Cheating

That's awesome and great willpower that you can indulge just one item, one day or one meal. I do that and I go off the deep end and take several days to get back into rhythem.

Well you have to reward yourself for the good job you've done. I typically don't a whole lot, but I also understand that it will be a lot harder to stick with a strict diet and exercise if you never reward yourself.

I very rarely go over my calories limit, but for instance last night I went out with some coworkers to a Mexican Resturant and I ordered chicken nachos. The only difference from before and after I have started watching what I eat is that I only ate about a third of the plate as opposed to making myself miserable and eating the whole thing.

I allow myself one cheat meal (not day) one day a week and it doesn't yet seem to interfer with my weight loss. I try to stay within reason of what I eat and not go over board. Steak is always at the top of my list for cheat day. I find that it keeps me on track the remaining 6 days knowing I have a reward day coming.

It's good to not completely deprive yourself of the things you want just so you don't go crazy one day and eat tons of bad stuff. Just keep in mind though when you cheat, you are not cheating the diet, you are only cheating yourself. So you shouldn't feel bad about it. As long as you are controlling what you eat then you are fine. I agree with the other post you have awesome will power to only do that once a week. Also, you can always eat whatever you want, just watch your portions and how much. It may mean you just need to eat a healthier meal later in the day if you splurged at lunch or eat healthy all day if you know you are going to have a good dinner and want to save your calories. Keep up the good work! :smooched:

I don't know if I would call it cheating. Because now it just sounds like I'm on a diet and I don't really want to be on a diet I just want to change some of my eating habits. lol But to answere your question, yes I cheat every once in a while once a week would seem about right. But here's the thing, I still work out and burn atleast a thousand calories each time I do it. You don't have to punish yourself in trying to loose weight. Because then it takes all the fun and excitement out of it. lol jk:happy:

I think a cheat meal once a week is a great idea. I do it. My cheat meal is typically on Saturday night for dinner, but It sometimes ends up on Friday night. Just depends on what I end up doing. This cheat meal will sometimes include alcohol. Since I prefer to drink beer, those calories really add up quick. I typically eat very light in the morning and afternoon of my cheat day so I can consume high calorie foods for my cheat meal.

I'm following the paleo / caveman diet. On my cheat day I usually go for breads and pasta or anything else that I have been craving. Even if I'm not craving anything, I typically eat something that I shouldn't on my cheat day. This causes me to feel horrible the next day as my body is not used to all the carbs. This also keeps me on track for the week. Sunday is usually a recovery day from Saturday night food and M-F is just routine meals. It's pretty easy to stay on track with that one cheat meal.

I've noticed that my weight loss totally stops Sunday and Monday, but usually gets back to where I was Friday by Tuesday. So, it does hinder my weight loss a little, but keeps me going the rest of the week. As this is not a diet that I'm trying to maintain and a total lifestyle change, I think the cheat day is mandatory.

I don't consider it "cheating." I have a day of "increased calorie intake." :happy:

On the days when I exercise (at about 700 calories burned), I will give myself a small treat that offsets some of those calories. Another option is to go out to a restaurant with my wife and indulge slightly to offset the extra calories burned. I don't think of it as cheating as I'm still within my net calorie intake and I just watch the fat/carb content so I don't go too far past the suggested daily limit.
I think that if you deny yourself too much, you'll get to a point where you go on a binge and undo all you've done successfully. Small treats are better rewards anyway.

Friday night is still chinese takeaway night for me! The only difference is, I'll go for a nice walk beforehand! I might even go out for something to eat on a saturday or sunday night, but I always make sure I burn off any extra calories I may consume!

Yesterday I had a KFC, and I'm still going to get my chinese tonight :laugh: