Yep, 'eating clean' is just shorthand for 'on plan'. Doesn't bug me too much although I don't use it anywhere but on these boards. Everywhere else, as said above, it would definitely sound a little weird!
I actually plan to eat clean today (turkey day) except I am leaving room for a little bit of pie.
I am just one for positive, euphamistic language... So I treat, not cheat. I find it's been helping me loads... I am trying to steer away from saying "I had a good day" and "I have a bad day" all due to the content of my food. I can have a good day and eat terribly and I can have a bad day and eat great. My food choices shouldn't in theory reflect my mood.
All or nothing thinking can be very harmful to WL and maintenance. I think letting go of my perfectionism has let me enjoy my weekly treat meal and if I eat something off plan, oh well, it happens, I can get back on track asap. This way of thinking has helped me drop 15lbs in the last 4 months and it's made me feel a whole lot better.
As for "clean" or "un-clean" -- isn't there an 8-second rule that applies here? (When you drop it, if it stays on the floor less than 8 seconds it's still considered edible?)
Luanne
I thought it was three seconds. Of course, my sister would say that on my kitchen floor, it wouldn't even be a millisecond!
Hey you guys - remember back in the Olden Daze when WW used the term "Legal"? First time I joined, I think I was 11 and all the 'legal' foods fit into a very small yellow booklet. Now, of course, I guess everything's 'legal'.
Back to the topic at hand - free/cheat/treat days. I've stated this before - I readily admit that back in early 2001, when I first read Body for Life, what mainly attracted me to the eating part of the plan was the free day concept, especially the way that Bill Phillips described it - you know, have a couple cinnamon buns for breakfast (I'm assuming he means those big ol' Cinnabons, which I have never tried but they smell wonderful when I walk past the store in the mall!), maybe 2 or 3 Big Macs, or a pizza. But like Mel the Free Day soon did more harm to me than good. My free day was on Sunday and that meant Sunday became devoted to eating just 'because I could' and I'd feel like ca-ca all day on Monday. Of course, *some* people would say that the ca-ca feeling would eventually wean you from the big pigout free day...and maybe for some folks that would be true - but ya know, I think of it this way - if an alcoholic goes on a major bender for a day and feels like s**t the next day, they'll say "I'll NEVER drink again!" but when the hangover wears off - the next weekend it happens again, to be repeated.
So nowadays - my treat meal is much more informal. On the weekend, Jim and I will usually go out for lunch or maybe an early dinner - no big deal - we usually opt for a burrito at Pancho Villa Taqueria or a hamburger at Jeffery's, something like that. And on Sundays, I usually have a lot of non-food activities planned (another part of my maintenance 'strategy' - stay busy!) such as yoga class, a Pilates reformer session, and/or spending time at the stables either riding or doing stuff like cleaning my tack...
I agree.. when I first started eating the BFL way, my 'free day' even when moderate was enough to make me feel yucky by the end of it. In a way, however, it helped me stay 'on plan' for the rest of the week due to that feeling. Now my 'free day' is much more moderate, just a lunch out with hubby and maybe a cookie or two. It's less for me about 'how much food can I cram in' and more about allowing a few things like french fries and sugar on rare occasions.
Thankfully I actually like the food I eat now, so for dinner on the weekends I actually look forward to a little oatmeal!
All things in moderation is how I approach 'treats' these days. I don't consider it 'cheating' or 'bad' since I agree with most of the posts that those are probably words to stay away from. I think of my new lifestyle as not being extreme or radical but just common sense.
I eat daily from mostly unprocessed foods, chosing lots of raw fruits and veggies and lean meat, etc. I think that most would consider my basic food intake to be 'clean'. Having said that, however, most weeks, I'll go out Saturday morning for breakfast and order scrambled eggs, canadian bacon, tomatoes and a slice of rye toast. Not exactly unprocessed but not likely to do my body unrepairable damage either! I'll sometimes have a small glass of wine after dinner too. I don't consider any of that 'cheating' but just part of a lifestyle that I've chosen and that I have no problem imagining for the rest of my life.
Like most people in this thread, I don't think my body would be too terribly happy with me if I had a big plate of fish and chips or some ooey-gooey cake and to be honest, I don't really want it.
Of course, none of my family or friends really understand why I eat the way I do and work out regularly LOL. My mother will often say, "Well, I guess you can't have that on your diet" and I've yet to convince her that its not a diet, and that it's not a case of can't have but don't want!
I agree with the language issue. I think how we frame things make a huge difference in the impact they have. I also dislike the cheat reference, and prefer to think of healthy choices versus less healthy choices. For me, it is a sliding scale. I try to stay toward the healthier end, because it is good for my weight, for my long term health and simply because I feel better when I do. That said, there is no cheating. There are simply choices that fall somewhere on that spectrum. I did weight watchers about a billion times in my life, and was sure to be the one to fit the most processed foods, carbs and junk into my points or allotted plan. When I rejoined the last time, I went in knowing I would use it for the tracking mechanism and support, but would be counting the foods I felt were on the healthier end of the scale, no matter what the program allowed. I like their new Core program and although I choose to track with the Flex, I try to stick to Core foods. It just makes sense to me. I also make it my own in many other ways, such as protein/carb/fat ratio, etc.
But I digress!
The whole cheat day concept does not work for me, simply because of what others have stated. The binge factor. I have a healthy respect for my binge tendencies and would not want to purposely start that ball rolling!
I tend to make my less than optimal food choices when I am away from home, on purpose. I choose not to bring food I have trouble controlling into my home. Besides, I really only want a taste, I don't want the whole thing, but if it is in my home it will call my name again and again until it is gone, and I won't even enjoy it.
So, for me, less than optimal food choices are "encounters" rather than days. I plan them in advance, I enjoy them, and they are done when they are done. I enjoy them, and when I have had enough, I stop. I don't have to eat the entire thing. I enjoy as much as it takes to satisfy the desire, and no more. I am often quite satisfied with a few bites, and at that point it kind of grosses me out to keep putting it in my mouth when the enjoyment factor is no longer as great.
I actually like the phrase cheat day, because it makes me feel naughty! I can't go off plan for a whole day. I used to have the one free day a week, but...
1.) I lose weight sooooooo slow anyway, a whole day's eating off plan just wiped out what I'd worked all week for.
2.) It was too disruptive to my system. By the time dinner was over, I was in a sugar coma. I had no energy, I felt sick to my stomach, and my digestive system got out of whack.
I do better eating off plan on a case by case basis. If something special comes up, I can go off plan and not feel bad about it. The longer I work at weight loss, the less I find reasons to eat off plan. It's nice to have the freedom to know I can eat off plan if I want. It isn't quite the forbidden fruit anymore. Something like drinking before I was 21 - I didn't really want it anymore once I was allowed!
I don't have specific cheat "days". But if I'm planning on going out somewhere special some evening, and I decide I'm going whole hog and going for the desert, I cut back on what I have throughout the day and save up the calories for it. So while kale and sauerkraut may not be the best tasting lunch, the cheesecake for dinner makes up for it.
My experiment with eating as much as I wanted on vacations was a disaster!
Back in March, my husband and I went on a long awaited vacation after his return from Kuwait. I exercised hard before we left and watched my calories closely. For the two week vacation, I felt like I would stay active and just not go overboard. After the first meal with wine, appetizer, dessert, entree and many pita breads, my appetite was unstoppable. I was ravenously hungry the entire trip. I readily gave in to falafels, ice cream covered with pistachios, middle eastern baklava type sweets that are soaked in clarified butter and filled with roasted nuts. I snacked on dates and walnuts. I knew this was all too much, but I was so hungry! After a mere two weeks, I put on 5 inches in my hips. It was torture to work it off.
So, I have found that if I overindulge too much, my body thinks that it has an opportunity to get back to its old weight. The one overindulgence either turns into days of problem eating or days of being really cranky and hungry. It's not worth it to me.
I'm envious of those who can indulge without suffering these consequences. Maybe when my body has adjusted to this new set point, I can do the same, but I'm not counting on it!
I forgot to add that "cheating" has another downside for me -- confusion of my husband, friends, and family. I was a pretty hedonistic cook and eater. My more restrained approach is a radical departure that my circle is still adjusting to. I don't talk about it, but they notice. If I ate the old way, it would just confuse everyone and prompt more offers of things I really don't want to eat or drink. I'm still training myself and my friends!
Since I am following WW Flexpoints system, there is no "cheat" day. The way WW handles those urges is to allow 35 extra points a week. Since I think of my food journal as a "checkbook" (you have x number of points for the day and, like the dollars in your checking account, when they are gone, they are gone), I think of the extra points as "overdraft protection". For instance, DH wanted to make something special for dinner last night. This dish is divine, even healthy, and a little "costly" in terms of points. But I had the extra points to cover the "overdraft" on my daily points. Lots of people don't use their extra points but I always have. I don't usually utilize all 35 extra points in a week but I have before. I try not to use them for junk foods. I try to use them for basically healthy stuff that is a little high in points (like nuts or extra milk) or something that represents a reasonable treat (like 3 points for a small flavored mocha from the vending machine vs. diving into the chocolate on someone's desk and untold possible damage to my points balance).
Of course, my sister would say that on my kitchen floor, it wouldn't even be a millisecond! 
I can't go off plan for a whole day. I used to have the one free day a week, but...
I snacked on dates and walnuts. I knew this was all too much, but I was so hungry! After a mere two weeks, I put on 5 inches in my hips. It was torture to work it off. 
