IS IT OK TO CHEAT EVERYDAY?

Options
mommy_03
mommy_03 Posts: 54 Member
in Food and Nutrition
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.
«1345

Replies

  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Options
    If it fits your goals it's not cheating. I find that most people save a bit of calories for something special most days. Mine is beer, I've had a beer every day for almost 2 years now. I just make room for it in my daily plan.
  • bufger
    bufger Posts: 763 Member
    Options
    That's not cheating at all. I had a gourmet burger and fries tonight but I went to the gym for an hour earlier to offset It! Job done
  • salcha76
    salcha76 Posts: 287 Member
    Options
    I think it depends on "why" you are doing it. Is it to satisfy a mental need? Is it a bandaid? Is it stress or reward eating? If it is part of your normal diet & within your calorie intake, and your logging it, then i don't think it's cheating. BUT.....ask yourself "why" it's being done. To feel normal? I get it, but the thing is, as we are on here to drop weight & be healthier....I'm redefining my normal. (and now i'm craving a swiss cake roll! ) Good luck to you!
  • IveLanded
    IveLanded Posts: 797 Member
    Options
    I think it depends on "why" you are doing it. Is it to satisfy a mental need? Is it a bandaid? Is it stress or reward eating? If it is part of your normal diet & within your calorie intake, and your logging it, then i don't think it's cheating. BUT.....ask yourself "why" it's being done. To feel normal? I get it, but the thing is, as we are on here to drop weight & be healthier....I'm redefining my normal. (and now i'm craving a swiss cake roll! ) Good luck to you!

    Good thoughts.

    If you feel the NEED to cheat every day, you might want to consider stopping it. If you don't change your relationship with food, you're probably not going to succeed. If you feel like you NEED a swiss cake roll to be happy and have a fulfilled life......uhm, that's a problem. And I would say that, no, it's not ok.
  • peuglow
    peuglow Posts: 684 Member
    Options
    If it fits your macros you aren't cheating IMO
  • DresdenMN
    DresdenMN Posts: 23
    Options
    If you consider it cheating then it may be cheating.
    Although if you are still in your calorie goal and you eat the foods that you consider cheat foods, it's not cheating and there is nothing to feel guilty about. Like Dopeitup said; just make room in your day for it. I have things I will not give up because depriving myself of them will make me binge (potato chips). So I am sure to only eat one serving of the chips or whatever it is that I am craving and have that as my snack.
    Don't set yourself up for guilt behaviors by considering it cheating if it is not. Especially if you are an emotional eater. Nothing is off limits as long as you can stay within your goals!
    The will power and self control is yours to take and master.
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    Options
    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!
  • tmauck4472
    tmauck4472 Posts: 1,783 Member
    Options
    Eat what you want as long as it fits into your daily goals.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Options
    If it fits your goals it's not cheating. I find that most people save a bit of calories for something special most days. Mine is beer, I've had a beer every day for almost 2 years now. I just make room for it in my daily plan.

    ^^^^ This

    I normally eat a dessert every day. That's not cheating; it's living.
  • Inamourada
    Inamourada Posts: 9
    Options
    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.
  • MassiveDelta
    MassiveDelta Posts: 3,311 Member
    Options
    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...Live your life and reach your goals that is the balance
  • zaph0d
    zaph0d Posts: 1,172 Member
    Options
    wear a rubber and don't get caught.
  • machinegunchristy
    machinegunchristy Posts: 6
    Options
    I don't believe sweets are automatically cheating. If eating one "treat" each day keeps you on track otherwise, then that's great. If you would rather not eat such things every day, then try aiming for every-other-day instead. But we're all focused on developing sustainable habits to change our lives and health in the long run. If a cookie a day keeps your lifestyle sustainable, then I say go for it.

    I, on the other hand, can never eat just one cookie.
  • DexterDarko
    DexterDarko Posts: 235
    Options
    I prefer to stay away from any unhealthy foods, because just 1 can trigger me to eat everything in site. I dunno why :C

    In the future once I'm more athletic I might start some "cheat day" sort of things, but right now I got just a couple years to lose all the weight I can so I can be ready to live, so cheating is out of the question.

    But like everyone said, if it fits into your schedule and you feel you want to have it, go right ahead.
  • Mendelianparakeets
    Mendelianparakeets Posts: 45 Member
    Options
    I "cheat" every day, and I'm still seeing results.
    I eat a cookie at least twice a week, chocolate milk with lunch several times per week, and my Kettle Jalapeno chips about once a week. I just learn how to balance it out so that it fits my daily goal.


    I don't see the point in making long lists of foods that are off limits while you're dieting. The goal, I believe, is to make your favorite not-so-healthy foods fit into a balanced diet, in reasonable portions of course. Europeans eat a lot of high-fat pastries and chocolate, but they watch their portions and stop eating when they're full, which is why many of those countries have lower obesity rates.

    It takes some practice, but once you start logging it all in, you get the hang of it.
  • mermer45
    mermer45 Posts: 77 Member
    Options
    I do the alternative day fasting diet.....on Monday, Wednesday and Friday I only eat around 600 calories in the evening.....on thie other days I get to eat what I like....although oddly enough once you are on this diet you end up having much greater control on the 'normal' days too!
  • Topher1978
    Topher1978 Posts: 975 Member
    Options
    My theory is to create a new diet plan for life that you can live with and that will help you to stay healthy…
    food is great, why torture yourself with no good food? By all means, work on acquiring tastes that are healthier, but not at the price of misery. That is a set up for failure.
  • skinnyitaliannn
    skinnyitaliannn Posts: 187
    Options
    Like everyone said, DO IT, if it fits your goals, definitely! Its your life meaning you live day to day, and if daily you want a treat to keep you sane (like I do) then do so. :)
  • RitaC21
    RitaC21 Posts: 29 Member
    Options
    life would be so boring (and stressful) if we felt deprived all the time of the foods we love or crave...for me it eventually just won't work if someone tells me what I can and can't eat all the time...its about portion control and just being aware of what you're putting in your mouth....instead of eating 3 cookies eat one, etc...if you keep track of what you eat you'll get used to knowing how much of a treat you're allowed within your calorie goal and then you can adjust...life is too short to feel guilty all the time!
  • bahacca
    bahacca Posts: 878 Member
    Options
    I don't call it cheating at all. To me, only "cheat" is going over your calories. And even that isn't horrible if you do it sporadically. I have pizza, wine, cheese, girl scout cookies, birthday cake, etc. I KNOW if I tried to eat egg whites, greek yogurt, tuna and chicken breast I would NOT last for very long with this. I eat like a normal human being and am slowly improving my choices each day. I'm not going to refuse birthday cake at a party because I am on a "diet". I'm not on a "diet", I'm on a health journey that includes ENJOYING that journey.

Categories