Cheat day, cheat meal or none

2»

Replies

  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    I don't "cheat" on my life. It's my life. I know indulgences will happen. Birthday parties, happy hour etc. Life happens. I certainly don't "plan to cheat". For me, none of that makes for a healthy lifestyle. I guess I'd compare it to romance. if you feel you have to cheat, and even plan to cheat, is it really "good"? 🤷‍♀️
  • swimmchick87
    swimmchick87 Posts: 458 Member
    It took me many times of doing the yo-yo diet thing to realize that "cheating" just does not work for me. I tried it several ways. Full cheat day was too much. Then I tried the cheat meal. Nope. Then I tried a 2000 calorie day (with the rest being 1200) so that it was an indulgence but controlled and counted. Nope. Getting in that mindset of "cheating" is super dangerous for me and leads to "cheat week," "cheat month" "cheat 3 months." Breaking black and white thinking (I'm either "on the wagon" or "off the wagon") is really hard for me and this concept of "cheating" really negatively contributes.

    What has worked better for me is just allowing myself more calories in the first place. 1200 was never going to work for me. It took me a long time to admit that. On a 1 pound per week loss goal, I get about 1550, plus eating a few exercise calories back here and there. Much more manageable and I can really fit anything I want into that by being mindful of portion sizes, eating lighter the rest of the day, or doing extra walking to allow myself more calories. I feel a lot healthier with this plan, mentally, than my previous plans which involved some sort of "cheat."

Categories