How to get good at not cheating on your diet?
blackforesttea
Posts: 14 Member
What are some techniques you use to avoid cheating on your diet? I'm looming for tips, I'm out of control lately and it's stalling my weight loss!
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Replies
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I try to change up my diet to keep it fresh and as exciting as possible. I try not to have the same thing from week to week, even with breakfast and lunch. Even just changing up the brand of yogurt or whatever else I get can make a difference.3
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If you have a diet you feel you need to constantly cheat on, it is probably too restrictive. Make sure to incorporate a moderate amount of some of the things you like to have. This way you have a better chance of success and won't be drawn into all or nothing type scenarios.17
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Pre plan my meal for the day.. have "snacks" to eat between meals if I'm hungry. All within daily allowance.1
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blackforesttea wrote: »What are some techniques you use to avoid cheating on your diet? I'm looming for tips, I'm out of control lately and it's stalling my weight loss!
I get out of control if I don't have enough protein, sleep, or exercise, so I address that first.
Other people get out of control if they have too aggressive a calorie deficit. How much weight do you have to lose and what is your weekly weight loss goal set to?5 -
I made my diet easier to stick to so it wasn't necessary to cheat - I focused on calories first, then tried to get enough protein and fiber but didn't sweat it. I saved calories most days for a 150-200 cal sweet treat at the end of the day. I fit in the foods I loved, at least once a week or so. I didn't set any rules really, other than to just keep learning from what worked and didn't work. I also chose a slower rate of loss so I had more calories to eat
Pre-logging also really helped, I knew what I had room for and what I didn't before the food was actually in front of me as often as possible!15 -
1. Make sure I’m aiming for a reasonable rate of loss. Losing a little slower means I can eat more while I’m losing. Eating more means less restriction. Less restriction means less urge to “cheat”.
2. Log and eat my exercise calories. Even at a reasonable rate of loss, my base calorie goal is quite low. Logging and eating exercise calories means I’m eating appropriately and eating a little more which means less restriction which means less urge to “cheat”
3. Don’t restrict foods unless I’m allergic or have a medical reason. Food doesn’t have moral value. There’s no good or bad food. There’s food that’s more nutrient dense or less calorie dense-but it’s all food. Eat what you like.
4. Find a way to include those calorie dense foods in your diet. For me, that means saving some calories each day and having a day where I eat over my goal (often over my maintenance) so I can include higher calorie foods without getting too hungry - but still eating to my weekly calorie goal.
5. If you’re having uncontrollable binge urges that are unrelated to restriction, work those issues out. White knuckling through binge urges forever isn’t very sustainable. Willpower is a limited resource.14 -
1. I pre-plan my meals (even looking at a restaurant menu and deciding what I will order prior to going out).
2. I keep a running list of under 100 calorie go-to snacks to have in case I am feeling the urge to jump off a cliff.
3. I have learned to say "NO" very firmly to my husband when he is scooping up ice cream/having snacks.
4. I have found herbal teas...Pepperment, Lemon and Licorice......all give me a taste sensation of having a treat without the calories.
5. I cook and make meals that make me feel good (and full), freezing the leftovers, so I don't have to think so much about food all the time.
6. I enter recipes into MFP and determine beforehand whether or not they will fit into my day.
7. I stay away from "trigger" foods...for me, soda (even diet) will make me eat everything in the kitchen.
8. I try to remember the big picture...I am doing this for me, so why undermine myself?? 😁😁😁9 -
Moderate deficit, no forbidden foods, regular exercise, room for snacks.11
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My deficit is such that I’m losing weight consistently, albeit slowly. I eat what I want within my calorie goals2
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moderate deficit, eat all the foods (not just "clean" ones).
When i'm tired I want to eat everything in sight. So sleep and recovery is important.
When I do make my deficit bigger for any reason (like a bit of a harder cut), I make sure I pre-log everything up to dinner and then dinner I leave for me to 'play with' a bit more - I still end up eating roughly the same things, but gives me room to improvise more.6 -
1. I pre-plan my meals (even looking at a restaurant menu and deciding what I will order prior to going out).
2. I keep a running list of under 100 calorie go-to snacks to have in case I am feeling the urge to jump off a cliff.
3. I have learned to say "NO" very firmly to my husband when he is scooping up ice cream/having snacks.
4. I have found herbal teas...Pepperment, Lemon and Licorice......all give me a taste sensation of having a treat without the calories.
5. I cook and make meals that make me feel good (and full), freezing the leftovers, so I don't have to think so much about food all the time.
6. I enter recipes into MFP and determine beforehand whether or not they will fit into my day.
7. I stay away from "trigger" foods...for me, soda (even diet) will make me eat everything in the kitchen.
8. I try to remember the big picture...I am doing this for me, so why undermine myself?? 😁😁😁
This is true for me too-flavored bean coffees and flavored teas are great afternoon/evening fillers with no calories
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I allow myself to "cheat" but still stay within my caloric limits. That way dieting feels less like punishment so the urge to cheat is lessened. I love a sweet treat after dinner & found that one square of good quality dark chocolate does the trick quite nicely.
I also use a phone app to track what I eat. Seeing the caloric values of what I've already consumed vs whats left helps keep me motivated to stay on track.1 -
What you describe isn't cheating. Cheating implies doing something wrong and carries the implication that you should feel guilty. A treat isn't a cheat, it's a choice.11
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If your diet consists of a variety of food that you enjoy, and you manage to keep it nutritious and mindful of the calorie content, no cheating is ever required
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RelCanonical wrote: »I try to change up my diet to keep it fresh and as exciting as possible. I try not to have the same thing from week to week, even with breakfast and lunch. Even just changing up the brand of yogurt or whatever else I get can make a difference.
This is key for me too. Getting into food ruts has always just been a way of eating for me (I legit ate the same thing for lunch every day for 4 years while I was in high school), and I married a man and had children who are the same way!
Realizing that the ruts would lead me into hitting a wall of boredom and frustration that needed release was a huge step for me in terms of getting a grip on some problematic eating behaviors.0 -
I don't restrict myself from foods I want to eat. While I have a meal plan I rarely stick to it but I'm still hitting my goals because I make sure I hit my calorie target over the course of a week. I don't let day to day variations bother me (i.e. if I'm 200 cals over one day, I'll make that up over the next day or two and be a little under).2
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I think more generically than pre-plan, make the hard choices automatic or weighted in favor of the weight loss outcome. Choosing not to eat a sweet is an easier choice if it isn't in clear view making not eating it a constant willpower using choice, and even more so if there's nothing in the house which means the choice requires deliberating going somewhere to get something.2
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I'm in the same position as you lol0
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For me, it was an adjustment to my eating schedule.
I'm a teacher so I get up at 5, have to be in the hall at 6:40 and have students 7-2. My lunch break is 10:30. I'm not usually hungry when I wake up.
So now, I sometimes have something small around 8 or 8:30 if I get hungry. And by this I mean an apple or something. I have a lunch at 10:30 and I've gotten really good at having a protein and fruit lunch. Calories are reasonable, and it is filling.
The big switch came with me moving my dinner to about 3:30. Then about 8 or 9, I'll have a small snack.
With this adjustment, even if I wake up hungry and have something for breakfast, I find it far easier to keep my calories under the daily goal.1 -
Not buying cheat foods to begin with is my personal greatest method of being adherent...plan out your cheat meal or cheat day (...><...) in advance (once every 1-2 weeks, etc. based on how hard into dieting you are) as a mental reward for staying adherent.3
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Tips to avoid cheating on your diet - write your list of why you want to lose weight, then keep on rereading it. Mindfulness - this is the first time this happened to me - I binged at 12:30am a few nights ago. Thought that I wouldn't eat breakfast/lunch the next day to make up for the added calories. I woke up, and did want to eat. And then I said to myself "Am I binging today?" Usually I just do it without thinking, habit, a voice or need tells me too. But this time I took a second to think about it. I did not binge that day. I cannot keep any trigger foods in the house. I might think that they are safe but when you are faltering, you will go to those items that will not help you lose weight.3
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1. I pre-plan my meals (even looking at a restaurant menu and deciding what I will order prior to going out).
2. I keep a running list of under 100 calorie go-to snacks to have in case I am feeling the urge to jump off a cliff.
3. I have learned to say "NO" very firmly to my husband when he is scooping up ice cream/having snacks.
4. I have found herbal teas...Pepperment, Lemon and Licorice......all give me a taste sensation of having a treat without the calories.
5. I cook and make meals that make me feel good (and full), freezing the leftovers, so I don't have to think so much about food all the time.
6. I enter recipes into MFP and determine beforehand whether or not they will fit into my day.
7. I stay away from "trigger" foods...for me, soda (even diet) will make me eat everything in the kitchen.
8. I try to remember the big picture...I am doing this for me, so why undermine myself?? 😁😁😁
Herbal teas have been my best friend lately. Raspberry and peppermint are my favorite flavors. I have a cup whenever I’m tempted to reach for a soda or something sweet with way too many calories.
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If you have a specific body type in mind, it helps to post pictures of an individual with that body type where you can see it. My ultimate body type is that of a Victoria’s Secret Angel or Halle Berry as Jinx in Die Another Day. I have one of the VS Angels as my phone’s wallpaper and I see that every time I pick up my phone and it reminds me of what I’m working towards. And I ask myself, do I want XYZ and to cheat on my diet or do I want to look like a VS Angel? VS Angel generally wins.
And I would definitely suggest keeping trigger foods out of your house. For example I have a very hard time keeping portions of chips, cookies, etc reasonable. I don’t even buy that stuff. It’s hard to cheat when I don’t have what I want.8 -
Sounds like you are referring to “diet” as a short term approach to help you achieve a specific goal, that you intend to abandon when you’ve reached the goal? And you feel compelled to “cheat” because the diet is restrictive and you aren’t fully satisfied on it.
Reframe the way you approach it. Don’t “diet”. Eat at a moderate calorie deficit to help ensure you are losing weight at a sustainable rate. Don’t cut out all the foods you love, figure out how to incorporate them in your plan. Prioritize nutrition and satiety but don’t forget about enjoyment and sustainability.
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^ what she said. I am not thinking of weight loss as a diet. That implies “temporary”. This is a lifestyle change. I’ve made up my mind this is permanent, and that I have to think that way now, instead of when I reach maintenance.
Discover what you enjoy eating. Your tastebuds will change as you get further away from your old habits. I discovered an unknown passion for oranges (!!!!), and a daily banana smoothie with a tbsp of plain cocoa has made an unexpectedly satisfying replacement for the pound or two of chocolate I used to scarf down every day.
I can’t keep junk or processed foods in the house. Even things like a bag of pretzels, which are OK but not my favorites, turn into mindless eating. Sat down last night to have a serving (2 sheets) of graham crackers, and it ended up being six, but was thankfully only a little over range. I just tell myself, “well it’s better than the old days, so just get over it” and move on.
Keep your hands busy. I’ve gotten into needlepointing (wonder how many calories that burns, lol). Idle hands being the tool of the devil and all that. My own personal devil would rather encourage me to stick them in a sack of M&Ms.5 -
When you have foods that are off limits you will almost ALWAYS want to eat them. What helped me is to think of it differently...like eating what I want isn't cheating on my diet. I just fit what I want into my macros. For example today im going for afternoon tea and there will be plenty of cake so I've made sure I have a nice high protein low carb breakfast and also have a low carb high protein dinner planned. Then I'll enjoy myself and not worry. If I want takeaway, I just build into my weekly plan and every week I have a treat that I want. Not like a whole cheat meal, because that's a mindset, just something nice if I fancy it and if i dont then i dont force myself to have that treat.
Also remember why you want this, remember that you're worth it and constantly setting yourself back isn't what you deserve. You can do this !!1 -
I did a little experiment with potato chips. The first couple of chips are delicious. After that I can hardly tell the difference between them and the apple slices. I guess its the effect of the salt on the taste buds. But, I have put the chips in their place - 5 grams - 25 cal - over and out.3
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