"Cheat days"

Erbs_n_spice_I_am_nice · September 2016

I just started back adding all my food calories and getting a little disappointed. It seems it's expensive to eat healthy. Last Thursday I went to a funeral so that was a cheat day...and this morning I went to burger king. Well I made my calorie goal oops (forgot that peanut butter cookie) but fat content went over. Tomorrow I have a birthday party and there will be pumpkin paraline cake...well can't deny myself that.

I need will power. I'm starting again to drink about 64 ounces of water a day. And constantly thirsty..

I don't need to loose awhole lot 10 pounds to start...but how do I start? How do I say no to junk food when it's constantly around?

Sorry for the rambling..

~Ellen

Machka9 · September 2016

What do you want more ... burger king or to lose 10 lbs?

6502programmer · September 2016

How do you say no? Easy. That's where motivation comes in. Do you want x or do you want y? Go to your inspirations list, and think whether eating everything you want at Burger King is more important than those inspirations. When framed like that, the choices typically become much easier.

snickerscharlie · September 2016

There's nothing inherently wrong with Burger King or pumpkin praline cake. If you want to include things like these once in a while, just plan ahead for it by cutting back in other areas that day. Also, try a smaller piece of cake - you still get all the flavour, don't feel left out or ripped off, and it will have less of a caloric impact, too.

For me, deprivation was a highway to failure. Once I realized that I could include the things I love into my menu - provided it was done in moderation - I was a much happier camper.

I lost 75 lbs in a year, too.

Erbs_n_spice_I_am_nice · September 2016

Machka9 wrote: »

What do you want more ... burger king or to lose 10 lbs?

My initial reaction is both but obviously loosing the ten pounds is more important. Thank you!

Erbs_n_spice_I_am_nice · September 2016

snickerscharlie wrote: »

There's nothing inherently wrong with Burger King or pumpkin praline cake. If you want to include things like these once in a while, just plan ahead for it by cutting back in other areas that day. Also, try a smaller piece of cake - you still get all the flavour, don't feel left out or ripped off, and it will have less of a caloric impact, too.

For me, deprivation was a highway to failure. Once I realized that I could include the things I love into my menu - provided it was done in moderation - I was a much happier camper.

I lost 75 lbs in a year, too.

Thanks for your advice I don't go to burger king often. This past week was harder for me somehow.

Great job on your weight loss!

~Ellen

Erbs_n_spice_I_am_nice · September 2016

6502programmer wrote: »

How do you say no? Easy. That's where motivation comes in. Do you want x or do you want y? Go to your inspirations list, and think whether eating everything you want at Burger King is more important than those inspirations. When framed like that, the choices typically become much easier.

Great idea thank you
~Ellen

JoshD8705 · September 2016

Have you thought about prep meals? If you know you already have the food made you'll be less likely to convince yourself to cheat.

divcara · September 2016

Do you also exercise? For me that is when it became easier to start saying no to some cravings. It was like I didn't want to undo all my hard work, early mornings, all the time, effort, and money I was putting in at the gym. I could see how much progress I was making and didn't want to take away from it with poor food choices. I started looking at it as I was investing that time into my body and then I was motivated to protect that investment the other hours of the day. That's when I really started feeling a shift in the food choices I was making. I saw a quote that said, "Take care of your body. Where else are you going to live?" and that really stuck with me. It also became a matter of wanting to be more healthy, not just dropping weight.

That said, I'm not perfect and I do have occasional treats and cheats, just not every day. But the more I fuel my body and the more it performs for me, the more motivated I get to nourish it. And eventually, I stopped even having the Burger King/Chick Fil A kind of cravings.

And no, you don't need to exercise to lose weight. Just that mentally I started making better nutrition choices once I started seeing my strength, fitness level, physical abilities, etc improve. Results started fueling motivation. The trick is sticking with it, both nutrition and exercise, while it's still not fun and before you start seeing the results. The motivation starts coming much more easily when you can see and feel the progression.

Erbs_n_spice_I_am_nice · September 2016

leaninsc wrote: »

Do you also exercise? For me that is when it became easier to start saying no to some cravings. It was like I didn't want to undo all my hard work, early mornings, all the time, effort, and money I was putting in at the gym. I could see how much progress I was making and didn't want to take away from it with poor food choices. I started looking at it as I was investing that time into my body and then I was motivated to protect that investment the other hours of the day. That's when I really started feeling a shift in the food choices I was making. I saw a quote that said, "Take care of your body. Where else are you going to live?" and that really stuck with me. It also became a matter of wanting to be more healthy, not just dropping weight.

That said, I'm not perfect and I do have occasional treats and cheats, just not every day. But the more I fuel my body and the more it performs for me, the more motivated I get to nourish it. And eventually, I stopped even having the Burger King/Chick Fil A kind of cravings.

And no, you don't need to exercise to lose weight. Just that mentally I started making better nutrition choices once I started seeing my strength, fitness level, physical abilities, etc improve. Results started fueling motivation. The trick is sticking with it, both nutrition and exercise, while it's still not fun and before you start seeing the results. The motivation starts coming much more easily when you can see and feel the progression.

I'm starting too. Walking 2 miles a day. I figured out why that week was a bad week. Usually don't have cravings for burger king just was convenient and it was a ham egg and cheese crossiant!

this week was much better..

Erbs_n_spice_I_am_nice · September 2016

JoshD8705 wrote: »

Have you thought about prep meals? If you know you already have the food made you'll be less likely to convince yourself to cheat.

Yes I kind of did that today. Thanks for the advice. This week was much better!

meritage4 · September 2016

I hard boil a bunch of eggs and stick them in the fridge. It's a quick and cheap breakfast some mornings.

jolive7 · September 2016

There will always be a party, a special occasion, after work drinks etc etc etc. get used to saying no

jolive7 · September 2016

I am in my 20s, I literally say no to going for "drinks" at least twice a week, I don't have FOMO at all

Erbs_n_spice_I_am_nice · October 2016

I'm getting used to it.

WinoGelato · October 2016

OP what is your rate of loss set at and what is your calorie goal? Are you eating back some exercise cals when you are walking 2 miles/day?

With 10 lbs to lose you should aim to lose 0.5 lb/week which is a 250 cal deficit from your maintenance cals. I'm not saying you should eat with wild abandon but it's possible to fit in things like a breakfast sandwich from BK or a special dessert on a regular basis without it hindering your progress...

pasewaldd · October 2016

After a while of eating healthy, your tastebuds change (at least mine did) and the food you want and crave change, too. Now I crave healthy snacks like peanut butter and cottage cheese. Or an apple and a protein bar, or I make ice cream with my Herbalife protein and formula 1 and berries. There are so many healthy choices once you do it for a while. I do a lot of Pinterest.

adriennevy · October 2016

leaninsc wrote: »

It was like I didn't want to undo all my hard work, early mornings, all the time, effort, and money I was putting in at the gym. I could see how much progress I was making and didn't want to take away from it with poor food choices. I started looking at it as I was investing that time into my body and then I was motivated to protect that investment the other hours of the day. That's when I really started feeling a shift in the food choices I was making....

... Results started fueling motivation. The trick is sticking with it, both nutrition and exercise, while it's still not fun and before you start seeing the results. The motivation starts coming much more easily when you can see and feel the progression.

THIS, 100%! Especially when I see how much effort on the elliptical goes into burning 200 calories, it's easier to say no to that 200 calorie snack. It's just not worth it. Personally, I'm trying to eat very little (not zero) carbs and sugar, which means eating more protein and healthy fats. I only started with a 15lb goal, and I've lost 5lbs in 3 weeks. Also, since I've been eating less of those things, my cravings for them has also decreased dramatically.

To make things easier on myself, I've started making healthy foods in large batches... for example I found a white bean chili recipe that is ~250 calories per serving and lots of protein, and I've been eating that for dinners the past week. It's easy to just come home, pop it in the microwave, and know that I'm still achieving my goals. I do similar things for lunches at work. Having meals thought out ahead of time makes it way easier to not cheat.

Good luck!

shadowfax_c11 · October 2016

I usually find that logging the food before I eat it can help me to think about whether I really want to eat that particular treat. Sometimes the answer is yes. I have found that a little bit of planning can get pretty much anything I want, although is smaller quantities, into my day. Trying to give up an particular thing was a recipe for increased cravings ending with big binges so I don't have cheat days. I just plan my food so that I can have some of those sweets, treats and junk food every day.

It helps that I have a very physically active lifestyle so my daily expenditure is fairly high and my calorie goal is a generous 2200 a day. Still I do struggle to stay under it at times.

Daggaroth · October 2016

Decreasing gradually from those things you know is not good for you can be extremely beneficial to ultimately saying no to the junk food around you. Myself for example I love Taco Bell. Its terrible but there it is. When I was at my heaviest I would go 2 - 3 times a week and order 4 items off the menu plus a large soda. When I decided to finally start eliminating weight I would make an effort to go less frequently but would often get cravings and "treat" myself for being good. Well that wasn't working so I decided to reduce the amount I ordered, so I would order 3 things off the menu and a large soda. Then only once a week, then 2 things and a large soda, then two things and a medium soda, then 2 things and a large water, and then once every other week, and now I order one thing whenever I go to taco bell, The Crunch Wrap Supreme with extra sour cream and hot sauce. The thing is amazingly tasty, but now I really don't feel the need to go there more than maybe once every other month.

Also during this period of about a year where I was going to Taco Bell less and less, I found myself eating healthier, to the point where I preferred it over my former normal food items. The last doughnut I ate was so dang sweet I felt ill for several hours after the fact! So now when I look at a doughnut I can easily say "No thank you" or "maybe just a half , or a quarter if I am really interested in a sugar rush" But that magnetic draw I had to that junk food is now gone, or at least severely diminished. I still cheat on occasion but now I find myself wanting a salad or a single piece of dark chocolate instead of a burger and an entire milk chocolate candy bar.

ShandaLeaS · October 2016

Meal plan and pre-log your days. I often put my dinner into MFP before I even eat breakfast...makes less room for fast food and that soda I WANT to drink but don't need.

jolive7 · October 2016

Another tip.. I will use myself as an example. This Sunday I had pizza/beer/ice cream that I had not accounted for. I had a planned rest day for Monday but instead I forced myself to train off the extra calories. If you find yourself "cheating" this can be a good way to counteract it

KkBlowin25 · October 2016

Cold turkey

spngnetwork · October 2016

I didn't read all the comments above, maybe someone mentioned it already- but what has really helped me get started in my weight loss journey was cleaning out my cabinets and fridge. I threw out all the junk food - bags, cans, frozen meals and replaced them with fruits and low calorie, low sugar snacks. I eventually replaced a meal with a protein shake, then worked hard on getting out and taking walks everyday. It's been more than a month and I feel a lot better and lost a few pounds. Sure, the cravings are still there, but once your body adjusts, you'll learn to eat less of the junk food- you'll know the difference of what is good for you and what isnt. Hope this helps, don't be discouraged!

Erbs_n_spice_I_am_nice · August 2017

meritage4 wrote: »

I hard boil a bunch of eggs and stick them in the fridge. It's a quick and cheap breakfast some mornings.

I try that too..my kids end up eating them lol

Erbs_n_spice_I_am_nice · August 2017

spngnetwork wrote: »

I didn't read all the comments above, maybe someone mentioned it already- but what has really helped me get started in my weight loss journey was cleaning out my cabinets and fridge. I threw out all the junk food - bags, cans, frozen meals and replaced them with fruits and low calorie, low sugar snacks. I eventually replaced a meal with a protein shake, then worked hard on getting out and taking walks everyday. It's been more than a month and I feel a lot better and lost a few pounds. Sure, the cravings are still there, but once your body adjusts, you'll learn to eat less of the junk food- you'll know the difference of what is good for you and what isnt. Hope this helps, don't be discouraged!

Thank you! It's been a year. I allow Friday's as my cheat days! Went from 157 down to 144 currently!

RachsLosses · August 2017

I have these dilemma's every so often, allowing the cheat day is great but sometimes I find the allowed cheat date doesn't fit in with the date of the occasion that might cause my diet issues. Personally for me I eat as well as I can when I can (Currently at 1200 and exercising at least 3-4 times a week) and then when I know there is an occasion coming up that might involve pizza, milkshakes or cakes I will stick to my daily diet, and then if I still want the treat I have it, by initially having my normal food I wont need as much of the bad stuff (in theory) I also do the egg trick someone mentioned and take these to work to add to my lunch and sometimes eat them while dinner is cooking

Congrats on you weight loss! If you are looking for friends on here feel free to add me

"Cheat days"

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