How do you forgive yourself on cheat days

Spiderkeys

This was my first ever 'cheat ' day from my 5 or 4 month diet, I was invited to a end of year christmas lunch, I did try to eat little, there I drunk 2 beers then ate 2 plates of meat and veggies, got home to log it, and was well over my calorie allowance at lunch time.

Now it's left me no choice but to skip dinner (which is rare), I just exercised off half of those overeaten calories back, now it's dinner time im skipping, im feeling slightly hungry and disappointment in myself, being 87kg from 121kg is a award I have to work for the rest of my life to keep, not a right.

alisonlynn1976

I don't consider it a moral failing when I eat too much, I just get back to my regular routine the next day.

Booksandbeaches

I don't think there's anything to forgive. It's not some great sin. I just don't let one bad day turn into one bad week.

annekka

Just do better the next day and drink a ton of water. It's one day, it's not going to kill you. I've experienced some of my best losses after cheat days.

MzzFaith

I don't think it's forgiving, or falling. The next day I just get back to my regular routine exercises

Spiderkeys

Thanks, I think it was just the beers that made me eat a lot more, even beers have a good lot of calories in them, only reason why I had two.

workout_ninja

yeah dont skip dinner if you are hungry. You already exercised half of those calories off. Eat your dinner, and maybe eat at a slightly higher deficit for the remainder of the week to even it out. Never deliberately go hungry - you are more likely to binge then.

billymacintosh

I would say just don't go down the forgiveness route at all, after all there are far more important things in life to allocate forgiveness to. I work on a premise that it's what you eat everyday not just on one day. If you fall off the wagon just get straight back on it the next day
Billy x

kathleenjoyful

I log it if possible as a reflection, but regardless, I get over it and get on with it. Life happens, especially with holidays and social events and celebrating with friends. I don't punish myself by exercising more for eating more, that can lead to disordered approaches to exercise and food. I go back to eating "normally" the next day and back to my workout routine. Food is a great pleasure and an important balance in weight loss is being able to still enjoy it, in moderation. One rare cheat day is still moderation.

stt43

It defeats the object of having a cheat day if you feel guilty afterwards, and you're on the road to an eating disorder if you regularly go from eating too much to then skipping meals and exercising through guilt.
If you go over your calories you may put on a pound if you have eaten 3500 calories over your maintenance, or maybe two pounds if you've done enough to put you 7000 calories over your maintenance (which is pretty impressive), but that'll only set you back a week or two in your weight loss journey, which isn't much in the grand scheme of things.

sdreed25

Yep agree with the others, nothing to forgive. Cheat days are part of this so you just wake up and start the day, crack on and get it done.

mcibty

I actually hate that it's even called a 'cheat' meal/day. Everyone goes on about the fact that we're not on a diet, but calling it a 'cheat' implies that it is a diet. Jeez. I have days where I'll eat 2,500 - 3,000 (or even more) and I could care less. It's a change in lifestyle, you don't have to kill yourself after enjoying yourself. We have the rest of our lives to live, are you really going to stress over a meal and a couple of beers in the long run? Just behave from here on in.

Spiderkeys

Thx for the replys and advices, I didn't realise I was punishing myself, which i was by skipping dinner and excersing more. I go and eat now, nothing too high in calories though.

kelly_e_montana

I actually find that if I eat a little more sometimes, I lose weight in the next couple of days after going back to normal. Strange but that's what happens for me.

If you consider eating out at a special occasion cheating, then you're on a diet, not having a lifestyle change.

Learn how to make some things special occasions and treats and just be confident that's now how you normally eat. Don't do anything differently that day or I agree, you're restricting/purging via exercise.

Just make a plan for what you will eat the next day and stick to it.

Learn to eat like a grounded, non-disordered, healthy person. Isn't that really the goal for all of us?

SuperCrsa

I dont need to forgive myself, having a day or two where life happens and I go over is natural for me.
Consistency is key, depending on how much damage I do I might cut back on calories the next day.

Most often I just put it down as a day that happened and move on.
Funniest thing is usually after a cheat meal I still drop the kilo's for that week.

Dont beat yourself up, it is one event, just get back in there and carry on with your normal calories.

SuperCrsa

I actually find that if I eat a little more sometimes, I lose weight in the next couple of days after going back to normal. Strange but that's what happens for me.

ME TOO!!! It rocks! lol

mockchoc

You are being way too tough on yourself. You have to have times where you let your hair down and just enjoy life. It's OK. You won't get fat from it as long as you don't think it's the begininng of many bad weeks or months or binging. You only have one life so live it not just diet!

cafeaulait7

I call mine a treat meal (or day, like Thanksgiving or a wine festival, etc), and I think it's very good that I don't have them several times a week like I'd like I am just limiting them to what a person without weight issues might do naturally, imho.

I don't do well with thinking I'd always have to feel guilty for each forever! I think it was the quantity of them before that was 'bad' of me, not the fact that I have some higher days like that. Lots of people do and don't have weight problems. I think it's more sustanable, for me at least.

donnaleighh

You STOP blaming yourself for where you are in the first instance ... second you STOP punishing yourself ... third you just get up in the morning and keep at what you were shooting for ... fourth .... NEVER try and do what you think others expect ... find YOUR way, (not someone else's recipe) ... because with the brains and talent you have ... there is one ... we each have our own!!!!

DavPul

..... , im feeling slightly hungry and disappointment in myself, being 87kg from 121kg is a award I have to work for the rest of my life to keep, not a right.

Yeah, you're gonna want to relax on that attitude a bit, Spidey. Cause not being able to enjoy an occasional holiday meal or summer bbq or night out sounds more like purgatory, not an award. Unless you've got some sort of physique competition coming up, all that's required is that you hit your calories most days, not all of the days for the rest of your life.

So stop feeling like you need to punish or forgive yourself, put the rosary beads down, enjoy a decent dinner, and wake up tomorrow back on your regular program.

suzyfj8

Accept you are human, you will overeat sometimes just accept it is part of the process, and try as much as you can to forgive yourself

6ronXtreme9

by bursting my *kitten* on the workout session

mamadon

Your a human being. Like most of us you like food. See the secret is thats its perfectly ok to be over once in a while. One day will not hurt a thing.

Fullsterkur_woman

..... , im feeling slightly hungry and disappointment in myself, being 87kg from 121kg is a award I have to work for the rest of my life to keep, not a right.

Yeah, you're gonna want to relax on that attitude a bit, Spidey. Cause not being able to enjoy an occasional holiday meal or summer bbq or night out sounds more like purgatory, not an award. Unless you've got some sort of physique competition coming up, all that's required is that you hit your calories most days, not all of the days for the rest of your life.

So stop feeling like you need to punish or forgive yourself, put the rosary beads down, enjoy a decent dinner, and wake up tomorrow back on your regular program.

Begone with your common sense! Surely he needs to don a hair shirt at the least! :laugh:

As I've said to you (and by you, I mean Spidey) before, you've gotta learn how to manage the rest of your life. If you don't plan to forego a couple of beers now and then for the rest of your life, there's no reason to do so now either. And I don't think skipping meals will be a very successful long-term strategy either.

Te absolvo.

Spiderkeys

..... , im feeling slightly hungry and disappointment in myself, being 87kg from 121kg is a award I have to work for the rest of my life to keep, not a right.

Yeah, you're gonna want to relax on that attitude a bit, Spidey. Cause not being able to enjoy an occasional holiday meal or summer bbq or night out sounds more like purgatory, not an award. Unless you've got some sort of physique competition coming up, all that's required is that you hit your calories most days, not all of the days for the rest of your life.

So stop feeling like you need to punish or forgive yourself, put the rosary beads down, enjoy a decent dinner, and wake up tomorrow back on your regular program.

Begone with your common sense! Surely he needs to don a hair shirt at the least! :laugh:

As I've said to you (and by you, I mean Spidey) before, you've gotta learn how to manage the rest of your life. If you don't plan to forego a couple of beers now and then for the rest of your life, there's no reason to do so now either. And I don't think skipping meals will be a very successful long-term strategy either.

Te absolvo.

Im now I didn't even gain an ounce, and todays a new day, and now no longer see no problem is giving yourself a "free" lunch here and there.

jessigoct17

You dont have to forgive yourself you just move on and go back to healthy eating.. last night i had mcdonalds for the first time in 2 months, when i woke up i felt so gross and disgusting.. and it honestly didnt even taste that good! i didn't put in my food diary i just moved on and now im back to exercising and eating well. and i'm sure i wont eat fast food again for a very long time

its okay to have days where u just eat like crap and enjoy it!

walkdmc

It doesn't sound like you did anything wrong or bad, IMO. I think you start forgiving yourself by taking care of yourself which means eating if you're hungry. Eat a lean and green meal and go to be early tonight.

musetle

hey, you've kept to your diet for 4-5 months straight and you're feeling bad about enjoying a christmas lunch with friends? you don't need to forgive yourself, it's very healthy to practice moderation and I'm almost positive it will have no impact on your progress.
As for the question, if I end up having a major cheat day, it's not a matter of forgiving myself per say- I just move on with the next day and tell myself that sulking about it isn't going to bring about the changes I want.

missbirrell

I'm glad you asked this - I struggle with it so much. I have bad days, most are planned as in; "I know I'm going out to an event tonight and I'll have calorific food" but sometimes I go over just because I go over. Today my partner and I are poorly at home, so we got a pizza and I went over. I'm disappointed in myself and am struggling to stop beating myself up. Which is stupid, nobody's perfect and sticking to a strict diet every day isn't normal. I'll try harder tomorrow, but I do feel like I've let myself down.

endoftheside

When I go over, I compare it to my maintenance level of calories, not my deficit level. If you are losing at 1 pound a week that's 500 extra calories right there before you even gain an ounce (temporary sodium/water weight not included). So maybe you ate 1000 over maintenance, then that sets you back two more days...no big deal in the grand scheme of things! Just get right back to it the next day with tasty foods that meet your macros.

eldamiano

Oh for goodness sake. Live a little. If not then you will become more depressed by obsessive dieting and that will end up worse.

I probably finished about 800 calories over the other day. Do a 10km run and then all gone!