Cheat meal or not to cheat meal.. that is the question

eyecandyrayce wrote: »

I love how people are obsessing over the verb I used rather than the message. Hopefully I helped someone out there. I'm out.

It's because that verb implies a moral judgement. The word cheat has a very specific, negative meaning for many people, especially those with a long history of personal food stuff to work.out. (Like me!)

I have my cheat meals on special occasions, and stick to carb refeeds on days when i feel like poop.

The need for a cheat meal may just indicate one is dealing with a food addiction or just has not found a healthy eating lifestyle that they want to stay married to over the long haul. Another thing is they may be under eating in an unhealthy manner. Cheating is often associated with a lack of being satisfied when it comes to basic needs too.

The reason behind my post was this.

The word cheat and yes it is just a word but it is a powerful one. The word implies, being dishonest, lying as I posted earlier and honestly if you are declaring what you eat in your diary then you are neither being dishonest or lying but back to my point. With the word cheat comes feelings of guilt, shame, embarrassment, failure and many more I am sure. I just am of the opinion that maybe we should think about the words we use for ourselves or others.

I have noticed on my news feed and many of the forums people use this phrase 'I cheated' and then gone on as if it is the end of their world. They breakdown, go into a state of depression, beat themselves up, call themselves all kinds of names surely this is not healthy? When you say you cheated it implies you did something wrong, it might encourage you to hide what you did as you don't want to feel judge or shamed. This for me and I am sorry if it sounds extreme can begin the journey into an eating disorder or if not at least unhealthy eating.

Wouldn't we be better to say that we indulged or over indulged? If you are over indulging too often (I used to eat at least 3000 calories or more at least two to three times week if not every day) then maybe you need to look at a way to improve your lifestyle and make some different food choices especially if it is affecting your weight and health. However indulging once in awhile with your slice of chocolate cake or slice of pizza or whatever you enjoy, surely all we have done is ate something that gave us pleasure that made us feel good and do you know what for me personally that is okay. All we have to do now is go out for a walk, climb some stairs, do a run, go for a swim whatever floats your boat and burn off the calories.

As another poster said food is not good or bad (ok yes some are high in calories and laden with fat) it is simply a case that many people just eat too much of it and then don't exercise to burn it off. To me it is that simple, if I eat it then I need to burn it off especially if it is out of my calorie goal for the day or week.

Bottom line for me is that I must try not to over indulge as I view that to be unhealthy for me, instead I love to indulge every now and then and afterwards I love to go for a walk. This journey I have embarked on is about a lifestyle not a diet, it is about a balance everything in moderation. In the words of my nan, a little of what you fancy can do you the world of good.