Shock Horror: Paul Plakas Loves Pizza and Gelato - Just Like the Rest of Us

Even the super fit, like X-Weighted's very own Mr Paul Plakas crave unhealthy foods from time to time. "My absolute favourite food is pizza. Seriously, I'm a big fan of pizza and if I had to only eat one food for the rest of my life it would be that," says Paul. He also admits to loving chocolate, especially a scoop of chocolate gelato on a hot summer's day.

However, when the craving hits, Paul doesn't dial up for a 12-inch pepperoni pie, he makes sure that he is still eating a quality treat. "What I'll do is go to a nice Italian restaurant where they make their own pizza on premises and order a pizza made with nice lean meat, some vegetables, a little mozzarella cheese, no problem," he says, "I just don't eat junk pizza." Alternatively, Paul will create a healthy alternative at home: A pita pizza, on which he'll have tomato sauce, vegetables, a little feta and mozzarella cheeses, then bake it in the oven.

"I tell people, if you want something really bad, go and have it," says Paul. Often when he goes in to people's houses, Paul will suggest they ditch all the low-calorie and low-fat treats in their cupboards and only go for the good full-fat stuff if they really must have it. "I always say, why would you have a sub-standard sub-tasting food in your house just so you can have it every day? All of a sudden it's not a craving anymore, it's a habit. People have just gotten used to say eating ice-cream every night after dinner and they do it over and over again," he says.

"If you've eaten properly throughout the day and kept your body sugar levels constant, and not been starving yourself, you won't have cravings," says Paul, "plus, if you don't eat a lot of sugar to begin with, your body won't crave sugar. You get used to not eating it."

Paul says that he isn't even sure that cravings exist. "They are just habits people have formed in eating. You've got to look at why that habit is there, and break that habit. It doesn't take long for your body to adjust when you do break a food habit," he says. 

A little of what you desire isn't going to kill you - you just have to remember moderation, and that if you are putting more calories in to your body you are going to need to expend them in order to not put on weight. "If I want a chocolate ice-cream or a piece of pizza, I'll go get it. I just don't do it everyday and I make sure that the next day I do enough exercise that it is going to counteract the amount of calories I put in. Have the best thing you want, satisfy your cravings with the good stuff and don't waste those calories on bad chocolate or whatever," says Paul.

This post is a repeat, but look forward to more original content to come in the future.