‘Cheat meals’ and ‘diets’

13Mart10

Just wanted to start a thread for people who are suffering from the mental aspects of ‘cheating’ or restricting foods as I see a lot of people asking about things like ‘cheats meals/days’ etc etc

In my opinion, we all should try and learn to remove the terms ‘diet’ and ‘cheating’ from our vocabulary, ‘diet’ is based off deprivation and a temporary status, you shouldn’t deprive yourself of anything you enjoy in life, instead focus more on shifting your mindset and lifestyle to eating good nutritious whole foods and keeping up regular exercise, whatever that may be for you wether it’s a heavy weight session or just simply going for a long walk. And at the end of the day it’s completely unrealistic to think to yourself your going to go the rest of your life without indulging in a ‘cheat meal’, the phrase itself is ridiculous cause what are you actually cheating on?

For the average person who’s just looking to improve their general fitness and well being I think we can sometimes get too caught up in the process and I just feel these are two important factors on the mental side of things we need to keep check of.

In short, for the most part as long as your eating nutrient dense, wholefoods and keeping your body active and moving you’ll be fine.

HeidiCooksSupper

I agree. One's diet is what one eats. I like to use the term not for some weight loss fad but rather as the term for the entirety of our food consumption. I am not on a diet; what I eat is my diet. I am keeping track of calories and macros because my uncontrolled diet led me to weigh twice what would be healthy. Now, I am controlling my diet. I do not have "cheat meals" or "cheat days" but sometimes I eat in a less disciplined way. It cheats no one. It does affect my ability to control my weight. Thus, I try to remain disciplined in my eating. I am trying to teach myself new habits that involve eating less and moving more.

slw37

Semantics. Do it your way and allow others to do it theirs. Why does anyone think their way is somehow better for all? If a person wants a "cheat meal," what does it matter in the grand scheme of things?

patprince8

I agree with all of you because it's practical to think about wanting to get fit as a natural part of one's life; however, when one is getting fit, one also thinks about the times they venture away from their new life habits as cheating, so the term "cheat meals" and "cheat days" also are very useful for describing those natural bumps in the road to new life habits.
In any case, yesterday I had cheated on my diet slightly by waking up at midnight and having a salmon sandwich with a cup of hot chocolate which put me about 800 calories over what I had intended to eat for the day. But that's okay. It was just a deliciously energizing bump on the road to lifestyle of healthy habits.

patprince8

(WARNING: POSSIBLE TMI) I must say that immediately after I had my midnight meal, liquid gushed through me and I had my period. So hormones can naturally nudge us to indulge more in extra food every now and then (-:

KrissDotCom

slw37 wrote: »

Semantics. Do it your way and allow others to do it theirs. Why does anyone think their way is somehow better for all? If a person wants a "cheat meal," what does it matter in the grand scheme of things?

You completely missed the point of this post.

The OP mentions that there has been a lot of boards asking about cheat meals or cheat days and if they are okay, the OP is simply making it a point to say that at the end of the day, maybe some of these people are being too hard on themselves by categorizing foods into a cheat slot, and they really don't have to do that.

The OP is not saying dont do that, this method is pointless, obviously some people do better this way, but there may be people out there who are new and don't realize that ALL foods can be enjoyed and it doesn't need to be a cheat if you don't want it to be.

If i was new and thought that those foods were only to be enjoyed on a specific day because i was a good girl, when in reality, i love those variety of foods and would probably do better if I could eat them regularly and in moderation, I would love to know that it doesn't need to be a cheat meal that I normally can't have because of what it is.

age_is_just_a_number

I agree. Often in my replies to questions I remind people about the following themes:
- you’ve made a choice to become a healthier you
- This choice is respecting yourself
- This is a lifestyle change, not a fad diet.
- The choices you make need to be sustainable.
- It is not about depriving yourself, but treating yourself well.
- There should not be guilt about what you’ve eaten.
- Food nourishes our body
- There are no good and bad foods, just food.
- Eat it, enjoy it, log it and move on
- Everyday is a new day and we get a fresh start everyday.

Thank you.

Jacq_qui

Agree. I'm not "on a diet", I'm eating at a deficit.

I haven't just had a cheat dessert, I've had birthday cake, because it's been my birthday.

I'm allowed chocolate any day I like, but I need to eat within my calorie budget if I want to lose weight, and if I eat too much chocolate I will have less calories for other foods which are more filling and nutritious. For me, this mindset makes weight loss more sustainable.