IS IT OK TO CHEAT EVERYDAY?

ladyark

I notice alot of people saying if it fits in your numbers then its not cheating. Just in my opinion i wont call it cheating but , i dont understand regardless if it fits in the numbers WHY would you want to put garbage food into your body on a daily basis??

To me IMO its not trying to be consistently healthy. A treat ( i said treat, not meal or day) once in a while is ok , or once a week. I dont think anyone should deprive themselves of something they truly want but it seems counter productive to me to do it every day. I think some nice strawberrys dipped in dark chocolate would be a sweet treat and you get fruit and chocolate lol

So no disrespect to the OP or anyone else who answered just my 2 cents worth.

maddmaddie

Just as long as your being honest on MFP and about your calories. Don't let it get out of control. That's how some people gain all their weight back is by letting "cheating" get out of control.

susie769

I allow chocolate in my diet almost everyday. I have always had a severe sweet tooth and I find that giving myself the sweets to fit into my calorie goals, keeps me from stopping and buying that candy bar or shake when that really isnt what I want. If you can eat your sweets and stay within your goals then ENJOY them. This is about changing your way of eating not depriving yourself of the foods you love.

SoDamnHungry

I notice alot of people saying if it fits in your numbers then its not cheating. Just in my opinion i wont call it cheating but , i dont understand regardless if it fits in the numbers WHY would you want to put garbage food into your body on a daily basis??

To me IMO its not trying to be consistently healthy. A treat ( i said treat, not meal or day) once in a while is ok , or once a week. I dont think anyone should deprive themselves of something they truly want but it seems counter productive to me to do it every day. I think some nice strawberrys dipped in dark chocolate would be a sweet treat and you get fruit and chocolate lol

So no disrespect to the OP or anyone else who answered just my 2 cents worth.

Some people just enjoy eating junk, and the only way they can manage to succeed on a diet or lifestyle change is by allowing those foods in. While I try eating a lot more fruits and veggies (and I really do eat more now), at the end of the night, I just want some cheese and crackers. And it won't change. Learning to fit the bad foods into your life is just another way to be healthier. Heck, at least the people who eat them on a regular basis but are in their calorie limit aren't going to be overweight AND eating garbage. They're just eating junk a little smarter.

martintanz

Funny you should mention Swiss Cake Roles and Peanut Butter Cookies. I associate those, and other sugary foods with my old lifestyle. For the last couple of years, I couldn't get through the evening without some sugary empty calories. Except for some cake on my birthday, I haven't touched sugary sweets like that since June. The last time I lost a lot of weight, 8 years ago, the food I associated with uncontrolled eating was those giant cinnamon roles. When I was in law school a few years earlier, I would buy 2 every Tuesday at the coffee shop at the student union and eat one in the morning, save the other as a mid afternoon snack. Packed on some serious weight my first two years of law school eating stuff like that.

Also, despite cutting down on sugar, MFP still tells me I am eating too much sugar. I don't know how you can cheat with cookies or swiss cake roles and not go way over on the sugar.

ladyark

I notice alot of people saying if it fits in your numbers then its not cheating. Just in my opinion i wont call it cheating but , i dont understand regardless if it fits in the numbers WHY would you want to put garbage food into your body on a daily basis??

To me IMO its not trying to be consistently healthy. A treat ( i said treat, not meal or day) once in a while is ok , or once a week. I dont think anyone should deprive themselves of something they truly want but it seems counter productive to me to do it every day. I think some nice strawberrys dipped in dark chocolate would be a sweet treat and you get fruit and chocolate lol

So no disrespect to the OP or anyone else who answered just my 2 cents worth.

Some people just enjoy eating junk, and the only way they can manage to succeed on a diet or lifestyle change is by allowing those foods in. While I try eating a lot more fruits and veggies (and I really do eat more now), at the end of the night, I just want some cheese and crackers. And it won't change. Learning to fit the bad foods into your life is just another way to be healthier. Heck, at least the people who eat them on a regular basis but are in their calorie limit aren't going to be overweight AND eating garbage. They're just eating junk a little smarter.

Dont get me wrong my diary sure isisnt pretty all the time so im not trying to be superior by any means. I guess what i am trying to say is wanting to lose weight is one thing and wanting to lose weight and be Healthy is another . Hard to give up the junk i know. Plenty of times i ate the whole box......or bag etc.. Its a mind over matter thing i think..

victorious27

Honestly, I have a "mini bad snack" pretty much every day. One day it may be a reece cup, the next a handful a chips, or maybe even a candy bar. The thing is though, is that it always fits in my logs. If it doesn't fit, I won't eat it. I don't call them cheats, they're choices. But I'm not going to screw up my weight loss and healthy living to satisfy a craving that won't fit.

However...if it's something that I haven't had in forever and I've been really good, I'll eat it with a smile on my face and not regret it. Regardless of how it fits in my logs

CyeRyn

I go out of my way to make sure I have room for some chocolate. No diet will keep me away from my beloved tasty goodness! Moderation is key and I don't consider it cheating if you have just a *little* bit of this. If you're over-doing it then there's a problem. It's sad though that 5 of my little precious'es calculate to 220cal.

Just log it and fit it into your daily calorie goal. I make a special spot for "snacks" and try to keep it about half the calories of one of my meals.

Sailorwind

Try to stop thinking of it as "cheating". The reason I failed every other time I tried to get healthy was because I was in the mindset that I was on a diet, so desserts and fried foods and such were "cheating". I always ended up caving and then losing morale and giving up. This time I have drilled into my head this is a lifestyle change and NOT a diet. I'm training myself to enjoy eating healthier, but when I give in and eat some junk or eat a ton at a party or potluck (like today), it's not "cheating", rather it's a choice I made. Every thing I think about eating, I ask myself if this food is worth it, if it will help me meet my nutrition goals or if it will keep me full for a while. Once I have consciously decided if the food adds anything to my daily nutrition needs or if it will keep me full until my next meal/snack, then I choose if I still want it. I find this helps immensely with the cravings I get because I see a type of food or someone is talking about it. But if it's a piece of chocolate cake and I choose to eat it anyway, I still don't think of it as cheating. I just acknowledge the fact ahead of time that I will have to make healthier choices for the rest of the day and/or get in some extra exercise. It's definitely not worth eating the chocolate cake if the whole time I'm just going to feel guilty because I think of it as "cheating". Kills any enjoyment I'd have gotten from my choice.

Sailorwind

Also, since making this lifestyle change I've found so many delicious recipes for decadent desserts that actually DO have nutritional value and no guilt associated with them. These are my two favorite sites currently:

www.eat-yourself-skinny.com

chocolatecoveredkatie.com

Mr_Bad_Example

I mean, Im doing fantastic with my calorie plan and eating but I dont wanna feel deprived like I cant have something if I want it. So, I cheat just a little everyday to keep on track. Like yesterday I had a swiss cake roll and today I had 3 peanut butter cookies fresh out the oven. Just wondering if anybody else does this.

Yep, totally cool to do that. It's all about learning how to enjoy food in moderation, not cutting out the things you love forever.

JTick

I have something sweet every single day. For a while, I had smores every day. My current obsession is 321 cake. I plan for it every night, and it's the last thing I eat for the day so it's something I look forward to all day. It keeps me from binging, and makes it much easier to turn other sweet things down during the day since I already have one planned.

ladyboss650

While I do have some kind of little dessert everyday, it's usually nothing like 3 peanut butter cookies, which depending on how big they are can be a pretty huge cheat. I like to have a no sugar added packet of hot chocolate after dinner which is only 60 calories, or like a weight watchers type dessert. If I were you, I'd just watch it and limit it as much as possible because that might be okay now but the more weight you lose, the less you can eat so get rid of the cravings while you can. Save something like peanut butter cookies for once a week.

I totally agree! I make sure to fit in a Healthy Choice 100 calorie Chocolate Ice Cream Bar and either some fruit/nuts that are included in my daily allotment of nutritional values. I know my old mentality of "a little bite of this won't hurt," which is why I'd gain weight back in the past (after eating WAY MORE that a bite or two)... It's not happening this time!!! Everything we do is a choice... and I think long and hard of what I'm choosing to put in my mouth. Wish I would have thought this way years ago!!!

DOElston

As others have said here - I think its vital to have BALANCE. If you feel deprived and punished, you're not going to succeed. It's best to eat as healthy as you can simply for good nutrition's sake but I believe having something every day that's a treat is important. The key is to ensure it is counted in your daily calorie count and doesn't put you over.

kmard81

I think its okay, I have been allowing myself one sweet thing a day and honestly I dont even crave the junk as much anymore. I think the most important thing is portion control. Have a cookie, just dont eat 5 of them. Have a swiss roll, but just eat one instead of the two that normally come in a package. I read something one time that said a craving is satsified within the first three bites. So after three bites, your palate should be satisfied, but we continue to eat just because its there.

KAR1959

I consider this a lifestyle change not a diet. So I try to make for an occasional treat in my daily allotment. There's certain things I'm not going to give up. Think portion control and moderation.

WendyTerry420

I notice alot of people saying if it fits in your numbers then its not cheating. Just in my opinion i wont call it cheating but , i dont understand regardless if it fits in the numbers WHY would you want to put garbage food into your body on a daily basis??

To me IMO its not trying to be consistently healthy. A treat ( i said treat, not meal or day) once in a while is ok , or once a week. I dont think anyone should deprive themselves of something they truly want but it seems counter productive to me to do it every day. I think some nice strawberrys dipped in dark chocolate would be a sweet treat and you get fruit and chocolate lol

So no disrespect to the OP or anyone else who answered just my 2 cents worth.

I will say that I don't care for Little Debbies the way I used to as a kid. However, since being on MFP and learning more about nutrition, I have completely changed my opinion of so-called "junk food." Little Debbies are basically fats and carbs and protein, the same as many other foods. It has no trans-fat, so I don't see them as garbage at all. However, I would much rather bake my own chocolate rolls, or better yet, pumpkin rolls, because of taste.

Nutrition summary:
Calories 270
Fat 12g
Carbs 39g
Protein 2g

Est. Percent of Calories from:
Fat 25.2%
Carbs 71%
Protein 3.7%


For low carb people, it would be very difficult to fit this food in your macros, but for someone like me, it's pretty easy to fit a daily treat like this into your daily diet and still hit my macros spot-on.

"One person's garbage is another person's treat" (paraphrased :laugh: )

nellyett

By your definition of cheating, I totally do! But to me, it's not cheating. It's enjoying life while staying at a deficit and losing weight!

^^^ This!! I make sure to have enough calories left over for chocolate every evening after dinner! If I want something, i have it. I pay attention to portion control, and balance the rest of the day out while trying to stay within my calories and paying attention to my macros. I'm set at 30% protein, 40% carbs, and 30% fat.

Martykl7

I try to build in something I really like every day. I look for low-calorie, low-fat treats. Read the labels. I have chocolate chip biscotti, oatmeal raisin cookies, and/or ice cream that I can factor into my daily allowance. It is better not to feel deprived and keep going. If you slip, don't give up. Get back on track. Make small goals -- rather than big ones. It is easier to lose ten pounds than a hundred. I am at -62 now, since January 1 -- 57 lbs to go. Goal for October is to lose 5 lbs. Anything more is a gift! "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels!"

LorinaLynn

I notice alot of people saying if it fits in your numbers then its not cheating. Just in my opinion i wont call it cheating but , i dont understand regardless if it fits in the numbers WHY would you want to put garbage food into your body on a daily basis??

By the same token, why would someone want to read, for instance, 50 Shades of Grey, instead of a book on quantum physics? Why put that junk in your brain?