What stops you from cheating?

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Replies

  • YvonneCT
    YvonneCT Posts: 42 Member
    I walked into a store this morning looking for a pastry, and the muffins looked soo good. As i got close enough to order they had the calories at over 580 per muffin!:noway:

    That stopped me. I started thinking how many minutes of work out that will be, (that would mean no treat for the rest of the weekend).

    What keeps you straight?

    I don't think of it as "cheating". If it fits for that day and I want it, I have it. If it doesn't, usually I won't. If it is a special occasion, maybe I will have it and balance it out over the next few days. It's a life style for me, not a just goal.

    YTVP
  • corgicake
    corgicake Posts: 846 Member
    Nothing. Nothing stops me from cheating on a diet.

    What makes me reach for the more positive things is the outta sight outta mind approach. Turn off television, turn on cookie/tracker blocker... I suggest Ghostery because you can selectively allow stuff and it's easy to get at all the settings. Added bonuses: MFP loads tons faster and YouTube doesn't show pre-video ads with the blocker.
  • andezz99
    andezz99 Posts: 56 Member
    It's important for me to start the day right. If I don't workout first thing in the morrning, I have more of a tendancy to cheat. I'm not sure if it just sets the tone for the rest of the day or what. Sometimes I have to just substitute one food for another to satisfy the craving. Instead of a muffin, I will eat fruit and then I don't feel so tempted by the muffin.

    I have kids in the house so it's just something you have to get over to stay on track.
  • shawnatheobald
    shawnatheobald Posts: 31
    I look at the ingredients list - if there is anything I don't know what it is, I don't eat it. If I still want it, I google that thing - generally learning about the things that tempt me most result in me learning things about it I didn't want to know, and I stop craving it. It's really hard to crave garbage.
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  • witmer1
    witmer1 Posts: 128 Member
    Remembering that noting will taste as good as being at my goal weight will feel.
  • helenrosemay
    helenrosemay Posts: 375 Member
    I don't see anything as "cheating" If I want something I'll work it into my allowance. Luckily I rarely want anything you would call a "cheat" food. I'm enjoying my healthy diet.
  • TayzerFun
    TayzerFun Posts: 45 Member
    For me, I just keep thinking to myself, "I won't miss that food tomorrow." Tomorrow I won't wake up and say, "Golly darn, I really should've ordered that doughnut at the coffee shop." I won't regret not eating it, but I might have regret if I DO eat it. I find that my temptation is only if the food is right in front of me, and is sorta fleeting. So, If I can get over that moment... I know I'll be fine.
  • Maile_131
    Maile_131 Posts: 5 Member
    I agree with the 'no such thing as cheating'. If I really want something, I make a conscious choice to have it and I go ahead and savor it. Nothing is off limits, but I also make a conscious choice to add an extra workout or cut back on calories the following day to balance the choice I made. I eat clean for the most part, but don't think of food as 'bad' or 'good'...just choices.
  • astange83
    astange83 Posts: 105
    What stops me whether or not calories are posted are two things:
    1. How long will I have to work out to keep that from sticking to me?
    2. I've been fat, I don't want to go back!! (Found college photos of me the other day, don't think they were even at my largest and couldn't believe the way I looked!, BTW the 10lb loss on here is in addition to the 60 I lost over the past two years)

    Starting vacation today and nervous as all heck what will happen, I don't prepare my meals (visiting family) so I don't know exactly how much is going into me, and the only exercise option is walking/jogging the side of unmarked roads! Just going to try to estimate the best I can, portion control and fit a run in as often as possible.
  • Sodalites
    Sodalites Posts: 5 Member
    I use money as a motivator to not buy junk food. I keep track of the money I almost spent on unhealthy snacks and use it to buy something special.
  • Anthonydaman
    Anthonydaman Posts: 854 Member
    Pretty much the same thing, when I consider the amount of exercise it will take to burn the calories i walk away
  • alpdexplorer
    alpdexplorer Posts: 251 Member
    *Calories.

    *Progress I've made.

    *How many calories I'd have to burn to get rid of it.

    & if I REALLY want it, I will just take a bite or two and give away the rest.
  • jojo86xdd
    jojo86xdd Posts: 202 Member
    Nothing. If I want it, I eat it, I log it and work it in. Boom. Done. But this is, of course, because I don't believe in cheating. I believe in balance and it's what works for me.
  • jojo86xdd
    jojo86xdd Posts: 202 Member
    My thoughts exactly. ^This
  • heatherloveslifting
    heatherloveslifting Posts: 1,428 Member
    Knowing something isn't worth it.
  • JuantonBliss
    JuantonBliss Posts: 245 Member
    Honestly it's just knowing how ****ty most of the food is. If you're gonna cheat at least do it in moderation, you don't have to overindulge. Do like chocolate covered strawberries or something. You don't have to eat a whole freakin cake. I'm not saying I don't get cravings, but then I have like 3cookies and then I'm set.
  • KRB28
    KRB28 Posts: 248 Member
    I don't look at myself as being on a diet so I wouldn't choose the word cheating. I'm making healthier choices, and if I choose to eat something with a higher calorie count then I make sure that I have the available calories and or I work out hard to account for it. I think I would have many "cheat" days if I restricted myself.
  • yellowsnowdrop
    yellowsnowdrop Posts: 154 Member
    I never cheat, I eat healthily as possible and allow myself a 'treat' every now and then if it's within my allowance. I used to drink quite a lot of wine, now I don't because I'd rather eat something than drink it. It's all about trade off's and the question 'Is what I'm just about to put in my mouth worth the hour/ 2 hours I'm gonna have to spend on the treadmill to work it off again'
  • rainbow198
    rainbow198 Posts: 2,245 Member
    Personally I work in treats into my diet so I never feel like it's cheating. However, when I'm having a craving for something greasy, or if it's a late hour etc., I look at old pictures. I keep a before and after photo in my phone for easy access and looking at it always set me straight.
  • lua_
    lua_ Posts: 258 Member
    Self loathing, pretty much ;) I think about how if I eat it, I'll feel fat. It won't change how I look, in itself, but it will completely change how I think I look. Instantly

    Yep :embarassed: More than a day of over-eating and my brain seems to think I'm back to the way I used to look
    As well as my extreme vanity, I know that I am now making positive decisions for my mind and body. I eat nutritious, healthy meals most of the time, and work out 4-5 days a week. That's doing good for my body. I eat less healthy food and allow myself more empty calories in moderation, and that is doing good for my mind. I know that if that was reversed, my body and mind would suffer
  • amandatapar
    amandatapar Posts: 246 Member
    My ultimate goal and the fact that I am 32 pounds away from goal weight still. I also get sick if I cheat and eat overly processed white flour based foods. It isn't worth the stomach upset that it causes.
  • ktsmom430
    ktsmom430 Posts: 1,100 Member
    What stops me now is the fact that I never want to go back to the way I was.

    17 months ago, it was the realization that I procrastinated for years saying "I will start over tomorrow", and finally knowing that the tomorrows are getting limited at age 60 (at the time).
  • emilycarr71404
    emilycarr71404 Posts: 176 Member
    Exercise keeps me from doing it. I have been killing it in the gym and I don't want to lose those results. Plus just seeing the actual calorie count keeps me back.
  • gotogirl81
    gotogirl81 Posts: 278 Member
    It's like.. I cheated on my salad for lunch and had a double cheeseburger.. will they ever forgive me?
    I mean if your gonna eat that you either OK with eating the cheeseburger in the first place.. or your eating it to fill some kinda void.. or you don't give a *kitten* and then there's more to the story then that.. and why are you even worried about tracking.

    it's a lifestyle change/ balancing your diet/ and knowing what your eating and making that decision and feeling either not guilty/guilty is what it comes down to.

    and no i don't believe in cheating in any way shape or form food/relationship etc.
  • Jestinia
    Jestinia Posts: 1,153 Member
    Enough green tea every day to float the Titanic.

    Plus various strategies over the years that worked until they didn't work anymore, like going low carb, or eating less times in a day, or eating more times in a day, or very strict diets, or very lax diets with calorie counting (currently in this phase). Also old pictures of me fat, old pictures of me thin, pictures of other people fat or thin, documentaries on obesity, anorexia, and everything in between, taking selfies and enjoying the sight of my ever so elusive cheekbones (the last thing to appear when I'm losing weight and the first thing to vanish when I gain weight).

    So yeah, pretty much a mixture of obsession, narcissism, and sheer stubbornness on the subject.

    I'd rather be doing something else with my time and energy, but every time I drop my focus I wake up a great big heifer the very next day, or that is how it seems, anyway! One day maybe I'll find the balance.
  • Eat2Live2Run
    Eat2Live2Run Posts: 137 Member
    I try to think of junk food as what it is ... junk. I try to consider the consequences of my actions before I act. Will I regret the decision to eat/drink this later? I don't do moderation very well at all, so my best bet is to stay away completely.
  • akp4Him
    akp4Him Posts: 227
    Depends...if I want it...nothing. I will make it fit into my calories for the day.
    Sometimes once I see the amount of calories...I realize that it doesn't look good enough for that many calories.
    And sometimes my skinny jeans stop me from cheating! I can cheat and not log...but my skinny jeans do not lie!!:laugh:

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