What's a better name than "cheat meal"?
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ForeverSunshine09 wrote: »Honestly, I never got why Ppl make such a big deal out of a word. I use cheat meal because it quickly describes to most Ppl what I mean. I don't restrict myself really from anything but, sometimes I want an entire box of butter pasta and no amount of moving things around is going to make it fit. I stopped letting words like that control my feelings. Call it cheat day, Maintenance day, refeed, treat, splurge, or the last supper for all I care. It is just words. If this a lifestyle change and not a diet this word is going to be the smallest of obstacles to overcome.
because food is neutral and is neither good, bad, cheating, angelic, etc, so it should not be assigned moral values.
A word like cheat meal only means what you choose to let it mean. I have no idea how you get that is assigned moral value. I don't what I want and I don't feel bad when I eat over. You live, you learn, you move the freak on. Like I said Ppl read too much into a innocent saying. I mean seriously there are bigger issues when it comes to this weight loss journey than a word.0 -
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Breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Or a snack.
I plan what I eat, and sometimes I plan to eat more on certain occasions. On other occasions, I eat less because sometimes? I'm just not hungry. It all balances out.
I have enough faith in myself and the habits I've developed with food and exercise to just go on with life.0 -
A happy meal.0
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I call that my "high calorie" day or meal. It's all logged though and I still meet my weekly goal. If I'm not logging for a holiday or something, I call that nothing. Just...eating. A lot.0
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I like 'treat' because it rhymes with and effectively cancels out 'cheat' and I understand, you are acknowledging it's not your usual way of eating...
Once you're in maintenance though it really is just 'eating' period.0 -
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I usually call it Saturday evening or vacation, or a weekend away, or a holiday, or a special occasion.
Most Saturday evenings we take turns rotating between our house and two other couples and entertain each other. The food is always pretty good and we're all healthy and fit people (one of the guys is my coach) but we always drink a tank load of wine.
Vacations and weekends away mean I'm going to be visiting local pubs and breweries and eating pub food, which I don't normally eat day to day. I also tend to indulge on holidays and other special occasions...and I like having pizza night with the family once or twice per month.
I never really think much of these events as they are pretty irrelevant to the whole of my diet...but if I had to label it, I guess I would just call them indulgences.0 -
too much power assigned to one word. It really shouldn't matter what it is called. If it carries so much power for you as an individual call it whatever makes it less powerful. If it isn't a powerful thing to someone else they should call it whatever they want. Saying I am "cheating on my bf" when I look at Channing Tatum does not in fact give that look of longing any more power than saying I am "treating my eyes"0
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IAmTheGlue wrote: »
Oooh I like this comparison a lot. Because I like buying things AND I love to eat.0 -
With clients I just refer to them as maintenance days or refeeds, depends on who I'm working with.
I liked your rant for what it's worth.
For some people perhaps the term isn't relevant but I do agree that calling it a cheat day just reinforces a dieting mindset and for some people it could be detrimental. I also don't think it's good that it's a term that stuck in the industry.0 -
Well, people take "mental health days"...why not a "gastric indulgence day"?
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GBrady43068 wrote: »Well, people take "mental health days"...why not a "gastric indulgence day"?
I just gastricly indulged on homemade fudge. It was delicious!
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A high calorie day is what I call it.0
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What's a better name than "cheat meal"?
I call meals where I go over my calories for the day "celebration meals" because I only do that if I'm celebrating something like, say, my husband and my anniversary.
I call days where I go over my calories "diet breaks". I took a 1-month diet break in June/July after I had been here for 4 months and had lost 15 kg. I took a 3-day diet break in early November, after I had been at it again for another 4 months. Since I'm nearly at my goal and am almost at maintenance, I've taken a couple more weekend diet breaks just recently, and I'm planning a 2-week diet break over Christmas.
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reward meal, reward day,0
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STOP!!!!!!!0
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I usually just call it Mexican food or "beer night."0
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ForeverSunshine09 wrote: »ForeverSunshine09 wrote: »Honestly, I never got why Ppl make such a big deal out of a word. I use cheat meal because it quickly describes to most Ppl what I mean. I don't restrict myself really from anything but, sometimes I want an entire box of butter pasta and no amount of moving things around is going to make it fit. I stopped letting words like that control my feelings. Call it cheat day, Maintenance day, refeed, treat, splurge, or the last supper for all I care. It is just words. If this a lifestyle change and not a diet this word is going to be the smallest of obstacles to overcome.
because food is neutral and is neither good, bad, cheating, angelic, etc, so it should not be assigned moral values.
A word like cheat meal only means what you choose to let it mean. I have no idea how you get that is assigned moral value. I don't what I want and I don't feel bad when I eat over. You live, you learn, you move the freak on. Like I said Ppl read too much into a innocent saying. I mean seriously there are bigger issues when it comes to this weight loss journey than a word.
The word "cheat" does, in fact, have moral implications, in any usage. In this case, OP doesn't like it, and he asked for helpful suggestions. Weight loss is a journey fraught with emotion for many of us. If you don't get why it bothers him, then your experience is different. Words can most definitely hold power over us when we are vulnerable. Minimizing someone's feelings about something is not ever helpful.
I also don't like the word cheat when it comes to what I eat. If I tell myself I am "cheating," I might feel disappointed in myself. It might bring on a host of feelings that I might not be strong enough yet to rationalize. I also don't like the word "diet." That's a pretty common opinion around here, though I've yet to see anyone argue that like I'm seeing from some in this thread..
I think the most helpful suggestion in this thread, and more or less what I do, is to call it "dinner."
Beautiful rant, by the way, OP, and funny too! I love a good rant. Have a great holiday. I hope you allow yourself more than a lick of a turkey slice! That visual is hilarious, LOL!0 -
We could collectively call it a "stop being so dramatic and just log it and move on" meal.
I like this suggestion.
OP, I also like your rant. It really is about figuring out how to still fit in normal experiences into your life such as holidays, or heading out to the game and having a few beers with friends. This is life, there should be no moral connotations added to consuming more than your daily allotment of calories. Leading to much needed:
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IIFYM. No such thing. I hate the word diet.0
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I say bonus meal0
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Losingthedamnweight wrote: »Cause I'm sick of hearing it. Sick of saying it. Sick of it even being a common word used in our forums. What we are doing is part of a lifestyle to be healthier. That doesn't mean we are going to turn into gigantic prudes and on thanksgiving tell our families "I only have 10 calories left in my budget. Just enough to smell the turkey and maybe lick a slice of it 1 time". Most of the time we stay within our calorie budgets but on certain occasions, sure. Stop worrying so much about 1 meal because I don't want to be old and retired and looking back on my life someday with regret thinking "I could've enjoyed my life more at different times". If I have the self discipline to not go on a 3 day binge from just eating a big meal 1 time, then "cheat meals" are fine.
But cheat? How am I "cheating"? I'm making a conscious decision to eat a little more 1 time and burning it off after. I'm not cheating anything. I'm living. So what's a better name for it?
"The meal that puts me farther from my goal." :
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Call it whatever you want, use any words you want. As long as you accept them on your own terms it doesn't really matter.
Not being critical of the OP but it seems for a lot of people certain words here on the forums invoke a "trigger" type response. I see it all the time when someone says "junk food". For me, as long as it makes sense to me in the context I use it, it shouldn't matter. Call it junk, cheat, good, bad, or just food.
If they flipflopped the use of the words "sane" and "insane" I think some people would go insane due to the new title they have. The others would just accept it and move on with life.0 -
There are no cheat meals, there are only cheat days when you go over your calorie limit for the day.
Unless you eat your day's calories in one meal!
(That's called a feast.)
And if you do IIFYM your cheat day still might not mean a cheat week.0 -
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There are no cheat meals, there are only cheat days when you go over your calorie limit for the day.
Unless you eat your day's calories in one meal! (That's called a feast.)
And if you do IIFYM your cheat day still might not mean a cheat week.
Great idea. I often eat most of my calories in one extended meal. Now I can call it a daily feast!0 -
percolater wrote: »I would much rather read an interesting rant than a smug little statement that starts with a derisive "erm."
"Cheat meal," is a term long used in magazines and diet books to refer to a day planned to go off your diet and eat whatever looks good. I agree that it's not a good term.
A few alternative suggestions:
Free Day.
Feast Day. ( Particularly good for celebrations with religious roots like Easter, Passover, Christmas, etc.
Mental Health Day)
Date Night
Replacement Day. ( I believe, for some people, cravings are due to a deficient in the diet. They may crave cheese because they need calcium. Replacement days might actually be good for them.)
It wasn't a smug little statement, I enjoyed reading the rant hence my following sentence.0
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