After you cheat on your diet, how do you deal with the guilt??

cgvet37

I don't stress over it. Eating healthy does not mean denying yourself. It's about moderation.

lorrpb

Who made the rule that you're a horrible person if you eat those items occasionally?

ninerbuff

micca35 wrote: »

After 7 weeks of eating no junk food...I broke down and ate a bag of cool ranch doritos and a smores oreo cookie now I feel horrible. How do I deal with the shame...

If you feel horrible, then your relationship with food is the issue. There is no such thing as "bad food". It's either nutrient dense or not, and high calorie or not.
If you can't enjoy yourself occasionally with food you like, then mentally it interferes with happiness and that's ALSO part of how health is measured. I sometimes wonder if fit people who died early in life wasn't just because of genetics, but of how negativity of how they felt about themselves might have been associated with it.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

azbrennMFP

Only God is perfect. I can strive to be healthy but I have to let go of my need to be perfect!

distinctlybeautiful

First of all, you delete the word "cheat" from your food-related vocabulary. Words shape reality, and the word cheat has nothing but negative connotations.

Then you remind yourself that one bag of chips and a single cookie among a ton of no-junk-food eating won't ruin anything, just like one salad and one piece of fruit among a ton of junk-food eating wouldn't make you lose weight.

And finally, I'd suggest making room in your regular routine for some of these less nutritious foods. If you do this and see that you can still reach your goals, it might help you feel better about eating them.

mstardarsauce

well, cheat day doesn't mean that you should eat cake and donuts all you can eat. it means eat about 600kcal more than your diet kcal, but on a clean base

bellabonbons

I used to feel guilty because of all the brainwashing that when you're dieting certain foods are for bidden. But the beauty of MFP is counting calories and you can include all of your favorite foods. I usually have a dessert every day. It would never work for me if I had to stop eating all the foods that I love.

Cheesy567

You realize that 6-7 weeks in is where most diets show their sustainability flaws, and you take a step back, look at what's working and what isn't, and adjust. You focus on the healthy habits you've built and recommit at the next meal. You reflect on how the unplanned eating affected you, both positive and negative, and pay attention to your body's response to the food.

What you DON'T do- is lose sight of all the hard work and success you've had in the last 7 weeks. You don't think that it's a flaw in you (it's not, it's a flaw in the diet, and you've responded the same as 95% of people will!). You don't give up.

KetoneKaren

micca35 wrote: »

After 7 weeks of eating no junk food...I broke down and ate a bag of cool ranch doritos and a smores oreo cookie now I feel horrible. How do I deal with the shame...

I feel your pain. You know what I do now? I log the food accurately and go on. Don't waste a minute of your precious emotional energy on feeling shame. Another suggestion: Once in awhile "pre-log" a junk food item into your diary for the next day. Then eat that item as part of your food plan. Lots of "clean eaters" have a Dorito or a cookie now & then! Congratulations on going 7 weeks with no junk food! Now lighten up a little...and good luck!

idrinkalotofwater

Do an extra hour of exercise

jawillia

distinctlybeautiful wrote: »

First of all, you delete the word "cheat" from your food-related vocabulary. Words shape reality, and the word cheat has nothing but negative connotations.

Then you remind yourself that one bag of chips and a single cookie among a ton of no-junk-food eating won't ruin anything, just like one salad and one piece of fruit among a ton of junk-food eating wouldn't make you lose weight.

And finally, I'd suggest making room in your regular routine for some of these less nutritious foods. If you do this and see that you can still reach your goals, it might help you feel better about eating them.

This. Exactly!!!!! Don't diet, make a change in your lifestyle. Dieting only forbids you from eating certain things and most of them are not sustainable for your life. You've got to build habits that you can live by. Having something not so good in moderation is ok, just not every single day. Don't give up. Denying yourself completely only builds up that desire for bad stuff.

JeromeBarry1

"A bag of Doritos". I wonder, was it a great big bag or a little bitty bag? Those little bitty bags are about 200 or fewer calories. Get you some. As for the occasional excess to plan calorie intake the realistic result is that I'm not going to run to the bathroom and puke, so I'm just going to have to live with the consequences for a few days. Guilt? For what?

sllm1

sllm1

Immediate U-turn. Forget it. It's done. Back on the plan.

Ant488

Exercise away the amount of food you ate.

ald783

In the scheme of things, eating (or overeating or indulging or whatever else) is not even in the top 100 shameful things people can do. You didn't kill someone or hurt someone's feelings or steal or run over a dog. It's just food. I know that sounds silly but really in the scheme of life, what you eat - especially in a single day or a single week - is so unimportant.

You will overeat again. You can call it cheating or just call it life. I know it's hard to detach emotions from food, but I think if you make that a priority it will help you a lot in the long run.

Cortneyrenee04

That wasn't bad at all! Food and guilt/shame have no correlation. Food is just food... Weight is just a number. It only has meaning if you give it meaning!

xmichaelyx

I deal with it by never having guilt.

I keep my calories very low during the week specifically so that I can eat and drink whatever I want on the weekends. No guilt.

Spliner1969

Pffft. Use the extra carbs/calories the next day and work out longer/harder. Look at food as energy for your body. If you don't use the energy it gets stored as fat. So if you eat it, use it.

dynochrome

I usually go to the gym. But I do that anyway. Then I feel bad because i know I am just breaking even that day at best. Maybe I push it a little harder to "punish" myself. I cope by saying, OK I just put a grain of sand back on my pile. Because that is how weight comes on and off a very small amount at a time eventually over time it becomes a big pile. Work your butt off at the gym and be good it all day and you just took a grain off, Eat more than your are supposed to and put a grain on. I try to eat the perfect amount of calories every day 5 meals. With the right Macros: 45% carbs (better carbs the better) 35% protein 20% fat(better fats the better). One day a week(sat) I allow myself to go crazy. And I do. 1,200 calorie Mexican meal after the morning gym workout, beers,pizza/Dennys that night. I'm 55 years old 12% body fat and just lost 10 pounds using my fitness pal. I am now down to 173. Before I started life style change I was 195 pounds and 23% body fat. What I'm getting at by all of this is if you are doing what you are supposed to 90 percent of the time I think you'll still achieve your goals. My fitness pal has made it easy to see problems and be better. Be honest with your inputs and activity level, and if you burn more calories than you eat you WILL loose weight. Simply calories in vs calories burned + proper macros. No matter what your metabolism, genetic makeup or drugs you are on this is all there is to it.