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Many people spend time stressing over their diet, and what they should or shouldn’t eat, mainly because today’s world is filled with magazine covers sporting perfectly toned, perfectly tanned models that constantly make us feel inadequate.

The various health food fads that seem to come and go every few weeks definitely don’t help, either—as it turns out, a gluten-free diet is not particularly good for anyone who isn’t actually allergic to gluten, juice cleanses deprive us of the protein and fat our bodies need to function properly, and taking too many vitamin supplements just makes our urine expensive when our bodies flush the excess.

If you, like many people these days, are beginning to feel disillusioned with all of these things, you will be glad to hear about National Eat What You Want Day.

History of National Eat What You Want Day

National Eat What You Want Day was created by Thomas and Ruth Roy to help people break away from the frustrating health and diet trends of our times, if for only one day, and just let go and enjoy life a little.

Most nutritionists seem to agree that giving yourself a break every now and again can actually be good for us, and that forcing ourselves to eat only low-calorie, tasteless foods for prolonged periods of time is likely to cause us to suddenly gorge on everything in sight when our determination wears off.

Why should you celebrate National Eat What You Want Day?

We’re big advocates of this holiday! A lot of people have a structured way of consuming food. They have to be careful about what they eat, otherwise, they will put on weight and their health will suffer. Not everyone is blessed with a naturally fast metabolism. However, National Eat What You Want Day gives you the perfect opportunity to have the freedom to choose what you want without feeling guilty about it. It is also perfect if there is something that you have wanted to try for a while but you’ve been holding out because you don’t want to cheat your diet.

How to celebrate National Eat What You Want Day

It shouldn’t be too hard to imagine how to celebrate this holiday, really. You can eat whatever you want, isn’t that enough cause for celebration? Everyone is different, so for some people, this will mean pigging out on junk food.

They will stop counting calories and go berserk, eating everything from ice cream to chocolate to cake and pie, and then some cookies with ice cream washed down with hot chocolate, and then some ice cream cake. You get the picture.

However, nowhere in the holiday’s description does it say that you have to take this route to gastronomic satisfaction. Aficionados of gourmet cuisine can choose to celebrate by splurging on a meal at a five-star restaurant. Do you love lobster, but rarely order it because of its price tag?

Understandable, but today is the day to take a break. So call the poshest place in your city and spend an evening feasting on your favorite delicacies and perhaps washing them down with a nice bottle of wine.

Or, alternatively, you can try to recreate a favorite childhood meal in your home. Did your Mom use to make the best macaroni and cheese? Call her up and get the recipe!

Nothing beats a good comfort food to make us feel full, happy and sleepy all at the same time, so forget about fat and carbs just this once and enjoy a bowl (or pot) of that filling, creamy goodness.

Or maybe you’re a strict vegetarian who can’t help but miss steak or shrimp every now and then—if so, maybe you should treat yourself to something you wouldn’t usually eat just to reward your body for the tasty things it has to go without on a daily basis?

The key is to eat something that you truly enjoy, so whatever food that is for you, get celebrating!

What is everyone going to be eating on National Eat What You Want Day?

You may be wondering what everyone else is going to be eating on this holiday. Data that was gathered by the Top Agency may give you some answers! They have revealed that the number one food Americans would eat every day if they did not have to worry about the consequences is pizza! This was closely followed by pasta, and then both burgers and ice cream were in joint third place. In the fourth spot, it was a tie between French fries, chocolate, and burritos or tacos. We then have donuts, cake, chips, and cheese and cookies.

Make National Eat What You Want Day fun

There are a number of different ways you can make this day fun! Why not switch the typical meals around? You can have dinner for breakfast, and breakfast for dinner! After all, who doesn’t love tucking into Chinese leftovers the morning after? Or, if you want to have breakfast for dinner, why not put together a fluffy stack of pancakes with some maple syrup and bacon for dinner? After all, no rules apply on National Eat What You Want Day, so you may as well switch things up a little bit!

If you have got children, why not allow them to be in charge for once? Most of the time, parents are in charge of what’s for dinner. If we weren’t, children would probably never see a vegetable in their life! But, for this one day, why don’t you let your children decide what’s on the menu? You may end up with a random concoction of delicious treats, but it will certainly be a lot of fun, and it will get them interested in cooking as well, which is always a good thing.

Another way to make National Eat What You Want Day fun is to break your typical routine. For example, if you usually take a packed lunch to work, why not gather your colleagues and enjoy lunch together at a local restaurant? Of course, your children won’t be able to ditch their school lunches and dine out, but you can still make their packed lunches exciting. Look for fun ways to make their lunches, for example, you can cut their food up into different shapes and add some edible glitter to the mix to keep things exciting.

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