Please stop calling it a "cheat meal!"
Replies
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Can I get an amen?
Food sustains us. Food delights us. Food bedevils us. But food is what powers our bodies. As humans, we are not meant to eat the same number of calories every single day of our lives. It's not normal, it is not natural. Allowing ourselves to eat the wonderful things that we love is not "Cheating." We are not bad.
Just sayin'.
"Cheat" in this sense is a metaphor. All metaphors break down at some point. I don't see a reason to get upset about the use of the word.0 -
I personally just have not ruled things out or call them cheat. It makes me feel like I'm too restricted.
It didn't take me one day to put the weight on, doesn't take one day to take it off.1 -
InkAndApples wrote: »I don't call it a cheat meal because I don't think I have anything to cheat on. I'm not following a set of rules or a specific way of eating. I haven't made a promise to anyone. I'm just eating stuff, less than I was before. I eat different amounts every day and use a weekly calorie goal so I'm not even sure I could identify a "cheat" day - they all work out under the weekly goal in the end.
Your rule is to stay under your daily/weekly calories. What if it put you over, would it then be a cheat?0 -
natashab61 wrote: »Call it what you want. Why is this an issue? Live and let live. You can't control others.
cheat day or not it's just people trying to eat what is pleasurable. Let's stick to those positives
"Cheat meal" or "cheat day" has a lot of mental implications and your attitude about food. some people feel like cheat meal means they will be able to survive a diet long term. to others, a cheat meal seems like a devil-inspired device to make one's diet collapse. it has emotional implications. To be avoided or looked forward to, depending on your definition and attitude of it.
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natashab61 wrote: »Call it what you want. Why is this an issue? Live and let live. You can't control others. cheat day or not it's just people trying to eat what is pleasurable. Let's stick to those positives
"Cheat meal" or "cheat day" has a lot of mental implications and your attitude about food. some people feel like cheat meal means they will be able to survive a diet long term. to others, a cheat meal seems like a devil-inspired device to make one's diet collapse. it has emotional implications. To be avoided or looked forward to, depending on your definition and attitude of it.
And as to the original quote, I feel like calling myself a "cheater" (or implying that) would detract from my enjoyment of the food. The word "cheat" is negative in its intent- something undesirable, regardless of how much people might enjoy it. I don't consider eating high-calorie or otherwise great-tasting food in the context of my overall plan a bad thing.
But listen, it's not like I expect people to stop using the term. I know I just have to suffer through it. 99% of the time, I do so silently... sometimes I get to vent a little on a thread like this.
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RAD_Fitness wrote: »InkAndApples wrote: »I don't call it a cheat meal because I don't think I have anything to cheat on. I'm not following a set of rules or a specific way of eating. I haven't made a promise to anyone. I'm just eating stuff, less than I was before. I eat different amounts every day and use a weekly calorie goal so I'm not even sure I could identify a "cheat" day - they all work out under the weekly goal in the end.
Your rule is to stay under your daily/weekly calories. What if it put you over, would it then be a cheat?
Nope. It would be a choice.
I went to Montreal for two weeks, immediately before and during Passover. The dietary restrictions wreak havoc with my satiety levels. I adopted a 'do my best but be realistic' attitude and chose to take a maintenance break. In other words, I made a deliberate decision to raise my daily/weekly calories so that I wouldn't be stressing and feeling guilty every time I found myself dealing with hunger. One of the smartest moves I ever made. Do I consider it cheating? I mean, it is kind of like shooting an arrow first and painting the bullseye around it afterwards, no? I did move the goal-posts, after all. And in the past, doing so would have felt like cheating in my mind. But this time it meant that I wasn't stressing and obsessing about what I was eating or feeling guilty about eating more. I felt like I was doing what I had to in order to stay on-track, I was just taking some sharp winding curves a little bit slower.
...I didn't derail.2 -
SkimpyMrsCarter wrote: »I call it a cheat meal and my relationship with food is fine, and i have made progress with my weight that im proud of.
I agree. We all have different labels of what constitute "cheating" but at the end of the day, if this word is derailing your progress or lifestyle, you probably have deeper issue that can't be resolved by merely changing the word. To me, cheating is eating "excessively" out of my target and this may be calories or macros but it does not and has not derail my progress. Sometime they may be planned and at other times, not but no big deal, I carry on with my routine the next day. Also, if you don't have a goal (because you simply don't care about your health, reached maintenance, or etc.), then cheating or it's alternative form doesn't exist in your world. Please keep in my mind though that some of us are still working hard towards a particular goal that may require certain restrictions so you cannot project this eating without being mindful is the best way to go for all.1 -
According to my diary, it's called "Night Shift Break"
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RAD_Fitness wrote: »InkAndApples wrote: »I don't call it a cheat meal because I don't think I have anything to cheat on. I'm not following a set of rules or a specific way of eating. I haven't made a promise to anyone. I'm just eating stuff, less than I was before. I eat different amounts every day and use a weekly calorie goal so I'm not even sure I could identify a "cheat" day - they all work out under the weekly goal in the end.
Your rule is to stay under your daily/weekly calories. What if it put you over, would it then be a cheat?
Not really. I'm choosing not to go over my calorie target, that's a neutral decision. If I choose to go over that's a neutral decision. Cheating to means getting something you don't deserve or winning by sort of sneaky means. I'm not cheating, the definition doesn't fit for me.3 -
InkAndApples wrote: »RAD_Fitness wrote: »InkAndApples wrote: »I don't call it a cheat meal because I don't think I have anything to cheat on. I'm not following a set of rules or a specific way of eating. I haven't made a promise to anyone. I'm just eating stuff, less than I was before. I eat different amounts every day and use a weekly calorie goal so I'm not even sure I could identify a "cheat" day - they all work out under the weekly goal in the end.
Your rule is to stay under your daily/weekly calories. What if it put you over, would it then be a cheat?
Not really. I'm choosing not to go over my calorie target, that's a neutral decision. If I choose to go over that's a neutral decision. Cheating to means getting something you don't deserve or winning by sort of sneaky means. I'm not cheating, the definition doesn't fit for me.
What I'm seeing is a language barrier... some of us want to use the given meaning of a word, and some want to attach their own meaning to it. 0 -
You missed mine. Plenty of cheat days. Did not stay fat. It's called moderation over the long term.MontyMuttland wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »MontyMuttland wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »MontyMuttland wrote: »If you've committed yourself to a diet plan in order to lose weight and you decide to throw it aside for one meal/one day/whatever, then you have cheated on the diet plan, it's really that simple.
Who are you to decide the parameters of someone else's commitment? I decide what my rules are, and they don't preclude eating more for a particular meal or day or whatever. I don't call it cheating when I do it, because I don't have a rule against it.
I haven't decided the parameters of anything - commitment is a word with a definition that you can look up if you're not sure of the meaning.
I said "IF you've committed..."
If you haven't committed to it, then you can't expect much.
Do half a job, expect half a result.
Suck it up or stay fat.
Thanks, I met and surpassed my goal using my rules, not yours.
You have decided that a commitment to a diet plan precludes eating more for a meal/day/whatever -- you have a preconception of what a diet plan must be, and you label anyone who doesn't adhere to your conception a cheater and someone who will "stay fat."
Yep, totally... I must have missed all those diets out there that include cheat meals/days/etc in them!
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InkAndApples wrote: »RAD_Fitness wrote: »InkAndApples wrote: »I don't call it a cheat meal because I don't think I have anything to cheat on. I'm not following a set of rules or a specific way of eating. I haven't made a promise to anyone. I'm just eating stuff, less than I was before. I eat different amounts every day and use a weekly calorie goal so I'm not even sure I could identify a "cheat" day - they all work out under the weekly goal in the end.
Your rule is to stay under your daily/weekly calories. What if it put you over, would it then be a cheat?
Not really. I'm choosing not to go over my calorie target, that's a neutral decision. If I choose to go over that's a neutral decision. Cheating to means getting something you don't deserve or winning by sort of sneaky means. I'm not cheating, the definition doesn't fit for me.
I like the way you expressed this. It gets to the heart of why the term is off putting for me.0 -
InkAndApples wrote: »RAD_Fitness wrote: »InkAndApples wrote: »I don't call it a cheat meal because I don't think I have anything to cheat on. I'm not following a set of rules or a specific way of eating. I haven't made a promise to anyone. I'm just eating stuff, less than I was before. I eat different amounts every day and use a weekly calorie goal so I'm not even sure I could identify a "cheat" day - they all work out under the weekly goal in the end.
Your rule is to stay under your daily/weekly calories. What if it put you over, would it then be a cheat?
Not really. I'm choosing not to go over my calorie target, that's a neutral decision. If I choose to go over that's a neutral decision. Cheating to means getting something you don't deserve or winning by sort of sneaky means. I'm not cheating, the definition doesn't fit for me.
What I'm seeing is a language barrier... some of us want to use the given meaning of a word, and some want to attach their own meaning to it.
You may well be right. The meaning of cheat is pretty well understood and, for many, has a negative connotation. Eg. cheating at a sport, cheating on your spouse, cheating in business. Personally, I'm not in favor of changing the meaning to eating more than your plan on a given day.2 -
MontyMuttland wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »MontyMuttland wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »MontyMuttland wrote: »If you've committed yourself to a diet plan in order to lose weight and you decide to throw it aside for one meal/one day/whatever, then you have cheated on the diet plan, it's really that simple.
Who are you to decide the parameters of someone else's commitment? I decide what my rules are, and they don't preclude eating more for a particular meal or day or whatever. I don't call it cheating when I do it, because I don't have a rule against it.
I haven't decided the parameters of anything - commitment is a word with a definition that you can look up if you're not sure of the meaning.
I said "IF you've committed..."
If you haven't committed to it, then you can't expect much.
Do half a job, expect half a result.
Suck it up or stay fat.
Thanks, I met and surpassed my goal using my rules, not yours.
You have decided that a commitment to a diet plan precludes eating more for a meal/day/whatever -- you have a preconception of what a diet plan must be, and you label anyone who doesn't adhere to your conception a cheater and someone who will "stay fat."
Yep, totally... I must have missed all those diets out there that include cheat meals/days/etc in them!
Yep, sure looks like you did.0 -
Well I didn't consider myself on a diet as such - because I ate any foods not to a specific diet plan - but yes, it included cheat (treat, whatever terminology) meals/ days/ vacation weeks of not logging and it worked fine.
So, yes, you missed mine too.0 -
Who cares?
Let people call it what they want it's their diet/lifestyle1
This discussion has been closed.
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