Cheated... Get back on the horse

  • Well, I went out for lunch. I had it in my head that I would eat soup and a sandwhich, when I got there, I convinced myself that since it's my birthday, I could cheat. I ended up getting a greasy sandwhich and poutine and a glass of wine. This is my problem, I always think I have rationalized why it's ok to over eat or eat wrong "I rarely get a chance to eat sutffing", "it's my bday", "it's Easter", "It's been a bad day"....
    Anyone else do this?
  • Awww... come one a birthday, don't you think you can cheat on your birthday? HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOO!!!!!!

    I believe we can't be perfect all the time - and that if we are that afraid of a cheat day - then still plan SOME, Easter, Birthdays, Thanksgiving.

    If you have to plan ahead, don't eat many carbs leading up to Holidays or your Birthday. And cut back the next day. Or exercise a little more the following days.

    Life is about enjoyment too for goodness sake, but that's ME and I'm not as thin as I'd like to be because I'm having some enjoyment here and there too.
  • I'm not as bad now as I used to be with justifying my bad meals. Before, I'd go grab an order of deep fried mozzarella cheese sticks as an afternoon snack on the hard days at work, and tell myself I deserved it.

    And I still like the occasional bad snack...but I work around it better. For example, Tuesdays at work are always stressful and there's usually some form of chocolate lying around (my #2 weakness, after fried food). So I'll allow myself the calories for a couple of little mini hershey bars, and move on with my day. And drink a LOT more water than normal. If I'm hungry it's my own fault for cheating with bad for me, empty calories, rather than something like fruit or other healthy stuff.

    But yes, I still have those times of justification.


  • It's a speedbump. What matters is what you do next. You control your next choice.
  • Happy Birthday!

    That said, I think what you mean is that you can come up with justification to overeat just about every time you're in a restaurant. Is that correct? If so, then this really is a mental habit that you'd do well to break.

    Your body doesn't care whether it's your birthday, Christmas, the 4th of July, your great-nephew's graduation from daycare, or whatever--if you consistently overeat, you'll consistenly gain weight.

    Make a deal with yourself. Plan ahead. Decide ahead of time as much as possible exactly what you're going to have when you go out, and then stick with your choice. It's not the last meal on earth, and you'll have other opportunities to choose any old food you like. But for right now, since you want to lose weight, stay with your plan.

    The other thing to watch out for is alcohol. For some people, all it takes is half a drink, and suddenly the deep fried cheese appetizer seems like a good idea. So then, not only are there the empty alcohol calories, but the fat and carb calories as well.

    Hang in there! One birthday doesn't "ruin" anything!

    Jay
  • Happy Birthday, Mason!
  • Thanks for the bday wishes and thanks for some great input. Jay said it well telling me it won't be last meal on earth! I'll try to keep that in mind. Nothing tastes as good as thin feels right?
  • happy birthday!!! i would have done the same thing. for me, birthdays are the exception. but i don't have any other ones. i generally don't eat because of a bad day or because it's the weekend or whatever. i think i've finally got it through my head that the food just honestly does not make me feel better whatsoever...it almost always makes me feel 100% worse. but i know some people get great comfort from food.

    now that you've celebrated just get back on the horse. you can totally do this. and it's going to be so worth it.
  • Okay...I am going to go against the flow for a minute and explain why I do the same thing...

    For me, I have made the decision to get rid of the fat forever. This truly is a "life style change." So, I do not go cold turkey or refuse a dessert on a special occasion because I want this to be a "plan" I can do for the rest of my life. Maybe down the road I will abstain from these treats, but for now I feel like there are going to be many holidays and occasions throughout my journey and I want to keep a sensible approach. I know me--I like celebrations.

    Does that make sense? (It sounded so much better in my head.)

    That said, I do write everything down and keep track of every morsel--if I don't know I over-estimate. After a few celebratory meals I have really thought--"Wow! That was so NOT worth it." Other times it has been really worth it.

    I guess the big thing for me is that even though I "Cheat" I have changed my way of thinking. "Food" is no longer the celebration; it s just a small part of enjoying my time.

    Okay, this was so rambly I would not even post it, except that I need 15 more posts to get that darn signature! Haha!