What stops you from cheating?

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  • Shari325
    Shari325 Posts: 196 Member
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    Knowing something isn't worth it.
    This^^^

    Does anyone remember the Richard Simmons "Deal-a-Meal" from the 1980's? I look at my eating kind of like this - I have so many calories and carbs for the day. Is that muffin, or bag of potato chips, really worth all the calories and carbs it is going to cost me? If I deem it is worth the cost, I simply adjust elsewhere.
    Recently, I decided a piece of birthday cake was worth the "cost". To compensate, I ate a grilled chicken salad for dinner instead of the pasta salad. This has kept me from going over on my calories almost every time for the past 5 months! And I have had consistent losses every week!
  • willdob3
    willdob3 Posts: 640 Member
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    I walked into a store this morning looking for a pastry, and the muffins looked soo good. As i got close enough to order they had the calories at over 580 per muffin!:noway:

    That stopped me. I started thinking how many minutes of work out that will be, (that would mean no treat for the rest of the weekend).

    What keeps you straight?

    Honestly, I love my healthy foods. I feel good eating this way & I get enough food at each meal so I'm not hungry. I have no cravings at all & I find no temptation to eat junk at all. Seeing it around me and seeing others eating stuff I used to eat doesn't bother me at all. I've found my sweet spot. I have not eaten off plan once all year. No desire to.

    "Fitting" junk foods into my allotted calories does not work for me. Processed foods cause cravings for me & cravings make it hard to stick to the right amounts. Junk food also makes me feel bad & ache all over.

    BTW, I make different versions of Jorge Cruise's Skinny Muffin - a 1 minute muffin in a mug that is also low in calories. If muffins are a weakness you might want to try something like that. You can make any variety you want.
  • DragonSquatter
    DragonSquatter Posts: 957 Member
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    As others have suggested, prelogging is good. Prepacking meals is good.

    Also, in the end, you just have to make choices. Whatever choice you make will determine whether you're moving in the right direction or not.
  • itsscottwilder
    itsscottwilder Posts: 317
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    There's no such thing as cheating.

    There's just choices.

    So if I want a snack, I choose to snack.

    That being said. I don't really plan meals or anything like that. But I do think about my day. Am I going out to lunch with co workers? Is there a family party? Am I doing a solid day of driving?

    Those kind of things will help me to make better choices throughout the day.
  • CloudyMao
    CloudyMao Posts: 258 Member
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    high calories in food with little volume, and lack of nutritional density. - also the same kindof food I stay away from because of ED triggers. Food with no nutritional density seems quite disgusting to me most of the time, of course sometimes I am in the mood for disgusting food, I let myself have it - in a controlled and moderated manner. I don't consider that cheating, i consider it sustainable.
  • onwarddownward
    onwarddownward Posts: 1,683 Member
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    I walked into a store this morning looking for a pastry, and the muffins looked soo good. As i got close enough to order they had the calories at over 580 per muffin!:noway:

    That stopped me. I started thinking how many minutes of work out that will be, (that would mean no treat for the rest of the weekend).

    What keeps you straight?

    Knowing that I have to pay the price eventually and it's more than I can bear to pay. But, if I stay within my (generous) range, I get paid back dividends.

    If I am really dying for something, I will just work harder to fit it in. There are no verbotten foods.
  • fitpam90x
    fitpam90x Posts: 197 Member
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    What stops me is knowing how bad I'll feel afterwards and it'll just set me in a groggy mood. But when I know I've been on top of my eating well, then I'm in a GREAT state of mind and I feel like nothing can hold me back. Of course it its the weekend or a special night I'll definitely have a treat (or two!) but its all about consistency for me. :)
  • QueenofScott
    QueenofScott Posts: 305 Member
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    Well, for me, the scale definitely plays a big part....I don't want to see the numbers move up! I worked too hard to go the wrong direction now. And the more fun part....I love buying size 6 pants and size small shirts. I want to still fit in the ones I have and I'm looking forward to buying an all new fall/winter wardrobe. Last year at this time I was size 20/22. I'm refuse to go back there!
  • willdob3
    willdob3 Posts: 640 Member
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    I agree that there is no such thing as "cheating" It is such a negative word. It is just making decisions about what we eat.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    self discipline.


    but I don't "Cheat"

    I eat in my calories- I hate when people tell me "oh you are having a cheat day" no. I'm not- I'm just not eating XX_ I'm enjoying this tasty ice cream instead.

    A "cheat" day for me- is where I specifically don't worry about calories- I do that every other month or so and I give no f##K if I eat 3000 calories or 1500. Usually that's just a full meal- salad- entree with bread and desert- rather than a binge fest.

    So no- I don't cheat really- but I just use self discipline to not go crazy with food- I eat under calories- at calories or over depending on my specific goals. period. that's it. End of story.
  • kathroop
    kathroop Posts: 2 Member
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    sometimes just brushing my teeth gives me the minute or so I need to stop and think "no"!
  • SummerLovesPhil
    SummerLovesPhil Posts: 242 Member
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    Planning ahead helps a lot. It's tougher to come up with good choices on the fly.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
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    I don't really understand the whole concept of cheating. I eat what I want ( which luckily is almost all natural food since I was little ) in the amounts necessary to lose and that's it. If I have enough calories and want it at the moment I have the occasional cinnamon roll or a popsicle when it's hot, but I don't dwell on it or worry about cheating.
  • crazorbaq
    crazorbaq Posts: 74 Member
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    I try not to think of it as a "cheat" per se. My main goal is to fit whatever I want to eat into my caloric allowance for the day. It doesn't always stop me from going over net calories, but it does help me slow the hell down, knowing I have to log it all. It is definately what kept me from eating ALL the mm's in the house this week instead of just a portion. Week from hell, right here. HATED every moment of logging the crap that I ate. Like I said, it didn't completely stop me, just made me slow down and think enough to make a better bad decision. :tongue:
  • Minks_esposa
    Minks_esposa Posts: 54
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    I find that if I think in terms of 'cheating' or 'no go foods' then pretty soon any diet is doomed to failure as willpower will, inevitably, cave in.

    Instead I go for having what I want and if I'm over calories on one day, I'll cut down the next day by an equivalent amount so that the average daily calorie intake for the week works out at -3,500 to try and get the 1lb loss.

    ^^That's what I do also. *Sorry I keep quoting you in every thread*

    OP-I don't consider eating normal as "cheating". If I have the calories then I find a way to fit it in by either eating half and then a couple of hours later eating the other half. I eat the foods I like and I don't look at eating any food as cheating. If I go over my cals one day then usually I will scale back a little the next day, in the end it evens out. Everything in moderation.
  • amelia_atlantic
    amelia_atlantic Posts: 926 Member
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    Reading the labels. Calorie content and the ingredients usually deter me.

    If there aren't labels (like if you're at a restaurant); I'll log into MFP quickly and get an approximate calorie count. Thinking about the time spent slugging on a treadmill after eating gross foods turns me off...most of the time. :)
  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
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    After several months of evaluating my eating habits I finally recognized that if I eat a 580 calorie muffin I'm hungry again in an hour and end up eating more so that 580 calorie muffin turns into a 1,000 calorie muffin! If I eat something with protein and fiber I stay hungry longer for less calories. Nowadays I don't even think about it.

    Once in a while I splurge but I make sure I am either willing to take the calorie hit or have time for a good workout to compensate. I incorporate all foods in moderation into my daily routine though so I'm less tempted in the first place.
  • RunningRichelle
    RunningRichelle Posts: 346 Member
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    I walked into a store this morning looking for a pastry, and the muffins looked soo good. As i got close enough to order they had the calories at over 580 per muffin!:noway:

    That stopped me. I started thinking how many minutes of work out that will be, (that would mean no treat for the rest of the weekend).

    What keeps you straight?

    Sounds like you might want to start your mornings out a little different if you're having problems with 'cheating.' In my experience, a pastry for breakfast usually leads to eating another pastry mid-morning, a 'dessert' item after lunch, a sugary snack in the afternoon, and ice cream after dinner. Basically, if I hop on the refined carb and sugar train in the morning, I'm gonna ride that thing allllll day.

    So what stops me from 'cheating?' A really awesome breakfast. Make a protein shake, dump your coffee in it, grab an ounce or two of nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, pecans, etc.) and head out the door.

    Ditch the pastries and muffins, you won't regret it!
  • RockinTerri
    RockinTerri Posts: 499 Member
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    I agree that there is no such thing as "cheating" It is such a negative word. It is just making decisions about what we eat.

    ^^This^^

    For example, I know that I am going out to dinner tonight, so I did an extra workout this AM, and am having a nice big green salad for lunch. I saw last week that many of my choices weren't the best, but I continued to log my meals/snacks, no matter how off-kilter they were.
  • da_bears10089
    da_bears10089 Posts: 1,791 Member
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    logging/checking calories before i order. I'm a horrible guesser when it comes to calories, so unless i check it to see where that would put me for the rest of the day, it's all fair game.

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