Why "cheat"?

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k2d4p
k2d4p Posts: 441 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just wondering as I often do, why people use the word "cheat"? This is my personal opinion, but I think that is it just terrible to describe eating anything with that word. I cringe every time I see it when people ask about a cheat meal or a cheat day. Why make it sound like you are doing something wrong or bad? I go into much more detail about my feelings on this in my blog in my signature, so I won't go all out here. I feel like I am entitled to eat what I want and I am not doing anything wrong when I eat some that is unhealthy as long as I keep myself in control.

I try not to let what others write on the forums get to me, but unfortunately this just bugs the crap out of me. What do you all think?
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Replies

  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
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    i hate cheat too.

    i pretty much eat what i want..i dont diet..i hate the word diet too. as long as i get my cals and macros in i'm fine. i eat pizza, i drink beer, i eat choc chip cookies..
  • elliecolorado
    elliecolorado Posts: 1,040
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    I couldn't agree more I hate when people say that they are 'cheating'!!!
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
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    I have to agree...I personlly dont use the word cheat ..I eat what I want and pay the piper when Im starved because I decided to waste my calories on junk..
  • HelenTheKitchen
    HelenTheKitchen Posts: 383
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    I could have written this word for word, I feel the same way. Whenever people ask about my weight loss and what I eat now I always say, "I eat the same exact stuff, just a lot less."
  • taiyola
    taiyola Posts: 964 Member
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    Totally agree! This isn't a game, it's your life. I go through phases of putting my diary on private for a day or two, then reversing it.

    Tomorrow, I am totally eating pizza before work. :wink:
  • Angela4Health
    Angela4Health Posts: 1,319 Member
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    While I agree with your opinion, it is different for everyone. Everyone sees this differently and I don't see the point of you making a big deal that people do things differently than you.

    I think people around here would probably be doing much better if they focused more on themselves and their own journey rather than judging everyone else on things they disapprove of.
  • jbug100
    jbug100 Posts: 406 Member
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    I prefer to call it maintanance. Without the occasional treat, I would never last at this!
  • BobbyDaniel
    BobbyDaniel Posts: 1,460 Member
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    I've stopped calling it "cheat" days and refer to them as reward or let go days...I don't do them on a regular basis, maybe only once every couple of weeks. It reminds me that I'm not bound by my "diet" any more than I was bound by food before trying to get healthy.
  • papamurphy
    papamurphy Posts: 5
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    That is the word my friends use when they see me eating something that isn't healhty. It realy just makes me feel guilty. I have not put over 2500 calories into my body a single time in the 5 weeks I have been doing this.... for me... that is good. The last thing I want is to feel guilty for the 2 or 3 times I have gone from my normal 1500cals to 2500cals since i ate 2-3 slices of pizza.

    This isnt about cheating or winning, it is about changing a lifestyle that is unhealthy. So, I agree... the word cheating is a bad way to describe cutting yourself some slack.
  • crystal_sapphire
    crystal_sapphire Posts: 1,205 Member
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    i agree it's dumb
  • k2d4p
    k2d4p Posts: 441 Member
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    While I agree with your opinion, it is different for everyone. Everyone sees this differently and I don't see the point of you making a big deal that people do things differently than you.

    I think people around here would probably be doing much better if they focused more on themselves and their own journey rather than judging everyone else on things they disapprove of.

    Wow, this is really harsh. You talking about judging people. I think I was rather PC in my question in the OP. I was wondering why this particular word works for other people. I stated that it bugged me, not that I hated everyone that uses it.
  • mislove68
    mislove68 Posts: 240
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    I soooo agree. I dont cheat or diet. I am just learning to eat healthy and smart/ i still eat what i want. Stuff i like! I just dont eat fast food or drink pop. I think i am doing great!!
  • calmmomw3minimeez
    calmmomw3minimeez Posts: 499 Member
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    I hate the words diet and I definitely hate the word cheat. I call it a 'treat' day or meal, because that's actually what it is. When I have spent all week logging and trying to eat somewhat healthy and I give myself whatever I want one day out of the week(I usually still count it anyway), it literally is a treat for me. It's also my way of making up calories when I know that I'm too far under my goal. One thing that I've learned on this journey is that food is not our enemy - we need it and food didn't make me overweight. I made myself overweight by using food in the wrong way and since I've been on MFP I don't deprive myself of anything that I may want, I just have it in moderation, because the only time that I have ever been UNSUCCESSFUL is when I actually went on 'diets'...biggest mistake ever and one of the reasons that I'm here now and proud of it! Glad to know that somebody else feel this way!:happy:
  • malabaugh
    malabaugh Posts: 130 Member
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    Right on! I don't cheat, I make choices. If I choose to eat a burger or ice cream, I also choose to put in the extra exercise time so I can enjoy my treats! Almost 20lbs gone and I have enjoyed almost all of my favorite foods along the way.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    I have no guilt or remorse about what I eat, ever. I might call it a "cheat day," just because it's a common accepted slang phrase for a day or meal when I don't care about calories. Like calling a photocopy a Xerox, even though the copier might not have been made by Xerox.

    Saturday will be such a day for me, and I'll enjoy every minute of it.
  • joline1160
    joline1160 Posts: 5
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    In that case I guess that is what I did was cheat tonight., because I was on the move and couldn't make my dinner at home.
    Be even though I might have cheated on my diet my goals stay pretty much the same as it was the day before. Once a week as long as you watch what you do and take in enough water and do the exercises, then you don't even have to worry about the word cheat, Because it is really not in the vocabulary when dieting and getting it done.

    Good Job to all of you who do Cheat.
  • Losingitin2011
    Losingitin2011 Posts: 572 Member
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    I sort of think that the term "cheat" is something that was pushed onto us. Society wants to make us feel guilty for being fat, even though society encouraged it with the emphasis on fast food and go-go-go lifestyles. I don't use it, because I don't deny myself anything. I cut out things that I knew were bad for me, like HFCS and really processed food, and fast food, BUT I didn't do it to lose weight, I did it because I didn't like how they made me feel. Tonight, I am having taco pizza because I really wanted it, and I worked out hard today. I don't consider it a cheat at all.
  • xxx29
    xxx29 Posts: 60 Member
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    Devil's advocate here...For some, if it's not part of their diet plan, eating a huge meal or a pack of chocolate chip cookies or a pan of fudge is falling back into old eating patterns that got them in trouble in the first place. To call it a treat puts it squarely back into the "food as reward" category. To call it cheating at least makes it something that is not a good thing to do.

    The better way is to work "bounces" into the eating plan. If it's planned, if it's not cheating, and not a treat, it's part of a healthy lifestyle that is not making you a slave to food.

    My opinion only!
  • Tiffy11011
    Tiffy11011 Posts: 81 Member
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    i hate cheat too.

    i pretty much eat what i want..i dont diet..i hate the word diet too. as long as i get my cals and macros in i'm fine. i eat pizza, i drink beer, i eat choc chip cookies..

    Amen! I had pizza tonight... why because I did a hell of a run felt awesome and had the calories. I don't diet. I'm not going to deprive myself of anything... especially something I love. I'm going to eat what I want, but I'm going to watch my portions and I think that's just a lifestyle issue and a health issue not a "diet"
  • k2d4p
    k2d4p Posts: 441 Member
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    Devil's advocate here...For some, if it's not part of their diet plan, eating a huge meal or a pack of chocolate chip cookies or a pan of fudge is falling back into old eating patterns that got them in trouble in the first place. To call it a treat puts it squarely back into the "food as reward" category. To call it cheating at least makes it something that is not a good thing to do.

    The better way is to work "bounces" into the eating plan. If it's planned, if it's not cheating, and not a treat, it's part of a healthy lifestyle that is not making you a slave to food.

    My opinion only!

    Very good point. :smile: I will counter by saying that (in my opinion) eating a pan of fudge or an entire package of cookies is also not "cheating". Eating that much of that kind of food is what I would call binge eating and involves a whole host of other issues and concerns. I still wouldn't call that behavior cheating.

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