Cheating, how do you atone?

I had a planned "indulgence meal" last night b/c we took my dad to a really nice restaurant for Father's Day. I logged it in and made sure to drink a lot of water so I could flush some of the sodium out. I like to have planned indulgences b/c then I know what I'm going to do, there is absolutely NO guilt and I try to be a bit more stringent with what I am eating throughout that particular day. I was way over my calories yesterday but so what. We all had a blast! I want to change the way I look at food and not be ashamed of wanting to eat some very unhealthy foods once in a while. This is the only way I will make this lifestyle change stick. I've been at this since March 10 and feel like it's really going to work this time b/c my attitude about food has changed - much of it due to MFP!

So I say, forgive yourself and no atoning!! Live your life and eat sensibly but allow yourself those indulgences. :flowerforyou:

I have had a cheat day ever since I started and it hasn't gotten in my way yet -- what has is that I went from 1 to 2 cheat days, so although I am still losing weight its slower I eat low on my 5-6 good days (around 1300 cals) and I NEVER eat back my exercise calories. I think this evens itself back out for me. I am sure noone will agree with me, but heck I lost 82 lbs in 14 months and never felt hungry or deprived of indulgences.

ETA - and when I say cheat I don't mean gorge. I have cereal for breaky, a latte, maybe some crackers and peanut butter for snack, then I eat out for lunch and dinner.... I may even have a couple beer. I have never stopped to log this food but I am never stupidly excessive. If I crave something I leave it for my Friday cheat day.

I "pay" for it in advance. If I really want that slice or pie or pizza, then I workout and earn those calories. The funny thing - I'm finding that after I workout, I don't even want what I was originally craving.

No one is perfect, so as long as it's not a routine thing, it probably balances out during the week.

If i was going to punish myself, i would probably force myself to listen to Nickleback for an hour

I wouldn't worry so much ....one or two days going off your plan. I bet you will back on track in no time.
Don't be too hard on yourself..we're only human.
Personally I look forward to having an Indulgence meal now & then.
I know I will work just a bit harder for the rest of the week.
If I put in those meals that I am craving once in awhile..the less
likely I'm to give in to a binge or overeat.
It's more of a lifestyle change..than a diet..b/c it should work for the long term.
Best Wishes :happy:

I have tended to not log on days I know I really blew it, but I've decided recently to log no matter what. Sometimes I don't want to because how do you log "Big Plate of Indian Food at the Buffet" when you don't even know the names of the foods? So I've been making myself use the quick calories add feature and trying to be pretty honest. It helps me get back on track the very next day instead of giving up for a week or more.

Welll even when I have my cheats I am still maintaining my calorie goal.... so... I dont really pay much attention to it... I wait till the weekends for my cheats.... and during the week I work my *kitten* off and I make healthy choices and hit my goals.... so .... you just have to find a way that works for you to be able to indulge once in awhile without feeling guilty or like you need to starve yourself or work extra harder or whatever.... I guess its different for everyone but that to me doesnt make sense as then your just making yourself feel worse which prob leads to wanting to eat more...(former emotional eater here... so I can relate to that) or not eating enough and working out harder which then is also self defeating....and it just creates an ugly cylce....

Good luck with whatever you do... I hope you can figure out how to make it work for you soon!!

I think most of us cheat on our diets once or twice. I am not sure I call it cheating though, more good days and bad. Of course I do not like the word diet either, because I am trying to eat healthier over all, not just till I hit a number.

The reality is I am not sure punishment helps. I think you have to record it, and then get back on your path. And just accept that the number might not go down this week. I mean I went on vacation and all of a sudden, eating out for dinner and snack food became the norm, and the scale jumped 2 lbs. Now I hope to see that gone after a week back, but I am not sure, so we will see.