Who are you cheating when you “Cheat Eat”?
First what does the word “Cheat” mean?
1, to deprive of something valuable by the use of deceit or fraud
2, to practice fraud or trickery, 2b, to violate rules dishonestly
What am I depriving myself of if I have a cheat day or cheat moment? The first thing that comes to mind is Success. I am depriving myself of the opportunity to be successful. The second thing that comes to mind is Strength. I am losing the opportunity to build my willpower and become stronger and more able to make good choices. The third thing is Self Control. I am not in control when I am eating off of my plan.
How do I feel after I cheat? I feel I have let myself down; that I am not a good person that I may never be able to succeed at weight loss. Even when I have followed an allowed cheat plan, I never felt very good about it. It just feels wrong to me to treat myself badly. When I quite smoking I never allowed for days where I could smoke all I wanted; when I decided to stop gossiping I didn’t allow for a day when I could gossip all I wanted.
Am I the only person who feels like they have cheated themselves when they give in to the urge to “cheat”? I don’t think so; I have talked with many people about this and they all agreed that even when having a “planned” cheat day it never feels as good as you imagine it will. Does this mean that I never eat a potato chip or a chocolate bar? Well of course not!
I plan for these treats so they fit in with my eating plan. I make sure that I am getting the activity I need in my day and I make sure that I fulfill my nutrient needs and then I enjoy a big bowl of popcorn with real butter. Or I will go and choose 6 truffles from the best chocolate shop in town. Sometimes I enjoy 30 grams of potato chips with my sandwich. The point is that I never feel deprived and I never eat anything I do not enjoy. I think that is why it is so much easier for me this time around. Knowing that I can eat whatever I want whenever I want it makes life so much less stressful. I love eating and cooking and I never want to be a slave to food again. I am the master and I make the choices and my choice is to take care of myself in the best way possible.
Have I ever made a mistake and eaten past fullness or eaten more than my plan allows for? Oh of course I have, we all do sometimes. The difference for me this time is that I no longer use that as an excuse to make a week long binge of it. I no longer punish myself the following day by reducing my food intake. I simply resume my healthy lifestyle as quickly as possible.
I no longer need to feel guilty or punish myself when I make the occasional poor choice I forgive myself and move ahead. In living a healthy active life and eating for pleasure. I live guilt free.