It’s always fun to splurge every now and then...just diving in to dessert or a juicy burger every now and then….And there’s nothing wrong with that! You should always take time to treat yourself on occasion, in fact it is a healthy habit (rather than depriving yourself 365...this leads to bad habits and poor decisions). But with these splurge days, there are some things that you should never splurge on...it just isn't worth it! Here’s why...
First, soda. There is absolutely positively no reason to drink this crap! Full of chemicals, artificial flavors, sugar and artificial sweeteners, this stuff is a recipe for inflammation, diabetes and obesity; not to mention the sugar crash that comes with it. And don’t think that switching to diet soda is any better. This stuff is pumped full of artificial sweeteners, which actually distorts your sense of taste which causes you to eat more, thus, gain weight. One study even showed that drinking diet soda increases your risk of being overweight by 41%. It also increase your chances of contracting certain cancers, high blood pressure, and heart disease. It’s just not worth it! If it’s the fizz you are looking for, go for unsweetened sparkling water and add some fresh fruit to it.
Second, sugary cocktails. When you're out with the girls or at date night it's tempting to order the house margarita, frozen cocktail or mojito (they're easy to order and everybody else is doing it, right?), but these mixed drinks are PURE sugar (not to mention the heartburn that comes with those pre-made mixes they put in those frozen cocktails!). Instead, order a skinny margarita (tequila, pure agave, lime juice and maybe club soda) for less than 100 calorie and only a few grams of sugar. Other tips on cocktails, order the club soda instead of tonic with liquor, clear liquors generally have less sugar and calories, tequila has the least affect on your blood sugar than any other liquor, and stay away from anything that comes in a mix (it's all sugar, and no telling what else.)
Candy or fake chocolate. These kind of go hand in hand, but I wanted to make sure to distinguish between the 2. Candy is really just crap...it is teeth rotting, blood sugar spiking, artificially-filled crap. There is absolutely no nutritional value whatsoever in this stuff. This goes for the chocolate stuff too. Candy bars or other chocolate candy actually contains very little chocolate at all; it is mostly added sugar, fillers, artificial flavoring and high fructose corn syrup. If you have a sweet tooth that needs to be tamed, or if you are a chocolate lover, stick to the PURE chocolate, the real thing; something dark that only has a few ingredients (that is when you know if the real stuff, only a few ingredients...and ingredients you can pronounce!). The real stuff actually has healthy antioxidants so not only are you taming that sweet tooth, but you are getting a few health benefits too. Everything in moderation!