Why a Cheat Day is a misnomer

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  • callmeBAM
    callmeBAM Posts: 450 Member
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    To merely focus on the weight gain or loss aspect of one's diet is either ignorant or willingly dismissive.

    How do you measure your heart health? Liver? Kidney? Your risk of getting cancer? Just because you maintain a desired weight does not make you healthy.

    1 day a week.. 80/20 ... Are you saying 20% of your diet doesn't effect your internal health? Spiking blood sugar, creating increased insulin, possibly mineral deficiencies.

    I am not saying your 'cheat' is making you unhealthy (although it might), I am saying justifying your cheat with the scale is poor judgement.
  • hamncheese67
    hamncheese67 Posts: 1,715 Member
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    Huh wasn't expecting the topic to actually be a rant on semantics. Also, I don't use the term "cheat" day, I call it a "splurge" day.

    A misnomer is a term which suggests an interpretation that is known to be untrue.
    The title of the thread clearly states my intent to discuss the meaning of the word cheat day.

    And, since semantics is the study of meaning...

    I personally don't use the term cheat day or any term for that matter. I eat sensibly most of the time and if I want to have something more, then I'm doing so on my own choosing and enjoying it.

    As for the term "cheat day", I don't think it's necessarily a misnomer. The word cheat being equated with the word "unfaithful" as someone who is cheating on their spouse, you are cheating on your diet.

    This meaning would work whether or not it's planned or not planned.
  • TexanThom
    TexanThom Posts: 778
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    Lighten up!!!! Cheat also means to break the rules. It's our lives, let us live them the way WE want to...
    In that case, let's call them "Breakin' the Law days"!

    Or "Jump ship Day". Call it what you will, I call it FRIDAY........
  • iuangina
    iuangina Posts: 691 Member
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    To merely focus on the weight gain or loss aspect of one's diet is either ignorant or willingly dismissive.

    How do you measure your heart health? Liver? Kidney? Your risk of getting cancer? Just because you maintain a desired weight does not make you healthy.

    1 day a week.. 80/20 ... Are you saying 20% of your diet doesn't effect your internal health? Spiking blood sugar, creating increased insulin, possibly mineral deficiencies.

    I am not saying your 'cheat' is making you unhealthy (although it might), I am saying justifying your cheat with the scale is poor judgement.

    I justified with the scale because it's the easiest measuring tool most people have. But all of my numbers are getting better. I have normal blood pressure, blood sugar, pulse rate, etc. The more my weight goes down the better my numbers get. Anyway, to address the specific issue......I've lost weight before and was unable to maintain it when I failed to have a day that I didn't track every piece of food that goes in my mouth. It gets tiring and I get tired of constantly telling my family and friends that I can't eat here or eat there because the menu doesn't work with my current eating plan. Most people in your life are not actively watching what they eat, so they are supportive to a point. An off day allows me to live my life without feeling guilty because there are times when you just want to forget about counting calories. There has to be a balance.
  • Sh0ewh0re7_BlingItOn
    Sh0ewh0re7_BlingItOn Posts: 501 Member
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    To each their own. Cheat, Skip, Jump, Spike....what ever it is, might work for some may not for others. For THIS girl, I love MY day and it works for me! :)

    Good luck, great health and kick *kitten* to all of you on your journeys, whatever your goal may be! xoxo
  • callmeBAM
    callmeBAM Posts: 450 Member
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    So, those of you who embrace cheating, what other parts of your life to you have regular cheat days?? If it is good for your body, should be good everywhere else too right?
  • dinosnopro
    dinosnopro Posts: 2,179 Member
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    I call it anti "starvation mode" day

    Why are you starving yourself the rest of the week? Is it so you can justify eating a bucket of fried chicken every Saturday?


    sorry, I need to reload my sarcasm font.


    I actually call it Saturday
  • jenniferg83
    jenniferg83 Posts: 278 Member
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    Good thing I'm not on a 'diet'
  • 19danno77
    19danno77 Posts: 84
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    Well, if you ate it intentionally with no regret, don't call it anything! Just log it and move on instead of proclaiming to the world like most people do.

    Agreed. Take the diet as a lifestyle, not a short-term tool. This means you can look at weeks at a time or months or even an entire year collectively as a win. Any "cheat/lapse" day doesn't just disappear, it gets averaged in with all the rest and the end result is what you see in the mirror. I like the indulgence label...gluttony in moderation is good for the soul.
  • iuangina
    iuangina Posts: 691 Member
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    So, those of you who embrace cheating, what other parts of your life to you have regular cheat days?? If it is good for your body, should be good everywhere else too right?

    Faulty logic....just because something is good for you in one aspect of your life does not mean that it is good for all aspects of your life....
  • MizCJ84
    MizCJ84 Posts: 335 Member
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    I do not choose to call it a cheat day, but I know plenty of other people who do use this term. I think this is because the implication of a cheat day is that you are eating something you would not eat normally while on your diet. I love when people brag about their "cheat" meals or days because it shows they are human beings who have normal cravings and appetites. IMO they are only "cheating" themselves if their cheat meal or day is unplanned, uncontrolled, and leads to weight gain. Otherwise, I think these days are beneficial to most people.

    My "cheat days" are called spike days. Since incorporating spike days I've lost several stubborn pounds and I no longer feel out-of-control when it comes to food.
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,843 Member
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    So, those of you who embrace cheating, what other parts of your life to you have regular cheat days?? If it is good for your body, should be good everywhere else too right?

    Why does it matter? Just because someone chooses to have a day or even a meal where they eat something they normally don't and decide to call it a "Cheat <insert meal, day what have you>" why does that mean that they "cheat" in other areas of their lives?
    Perhaps you would feel different if it was called a "treat" day? You just seem to have issues with the word and the context it's being used.

    I'm fairly certain you are not 100% perfect so why don't you just lighten up?
  • Amanda_Rae_Rae
    Amanda_Rae_Rae Posts: 109
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    I have days where I don't worry about or count calories, but I don't call them cheat days. I call them occasions, as in Easter or other holidays, birthdays, family/friends gatherings. They are not cheating, but neither are they failures or lapses. They are just part of life as I know it. They won't make me fat. Overeating on non-occasion days will.

    But, I think some people might like the term "cheat day" because they like to break the rules once in a while. They like to think they are breaking a rule. It's fun to cheat on your diet sometimes.

    ^THIS =]
  • BaconMD
    BaconMD Posts: 1,165 Member
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    Lighten up!!!! Cheat also means to break the rules. It's our lives, let us live them the way WE want to...
    In that case, let's call them "Breakin' the Law days"!

    Or "Jump ship Day". Call it what you will, I call it FRIDAY........
    tumblr_li1zf6eqbc1qa2tb2o1_500.jpg
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
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    So, those of you who embrace cheating, what other parts of your life to you have regular cheat days?? If it is good for your body, should be good everywhere else too right?

    Not that it's any of your business, but here's a list off the top of my head:

    1) Playing video games instead of doing chores
    2) Sleeping in on the weekend instead of waking up early
    3) Staying up late during the week to grab a couple brews with my buddies
    4) Having a cigar on my patio after a hard day
    5) My bachelor party
    6) My wedding
    7) My birthday
    8) My fiancee's birthday
    9) Easter
    10) Xmas
    11) Thanksgiving
    12) Hiring a maid to help around the house instead of doing it myself
    13) Hiring someone to do my lawn rather than me do it myself
    14) Watching a football game rather than doing chores
    15) Watching TV rather than doing chores


    All 'cheats'
  • Still_Fluffy
    Still_Fluffy Posts: 341 Member
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    I agree. If you want to "cheat" aka ate like crap, then add an long workout to cover for it. Or accept that your over your goal for the day and try harder the next day.
  • 19danno77
    19danno77 Posts: 84
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    So, those of you who embrace cheating, what other parts of your life to you have regular cheat days?? If it is good for your body, should be good everywhere else too right?

    I "cheat" work by taking vacations. I "cheat" my parenting responsibility by getting them sleepover days with grandparents and having a date night with my wife. This usually coincides with "cheating" waking hours by sleeping IN late. I "cheat" my thrifty personal finance by treating myself and/or my family to something special...a trip, a new appliance, a Blu Ray for family movie night. I "cheat" death by going skiing. I "cheat" chores by hitting a round of golf. For most of us, life isn't about the tithe...we live in our routines but sometimes need a break...if the average ends up in the healthy or good range while being happy then it's a life worth living for most of us.

    One thing I never cheat: safety. Always buckle up. Always look both ways before crossing. Always wear a helmet while biking & motorcycling while for the latter I also don the boots, gloves and leather jacket.
  • AlyRoseNYC
    AlyRoseNYC Posts: 1,075 Member
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    You should write a book on the rules of life and post it in the Success Stories board when it becomes a NY Times bestseller!!!!!
  • Moriarty_697
    Moriarty_697 Posts: 226 Member
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    Well, I guess it's nice to see that dictionaries still get used in these the days of text speech and auto-correct. Alas, tilting at windmills really doesn't burn that many calories so I think the original poster may be disappointed.

    I still use cheat days. I guess I'm just fine with a lack of precision in my word choice. For instance, when I worked for a freight railroad, I told people I was a brakeman though the actual job of being a brakeman died out in the late 1800s with the advent of air brakes. Even better, when I go to buy music in a store (yes, I am one of the few people left on earth who do that), I still call it a record store though I'm buying cds. Cheat day is a misnomer, for sure, but it's also become a fairly ubiquitous term with a common understanding. To each their own, I guess.
  • HOSED49
    HOSED49 Posts: 665 Member
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    So funny....

    Start a thread to voice your opinion which is written as law not an opinion...

    spend rest of thread trying to belittle everyone into agreeing with you...

    and if they arent buying it...point out that your vocabulary and comprehension is better than theirs..

    gotta love the forums

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