Sport Cheating

Sport Fitness
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sparrow

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I'm curious to know how many of you have a cheat and when? Do you have a cheat meal or a cheat day...what does it look like? Post cheat meals or reasons for not cheating. I know people either feel strongly one way or the other about cheating...I'd love to hear it..
 
I don't consider it cheating or not cheating. I count calories and that is it. If I want to eat a piece of candy, I do and it comes out of my daily total. I am specific about what my daily totals are though, so I keep my calories at a certain level and make sure my fat intake is no more than 30% in a day, 25% in a week and saturated fats are no more than 1/3 of that percentage. I found that if I told myself I couldn't have something, I would binge. And badly. But if I decided I could have a big greasy hamburger if I wanted to as long as I ate veggies the rest of the day I made wiser choices. So no big greasy burgers for me, but not because I can't. Really it is the same basic psychology I use on my kids, making the right choice more appealing, but still having a choice.
 
I cheat when my judgement is at it's worst. Late at night, or worse in the middle of the night. :eek: When I'm tired or emotional. I buy things for my kids and then I eat them too. But, I find that I can't cheat if I don't have the junk in the house.
 
I cheat when I'm stressed or when I think nobody is watching me. It usually comes back to bite me in the a@@. I've cheated enough this week. Monday is a beginning of a new week.
 
That's exactly the thing though! Once someone screws up they tell themself that it is automatically ok to eat bad the rest of the day!

NO it is not!

A new day doesn't have to be the start of you eating good again.
So you have a donut. Big deal. After that, did the donut make you feel good or guilty? GUILTY!

Therefore, don't wait until Monday to clean up your act. Do it the same day. One bad thing isn't going to have HUGE, MASSIVE effects, it's the idea that it is ok to keep eating that way the rest of the day because you already messed up.

Seriously, get in gear. What's more important? A moment of pleasure, or health for longterm?

Sorry if it came of mean, but sometimes I just have to tell myself, "Hey fatty, get away from that donuty right now. How would that look on your stomach?"

I'm so serious.
 
Come on now

I guess what I was going for is.. do none of you PLAN to be "bad"? I mean I eat so clean all week just so one day a week I can let up a little. I enjoy eating healthfully, its not really a chore to be "good". I like the way I feel and look and I feel in control. When I actually plan to cheat there is NO guilt, even if I feel momentarily crappy. Its planned and its kind of a relief to let down my control for a meal or two knowing I'm just going to get back up on that wagon right away. I don't feel deprived and if I have some random craving in a week I know I can "get it out of my system" for my cheat meal and the food is then easily put out of my mind. It makes the weeks practically craving free knowing if I WANT to cheat a certain I can...but in the meantime I'm going to eat well. I know there are some who are so dogmatic about NOT cheating one little bit...that "if your body is getting all it needs it won't feel like you need to 'cheat' because you aren't depriving yourself" yada yada. I'm not on that page. Thats so boring.
 
I do :D I cheat every week. On a Saturday night (tonight, yay :) ) I will have a few beers and I will have Steak & Chips (thats fries to you Americans) with a creamy peppercorn sauce.

Its not just because I have no willpower, there is a logic to my cheating ways. The first bit of logic is my sanity - I couldn't eat clean every day of the year, my diet is not an all-consuming thing for me (no pun intented, lol)

Secondly, and probably more importanly, my cheat meal actually HELPS my fat loss. Yes, you heard me right, it helps! If my body thought it was only ever going to get the calories it gets during the week, it would gradually become more efficient at using them and, ultimately, I would require fewer calories to do the same things. Therefore, if I consume a greater amount one day fo the week, I trick my body into thinking that there is no need to get used to the lower calorie count.
 
I cheat, too. Since I'm not trying to prepare for any sort of competition, and this is simply a lifestyle, I give myself a little room to breathe. Same as Chris ... a weekend night out to dinner with friends or family with no rules. I like to keep it on a Saturday night because then a few drinks won't effect my training (I'm off on Sunday).
 
Ummm cheating. Let's see. Vanilla ice cream. Chinese food. Occasional beer. Of course in moderation. A dab here or there. Except when I go out for the chinese food, then I know I eat a bit too much :( But as I said it's not very often. And your cheats, sparrow ??
 
Interesting post. I eat good all week, but when I want something- I eat it. for me it's all about eating well 90% of the time. If I crave a piece of chocolate then I have it.

I've found some people can control cravings and others cannot. So for some people having a pre-planned cheat day or a cheat meal is healthy. Different strokes for different folks :D
 
ah yes that was more what I was talking about. Steak and chips with beer ChrisJG that rocks! I am new to cheats and I'm still leary since I am affected psychologically still with what the scale says (i know i know) I always feel like if it goes up I will not be able to get it back down. I did my first cheat last Sunday and it was a massive chipotle burrito with the works. it has been YEARS since eating something "normal" (non rabbit food). if you've followed my diary you'll see i'm recovering from years in starvation mode. anyway, it was so liberating. today I had my first hamburger in years (pathetic eh?) along with birthday cake and ice cream. I dont' have a hard time getting back to my diet after cheating. I reallllly look forward to the weekends now though! i can eat clean as long as I know I can do that once a week. As for my body fat and weight. I had no problem last week. i hover atr 129-130 all week and last cheat I went up a pound and then down 2 during the course of the week. I also use my cheats to jumpstart increased calories for the week following the cheat. I'm only at 1300 but thats double what I was consuming when I started trying to increase! I'm checking my bf this next week. we'll see. I've been working hard. its a fine balance increasing cals, keeping steady weight and intoducing once "forbidden foods". hard.
 
If I do not cheat at least once a week I will never succeed with losing weight. I try to cheat on the same day every week, normally Tuesdays since Monday's are normally my best workout day. I do not over do it, just get a little sweets in. Got have some carbs every now and then!

Tracy,
 
Hey this was also something I was wanting to know too ...

I also have a hard time letting myself cheat if I have no obvious 'reason' like my birthday...and I wouldn't even let myself have a piece of cake on that day unless it was a half serving and with no real sugar in it .... and no frosting...no ice cream.....pretty much NO enjoying it.

I hate that about myself. I never enjoy my food EVER.

It really sucks ya know? :eek:

I read this and thought all the people who wrote that they DO let themselves have these splurges are actually the most successful at their personal goals.

I really need to learn to do this once in a while.

I call my 'cheats' things like watermelon on the weekends..or half a graham cracker is a cheat...

how can I get over this? I told myself the other day I was gonna have some ice cream....then I went and had the exact serving on the tub of ice cream-measured it and all-and made sure it was fat free and with no real sugar and had the absolute least amount of calories and carbs and sugar possible in the entire STORE...sometimes I wonder why I even work out if I am not going to be able to eat normally ever again....

and then my mind tells me that society is all about money.....all those yummy treats are crazy for anyone to eat anyway they are FORBIDDEN and I would be atotal TOOL if I succombed to the industry by buying and eating those foods.....god I am such an idiot. I have to learn to quit punishing myself or how will I ever enjoy my life???
 
My body responds best when I have a cheat meal once every 3 weeks or so. I used to have one once per week however it slightly stalled my progress.
 
Hey Jaymie, I'm certainly no expert on any subject in here but I have done a cheat DAY twice now and each time I did it I started the day up at a higher weight (131-132) and after the first day of chipotle and burger king and the other cheat of 2 hamburgers, chips and multiple servings of cake and ice cream I was back down (both times) into my 130's. I lose EVERY time and I also don't exercise on those days. Before I was so detailed with diet and training I noticed this about myself too. I often lose when I go on vacation somewhere and eat "forbidden" foods. even when I went on a cruise and ate everything under the sun and hardly exercised for a week I came back 3 pounds lighter than when I left! Its when I CARE that I actually gain weight. whats up with that? I say TRY a cheat. Try just a cheat MEAL that you have wanted for a long time and see what happens? the worst? you gain a pound or two of water weight and go back to regular eating and it comes off. At least you'll have enjoyed some REALLY yummy food!
 
God... how long since my last cheat? I can't remember, must be months. Since I am no expert in nutrition and refuse to count my calories because I'm lazy I can't afford to cheat very much. In fact I almost never do. I'm not sure what is better.. weighing, counting, taking apart everything you eat but have more variety - or sticking to healthy food only and being able to estimate your needs properly. For me it's the latter... right now! Who knows, maybe I want a piece of cake again some time.
 
Man, I envy all of you who can cheat and get right back on plan!! I've tried it (too many times!) and one cheat day always leads to a week!

Sandy
 
i don't like to have a cheat day either because i feel like i have a hangover the next day its like my body gets a shock if i eat to much sugar or fat.

i used to be addicted to chocolate really bad it was my only weakness ( i mean like a family block of chocolate i could get through ) it didnt work if i told myself i cant have it as what i cant have is what i want so i started to tell myself i dont like choc any more and it worked, i dont crave it anymore.

so if you find it hard to control those cravings try telling yourself you just dont like it anymore you only like the food thats good for you.:)
 
Actually that's exactly the way it is for me. ;)
I'm constantly trying to learn though so I can broaden my food choices... there are people nourishing perfectly that do eat a piece of cake, a honey bread etc. from time to time - but they have just the right timing because they know.
 
Hey! guys,
When It comes to cheating I believe that it's an individual thing - some people can get away with cheating several times a week and still obtain great results. For the rest of us mortals -- we have to watch almost everything that we take into our bodies. I would say to learn more about your body and how it responds -- portion size is really the key.

Dazz39
 
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