OK, so I have been unable to get under 181 for a month now (was down to 178 but it came back)... the other day I was out and about, hadn't eaten since breakfast so I had a slice of pizza and a pop. Next morning, to no surprise, I was up to 183. Yesterday I watched what I ate and this morning was down to 180.5.

do you find if you have a "Cheat day" once in awhile that it helps to move the scale?

Please give your thoughts!

Thanks!

I don't have any scheduled cheat days, but I do indulge in an off-plan day on special occasions. I think any diet plan that doesn't allow for an occasional cheat is just setting yourself up for eventually failure. As long as we stay on track the majority of the time, and get back on board right after a cheat, I don't believe it hurts at all.

I'm with Cottage though I have learned that there are some things I cannot cheat with ever without risking cravings. HFCS is my Achilles tendon. One shot and I'm off the deep end into crazy eating land so I avoid it always. My favorite occasional cheat is definitely full fat intensely flavored cheeses (think blue). I don't plan regular cheats but do take them on occasion.

i don't call it cheating. it's 'treating' it's a choice i make.

was that pop you had SF? if so I see no problem with a slice of pizza.

as i get farther and farther into my weight loss/get healthy journey I see more and more how modifications are critical to my success.

there are days I know i'm going to treat

my birthday
my anniversary/new years eve
christmas eve dinner if it's at my in-laws
thanksgiving (although it's at my house so i have more control)

also there are 'gaming nights' at our friends where i am MORE FLEXIBLE than normal....

i think it's cause my focus is not on what i weigh per se so much as how i feel and how healthy i'm getting.

To answer your question, NO, the Mugs Root Beer was not SF! ... But that was all I had op that day... .

What was nice was I didn't choose the peperoni and mushrooms, or the sausage, I chose a white sauce pizza with veggies... and I didn't enjoy it that much to cause cravings to rise, like the afore mentioned no doubt would of!!!

I'm with Nessa not so much cheats (which puts a neg connotation) but choices
The other night we went for Mexican it has our fave dessert I had smart choices for dinner Black bean soup and an app of garlic shrimp then 4 good sized bites of the dessert

oh see if you did not enjoy it why was it worth it?

for me a couple of slices of veggie pizza is yummy. I can't even drink regular soda anymore it's like drinking sugar water.

had you had no-calorie beverage in my mind you would have not even been that far off track.

please... pizza is an integral part of our lives and anyone who does not have it at least once in a while, does not like it and therefore can easily give it up.

and that's what today's daily dish is about

having those treats after eating a good meal.... it's all about choices.

Ah, Nessa, I do so enjoy pizza, a bit too much! I think the slice I had was OLD! Ah well, I was somewhat relieved that it didn't taste as good as reg pizza usually does!

I usually can't STAND pop, I take a sip and pour the rest down, so don't drink it. For some reason the root beer did hit the spot! But it's not something I keep in the house, nor do I usually opt to have when I'm out and about, usually order water! I swear something was possessing me that day!

I had one day a week where I would eat whatever I wanted. I found it kept me from plateauing. I steadily lost 10 lbs a month until I reached the weight I'm at now.

My weight hasn't moved at all in the past couple months, but it's because I cheated nearly everyday. Soon enough I'll get serious about the last 7 lbs and go back to cheating once a week.

I've really started to look forward to homemade ww crust pizzas. I can make dough in my bread maker and have enough pizza for a few lunches and I can put anything I want on them! I'm actually afraid of all the fat in restaurant pizza because I have found I get a belly ache from a lot of restaurant food now. Apparently my stomach is smarter than my brain sometimes

Sometimes, but it doesn't make me gain weight. I do it once in a while with a cinnabun mini at the mall, a half a slice of chocolate mousse cake when I go to the farmer's market or I'll eat a chocolate cookie after my meal at Subway...but this is all once in the blue. I call it rewarding myself for a job well done.

I'm with Cyndi - I enjoy making our favorite restaurant foods at home. Not only is it better for us, but cheaper and brings us together.

Anyway, no, I don't have scheduled cheat days when I'm on plan. I'm neurotic and I actually like finding ways to eat something so that it is on plan (veggie lasagna, ww pizza, etc.). The only times that I can forsee myself being a bit more lenient on what I will eat is a) at my birthday/anniversary dinner when we go to the churrascaria b) holidays....and I would be MUCH more willing to treat myself at the churrascaria than at holidays.

I sometimes decide I am going to have a 'treat' and do not feel guilty about it. The weird thing is I think I am going to enjoy my treat more than I do when having it.
That tells me I am not realy missing the things I used to have, they are a habit. Things like a packet of crisps ( chips) I had a low fat low salt packet and was really looking forward to them, but I did not enjoy them as much as I thought I would.
It was the same when we went out for a meal. We went to a place that has buffet style thing eat all you can. Well I had some lovely chicken and some wonderful salads that you can pick and choose what you have. Desserts looked wonderful so I had a piece of lemon cheesecake it was about 1 1/2 inches square. I thought I was going really enjoy it but did not I was far happier with the lovely fruit salad I chose served with yougurt and honey.
My taste buds must be changing as I would normally have gone back for more cheescake. What is happening to me? whatever it is I like it.

"Treating"- that's a better way of putting it. It's okay to treat yourself once in awhile, I think. Except when I've 'treated' 3 days in a row, and then it's just plain cheating!

Loriann, maybe you weren't eating enough calories causing your metabolism to drop and your weightloss to stall. Then when you ate the pizza, your metabolism went back up with the addition of some extra (although not overly excessive) calories.

Congratulations on getting down to 180! Don't give up. You're doing great. A lot of people find weight loss takes longer for them than others. You'll get there.