Can never decide on a cheat meal I fancy??

dave_in_ni
dave_in_ni Posts: 533 Member
edited December 2 in Health and Weight Loss
Anyone else have this issue, Saturday I have my cheat meal, the issue is I can never think of anything I fancy. I live on brown rice, chicken, turkey, salad etc all week so I look forward to a change from the same old same old, but when it comes to it as I say I can never decided, last week I just gave up wrecking my head about it and missed dinner altogether and it seems to be going the same way this week.

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Replies

  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,647 Member
    I think about my favorite cheat meals all day every day and dream of the day when I can actually have one. Sorry I can't help. (there needs to be an emoji of fried whole belly clams in a thought bubble)
  • dave_in_ni
    dave_in_ni Posts: 533 Member
    CiaraCatch wrote: »
    Then don't have one! It's hardly an obligation.

    Yeah I know but its a change from the same old, I can eat pretty much anything, not a fussy guy however there is a difference between enjoying something and just eating it. All week I "just eat" Not a big lover of brown rice etc.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,698 Member
    As the others have mentioned ... eat a variety of food while remaining within your calorie limit. When I started here one of the decisions I made was to eat only foods I liked. There was no way I was wasting calories on foods I didn't like.

    Go visit grocery stores and markets and find out what's available.
  • dave_in_ni
    dave_in_ni Posts: 533 Member
    rankinsect wrote: »
    dave_in_ni wrote: »
    CiaraCatch wrote: »
    Then don't have one! It's hardly an obligation.

    Yeah I know but its a change from the same old, I can eat pretty much anything, not a fussy guy however there is a difference between enjoying something and just eating it. All week I "just eat" Not a big lover of brown rice etc.

    Then why not eat foods you like every day, in moderation and with proper planning? I'm a firm believer that weight loss should look as close to weight maintenance as possible, to give you the habits you need to keep the weight off. Are you going to spend 6/7ths of your life eating food you don't like?

    Ha ha, My diet finishes end of this month, that will be 6 months of eating stuff I don't like :)
  • dave_in_ni
    dave_in_ni Posts: 533 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    As the others have mentioned ... eat a variety of food while remaining within your calorie limit. When I started here one of the decisions I made was to eat only foods I liked. There was no way I was wasting calories on foods I didn't like.

    Go visit grocery stores and markets and find out what's available.

    Its all to do with food volume, 60grams of brown rice would give you and fill you a hell of a lot more than say 60 grams of potatoes. I go for volume every time.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,097 Member
    edited June 2016
    dave_in_ni wrote: »
    CiaraCatch wrote: »
    Then don't have one! It's hardly an obligation.

    Yeah I know but its a change from the same old, I can eat pretty much anything, not a fussy guy however there is a difference between enjoying something and just eating it. All week I "just eat" Not a big lover of brown rice etc.

    Then eat something you are a big lover of. Or just try something new. Look up a recipe. Go to the market and buy something you've *never* had (a different protein or veg or fruit or grain, or the latest convenience food if you tend to like the taste of them. Or if it's in your budget, go to a new restaurant and try something you've never had. (Just be aware that if you go crazy on a cheat meal, it's not too hard to wipe out one or two days' worth of deficits, especially at a restaurant where the servings are huge and they're extremely generous with cooking fats, sauces, and cheese.)

    Personally, if I was not a big lover of brown rice, etc., I would not be eating it every day.

    ETA missing *never*
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    dave_in_ni wrote: »
    Anyone else have this issue, Saturday I have my cheat meal, the issue is I can never think of anything I fancy. I live on brown rice, chicken, turkey, salad etc all week so I look forward to a change from the same old same old, but when it comes to it as I say I can never decided, last week I just gave up wrecking my head about it and missed dinner altogether and it seems to be going the same way this week.

    I don't do cheat meals. I eat food I like every single day and plan every day.
    Once a week for lunch I do have a meal out with my family. They usually have an idea of where they want to go. I often take the opportunity to get a beef dish because I'm not eating it much at home.
    I post recipes and my monthly meal plan on my blog. https://lounmoun.wordpress.com/
    I find lots of food ideas on pinterest or food blogs. Maybe you would be inspired if you looked around more.
    http://www.budgetbytes.com
    http://www.skinnytaste.com
    http://www.allrecipes.com
    http://www.kalynskitchen.com/
    http://www.saveur.com
  • dave_in_ni
    dave_in_ni Posts: 533 Member
    alyssa0061 wrote: »
    dave_in_ni wrote: »
    rankinsect wrote: »
    dave_in_ni wrote: »
    CiaraCatch wrote: »
    Then don't have one! It's hardly an obligation.

    Yeah I know but its a change from the same old, I can eat pretty much anything, not a fussy guy however there is a difference between enjoying something and just eating it. All week I "just eat" Not a big lover of brown rice etc.

    Then why not eat foods you like every day, in moderation and with proper planning? I'm a firm believer that weight loss should look as close to weight maintenance as possible, to give you the habits you need to keep the weight off. Are you going to spend 6/7ths of your life eating food you don't like?

    Ha ha, My diet finishes end of this month, that will be 6 months of eating stuff I don't like :)

    Then what happens?

    Hadn't thought that far ahead to be honest. I guess I continue with my brown rice :( Its not to bad I guess with some mixed peppers through it, perhaps a bit of some kind of sauce over it.
  • dave_in_ni
    dave_in_ni Posts: 533 Member
    Well the cheat meal was????? Drum Roll please.... Chips/Fries and a 2 beef sausages from a take away.
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
    @SueSueDio I would like to mention that your profile pic is the greatest thing ever.
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
    SueSueDio wrote: »
    dave_in_ni wrote: »

    Hadn't thought that far ahead to be honest. I guess I continue with my brown rice :( Its not to bad I guess with some mixed peppers through it, perhaps a bit of some kind of sauce over it.

    You might want to start thinking about that. I would be a sad life to have to continue eating food you don't really like in order to maintain your weight loss.

    I'm with MissusMoon - I eat food I like, within reason. I had half a pizza and two slices of garlic bread last night, along with "a serving" of Maltesers, and still came in under my goal. I expected my weight to be up a little this morning from the sodium, but was down 1.5lbs from yesterday.

    You can make it work, if you really want to. Don't live life in some sort of miserable-sounding "eating what I have to even if I don't like it" way. Figure out a way to be able to eat food you DO like but still control your weight. :)

    Yep, I had butter basted ribeye and two and a half glasses of wine last night. Down a pound this morning.
  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
    dave_in_ni wrote: »
    Well the cheat meal was????? Drum Roll please.... Chips/Fries and a 2 beef sausages from a take away.

    Tasty. :) And how do you feel after that? Did you savour and enjoy it, or did you feel bad about it? I'm genuinely curious - does it make you feel bad or guilty when you call it a "cheat" meal?

    It would have that effect on me, which is why I don't call anything cheating. For me, thinking of certain foods as "bad" or "off limits" would make me want them more and also make me feel terribly guilty for eating them, which might end up making me binge on them and then giving up the whole weight loss thing as "impossible". If I want something and I can fit it into my calories for the day, I eat it and enjoy it. If I can't make it fit, I save it for another day when I can - or, in some cases, I just accept I'm going to be over for that day and eat it anyway! It depends on what the food is, and the occasion. :)


    MissusMoon wrote: »
    @SueSueDio I would like to mention that your profile pic is the greatest thing ever.

    Why thank you - I thought so too! ;) I can't stand celery, and will pick it out of dishes if I can get away with it. The only purpose it has for existing, as far as I can tell, is to use as a scoop for something tasty when there are no spoons available!
  • dave_in_ni
    dave_in_ni Posts: 533 Member
    SueSueDio wrote: »
    dave_in_ni wrote: »
    Well the cheat meal was????? Drum Roll please.... Chips/Fries and a 2 beef sausages from a take away.

    Tasty. :) And how do you feel after that? Did you savour and enjoy it, or did you feel bad about it? I'm genuinely curious - does it make you feel bad or guilty when you call it a "cheat" meal?

    It would have that effect on me, which is why I don't call anything cheating. For me, thinking of certain foods as "bad" or "off limits" would make me want them more and also make me feel terribly guilty for eating them, which might end up making me binge on them and then giving up the whole weight loss thing as "impossible". If I want something and I can fit it into my calories for the day, I eat it and enjoy it. If I can't make it fit, I save it for another day when I can - or, in some cases, I just accept I'm going to be over for that day and eat it anyway! It depends on what the food is, and the occasion. :)


    MissusMoon wrote: »
    @SueSueDio I would like to mention that your profile pic is the greatest thing ever.

    Why thank you - I thought so too! ;) I can't stand celery, and will pick it out of dishes if I can get away with it. The only purpose it has for existing, as far as I can tell, is to use as a scoop for something tasty when there are no spoons available!

    It was OK, it looked nicer than it tasted you know. I don't feel bad after it as I still have 100 cals left for today and it made me hit my protein goals but it was a bit of a let down. Could of used them cals to scoff a couple of peanut butter cups :)
  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
    I'm finding that my tastes have been changing a bit, and there are certain things now that I used to love which do feel like a bit of a let down when I have them. It's a feeling of "I used that many calories, for that?! What a waste!" If they were lower in calories it would probably be more enjoyable, but now they're just not worth it most of the time.

    Chocolate - or at least, very dark chocolate - and bacon are always worth it! :)
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  • chastity0921
    chastity0921 Posts: 209 Member
    Where are you from @Noel_57? That meal would definitely make me lose weight :wink: ... but I love hearing how different cultures indulge.
  • dave_in_ni
    dave_in_ni Posts: 533 Member
    SueSueDio wrote: »
    I'm finding that my tastes have been changing a bit, and there are certain things now that I used to love which do feel like a bit of a let down when I have them. It's a feeling of "I used that many calories, for that?! What a waste!" If they were lower in calories it would probably be more enjoyable, but now they're just not worth it most of the time.

    Chocolate - or at least, very dark chocolate - and bacon are always worth it! :)

    I used to love bacon but boy it had shocking amount of calories and unless you ate the packet wasn't filling so I ditched it and switched to turkey bacon, 2 slices has 57 cals, kind of hard to come across though.

    Yes my tastes are also changing a bit like you, I used to love junk food, anything deep fat fried I was all over it which is why I ended up in the state I was in, but it just doesn't have the same appeal anymore. Sure I still like the occasional portion of fries/chips but I can't even finish them now where as before I ate them, then ate the kids left overs then lick the wrapping :)
  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • melissa6771
    melissa6771 Posts: 894 Member
    dave_in_ni wrote: »
    SueSueDio wrote: »
    I'm finding that my tastes have been changing a bit, and there are certain things now that I used to love which do feel like a bit of a let down when I have them. It's a feeling of "I used that many calories, for that?! What a waste!" If they were lower in calories it would probably be more enjoyable, but now they're just not worth it most of the time.

    Chocolate - or at least, very dark chocolate - and bacon are always worth it! :)

    I used to love bacon but boy it had shocking amount of calories and unless you ate the packet wasn't filling so I ditched it and switched to turkey bacon, 2 slices has 57 cals, kind of hard to come across though.

    Yes my tastes are also changing a bit like you, I used to love junk food, anything deep fat fried I was all over it which is why I ended up in the state I was in, but it just doesn't have the same appeal anymore. Sure I still like the occasional portion of fries/chips but I can't even finish them now where as before I ate them, then ate the kids left overs then lick the wrapping :)

    You're not saving much with turkey bacon... And... It's not bacon! I buy regular bacon and cook it in the microwave on paper towels. 2 slices comes out to 50 calories, 4g fat that way. Even if you pan fry it most of them are under 100 calories for 2 slices. Enjoy the bacon. Bacon is always worth it.
  • dave_in_ni
    dave_in_ni Posts: 533 Member
    edited June 2016
    melissa6771 wrote: »
    dave_in_ni wrote: »
    SueSueDio wrote: »
    I'm finding that my tastes have been changing a bit, and there are certain things now that I used to love which do feel like a bit of a let down when I have them. It's a feeling of "I used that many calories, for that?! What a waste!" If they were lower in calories it would probably be more enjoyable, but now they're just not worth it most of the time.

    Chocolate - or at least, very dark chocolate - and bacon are always worth it! :)

    I used to love bacon but boy it had shocking amount of calories and unless you ate the packet wasn't filling so I ditched it and switched to turkey bacon, 2 slices has 57 cals, kind of hard to come across though.

    Yes my tastes are also changing a bit like you, I used to love junk food, anything deep fat fried I was all over it which is why I ended up in the state I was in, but it just doesn't have the same appeal anymore. Sure I still like the occasional portion of fries/chips but I can't even finish them now where as before I ate them, then ate the kids left overs then lick the wrapping :)

    You're not saving much with turkey bacon... And... It's not bacon! I buy regular bacon and cook it in the microwave on paper towels. 2 slices comes out to 50 calories, 4g fat that way. Even if you pan fry it most of them are under 100 calories for 2 slices. Enjoy the bacon. Bacon is always worth it.

    Yeah its not bacon, its some part of the turkey but its thicker than regular pork bacon and 1% fat but its the protein I was after 10g which can't be beat. I'm all over anything turkey related due to the protein content and low fat but I agree its hard to beat a piece of proper bacon, as for cooking I always grill, comes out nice and crispy then. I better stop talking bacon my mouth is watering.
  • melissa6771
    melissa6771 Posts: 894 Member
    dave_in_ni wrote: »
    melissa6771 wrote: »
    dave_in_ni wrote: »
    SueSueDio wrote: »
    I'm finding that my tastes have been changing a bit, and there are certain things now that I used to love which do feel like a bit of a let down when I have them. It's a feeling of "I used that many calories, for that?! What a waste!" If they were lower in calories it would probably be more enjoyable, but now they're just not worth it most of the time.

    Chocolate - or at least, very dark chocolate - and bacon are always worth it! :)

    I used to love bacon but boy it had shocking amount of calories and unless you ate the packet wasn't filling so I ditched it and switched to turkey bacon, 2 slices has 57 cals, kind of hard to come across though.

    Yes my tastes are also changing a bit like you, I used to love junk food, anything deep fat fried I was all over it which is why I ended up in the state I was in, but it just doesn't have the same appeal anymore. Sure I still like the occasional portion of fries/chips but I can't even finish them now where as before I ate them, then ate the kids left overs then lick the wrapping :)

    You're not saving much with turkey bacon... And... It's not bacon! I buy regular bacon and cook it in the microwave on paper towels. 2 slices comes out to 50 calories, 4g fat that way. Even if you pan fry it most of them are under 100 calories for 2 slices. Enjoy the bacon. Bacon is always worth it.

    Yeah its not bacon, its some part of the turkey but its thicker than regular pork bacon and 1% fat but its the protein I was after 10g which can't be beat. I'm all over anything turkey related due to the protein content and low fat but I agree its hard to beat a piece of proper bacon, as for cooking I always grill, comes out nice and crispy then. I better stop talking bacon my mouth is watering.


    I Get 7 grams of protein with two slices of bacon for 50 calories/4 fat. I do it in the microwave because it cuts the fat and calories so much. And... Turns out I actually love it cooked this way. My other choice for cooking would be baking it. Comes out amazing.
  • Glampinupdoll
    Glampinupdoll Posts: 234 Member
    Maybe just have the cheat meal when you feel like it...not specifically planned on a certain day weekly. If you don't feel like it....keep on truckin
  • EItadakimasu
    EItadakimasu Posts: 10 Member
    I think the hardest part for me is that I can't decide on just one thing!
    I'm going to take some advice here and stop worrying over my diet plan, no harm in mixing it up!
  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
    edited June 2016
    melissa6771 wrote: »
    I Get 7 grams of protein with two slices of bacon for 50 calories/4 fat. I do it in the microwave because it cuts the fat and calories so much. And... Turns out I actually love it cooked this way. My other choice for cooking would be baking it. Comes out amazing.

    I might have to try it that way - I usually do mine in the oven and drain it afterwards, since I like it fairly crispy!

    How do you figure out the calories? I was reading the "bacon isn't worth it" thread the other day and people were saying that the calories on the packaging are for uncooked slices and include all the fat, some of which cooks out and you're not eating it anyway. The brand I buy lists 160 cals for 2 slices, which is what I add to my diary - if I'm eating less than that I guess it gives me a buffer, but if I could have an extra slice for the same cals that would be awesome! ;)

    Sorry for the slight derail, OP, but, y'know... BACON!!

    ETA: I have tried turkey bacon, but I didn't really like it. Seems chewy to me, and I didn't much care for the taste either. I'll stick with the real thing!
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