It sounds like common sense to me. I agree with everything you've written, except I prefer not to use the word "cheat" to describe a phenomenon I consider just part of life.
I hope you were being honest when you said any comments are appreciated because mine are not positive.
Not to be a nit picker but when you make statements like "Very sadly, this one of the biggest reasons why people don't lose weight." I have to wonder based on what research are you making this statement or is it just how you personally feel. My opinion is that people "cheat" a little and then say screw it and go full boat. One cookie turns into 8 cookies not due to guilt but because they justify their behavior since they're already off plan. But - maybe you're right. I would avoid such sweeping statements.
You go on to say:
"3. Drink water. Drinking water will help with the water retention from whatever meal you ate. Remember not to overdo it, drinking too much water is not good for the body. Keep it to 2 litres"
Again - based on what research are you making this statement? Eating an off plan meal may very well cause a release of water if one has been retaining it - who is to say that "cheating" will cause water retention in the first place? A "cheat meal" will often increase glycogen stores but that is not "water retention" that is energy storage.
I could go on picking your blog article apart but I'm not trying to do that - I'm just giving you feedback that if you're going to write and article that gives advice it should be accurate and educational. Not annedotal.
I hope you were being honest when you said any comments are appreciated because mine are not positive.
Not to be a nit picker but when you make statements like "Very sadly, this one of the biggest reasons why people don't lose weight." I have to wonder based on what research are you making this statement or is it just how you personally feel. My opinion is that people "cheat" a little and then say screw it and go full boat. One cookie turns into 8 cookies not due to guilt but because they justify their behavior since they're already off plan. But - maybe you're right. I would avoid such sweeping statements.
You go on to say:
"3. Drink water. Drinking water will help with the water retention from whatever meal you ate. Remember not to overdo it, drinking too much water is not good for the body. Keep it to 2 litres"
Again - based on what research are you making this statement? Eating an off plan meal may very well cause a release of water if one has been retaining it - who is to say that "cheating" will cause water retention in the first place? A "cheat meal" will often increase glycogen stores but that is not "water retention" that is energy storage.
I could go on picking your blog article apart but I'm not trying to do that - I'm just giving you feedback that if you're going to write and article that gives advice it should be accurate and educational. Not annedotal.
I have to agree with this. Sorry Kate I hope that doesn't hurt your feelings. I don't cheat though anyways. Cheating scientifically causes you to lose a little less because you're eating more so... BUT Otherwise I did really like your article!
Last edited by wolfgirl69; 04-18-2013 at 12:51 PM.
Ah, I don't know, but I consider my diet an open relationship. Veggies are equal to donuts. It's the guilt that used to send me into a tailspin, not the food.
I completely agree though that it's often not the disaster we make it out to be! In the past I spent SO much time and effort on trying to be perfect, that I had nothing left to give to being good enough. I still see a lot of people doing the same, and it's sad to see. Focussing on just being good enough and forgetting about perfection makes all the "disasters" seem so tiny.
And I don't care how often I'm told that cake/chocolate/whatever is "a guilty pleasure / bad / sinful / devilish / temptation / etc"... I don't believe any of that BS. Sure, it tastes nice, and the sugar rush is pleasurable, but the rest is just marketing cr*p! It's JUST FOOD. One cake doesn't undo a healthy lifestyle just like one salad doesn't undo an unhealthy one.
So there's my intuitive eating perspective. I'll probably get tomatoes thrown at me for that, but... There it is, regardless.
Out of that rant, the short version of what I meant to say was:
1. I think a lot of the temptation/guilt paradigm around "nutritionally non-optimal" foods is media generated to increase sales; and
2. I agree that things are pretty much never as bad as we make them out to be.
As with anything, not all the advice that you wish you had taken in your own personal pursuits applies to everyone, so no matter what you write some people will disagree with you.
Overall your post makes sense, I don't personally believe in diets or cheats or snacks but I like the message of encouraging people to think about what they do, not allow themselves to get ravenous/hangry if they are susceptible to making regrettable choices, and for scale watchers who aren't good at accepting daily fluctuations and the like, not weighing and compounding your guilt after a "cheat."
The 2L a day water thing is just plain wrong though. A psychologically and physically healthy person who drinks more than 2L of water in a day is really not in any danger of water intoxication/hyponatremia - heatstroke, MDMA use and mental illnesses are different of course.
"Cheating" IS detrimental to my diet because if I blow my deficit, I blow my deficit.
Part of my deficit includes a giant chunk of dark chocolate (15g fat!) every night after dinner, included within my 1800 calories (a 500 calorie deficit for me). Because of that, I always look forward to my treat and don't go off plan. Eating a handful of nuts not in my plan because I'm hungry??? That would be blow it.... ( there's probably less fat and calories in the office donut!)
i happen to agree with most of what you said, at least it does ring true with MY results at losing 100 pounds (even without a scale). However the water intake recommendation with most weight loss advice offered out there is not fact based but it does help with superficial cravings to drink liquids, obviously preferably no calorie liquids as sometimes we are thirsty rather than hungry. I do like the fact that you said don't drink too much, maybe you can clarify further that massive water intake =/= fat loss.
I DO plan a cheat day. And despite consuming many calories on that cheat day i still have managed to steadily lose. I just get back "on plan" the rest of the week and stick to it. However you may add a disclaimer that this may not work for every one and very well may lead to weight loss sabotage for some or maybe most.
Losing weight successfully and keeping it off differs for everyone. Sure at it's most basic form it is calories in and calories out (which you may want to emphasize more on your blog, as a lot of the uninformed think they can out exercise bad eating) but there is many way to go about it and one just has to determine what works FOR THEM. But over all i think your basic information is helpful
I like the sentiment, and helpfulness, of your blog.
I don't agree with quite a few bits of it. That's what is so great about losing weight though, there's no one way to go about it (well, other than the fact that you have to eat in a deficit to lose fat). There's as many opinions as there are people. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for all your comments, good and bad. My feelings aren’t hurt, I understand that we all have our own views on losing weight.
I also understand that there are many people out there that post absolute rubbish about weight-loss. And that wasn't my intention at all. I don't want to seem stupid or that I don't know what I'm talking about.
A lot of what I wrote is based on my opinion, but I do have to specifically apologise for the water thing - some research was definitely needed there, and I shouldn't have stated a number if I was unsure.
Overall, the post was supposed to be fun and friendly. And perhaps relate to other people who struggle with temptations. I blog to try encourage others to lose weight and let them know they aren't alone, regardless of if they have 100lbs to lose or 15lbs like me.
Anyway, thanks everyone again. Your support is appreciated.
Kate - I'm not going to comment on the contents of your blog post since I'm not a dieter, but I'd like to make a suggestion regarding its appearance.
Although It appears you're going for a certain look, you might want to reconsider using the script font, as it is somewhat difficult to read. At least it is for me, and I suspect I'm not the only one.
Edited to add: Now that I'm looking at your blog on my desktop I see it's a different font. Easier to read than the script, but still somewhat difficult. It's showing up as script on my iPad.
Last edited by SouthernMaven; 04-19-2013 at 11:03 AM.
I personally have my diet structured so that there is no such thing as cheating. I have a range of calories that I stick within, and nothing is actually forbidden. I just try and keep my average net calories over a week at a certain level. So if I want chocolate cake one day a week, I have it. I may have to cut back a little the next day or so, or squeeze in another workout, but it is all about balance. This is the way I would want to maintain, so that is the way I diet.
Cheating on your diet
