Somehow I think we might be making this more complicated than it is! I guess the way I see it is this:
1. If your eating plan allows flexibility with respect to food choice, and you haven't ruled any food out, and you eat within your eating plan guidelines, then you haven't cheated.
2. If you are on a restrictive diet or HAVE ruled foods out, or have rules about the comsuption of certain foods, anything outside of that guideline is a "cheat".
So, for Ms Drina -- her plan allows for her to up her calories once a week, and calls it a "re-feed" and it includes those foods that she chooses to eat.
Ms RockinRobin and Ms Cfmama have foods that are definitely off-limits for whatever reason, and to include these would be definitiely a "cheat". And to eat certain foods outside of their eating plan guidelines is definitely a "cheat".
But, for me, the bottom line is this: IF you have diet rules (what and how much) you will NOT benefit from going outside them "once a week". Off-limit foods, such as trigger foods, are off-limits for a reason, and to think you can partake of them and control their intake once a week is, to me, well, a fantasy! It just doesn't happen. This is why we got big in the first place!
And the other issue kind of not addressed here is that the approach of "diet for 6 days, cheat day on the 7th" indicates, to me, that one has not taken a lifestyle change approach. One may take of the pounds but I'll bet dollars to donuts (just had to mention donuts!) that once "off the diet", one will eat more and more and more of the foods that got one into trouble in the first place. This is why diets don't work, but lifestyle changes do. As seen by Ms Meg, Ms RockinRobin, Ms Cfmama, Ms Heather, and all the other successful maintainers on this thread...
Kira
Last edited by kiramira; 06-01-2009 at 01:46 PM.
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