The Peter Pan Diet

Hello darlings!

Inspired by Lindsay, this post is dedicated to foods I would eat if I were living in Neverland.
By that I mean foods my inner fat child would eat solely because it loves to eat... Foods not based on nutrition value, but on pleasure! Basically just what I would eat if calories, nutrition, my health and my body weren't an issue! My foodie guilty pleasures. 

I really like the concept of this post; it's making me think back to my childhood favorites, and it's also giving me ideas for my next challenge/treat day/meal! 

1. Oreos dipped in peanut butter... Any kind of peanut butter...

This was always my #1 favorite snack for the longest time. Honestly... I miss it!

2. Blueberry Muffin Tops cereal with vanilla almond milk

3. Applebee's mozzarella sticks

4. Reese's eggs

Somehow, even better and way more addictive than regular Reese's cups!

5. Take 5

6. Chili's sweet potato fries

7. Starbucks cream cheese-filled pumpkin muffins

8. White chocolate macadamia nut cookies... Preferably Pepperidge Farm

9. Dunkin' Donuts cream filled powdered donuts

10. Cannolis

11. Strawberry frosted Pop Tarts

... or maybe S'mores, warmed up in the microwave

12. Homemade Italian sausage meat pie

I could honestly go on forever... but I won't for your guys' sake (and mine, at this point)!  Truthfully, I love healthy living! I love healthy foods, I do! But, I also love these foods in moderation. I no longer believe that a healthy lifestyle equals deprivation, or restriction of ANY food. Because that's not equivalent to a healthy lifestyle. That's equivalent to the beginning of an eating disorder.

Honorable mentions:

• waffles with real butter and maple syrup... and maybe some peanut butter...
• BAGELS! Channeling my inner Jenn and saying ALL. THE. BAGELS! Preferably an everything with bacon, egg and cheese. And ketchup.
• froyo with loads and loads of toppings!
• Twix chocolate bars
• cinnamon rolls with frosting
• Dunkaroos
• McDonald's french fries
• LITTLE DEBBIE COSMIC. FREAKIN'. BROWNIES.

In conclusion, I just really love food! Healthy and nutritional or unhealthy with an equivalent of zero nutrition -- if I like it, I like it. If I could live off of oreos, peanut butter, steamed vegetables and fruit my entire life... You bet your booty I would! But, life is about treating yourself, and treating your body well at the same time. No food should EVER be off limits. There's no reason for it to be, unless you're allergic or it makes you extremely sick. Otherwise, there's no excuse to not enjoy a big ol' fresh-out-of-the-oven soft, chewy chocolate chip cookie every now and then!

Now, enjoy one of your absolute favorite foods for me this weekend, yes? Yes.  I will CONQUER a "fear food" or two this weekend, in honor of this post.

What would YOUR 'dream' Neverland diet consist of? What's that ONE food you will NEVER, EVER give up?

**All photos are from Google images and/or Tumblr! I do not take credit for any of the pictures above.**

What I Ate Wednesday #11 - I Really Like French Toast Edition

Like I said in my previous WIAW... My blog titles don't lie! I've become a stuffed French toast addict.
Hey, at least it's healthy stuffed French toast! (AKA it actually does have quite a lot of nutritious value!)

Oh, and I'm still the same Insanity addict as I was last week. Tsk, tsk...
ANYWAAAAAAAYS! I can't believe it's Wednesday already again... W h o a. I guess that means it's time to list some eats (and exercises), eh? It is "what I ate Wednesday" overall!


{Thanks to the beautiful Jenn for hosting this lovely event as always!}

7/12/12 - WORKOUT! Insanity Max Interval Sports Training + a 6:14 plank.

7/12/12 - Breakfast: s'mores stuffed protein French toast with my usual side.

This creation is what started the addiction...

7/12/12 - Lunch: Thursday was my cousin's 19th birthday, and I got to hangout with her the entire day for the first time in a LONG time! With my aunt, we went to Freehold Mall (which is pretty far from us, so it was great to go), and out to lunch. Instead of picking a "safe food" off the menu at P.F. Changs (this was my first time going there, too, btw), I picked exactly what I wanted. And not only that, but 1. I didn't stress over it, 2. I don't and didn't  regret it, and 3. I ate exactly what I wanted, and how much I wanted. This is such progress for me! I didn't even restrict at all prior, or the rest of the day! (Even after finding out the nutritional info!)

Our appetizer were these DELICIOUS chicken lettuce wraps... I only had one, to save my appetite for my lunch. I also had some super yummy salad alongside my main dish, which was sesame chicken with vegetables and brown rice... It was literally so, so good... Despite the horrid amount of sauce. Bleh! Too much sauce or dressing = no bueno!

Intuitive eating and recovery win! Go me!

7/13/12 - Breakfast: flour-less pumpkin cheesecake pancakes, layered with chocolate banana protein “frosting” + apple slices + cinnamon + granola + a drizzle of melted natural peanut butter and light maple syrup! (And my usual side...)

7/14/12 - Breakfast: exactly what I was craving that morning; a small plain greek yogurt ~parfait with banana slices + apple slices + honey almond flax granola + Trix cereal (hehe) + cinnamon + a tiny spoonful of natural peanut butter, and a 1 egg + added egg white scramble alongside.

7/15/12 - WORKOUT! Insanity Max Cardio Conditioning + a 6:02 plank!

7/15/12 - Breakfast: banana split stuffed protein French toast with my usual side (aside from spinach, because I had none)... Mmmmmm!

7/16/12 - WORKOUT! Insanity Max Interval Plyo + a 6:04 plank.

7/16/12 - Breakfast: another healthy stuffed French toast... This time it was blueberry cheesecake stuffed french toast (also containing banana and natural peanut butter), with my usual side.

Just look at it. So pretty. So. Delicious.

7/17/12 - WORKOUT! Sometimes, I underestimate how tough the first month of Insanity's workouts really are... Then they go and kick my ass! Haha. Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance + a 6:07 plank!

7/17/12 - Breakfast: yes, stuffed French toast again.

Apple pie stuffed French toast with my usual side.

As delicious as it sounds...

And looks.

(It's okay to drool over a picture. Really. I won't tell anyone if you don't!)

7/17/12 - Snack: perks of working at an ice cream and homemade fudge shop: FUUUUUDGE OF ALL KINDS! (And 20% off!)

I bought my family this box yesterday because, well, I'm just that nice.  Chocolate peanut butter, s'mores, mint chocolate swirl, cookies and cream, and my favorite; peanut butter explosion.

I treated myself to a small piece of PB explosion after dinner... And I feel absolutely no guilt. I feel proud and happy, actually... This is a huge step for me, too, so bear with me! Haha.

Intuitive eating and recovery win (#2)!

7/18/12 - WORKOUT! The hardest of them all... Insanity Max Interval Circuit! Followed by a 6:09 plank.

7/18/12 - Breakfast: yes, French toast again. No regrets.

Natural peanut butter, banana, and chocolate stuffed {protein!} French toast with my usual side.

My mom has gotten me in the mood for French toast lately... She loves it, and has been absolutely loving my healthier alternatives (she's been trying to lose weight and get healthier), so that's why I've been making them so often! But, I'm definitely not complaining... I've also been loving them, too. 

Whoever said eating healthy was boring has obviously never tried cooking for themselves!

Happy WIAW! 5 days until I'm 17! Ahhhhhh!!

Your Own Worst Enemy

Imagine there were 2 plates with desserts on them. Yes, desserts. That thing most of you calorie counters fear! (I know I did at one point.)
You knew the first plate contained 200 calories worth of pure, fresh fruit on it. Then, all you knew about the second plate, was that it totaled 100 calories.
Now, calorie counters, which one would you psychologically choose? Would you choose plate one, because you knew of all it's benefits? Or would you choose plate two because it contained less calories?
You'd probably choose plate two. I knew I would have. Why is that? Because you are letting a number consume you. You're not thinking of the benefits of the food. You're thinking about the calories. Not whether or not the calories are "good" or "bad" for you. Not whether or not plate two could contain a miniature sized chocolate bar with 15 grams of unnatural, refined sugar. Nope. You're letting a number control you, all because you "want to lose weight". You think it's healthy, right? I know I did. Emphasis on did. (And, no, that chocolate wouldn't be a "bad" choice if you MEANT to choose it and actually WANTED it. The point I'm trying to make is, why did you choose the chocolate? Not for a treat, for the lower calorie amount. That's the point I'm trying to make.)

Now, I know for a fact not all calorie counters are like this. But, I do know most are. Even girls who are just trying to "watch what they eat" do this! Is it healthy? Not even close. By focusing on a number, you are becoming your own worst enemy. Numbers are not everything.

Calorie counting, for me, had it's pros and it's cons. But, once it comes down to it, the cons override the pros and I actually honestly wish I never in my life ever let myself count calories. Not a single one. It kinda put me in a mental prison, you know? I've looked at food as a number, not as fuel... All because I let myself get obsessed... Just. To. Lose. Weight. which is such an unimportant factor in life. There's so many opportunities I've resisted because of being "afraid" of what I'm gonna eat. Being this way made me drop down to an even lower weight than originally planned, nearly underweight, actually.

Calorie counting made me start to fear foods. No food should be feared. Not even a 1500 calorie, 25 gram of fat meal from IHOP should be feared! Why? Because having it once in a while won't do a thing to you! It won't hurt you, and it won't effect your progress. You won't gain 20 pounds from one meal. It takes countless meals on end. But, with the mindset I developed from counting calories consistently, I thought the opposite. I thought if I had a cookie, I'd gain all 70 pounds I had lost back! I knew it wasn't logical... But there was something in me that told me it was logical. That something told me to resist any and all "unhealthy" food because I'll have to double my workout and burn off all the calories from it, or I would gain. And, honestly, when it comes down to it... Even if I did consume 7000 calories of "bad" food in one day and gained two pounds... Who would notice? No one, that's who.


I put myself on a path to somewhere I never thought I'd be. I used to be able to enjoy and appreciate my food. I used to be excited to have a "cheat" day, or a day where I just ate what I wanted. But, I haven't had one in awhile because I put myself in a routine of eating basically the same things, all considered healthy, every day. Calorie counting ultimately turned me into an orthorexic... I never thought I would have ANY form of disordered eating or thoughts. It's hard to believe, actually. People have told me orthorexia is a "good" thing... Yeah, I could have a worse ED, but it's honestly just as hard as any other one. I can't even begin to explain how wrong someone is when they say orthorexia isn't a "bad thing". It's a struggle, just like any other eating disorder. It's hard, it's tough, and it controls you.

But, this is what I want to end off saying: it's not about deprivation, and it's not about avoiding foods of any kind. It's not about avoiding situations where you may eat unhealthily, and it's not about living life focusing on numbers. What's it really about? Balance. Balance, moderation, and listening to your dang body! I feel too young to be worrying so much, but I'm ready to completely let go of worrying about calories... How about you, fellow calorie-counters? I'm ready to challenge myself with any "fear food" I have... Are you?

Disclaimer: again, I know counting calories isn't ALWAYS unhealthy, but the point I'm trying to make here is, most people think that obsessing over the amount of calories in something is healthy... It's not! Nutrition > calories. Always.It's okay to be aware... It's not okay to be obsessed.

P.S. You know who obsesses over calories and acts like it's healthy? HUNGRY GIRL! GOSH! This morning when I was watching her show, she said granola was "bad for you" because the small serving size and high calorie/fat amount... BUT, YOU DON'T EVEN NEED A LOT OF GRANOLA TO FEEL SATISFIED! There's a reason there's a smaller serving size on most granola packages... DUH! Oh, and then she continued to go on and say plain cereal flakes are better for you because the "big" serving size and lower calorie amount... She's giving people a TOTALLY wrong mindset for food. (I do like some of her recipes, but sometimes... She's crazy, haha.)