Does anyone else hate this word in relation to calorie counting/weight loss?

For me, I'm eating to lose weight, yes, and to get healthy. However, my calorie counting isn't a crash diet and my eating plan is one that I intend to be sustainable forever. As I've read/heard so many times, it's intended to be a lifestyle change, not a diet.

As such, "cheating" is like nails on a chalkboard to me. I can plan any.thing into my day. That's my entire intent here, to not deprive myself of anything but to learn to eat everything in moderation. And if I go off-plan for the day (which has been the plan somedays), I don't consider it "cheating." Who am I cheating? Myself? I don't get that. Absolutely not. Some days are going to be better than others, and if I'm staying true to myself and my focus, and if I'm not making a habit of off-plan days, well, then, I'm just following my sustainable weight loss plan.

Sorry, it's just a pet peeve of mine in regards to weight loss. Just because I eat a cookie, or a muffin, or have seconds at dinner or something, doesn't mean I'm cheating.

I totally agree with you. Sometimes I go over my target calories on purpose. I don't think of it as cheating. If i has such a strict plan that I could never have a cookie (ONE cookie, not the whole box!) I could never keep it up long term. If I thought I had blown it over one serving of mac n cheese or pizza....I would be doomed .

I calorie count for a reason. That means, for me, I can have whatever I want as long as I don't go over my calories for the day or week if I've saved because I know something is coming up. If I was doing a strict program like Jenny Craig or something, I could see someone saying I was cheating if I went off plan, but calorie counting allows for anything if that's all you do, IMO.

Another thought I have is that, if it's working for me, how exactly is that cheating? If I can eat a slize of pizza once a week and still lose an average of 2 lbs per week....what's wrong with that?

I read this and all I could hear in my head was "AMEN, SISTER!" That's exactly how I feel about all of this. If it works for you, you aren't cheating. PERIOD!

I always assume that when someone says they "cheated" they mean they didn't record it/are pretending it didn't happen. To me, "cheating" has the connotation of dishonesty. That is a very bad habit, because you body counts everything, and it's easy to underestimate how often you "cheat"--you might think you cheat once a month, but if you recorded it and looked at it, you'd see it's more like once every 10 days or so.

A "CHEAT meal" to me is a meal that does not comply with my "normal/usual" perimeters of a healthy eating plan...an "off-plan" meal, if you will. It's a meal that you allow yourself once in a while. It's symantics really...because if you "regularly" allow it, then it's no longer a "CHEAT", but a normal regular part of your diet.

Living off pizza's and soda is a CHEAT IMHO...because you would be CHEATING your body of valuable nutrients and antioxidants. But then I'm NOT of the mindset that I can eat whatever nutrient deficient foods I want all day so long as I meet a certain "calorie amount"... That would seem like a huge CHEAT to your bones, heart, liver, pancreas, nervous system, etc. They all need valuable NUTRIENTS to function properly.

That's true, butI couldn't not survive on my calorie count it it was only pizza

My plan is to count my calories. If that means 3 days of pizza and beer, so be it. It's not a cheat to me or my body. Pizza does have nutrients. It has sauce, which is a veggie; cheese, which is always good and contains calcium and proteins; toppings, which could be grilled chicken and veggies or some other protein. The point for some of us is that calories are calories some days and on those days, it's not cheating as long as we're within our calorie count. For me, being told what is on plan goes against the plan I've chosen.

Count me in as another who hates that term. I'd love to dispose of "being bad" or "being good" at the same time. At the risk of coming off a little judgmental, I think it all sounds so childish: "Ooh, I think I'm going to be bad and cheat on my diet! *giggle, giggle!*" "Tee hee, I was sooo bad last night that I cheated with some brownies!"

I'm a grown-*** woman, I make choices, some of which are more in line with my goals than others, but it's not "being naughty" or "cheating." I grew out of that kind of behavior when I stopped trying to cheat at Monopoly in grammar school.

I don't just dislike saying it myself, it actually rankles me to hear others use such infantilizing language. Life is not a "Cathy" comic strip. Definitely a pet peeve of mine.

Indeed! Especially on the "being naughty" bit.

I dont know...I feel like it's called cheating because you are cheating your body out of nutrients. Our bodies actually need those nutrients and crave them when we are in perfect condition. I used to be superfit in what the Army would call "deployable" condition. I remember all too well that when I am in "perfect" condition my body actually craves what it needs. I remember 3 weeks before deployment, after weeks in the middle of the woods, we all went out and had burgers, fries and coke. We spent the next 2 days throwing it all up. I actually used to crave veggies when I was low on energy. That's just how it is.

Dont get me wrong I am all for cheating but I call it what it is because I remember what it is like to not physically be able to cheat because my body would not accept that sort of food.

Like an expensive, well made car craves premium petro...giving it regular will ruin the tank. We need to eat like Ferraris ladies! (lol)

I totally agree. The idea of "cheating" carries with it a connotation of not being able to make choices for yourself. I chose to make a lifestyle change that allows me the most flexibility in my choices of food/drink/exercise. Eating a brownie is not a cheat or a naughty behavior - it's a choice.

I hate it too...that and the word DIET!!!

EXACTLY.

I, too, hate the word "diet."