Your diet is not a test, DON'T CHEAT!

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  • Presleyforpresident
    Presleyforpresident Posts: 172
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    i'm not on a diet :)
    i eat whatever i want and i still lose weight because i don't gorge myself anymore.
    this is my new lifestyle
    and if i don't eat the chocolate today,
    i'll eat the entire chocolate cake tomorrow.
    xx
  • crazy4lulu
    crazy4lulu Posts: 822 Member
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    i'm not on a diet :)
    i eat whatever i want and i still lose weight because i don't gorge myself anymore.
    this is my new lifestyle
    and if i don't eat the chocolate today,
    i'll eat the entire chocolate cake tomorrow.
    xx
    i soooo agree with this!!!
  • basschick
    basschick Posts: 3,502 Member
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    I used to have the "I've been good all week, I deserve to splurge all weekend" mentality too and finally realized that I wasn't doing myself any favors. I look back on those days now and realize that I wanted to lose weight, but I just didn't want it bad enough. To those that are saying to the OP, "You do what works for you, I'll do what works for me!" I don't think the friends that she is referring to are doing something that "works" for them. They are probably like many that I see on MFP that eat whatever they want and don't exercise all weekend and then complain that they're not losing weight. These are not people that carefully plan, and eat at a deficit for several days before a family wedding so they can have a cocktail and a piece of cake. These are people that feel they need a vacation from their "diet" and exercise regime every single Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Some will finally come to the realization that I did, some will never get it, and will eventually just give up and stay overweight. Either way, I doubt there's anyone that will change their ways from reading anything that's posted in this thread. I sure wouldn't have when I was deep in that mindset!
  • joconnor09
    joconnor09 Posts: 124
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    I mostly agree. Eating poorly all weekend is going to undo any work you've done during the week. Calories still count on the weekend! I don't deny myself treats though. As long as I can fit it in to my new lifestyle, then it's ok. Some days I'll have cookies, or ice cream and I don't feel bad because this is my life. It's not some temporary diet where I can't have junk for two weeks but after that it's ok. And it's not some extreme biggest loser kind of thing where i feel like if i ever eat a donut i've ruined everything. It's life. There's always room for a donut in there somewhere. Just not every day, or even every week. I personally call it a diet just because it's shorter, but what I mean when I say that is lifestyle change. I'm not looking for a temporary fix. I want to be fit and healthy for LIFE. I've certainly messed up quite a few times since I started this journey, but I have to remember that it's part of all of it. Messing up, fixing it, doing really well, and messing up again. We're not perfect. I can't just break two decades of habits and expect it to always stick. I grew up fat, I grew up eating junk and thinking that it was the best food in the world. I didn't grow up loving fruit, or loving exercise. I have to reteach myself. So while I might want to binge on weekends, I don't. I know there's a bigger picture and a better life out there waiting for me.
  • Syreeta6
    Syreeta6 Posts: 377 Member
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    I ate a peanut butter choc chip cookie today because I wanted one. And I'm sure that has not sabotaged my "diet". Bite me :)
    One cheat meal or cheat snack is not going to kill anyone.
  • emtjmac
    emtjmac Posts: 1,320 Member
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    Changing your lifestyle doesn't mean that you can't have fun once in a while and do things that are enjoyable, like eat delicious, sugary, fattening, delectable food. You just don't eat it every day. I have spoken to several people who have lost over 100 pounds who admitted that they "cheated" at least once a week, sometimes several days a week. A lifestyle change doesn't have to be a life sentence. Feel-good food can still make us feel good, we just need to learn that there are other things that can make us feel good besides food. Fitness feels good. Being able to chase your kids without being winded feels good. Tying your own shoes without getting short of breath feels good. Eating cheesecake feels good. It's about balance; placing too many restrictions on yourself and forging ahead like an out of control locomotive towards fitness nirvana is setting yourself up for failure. If you aren't having fun, what's the point? The beauty of MFP is that it makes finding that balance so much easier because it gives us something that many of us have never had over ourselves when it comes to food... control.
  • purpleipod
    purpleipod Posts: 1,147 Member
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    There's no need to "cheat' if I eat whatever the hell I want.
  • 76nicky
    76nicky Posts: 19
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    to me this isnt a diet its a lifestyle change and if i go out for dinner and indulge so be it, im not going to lock myself in a cupboard and hide out for the rest of my life im going to enjoy life moderation is the key, each persons weight loss journey is their own to do in their own way so I dont see why other peoples food bothers you just worry about yourself and what your doing and if your happy dont worry about what others are doing on their journey
  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,143 Member
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    The weekend days ars the same as any other day for me. :)
  • dkweathington
    dkweathington Posts: 69 Member
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    that's why i never call it a diet. i allow myself the occasional indulgence because otherwise i'll binge on it. once in a while WILL NOT HURT YOU IN THE LONG RUN. and i proved that this weekend.

    I agree!! I call it an eating plan ( for life). I ate Pizza Hut tonight, but did not over do it. Still under my goal for the day!!! I had a peach milkshake friday. It is about setting healthy limits. I even lost weight on vacation this year!
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    I see a lot of people on my friends list who have trouble with bad eating on the weekends. And it kind of aggravates me. Because they have so much potential and they could do so well with their weight loss if they just stayed on track. Sure, everyone has bad days, but the weekend is not a "get out of jail free" card! You can't just do well all week, and then say "oh it's okay to have a snack today, or it's okay to go to a chinese buffet tonight". I'm not sure what kind of diet everyone is on, but on my diet, cheating all weekend is not allowed. So I stick to the plan, and when my Tuesday weigh in comes around, I always see amazing results. Because this is a lifestyle change. This is my lifestyle change, it has become a habit. It is not something that I cheat on, and it is definitely not a test. I just don't get why you would waste a whole week of good work for one weekend of bad meals because it's what you want in the moment, but it's not doing your body any good.

    It all comes down to one simple question: HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT?

    Can you explain this because i'm about to eat 1/2 box of Boneless chicken kickers and 1/2 box of cheesy bread from Dominos pizza.
    I'm below my calorie goal and my macros are almost spot on...
  • heroyalslimness
    heroyalslimness Posts: 591 Member
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    I see a lot of people on my friends list who have trouble with bad eating on the weekends. And it kind of aggravates me. Because they have so much potential and they could do so well with their weight loss if they just stayed on track. Sure, everyone has bad days, but the weekend is not a "get out of jail free" card! You can't just do well all week, and then say "oh it's okay to have a snack today, or it's okay to go to a chinese buffet tonight". I'm not sure what kind of diet everyone is on, but on my diet, cheating all weekend is not allowed. So I stick to the plan, and when my Tuesday weigh in comes around, I always see amazing results. Because this is a lifestyle change. This is my lifestyle change, it has become a habit. It is not something that I cheat on, and it is definitely not a test. I just don't get why you would waste a whole week of good work for one weekend of bad meals because it's what you want in the moment, but it's not doing your body any good.

    It all comes down to one simple question: HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT?

    As someone said--there's a difference between a cheat day and a binge...which sounds more like what you are describing.
    Uncontrolled--unlimited---overeating of caloric-fat-sugar-laden foods. And committing the crime (in your view) of maybe not wanting to broadcast it on their food diaries--precisely because of unsympathetic OP such as yours. Hence--cheating

    OP
    Each person has their own "pain threshold" when they decide --they can't take it anymore.
    "It" -Meaning ....Can't take feeling out of control---or dealing with negative body image or poor health or whatever

    I dunno--I think that requires no small amount of empathy--but a question for you

    OP --how long were you at the most heaviest? 3 years ago,right? It took you 3 years to lose some weight.
    Weren't you also eating badly then?

    How would you have felt when you were depressed if someone said to you--YEARS before you began losing weight
    ...years before you were ready--some of the things you are saying to your "friends"

    Are you at goal weight now? Do you really feel you are in a position to judge anyone--simply because you have lost some weight? That suddenly --you are an authority?
  • Thundermtn
    Thundermtn Posts: 57
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    Its all about the long game. DONT CHEAT is a bit harsh.. Because many times one tends to wallow in defeat.. If you cheat, give in to a Rum and Coke (like I just did)... its not the end of the world.. just means you got to work a bit harder in the morning to get rid of the excess.

    Enjoy the path, enjoy the LONG GAME.. Stay consistent...
  • gauchogirl
    gauchogirl Posts: 467 Member
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    You do things your way, everyone else does things their way. Neither is "right".

    In my world, never having a treat day or Chinese Buffet just doesn't work. To each their own. I've been maintaining for five years, so I don't stress it too much.

    This ^^.
  • TinGirl314
    TinGirl314 Posts: 430 Member
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    I look at it this way...
    I've been obese since I was 11...I made bad choices for years.
    I wasn't ready to put the effort into it at the time...and every time someone told me to go on a diet, or made me feel crappy about my food choices I ate WORSE.

    Not everyone is going to be perfect... I understand the frustration with hearing people complain and then the diary has three meals of mcdonalds hamburgers and fries in it...but that is THEIR journey, I'm working on mine. :)
  • angel79202
    angel79202 Posts: 1,012 Member
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    to each their own..and as a great book once said "don't judge lest ye be judged."
  • irisheyez718
    irisheyez718 Posts: 677 Member
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    It's not a diet for me, and if I want to go to the Chinese Buffet, I will, and I will enjoy it and not feel one bit guilty :-) I can eat the foods that I love, and still lose weight. I don't make it harder on myself than it has to be.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    I'm proud as hell of anyone who can go to a Chinese buffet and actually LOG it!

    I wouldn't begin to know how to log three plates of sushi and one plate of assorted seafood and a plate of desserts and fruit. When I go to the buffet, I get my money's worth! :laugh:
  • SlimSlow15
    SlimSlow15 Posts: 30 Member
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    I don't think cheating is necessarily a bad thing. I think I read that eating more calories once every week or two can boost your metabolism. I also think that people here have different goals. Yes, we're all trying to eat better, but we still have different goals.

    My goal is to lose weight, but another big goal of mine is to reduce cholesterol. If I eat an extra 500 calories one day, but I'm under on my cholesterol, I'm not going to worry about it. That hasn't happened yet, but if it did, it wouldn't be the end of the world. Most days I'm under my goal, sometimes by several hundred calories.

    It's great to give feedback and to give advice to people. We're here to support each other. But keep in mind that what works for one person may not work as well for another. Sure, we'd all like to have the benefits of eating a perfect diet and exercising every day, but that isn't always realistic. We have different lifestyles and we compromise on different things.
  • RobynMWilson
    RobynMWilson Posts: 1,540 Member
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    Lose the word diet. Because it is a lifestyle change, I aim for eating well 85-90% of the time and allow the cheats the other 10-15% of the time b/c I'm human and this is for life. Birthdays, holidays, special occasions come up! If I don't allow for any cheats, I'll never make it! I lost my weight in the 80s and besides a failed pregnancy, I've kept it off ever since. It's what works for me..

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