Please stop calling it a "cheat meal!"

kavahni

Can I get an amen?
Food sustains us. Food delights us. Food bedevils us. But food is what powers our bodies. As humans, we are not meant to eat the same number of calories every single day of our lives. It's not normal, it is not natural. Allowing ourselves to eat the wonderful things that we love is not "Cheating." We are not bad.
Just sayin'.

StaciMarie1974

To each his/her own? I personally don't use this term because I can't cheat on myself. But that is me...

janjunie

People can call it whatever they want. What some people call a cheat meal, I call a calories don't count meal. We all know the statement I use is false if I'm trying to lose weight, but I'm not a serious person and I don't care what other people do or say when it doesn't affect me.

thewindandthework

No amen from me; I don't care what people call the occasional indulgence.

I'm prone to overthinking, and I suspect that might be exactly what you're doing here.

Seffell

I agree with you, OP, 100%.

RedheadedPrincess14

I don't get too hung up on semantics.

KrazyKrissyy

Define cheat meal? I have food allergies that give me rashes and other symptoms, yet every once in a while I give in by eating something I'm allergic to because I miss being able to eat it when I was younger. My skin and digestive system pays for it later though...

Mouse_Potato

I am guessing OP would not approve of the "Late Night Secret Binge" category in my food diary.

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Luna3386

Treat meal all the way. TREAT yo'self!

mmapags

Amen! This is the term that aggravates me most on these boards!! Who or what is someone cheating on??? Call it a refeed day. Call it a no logging day. Call it a treat day. Anything but a @&$#@**&%$# cheat day. Nobody likes or trusts a cheat.

tequila5000

Hey I like the idea of calling it a "no logging day". good idea!

mamadon

I like calling it a cheat day. ( I'm not losing weight, been maintaining for a few years) It makes it more enjoyable to me somehow lol.

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LinnyKitten

I have maintenance days

Christine_72

I would call last Sunday a cheat day, I cheated on my diet. I went to an all you can buffet and ate over 3,000 calories! Calling it a cheat day doesn't trigger any psychological issues for me, so that's what i call it.

Refeed day
IDGAF day
Not counting calories today day
Maintenance day
Cheat day

They all mean the same thing to me, no matter what term you attach to it.

Lefty1290

I don't call it "cheating" so that I stop creating negative connotations with food. Food is food, not always healthy, but I'm not "cheating" on anything. The term really irks me.

bbell1985

I think it sounds dumb. But I don't care. I care about me lol.

NorthCascades

"... A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet ..."

That jerk Shakespeare.

Evamutt

Amen

SCoil123

I don't really care what people call it. I don't "cheat" because I'm not strict with my eating. As long as my calories and macros pretty much land where they should for the week I don't stress on a day.

Alatariel75

I call it 'Friday'

Debmal77

ActionAnnieJXN

Everybody can call it whatever they kitten well please and it's no one else's business.

Momepro

Mouse_Potato wrote: »

I am guessing OP would not approve of the "Late Night Secret Binge" category in my food diary.

Haha! I just group those under "bedtime"

Rosie_McA

I call it the weekend.

Chadxx

I don't like the term because the whole concept of cheating defeats the purpose of counting calories in the first place. You can fit all sorts of treats in simply by learning to budget your calories.

nyponbell

I don't like the terms "cheat meal" or "treat meal" or even "no logging days" (but mostly because I'm just getting back into logging and going a whole day without it seems like a bad idea for me right now). I do have a category in my diary for "treats and snacks" but I consider them to just be part of my life, on the days that I do eat something that falls under that category. I think the term "treat meal" for me makes it sound as if I'm depriving myself when I'm not treating myself, which is not the case.

I do think that 'cheat meal' is a rather common name for it and everyone gets what people mean and that it will probably stay.

inertiastrength

Since I've come to understand the energy balance I have 0 problem with any food term. I (maybe this is a bad thing) see food like a bank account lol I dont' care what you call it or how you sugar coat it the numbers are the numbers

MontyMuttland

If you've committed yourself to a diet plan in order to lose weight and you decide to throw it aside for one meal/one day/whatever, then you have cheated on the diet plan, it's really that simple.
Call a spade a spade, why hide from what you're doing? Do you want someone to congratulate you for failing to stick to your resolve?
Then next time you're about to cheat, ask yourself do you really want to stay fat?

inertiastrength

MontyMuttland wrote: »

If you've committed yourself to a diet plan in order to lose weight and you decide to throw it aside for one meal/one day/whatever, then you have cheated on the diet plan, it's really that simple.
Call a spade a spade, why hide from what you're doing? Do you want someone to congratulate you for failing to stick to your resolve?
Then next time you're about to cheat, ask yourself do you really want to stay fat?

If you're still progressing towards your goal over time, I really don't see how that's cheating but like I said in my earlier post I'm not terribly bothered by language.