What do you consider cheating?

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  • MichelleLaree13
    MichelleLaree13 Posts: 865 Member
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    To me a cheat day is a junk diet (fast food, cheese cake, pastries). The more I exercise/feel sore the more protein I eat. Mfp does not up the need for more protein as exercise increases so I normally go over.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    It's not cheating if you are honest about it. Eating over your calories one day is certainly not cheating. Failing to log what you have eaten, however, is cheating IMO as you are not making yourself accountable

    How is it "not making yourself accountable?"

    Eat too much, whether you log or not, and you gain weight. You'll be held accountable when your pants don't zip.
  • abbeyroad69
    abbeyroad69 Posts: 2 Member
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    Yesterday was my cheat day, and what I do on cheat days is still be sensible (i.e. not binge and snack on about 12 different things) so staying within the confines of breakfast, lunch and dinner, but not have to work out and being able to eat whatever I want at those meals!

    So for example, yesterday I had the same breakfast as I have every single day of my life: muesli with milk.

    Then for lunch I treated myself and had a scone with jam and butter and a biscuit (all foods I'd normally avoid because of their high sugar, carb and calorie content).

    Then for dinner I had a curry, followed by chocolate for dessert.

    In total I had 2098 calories yesterday, which is only 100 calories over what an adult female should generally have anyway! I allow myself a cheat day once a week (unless I don't feel like having a cheat day) and I feel like it keeps me on track mentally and also gives my metabolism a surprise!

    The hardest thing about cheat days is going back to eating well the day after though! Haha.
  • camiah
    camiah Posts: 146
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    I don't cheat. I'm perfect. :bigsmile:

    Actually, I may fall off the wagon, but I don't think of it as "cheating". It is more like sometimes life gets in the way and I don't eat the way I want to. But thinking that I'm "cheating" sets up the food I'm eating as something bad and therefore even more attractive for next time. Which is precisely what I don't need. I'm trying to get away from those kind of value judgments about the food I eat. It is healthier for me mentally.
  • Mich4871
    Mich4871 Posts: 143 Member
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    I don't have cheat days, and if I eat something considered a "cheat" food by others, I just count it towards my daily calorie intake and move on. I HATE the word diet and cheating... I eat what I want, when I want, but I'm in the mindset though that for me, it's not worth wasting the calories on something "bad" I had a slice of pizza and a slice of birthday cake yesterday, didn't consider it cheating especially since it's not something I do all the time. I just worked out a little more than usual yesterday to offset it a bit.
  • dlyeates
    dlyeates Posts: 875 Member
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    I'm all for a cheat meal every now and then (for me it's usually 1 time a month or every other month). It's a meal that blows my calories out of the water. Everything else that fits in my calorie goal is not cheating because this is not a diet, it's a lifestyle change. And in my world pizza, eating out and junk food fit in to my overall longterm lifestyle.
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
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    I don't consider anything a "cheat" as I am not on a "diet". I will have a higher than average calorie intake sometimes.
  • DawnEH612
    DawnEH612 Posts: 574 Member
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    Cheat days, to me, are eating and behaving mindlessly and impulsively and then trying to rationalize my behavior, or worse, not even thinking about my actions. It isn't as much what or how much I eat, but why I am eating it. I am cheating myself if I dont stop to consider that. If I stop connecting those two things, I WILL end up back where I was, over 200 pounds and once again LOST in all manners of speaking.
    I was a mindless zombie for far too long. I look forward to and cherish now, being mindful in my life and i stirve to make mindful and deliberate choices about everythng I do to include what activity I do and what goes into my body. In the past it was all about mindless, impulsive, habitual and emotional eating. I now no longer CHEAT myself from the choices I can make and strive to make the best ones for myself at any given turn. With that said, I also don't have any food that is off limits... I eat what and when I want. The difference is now I am tuned into my choices.
  • HazelCaz
    HazelCaz Posts: 48 Member
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    I've never really liked the idea of all day cheat days. I don't want to have a set back...especially not as often as once a week. Over the past two weeks I have had 1 small indulgence each week. But they don't go over 500 calories and even though I may have not gone over my total calories for the day, I cheated. Examples: 1 kid-sized Heath Bar shake, 1 small square of cake at a b-day party. I am still living my life, but I don't want this process to take forever. And when I hit goal, I know I have a plan in place to be able to maintain it.
  • andrewlazenby
    andrewlazenby Posts: 151
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    Never had a cheat day / meal. I eat pretty much what I want. If I am over, I am over. Most days I am waaaaaay under considering exercise.

    It averages out. Your body does not reset each day.....
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    Having sex with another person.



    Wait. What?
  • zaph0d
    zaph0d Posts: 1,172 Member
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    Cheating, to me, means straying from your plan or your rules.
  • MarineCodie
    MarineCodie Posts: 256 Member
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    Last night I went to Red Lobster. I had 900 calories left... I know I went over and didn't log. I'm such a cheater! :ohwell:
  • Dcharnice
    Dcharnice Posts: 56 Member
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    For me, there is no such thing as "cheating". It's all boils down to portion control. Where is it law that one can not partake in a sweet treat every now & then? Truth is (at least for me), when you try to completely ban something that you crave, you end up over indulging & then the guilt sets in.
    If I crave it, I will eat it BUT in a controlled portion. Happy Fitness!!!
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    I don't cheat. I'm perfect. :bigsmile:

    Actually, I may fall off the wagon, but I don't think of it as "cheating". It is more like sometimes life gets in the way and I don't eat the way I want to. But thinking that I'm "cheating" sets up the food I'm eating as something bad and therefore even more attractive for next time. Which is precisely what I don't need. I'm trying to get away from those kind of value judgments about the food I eat. It is healthier for me mentally.

    I don't believe in cheating; only in making choices. Sometimes I make a choice to eat more than my weight loss plan and I live with that decision. As stated above, it is healthier for me to not put value judgments on my food intake.
  • Superskinnie36
    Superskinnie36 Posts: 39 Member
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    I don't consider any of my weight loss journey cheating. Sure, there are better days than others but non of it is cheating. It is just another day, meal or bite of food in my life. There is nothing I can not have. There are only better choices to make.

    Cheating myself would be not exercising,not tracking my food, or giving up.


    I totally agree, :)
  • tragicpixie
    tragicpixie Posts: 71
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    A cheat day would be going over my cals with something that isn't healthy.

    This for me. Sometimes I get stuck in situations and Taco Bell tacos are the best choice possible, while I try to avoid getting stuck in those situations I also don't want to not go out with friends, family, or avoid birthdays etc. I just go about my life making sure to make the best choices possible. If I eat something high in calories, I try to make it up the rest of the day. I'll either exercise extra or I'll have to try to limit my calories. For instance, thanks to a birthday yesterday where I spent the night with some friends, I have 300 something calories left fot he rest of the day. In the past I'd probably starve myself and make sure I absolutely do not go over calories, but I don't think that's healthy (feels to much like when I had a horrible ED). Instead, if I end up eating something reasonably healthy but end up over calories it will be a "cheat" day and that's okay.

    I also don't usually eat my exercise calories so I figure I have a little room - and truthfully I'm often 100 or 200 calories under my daily calories on days when I'm super busy anyway. I'm pretty petite so I don't worry about that really (again, I'm sure I can make up for those calories in beer next time I got out anyway).
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    I don't consider eating cheating. Maybe, like some others have said, if I altogether gave up trying to be healthier - I would think I was cheating myself then. That's about it though.
  • rudimae
    rudimae Posts: 107
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    Thanks for all the responses! I didn't mean for folks to get hung up on the term cheating. But it is something that I have struggled with. In the past I've had such an all or nothing attitude that "cheating" or making bad food choices or just going over my calories would have thrown me into a tailspin. Yesterday, I ate half a pizza. Today, I ate the other half. Yesterday, I remained within my calories because I exercised a lot. Today, I will not unless I manage to squeeze in some exercise before bed (not likely 'cause I have a ton of things to do).

    I'm still fairly new to this site and still trying to change my mindset. The old me would have looked at eating the pizza as a failure. I am still having trouble looking at the net calories being red. But others have made good points...there have been many days that I have had excess calories at the end of the day. Even yesterday. And it's not like my overage is that big...less than 200 calories if I stop from shoving anything else in my mouth tonight.

    I really understand this is not a great and healthy way to eat. But what I also need to learn is the world won't end because I went over. Nor will it totally derail my progress forever and ever. It's tough for me to find that balance and accept I won't always be perfect in my food choices.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I don't consider anything cheating. Some days I eat healthier than others. Some days I go over on calories, some days I'm under. I make sure there are not more overs than unders. None of it is cheating. It's just life.

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