Eat the Cookie.

I have a major sweet tooth. I mean pass the bowl of cookie dough and follow it with a brownie type of sweet tooth. This may seem odd coming from a dietitian, a career that is typically equated to fruits, vegetables, and eating healthy all the time, but it’s the truth. A majority of the dietitians that I know both personally and professionally have their personal favorites when it comes to food and drink, and most of those favorites aren’t what you would consider “healthy”. I think this is awesome. No one’s eating habits are perfect, and that’s okay.

Athletes, no matter the level, have a special drive. Most athletes want to be the best and achieve a level of perfection, whatever that may look like for them. Oftentimes, this mindset of being the best and training at the highest level translate to eating “perfectly” as well. This basic idea is also supported in all the research, the better the diet, the better the performance. This linear relation serves as great motivation when it comes to making improvements and changes to an athletes diet. However, in some situations this idea has contributed to the mindset of “I can never have anything unhealthy because it will affect my weight and hurt my performance.” Therefore, in addition to educating my athletes on protein needs and recovery fuel, I have also found myself educating athletes that it is okay to step outside the lines on occasion and enjoy eating simply because it tastes good. If you’re craving a cookie, eat the cookie.

Let me give you an example. Back in high school, my best friend and I were connected at the hip. She was a soccer star and I found my comfort zone on the basketball court. We both were ultra-competitive with hopes of being the best and dreams of playing at the next level. As a result of this, we ate super healthy. Typically, our lunch included a turkey sandwich and some sort of fruit and vegetable. Our senior year we had an english class together, right before lunch. Oftentimes our teacher let us work out in the hallway, so we would always grab a part of our lunch and eat it as a snack. I can’t remember the specifics, but one day we both had this overwhelming craving for a brown sugar and cinnamon pop tart. This kind of food was never in either of our households, but for some reason it was on our mind. We both ignored the craving and snacked on whatever healthier item was in our lunch, but we were still thinking about the pop tart. Finally, we gave in. We rushed to the vending machine, put in our quarters, and split a pop tart—best decision of the day. This became a habit. Not every day, but every once in a while we would get the craving, and indulge. Now, this was a long time ago, so what’s the point? The point is that it’s ok. Eating that pop tart or cookies that a fellow student brought to class didn’t break us, in fact, it probably helped us. This shift in mindset balanced us out. It didn’t negatively impact our athletic performance, we didn’t gain tons of weight, it made us happy, and we both went on to compete in college in our respective sports.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. I’ll be the first to admit that there are many factors to be discussed when it comes to this idea of satisfying your cravings while still meeting your needs , goals, etc. That’s for another time. Simply put for now, it’s all about balance, so just eat the cookie.

-Brooke