Cheating, how do you atone?

Spiderjaime
Spiderjaime Posts: 11 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I just spent the weekend cheating on my diet, it was AWESOME! But of course now I feel guilty. So my question is do you "forgive and forget" pretend it never happened and move on? Or "Atone" eat less/exercise more for a day or two after?
I'm torn. I kinda want to atone and exercise til I fall over, but truthfully that may not make any difference other than to lessen my guilt. So, I'm curious now how everyone else deals with cheating, and if it even matters to your weight loss goals.
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Replies

  • patchesgizmo
    patchesgizmo Posts: 244 Member
    I just spent the weekend cheating on my diet, it was AWESOME! But of course now I feel guilty. So my question is do you "forgive and forget" pretend it never happened and move on? Or "Atone" eat less/exercise more for a day or two after?
    I'm torn. I kinda want to atone and exercise til I fall over, but truthfully that may not make any difference other than to lessen my guilt. So, I'm curious now how everyone else deals with cheating, and if it even matters to your weight loss goals.

    I try to exercise a little harder for a day or 2 but not kill myself exercise. I have in the past just stopped entering for the day, but I am trying to not do that. I have to own my indulgences as well as own my successes so I can truly track how I am doing. It is mostly a psychological battle that I am fighting then anything. I have to make myself become better.

    teresa
  • Jormesher
    Jormesher Posts: 46 Member
    blew my diet this weekend too... The scale went up 9 pounds!

    First of all, there's no way that is true weight. Probably 2-3 are. The rest is just a "false echo".

    Second, No guilt! We both did it. We knew we were going to do it and frankly, it felt great! :wink: Now it's time to come back to reality. Hit the gym, eat correctly and go on with life.

    I can't wait to hear what you decided to do. Keep us posted!
  • psideon
    psideon Posts: 24
    Haha... funny. I just "fell off the wagon" this weekend at the movies too!

    I just get back to the grind... maybe 10 or 20 minutes more light exercise over the next couple of days but not too much.
    Cutting too many calories might switch metabolism to "storage" (starvation) mode and over-exercise would just be unpleasant, demoralizing and might throw me off the program completely.

    Cut yourself some slack... maybe one high calorie day a week. Then cut it to one day a month. Soon you'll be on one MEAL a month, just to cut loose and relax.

    Hang in there... YOU CAN DO IT!!
  • bradthemedic
    bradthemedic Posts: 623 Member
    3 pounds is 10500 extra calories. You ate that extra in 2 days jormesher?
  • Jormesher
    Jormesher Posts: 46 Member
    @bradthemedic- No, I don't really think I ate that much... Can you imagine if the 9 pounds was real?!? Holy Cow!

    BTW- Eating correctly, extra few minutes at the gym and I'm down 3 pounds in 24 hours, proof that the weight wasn't real.
  • aoikirin
    aoikirin Posts: 143
    I have yet to cheat, but then I have only done this for like 12 days ;0
  • deejayy89
    deejayy89 Posts: 144 Member
    I just log anyways but start over the next day. Tomorrow always brings a new beginning! :)
  • victoria4321
    victoria4321 Posts: 1,719 Member
    I log it and start over the next day like it never happened.
  • dcglobalgirl
    dcglobalgirl Posts: 207 Member
    Just did the same thing, went to New York for the weekend and indulged in complete hedonism. I gained back all 7 lbs that I had lost. Well, the good news was that I just got back on track (and even goofed up a little on the weekend) and still lost 5 lbs this week. I think a lot was water weight. But I think overcompensating just makes it worse, you get back on the binge and guilt cycle. Better just to do the best you can and keep trying to make good decisions every day.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    I don't "cheat" and I certainly don't "atone" (how very Bible Belt!)

    Some days I eat more calories than I need to, or I make unhealthy food choice.
    Some days I eat less calories than I need. Some days I make great food choices all day.

    My theory is that as long as I have more days when I make good choices than bad, I will be OK in the long term, this isn't a game that I can "cheat" at - its my life and all I can do is make the best choices that I can each day.
  • Hickyvikki69
    Hickyvikki69 Posts: 371 Member
    i think cheating is like this. all those calories lefted over from the week were saved to indulge during the weekend(moderately). personally i say oh well but deep down i do like a 30min workout next day n feel better.
  • thepetiterunner
    thepetiterunner Posts: 1,238 Member
    Guilt should be reserved for moments when you do something really bad - like kick a puppy or sleep with your best friend's husband or steal your neighbor's newspaper. Not for eating something that isn't considered a "diet" food. :)

    Just acknowledge that it happened, plan for an alternate in the future (if you want to prevent it from happening again, I'm not assuming you do), and then move on with life. This is a lifestyle change. You're going to eat cake SOMETIME in the next few years before you die, right? Might as well accept it, plan for it and keep on movin' on,
  • Christine1110
    Christine1110 Posts: 1,786 Member
    Just remember how you feel for doing it....is it worth it? I usually don't cheat because I don't want to let myself down now....but it's taken awhile for me to get to this point!
  • fivezero15
    fivezero15 Posts: 9 Member
    I often don't log on the weekends when I know I'm going to have social occasions, and frankly, logging home-cooked food (which I have more of on the weekend) is a lot of work. Entering recipes takes a lot of time. But I try to get back on the bandwagon right away after the weekend. Also, I agree that those extra pounds are often not "real" and if I get back on it right away, I see my normal weight after a day or two.
  • honeysprinkles
    honeysprinkles Posts: 1,757 Member
    I tell other people to forgive themselves and pick back up tomorrow for a fresh start! Although I don't always follow that advice myself. I worked out for 2 hours and burned over 1200 calories yesterday to bring my weekly net back down to where it needed to be after two not so great days before that.

    In the end, I don't think it matters so much which route you take as long as you don't quit on yourself permanently! :)
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    I just move on. I usually don't feel badly about being over unless I ate food in a manner that disappointed me...like the one time I ate a candy bar so fast I am not sure I tasted it. But if I have thoroughly enjoyed the food that caused me to be over that's ok :)
  • SuperCork
    SuperCork Posts: 192 Member
    I vote for forgive and forget. Lose the guilt--make a lifestyle change, forget "diets", and if you make bad choices here and there...? No biggie, we all do in EVERY aspect of life! Make good choices most of the time, remain human, make the best of your life...
  • honeysprinkles
    honeysprinkles Posts: 1,757 Member
    I will say that knowing that overeating has consequences for me sometimes helps prevent it. It's easier to not eat late night snacks when I know that it means an extra workout...but night is usually when I struggle.
  • do4fit
    do4fit Posts: 23
    If I over eat or eat more sugary/salty foods than normal I make sure I drink extra water and just start back with my regular exercise and eating at the next meal/day. This is a lifestyle and there will be meals/days were you are going to be consuming extra calories or things you normally wouldnt consume. You could up your exercise a little bit but you don't want to over exercise. The best thing is just to continue on and not beat yourself up!
  • LindaLouLu
    LindaLouLu Posts: 271 Member
    My theory is that as long as I have more days when I make good choices than bad, I will be OK in the long term, this isn't a game that I can "cheat" at - its my life and all I can do is make the best choices that I can each day.

    ^^ This.

    Each day is a blank slate and Dreams become a reality one choice at a time.

    So, you had a bad, day, weekend, week, whatever? Ok, the morning is a new day. So long as you remembered to log it to hold yourself accountable, then everything is good and you move on from there.
  • MooMooooo
    MooMooooo Posts: 306 Member
    I haven't 'cheated' in a while... But last time I did I promised myself I would 'atone' - I planned the binge in advance btw.

    I ate a whole share pack of mini chocolates. It was super fun and a bit over 1000 calories.

    I started to carry over the calories for a few days - intending to work them off, but turns out I was too lazy :tongue:

    So I dropped my days calorie allowance by 100 for 7 days (by my calculations this would have mitigated the binge)

    I am serious about losing weight (this time) and want to have consequenses and not always let myself off.
  • linhmaimac
    linhmaimac Posts: 148 Member
    Mehhh, its okay to indulge once in a while. Start fresh tomorrow.
  • ReneeElizabeth26
    ReneeElizabeth26 Posts: 144
    I ate 3000 calories in 1 day and after advice from mfpers I logged it. Helped give me a number to focus on and more motivation...I did p90x in the a m and walked an hour after for a couple days and cut back a bit on the food...All gone plus loss another couple pounds....Log log log!
  • ChrisFitPro
    ChrisFitPro Posts: 32 Member
    Hi -

    I would recommend sticking to the plan.

    I have to add though, your plan needs to be sound - consisting of a informed diet plan and a sufficiently challenging training program.
  • honeysprinkles
    honeysprinkles Posts: 1,757 Member
    I ate 3000 calories in 1 day and after advice from mfpers I logged it. Helped give me a number to focus on and more motivation...I did p90x in the a m and walked an hour after for a couple days and cut back a bit on the food...All gone plus loss another couple pounds....Log log log!
    DEFINITELY log it! No matter which route you take, log it. I think it really helps to see it all out there. I always tell myself that my body counts it whether I log it or not, so pretending like it didn't happen doesn't change a thing!
  • ChrisFitPro
    ChrisFitPro Posts: 32 Member
    Oh yeah... consider looking into planned cheat meals.

    Throughout my extreme dieting/contest prep, I used weekly refeeds/cheats to restore glycogen/ increase leptin.

    If your cheat is planned and calculated, the guilt goes away - which leads to much more satisfaction :)
  • lmelangley
    lmelangley Posts: 1,039 Member
    I'm lucky. I'm not on a diet. I've just decided to modify my diet to become as healthy as I can be. And, for me, that means that although I eat at or under calories most days, there are other days that I make the choice to go over and that's ok. So, I never feel like I have to atone for any food overages.
  • itsjustdawn
    itsjustdawn Posts: 1,073 Member
    First off, don't call it "diet". And it's not "cheating". It's living. Pick yourself back up the next day or day after. It's only a big deal if you make it a big deal :-) Too many people beat themselves up over living life and indulging now and again. It's going to happen, so accept it, figure out a "plan of action" if you will, and get back to your healthy lifestyle. If you don't allow yourself to indulge now and then, you could end up going on a binge or completely giving up altogether. Don't punish yourself. But if you know that this is how weekends might end up, try increasing your water throughout the week, increase your exercise by a bit, make sure you're following whatever lifestyle you've chosen as best you can.
  • k011185
    k011185 Posts: 320 Member
    I log it and start over the next day like it never happened.
    This.
    Although lately life has been so crazy on my bad days I dont even log, simply because I can't even remember what I ate. There is enough in life to beat myself up about, eating over my calories for a couple days is not going to be one of them.
  • Rosa1213
    Rosa1213 Posts: 456 Member
    Eating a bit under my calories the next day makes me feel better. I only do so by 100 calories or so, so I'm sure it doesn't make that big a difference, but it just makes me feel better inside :)

    Other than that, though, I make a note in my diary about what happened that day that made me cheat, and just "forgive and forget". Tomorrow is a new day and I know I'll kick butt!

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