Ate a home cooked meal and feel guilty

What's so bad about a home cooked meal?!

Maybe don't think of the days you zig zag your calories as "cheating"? Then you have nothing to feel guilty about. Doing a zig zag twice a week ain't a bad thing!

You didn't do anything wrong. And your week will probably still balance out.

The only reason why I say probably and not like for sure is because I don't know what you ate. Iif your homecooked meal was very heavy in sodium, you're going to possibly have water weight gain tomorrow.

And if you're in the mindset that food is bad and you cheated on yourself like a dirty adultress with a spoon of doom, you're going to feel like your sins have be recognized on your scale come Monday morning.

So, anyhoo! Don't do that to yourself.

Nothing bad happened here.

You're going to ruin any "treat" you ever have if you keep thinking like that, and you're also turning food into the enemy!

You enjoyed your meal, that's all that matters.

If that's a cheat meal, what the heck are you eating the other days?? My evening meals are chops and mash, bangers and mash, burgers with oven fries, roasts with potatoes and gravy...

Leading a healthy lifestyle does not require 100% obeisance to an ideal. It means living a normal, healthy life. Work on having a healthier attitude toward food and your own behaviors. If anything that varies from perfection is by definition failure in your eyes, get yourself some psychological counseling ASAP! That's no way to live your life. It's too hard on you.

we all eat that kind of meal sometimes orat least the way you name it. We do need that once in a while to "treat " ourself.otherwise we can become "mad" about food. I really don't see what was wrong with your meal.High sodium so what? If you are not eating high sodium everyday then there's no reason to be worry.
The important is that you do go back on track tomorrow, that's all!!

BTW 80% of our food intake should be healthy and 20% should be treats!!!

I had fried chicken 2 nights in a row..KFC hotwings...now that's a "cheat" day....:blushing:

I understand how you feel, but you can still do something about it. I made a french chocolate cake today with my 10-year-old daughter because she wanted to have a "french" meal. I ate a piece THEN figured out the numbers and THEN made myself exercise. By the end of my workout, I was back down under the daily allottment for the day. You're still in control. If you want to eat a little something special, work some exercise in your schedule to balance it out. Dieting should not be about giving things up, it's about moderation, and besides, I didn't really see anything wrong with your meal!

We are big on cooking around here and we are huge food fans. At least half of our dinners every week are about the same calories as your dinner. The other half are light. Some days I take the calorie hit and go over, and sometimes I balance it out by eating light for lunch and breakfast either before or after.

I'd probably rather stay chubby than not be able to eat awesome food. I absolutely have to accommodate for it in my plan if I'm going to have any success.

You can do the same!

The problem is not the meal. The meal is fine.

The problem is your mindset. It is a classic "dieters" mindset which hinders far more people than it helps.

There are no foods that are off limits. There are no good or bad foods or meals. You don't have to eat bland food because apparently that is "healthy". You don't have to exist in a state where you are either "on" diet or "off" diet, succeeding or failing (which makes you feel guilty if you go off plan.)

Ditch that.

Concentrate on averaging out your calories so you meet your target at the end of the week (some days you may eat more, some days less but balance them out over the week.) Eat what you like in sensible portions. Try and eat a bit more protein and veg if you can. Stay consistent, not perfect. Job done.