Cheat Meals!?!?

janekenney95
janekenney95 Posts: 22 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hey, everyone! So, I've been trying to transition into an all-vegan diet. I still find myself having some cheat meals here and there. I was wondering how any of you suppress your bad food cravings, and reach for something healthier? I have always had this problem, even when not on a vegan diet. All tips and advice are welcome! Thanks!

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I don't pass moral judgements on food. Most of what I eat is highly nutritional...and I usually have some gummy bears or something for desert...or go have some pizza from time to time with my boys, etc. It's all pretty irrelevant to my diet as a whole.
  • chaney3000
    chaney3000 Posts: 267 Member
    Well, it's a slow process to get to the point where you don't crave those cheat meals as much. Take your time and just cut them little by little. And soon enough you will be doing without
  • burukasai
    burukasai Posts: 6 Member
    One tip I've seen is to look up what you're craving and see what your body is actually craving from that food (an example I saw was craving the magnesium from chocolate and instead having nuts or fruit to fulfill the need). Might be worth a shot? :smile:

    Personally I would say keep allowing cheat meals and slowlt start cutting back on them as you adjust to alternatives. Good luck!
  • tjsloff
    tjsloff Posts: 18 Member
    I usually try to eat what mfp tells me, and then allow myself to "cheat" for the amount of calories I burned through exercise.
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  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I don't pass moral judgements on food.

    Yup, food is food. Some of it helps more than others with meeting nutritional needs, but even food many people label "junk", like burgers, pizza, etc. has nutritional value. Really, apart from a few things like hard candy (which is basically pure sugar) almost all foods contribute in some way to your nutritional needs.

    And really, you get no bonus points for going over your needed vitamin and mineral amounts, so it doesn't really make sense to talk about the health of a food, but the health of an overall diet. Even food completely devoid of any micronutrients can fit in as part of a perfectly healthy diet assuming you're meeting your micronutrients elsewhere.
  • SugarySweetheart
    SugarySweetheart Posts: 154 Member
    Sugar Free Jello or a few sweet chili pistachio nuts, depending on a sweet or savory craving. If you have plenty of calories left over (170) I suggest a McDonald's soft serve vanilla ice cream without the chocolate dip. (Added calories)
  • Theresa_1973
    Theresa_1973 Posts: 51 Member
    I hate the phrase "Cheat Meal" you're not taking a test, so what exactly are you cheating on!?!

    If you fancy a meal that is "Less than perfect" great, you're human and perfection is not fitted as standard in us human, so find things you like and are within your calorie goal, then you know you can eat it guilt free - good luck with the veganism transition, I eat a lot of vegan friendly food because I'm lactose intolerant, but I do still eat meat, so I guess if I ever took the plunge I would be OK, but I'm not that brave lol

    Anyway, good luck with the transition and stop punishing yourself by accusing yourself of cheating, because one of the biggest enemies in weight loss is yourself - change the way you think and you will change the way you eat

    xXx
  • Theresa_1973
    Theresa_1973 Posts: 51 Member
    edited April 2016
    SugarySweetheart wrote: »
    Sugar Free Jello or a few sweet chili pistachio nuts, depending on a sweet or savory craving. If you have plenty of calories left over (170) I suggest a McDonald's soft serve vanilla ice cream without the chocolate dip. (Added calories)

    The OP is going vegan, therefore jelly and ice cream are a no no - Ice cream is made from cows milk and jelly is made from geletine - either pork or beef...

    Anyway... I hate the phrase "Cheat Meal" you're not taking a test, so what exactly are you cheating on!?!

    If you fancy a meal that is "Less than perfect" great, you're human and perfection is not fitted as standard in us human, so find things you like and are within your calorie goal, then you know you can eat it guilt free - good luck with the veganism transition, I eat a lot of vegan friendly food because I'm lactose intolerant, but I do still eat meat, so I guess if I ever took the plunge I would be OK, but I'm not that brave lol

    Anyway, good luck with the transition and stop punishing yourself by accusing yourself of cheating, because one of the biggest enemies in weight loss is yourself - change the way you think and you will change the way you eat

    xXx

    P.S apologies for the double post, the first one failed to add the quote, so I couldn't delete it therefore I just reposted it...
  • chimaerandi
    chimaerandi Posts: 153 Member
    I bank for the weekends, so I can have a little more flexibility, and for example, this week, I could sense that I really needed a cut loose sort of day, so I banked hard AND am eating at maintenance today--I already feel better, I may not even hit maintenance, but oh, every couple of months I guess, I need a day like this to reset
  • Lewisg51
    Lewisg51 Posts: 220 Member
    I just don't buy it haha, always works for me. Also great transformation pics.
  • corksterfl87
    corksterfl87 Posts: 33 Member
    I come up with goals and won't allow myself anything bad till I reach it:) right now it's every time I lose 5 pounds. Then I can have a cheat meal.
  • cgvet37
    cgvet37 Posts: 1,189 Member
    I have a cheat meal on a weekly basis. Not because I crave so much, but because I enjoy food. Such as pizza, fried chicken, etc. I stay in a deficit all week, and treat myself a little on the weekends.

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