Location: Smack dab in the middle, Newfoundland, Canada
Posts: 668
S/C/G: 203.4/170.4/140.0
Height: 5'0"
I still feel like I'm "cheating"....
I joined WW on January 26, and since then I've lost fifteen pounds. I really like WW, because I feel like I don't have to give anything up, per se....I know that everything can fit into the program and that nothing is really "off-limits".
Having said that...I still feel like I'm cheating when I have a craving for, say, a Snickers bar, and "give in" to it. I know that technically, that Snickers bar is not something I'm "not allowed" to have, but it still feels like cheating for some reason. Even though I've gone from eating a bag of potato chips and two or three chocolate bars a day to having one bag of chips and one chocolate bar a week, and even though I know I can either fit it into my daily points or use my 49 weekly Flex Points.
Does anyone else feel this way? And if so, have you managed to get over it? I feel like I need to get over the...well, the only way I can really describe it is guilt! I need to stop feeling as though a weekly treat is going to destroy everything I've worked for so far.
Hopefully I'm not the only one who's experienced this!
im sure everyone feels like this at some point. I feel bad after i eat a publix sub (but damn they're good). but this is where the WW comes into play. Its realistic. You go to the store, and you see millions of things you want to eat.. when you tell yourself "no. I cant have that" what do you do? you want it... and when you get it. You overindulge.
it's just a mindset. And if you're eating that snickers and loosing weight still, then its working for you?
i feel bad eating white pasta.. but i take it from my weekly allowance. My inlaws make good pasta, i like it, i want it, and i dont want to be rude. Why not eat it?
I never feel like i am cheating... i sometimes get the feeling of guilt tho. I dont care for that very much, i know i usually feel it when i have a night where i am going to spend my weekly points on a dinner of some sort. So now, i dont do that if i can help it. I will save my weekly points and just have them there as a cushion through out the week so if i go over by a point or 2 because i REALLY wanted something extra that was slightly out of reach, i will have it. I dont spend activity points either. I dont like trying to figure out how much i have earned point wise from activity since it is self perceived acheivement (atleast thats how i understand it from the book). Unless it is a certain amt of cals = points.
I think this is why WW works. This isn't a diet, it is a lifestyle change. And realistically you are going to have a snickers bar from time to time. This morning I had a pancake breakfast with my very skinny fiancée, and even though I felt guilty at first I told myself it was a special treat, not a daily occurrence. Did I use a ton of points--yes. But that was my choice. Last week I had pizza and beer one night for a friend's birthday and still lost 3 pounds. The weekly points work--so don't feel guilty! Feel proud that you are making choices for yourself instead of just caving to food!
I also know how you feel, Snoofie.
Sometimes I eat a chocolate bar that I've budgeted into my PP and I think, "I can't have this!"... but I can. I just can't have three of them like I used to. It's all in the moderation and portion sizes. We can all make good choices!
Thank you all so much for the support. It's good to know that others often feel the same way I do about "cheating."
I knew this was a good community to join! I'm already reaping the benefits of having added support from people who are in the same place I am.
I cant even begin to tell you how much these boards give me motivation on this program. Its the greatest thing. My boyfriend thinks i am obsessed about weight watchers and points and food and eating and what not. He is following it with me at home anyhow. I feel like i dont even have him to talk to about it... so its nice to come here to chat with people who care. I love everyone :P
I think exactly that keeps you on track! If you weren't allowed (or wouldn't allow yourself) some treats or going out for dinner with friends, what are the chances of sticking with it? You can't be a 100% strong (or perfect) all the time. WW is very flexible and easy to adjust with a little planning. Nobody knows that I am on a diet because it is so flexible. And then people are baffled that you are losing weight without visible changes in your eating habits (they only see a small part of you eating!).
WW is no diet in my opinion, it is a change of behaviour and one that you can live on forever. Diets are usually not something long term.
SO much of it is a mental game. Of accepting and realizing that it IS okay to eat the Snickers or those foods other diets tell you you're not supposed to eat. But that's what makes this so different: it's not a diet but it really is a lifestyle change.
That being said, I know exactly how you feel. I sometimes have little treats like that. Even just this past weekend I went out to dinner with family and we all split one piece of cheesecake. So I had, like, 1/4 a single slice of cheesecake. I had the points available to me and I counted the points but I still felt so guilty about eating it, even though I KNOW it was okay to do so.
I'm still feeling guilty about eating a very small piece of my friend's birthday cake last week. I counted the points, I had them to use, and yet I feel guilty. I know I shouldn't. I did well at my weigh-in yesterday. The whole thing is a huge battle. But just remember, you're eating so much better than you did before, you said it yourself. Be proud of yourself, indulge when you need to, and keep it up!
I have only been doing WW for 6 weeks now, so I can't say if that feeling goes away...but I definitely know the feeling.
And even though it is working well for me too I still wonder from the back of my mind whether I can sustain the losses in the long run while I feel like I'm being "bad".
I have associated good tasting food with guilt for so long it will be a hard habit to break. But I have to remember that's my issue, and it doesn't mean the plan is
It does almost seem to good to be true lol. But isn't that GREAT?!?! I have never imagined that I could have the stuff I love and still be losing weight. I think the major point here is that we don't have to feel guilty...it's all about being reasonable and accountable by keeping track. If I'm not keeping track, I can easily eat a ton of junk without really having any idea how bad the damage is.
I still feel like I'm "cheating"....
It's good to know that others often feel the same way I do about "cheating."
