moring. I’m still going to attempt to keep my calories up, but remove the offending foods to see what happens. So back to the cheat meal, right. Oh it was good! I decided to head to Steak and Shake for the cheat meal. Since I was going to do it, I didn’t want to wimp out at the last minute and I knew there would be few options to do that at Steak and Shake. I had the guacamole burger, fries and cole slaw. It was very tasty. I wasn’t able to eat it all so The Kid was thrilled that she got extra fries as part of the excitement.

I also decided to get a double chocolate fudge milkshake to go. I said I wanted to do it right, and I knew I couldn’t eat it all in one sitting. I had to wait a while to actually drink it, but phew the milkshake was good. I’ve said before that your body changes and adjusts to new ways of eating. That is quite true. I wouldn’t have batted an eye before at eating that meal. In fact, I’m sure there wouldn’t have been shared fries and a milkshake to go a few months ago. Shortly after the milkshake I began to feel horrible. Almost like I was coming down with the flu. I ended up falling asleep in front of the TV around 9 pm in my food coma.

I’m glad I took the chance to cheat, but I don’t think it will happen often. It also showed me that I really don’t need or want food like that now, but my body prefers healthier foods. The changes are really impressive actually. I remember watching Super Size Me and completely not understanding when Morgan Spurlock got sick in the McDonald’s parking lot. I get it now and had my lightbulb moment. I’m getting back at it this morning, ready to enjoy my fruits, veggies, and meat! I’m also excited about some new seasonal recipes that I’m going to try. It’s almost pumpkin time!