Hazel and I recently ran five errands early in the morning. We walked all over downtown Boise and got in 11,000 steps before 8 AM. I love living downtown!

While we were out walking, we got behind a guy carrying a big box of donuts.

And MAN did those suckers smell good. 😂

I’m in prep for another bodybuilding competition at the time of this post, so that kind of thing is a no-go for me right now.

When I’m not in prep, I’m in maintenance, so yes, technically, I could eat a donut from time to time.

But I learned a long time ago that just because I CAN eat something doesn’t mean I should.

See, some people could eat one donut, not be triggered by it, and be fine. (My ex-husband, Miles, was like that.) They’d immediately get off any weight they gained and go back to eating healthfully most of the time.

But for other people?

They’d eat the donut and it would trigger intense cravings.

They’d obsessively fantasize about donuts, and go out of their way to find and eat more of them, just like a drug addict looking for their next fix.

In their case, NOT eating the donut would be the best move.

On Code Red, I’m always telling you to find what works for you.

THIS is an example of how you’d do that in Code Red maintenance.

In Code Red maintenance, I teach you how to reintroduce foods we avoid in weight loss mode, so that you can, if you want, eat them from time to time without regaining your weight.

But not every food we remove in weight loss mode should be reintroduced. Some are more trouble than they’re worth.

And some people have a cheat voice SO freaking loud that if they give it an inch, it’ll take 100 miles.

A lot of “fitness influencers” talk about how you “can” eat anything you want as long as it fits into your macros.

But “can you” is NEVER the question to be asking.

The question to be asking is: SHOULD you?

Because you CAN eat anything you want. You can go outside, find dog poop someone didn’t pick up after their dog crapped in your yard, and eat the poop.

“Can eat” and “can’t eat” are victim and deprivation mindsets, and we never talk that way about food on Code Red.

We say DO eat or DON’T eat, or, “I can, but I choose not to.”

So again, this is never about can you or can’t you.

It’s about, “Does this make sense for my goals?” and “Will this food trigger me into a cheat spiral?”

For a lot of people, the answer to those questions is NO and YES, in that order.

As always, all I ask is that you be honest with yourself. You’ve eaten certain foods enough to know whether they’ll trigger you…

And even if you CAN eat them, it doesn’t mean you SHOULD eat them.