Cheat days? Reward meals?

Posted on April 20, 2015

What's the deal with cheat days? I can't say that I've ever been on board with that idea. In my brain, I have rationalized my food choices as follows: I choose to make the very best choice for my body at every opportunity. It's a simple approach. When I open my refrigerator, the choices are quite healthy so I end up having a garden salad topped with chicken. When I am at my sister's for dinner, I take a small serving of the main dish, load up on veggies and drink lots of water. When we go to our favourite (CND spelling) BBQ joint for a special event, I have my beloved brisket wrap with a garden salad instead of the fries. You get the picture.

This had been working very well since April 1st. I was making awesome choices, and I was so pleased with myself I was in danger of turning into a peacock. And then things kind of took a little detour, perhaps a somewhat more scenic route than it should have been. On Friday, we went out for my hubby's birthday (comedy club followed by a shared small thin crust pizza). I was pleased with that choice considering he could have chosen any restaurant he wanted. On Saturday, we went to a large craft show and to a bridal show with my bride-to-be sister. Sample dips, chocolates, honey, cupcakes, sandwishes, soups abounded! I sampled some honey because I was looking to get a nice unpasteurized honey. I felt I earned another pat on the back for that one. On Sunday, I think things went a little off the rails after visiting an open house some distance away from our home. Hubby suggested that stop at a chip stand with a great reputation in that area we visited. I should have told him that I was happy to have him try them, but that I was okay without the fries. I didn't. I enthusiastically agreed that this was a good idea. Hubby suggested that we share a small fry. I, on the other hand, insisted on getting my own large fry "as a special treat". He went along with that, but I'm sure he was surprised. The fries were delicious, even though I'm more of a poutine kind of gal. A few hours after we returned home I wanted a plate of nachos. I thought about it for a while and remembered the 'cheat day' idea. I'd already had fries so the day was a bit of a write off - so why not have nachos as well? Oh, it's a slippery slope once we try to justify our poor food choices, isn't it? It didn't take long for me to cave. I had nachos. In hindsight, I wish I had taken more time to make them the way that I really like'em - in the oven instead of the cop-out microwave method. In my defense, I was in a mega hurry because I didn't want to miss a moment of the Ottawa Senators attempting to defeat the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League playoffs. That didn't end well either, but that's a whole other story...

Anyway, I've come to realize from that experience that I need to keep myself on a short leash. I will strive to remember the story of the fry-greased slippery slope in order to avoid making the same mistake in the future.

I am not perfect. I do not expect myself to be. But I owe it to myself to learn from my ever-so-slightly-less-wise-than-usual decisions.

Do any of you have any good ways to talk yourself out of having foods that should be off limits? I could use a few tips in my back pocket. :-)

Comment Now!

Babygirl

05/21/2015 1:41PM

For myself...I usually don't place myself off limits to the foods I enjoyed when I was obese. At first thought it would be a difficult journey to not binge on fries, chocolate, pizza, and chips. But seemingly, as I grew and look back, this had me question that I have been very disciplined in over indulging in unhealthy foods. I used to eat whole pizzas from papa johns, whole bags of candy, bags of chips, and candy. Once I altered my diet which I call a healthy lifestyle now...I gradually weaned off of these foods. Instead of papa johns pizzas I would buy pita bread and low fat cheese...instead of bags of chocolate I switched to dark chocolate and started to enjoy a square or two almost everyday....instead of bags of chips I would eat cucumbers with hummus. Occasionally I would treat myself to French fries, or a sandwich, but I learned about moderation. It never stopped my journey if I ate a large fry...which I did when I ran quite miles, or a Costco pizza which is nearly 800 calories because I ran 12 miles. I still lost weight, and treated myself. I never in my journey had a full cheat day worth of meals, but I'd say if the hubby likes hose types of foods, imo...it takes discipline. A small fry won't sabotage your diet unless you eat it everyday. I've saw muscle bound men and women have cheat days with way more caloric intake and not be affected by gaining weight. Not recommending that but I'm saying it's okay. If I go to a restaurant I would just be mindful of what to order

Teresa Marie

04/21/2015 8:42AM

This is a great post! Very, very good self awareness and I think you've inspired my next blog post. Thank you -- I really was drawing a blank. I'm really proud/impressed of the progress you've made!!

GlampingGal likes this comment.

GlampingGal

Thank you. I appreciate your support and look forward to any additional insight you can provide. :-)

bahhhhh

04/21/2015 7:44AM

So I felt indulgent and satisfied, but I knew it was coming, so I had been well behaved all day, so I was only over my calorie limit about 200 calories. And I had looked forward to it all day so I was really excited about it. I dunno, it works for me. Plus, I've read (some conflicting info, to be sure) that keeping your body guessing about food kind of helps you not plateau. I'm not sure how much I believe that, but I seem to find that if I go a long time without a certain kind of carb-- like simple carbs, white breads and pasta-- then I have some for a meal, that I'll have a big drop in weight in the next week. It might be placebo, it might be coincidence, it might be the resulting over compensation for guilt over the "sinful" choice in food-- who knows. I just know that, for me, if I get to have something I consider a naughty food every now and again that I feel less deprived over all, but it's really hard to come back from the ledge, too.

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GlampingGal

I've also been switching things up with the number of calories that I eat in a day based on that same theory. It seems to work for me as well - at least for now. What also helps for me is to treat myself to something that I really like and also happens to be healthy, like fresh berries. These are a treat during the winter because they tend to be rather expensive.

bahhhhh

Have you tried PB2? If you are into peanut butter and you don't know about this stuff, get to googling. It's my perfect healthy sinful food. But I still want chocolate, lol.

bahhhhh

04/21/2015 7:37AM

I have a hard time with cheat days, too. I limit my cheat day to one meal. And I must have a MEAL. If I snack it's game over. I'll consume four days worth of calories like it's nothing. I make it a conscience choice for the day-- like Saturday I knew I wanted something warm and filling and really satisfying for dinner, because I do a lot of cold food when I eat well. (Cold food, for me, means less cooking, more raw, and fewer opportunities for me to put in additives for taste-- I'm a very good cook, if I do say so myself, and that is pretty detrimental for my portioning. So I eat a lot of salads and apples and such. It works for me.) So anyway, I decided I wanted a stir fry, so I boiled half a serving of vermicelli, and stir fried it with lean grilled pork marinated in oyster sauce, and filled in the rest of the space with snow peas, broccoli, cauliflower, shallots, carrots, peppers. I went over what I would normally have eaten for one meal, and had too much sodium,

Kristin

04/21/2015 7:03AM

I try to not do cheat days or cheat meals. But sometimes I give myself a "rest day" -- no workout or at most a relaxing walk. And I still track food, and try to not go way over. But I know what you mean about the grease, though for me it is salt & crunch ... I cannot buy a large bag of potato chips or it will all disappear in a day -- in an hour!

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GlampingGal

I <3 chips! I can't have those in the house either. How does one find the willpower to stop eating those before every last crumb is gone?

Soolcat

04/20/2015 5:20PM

Yum. Nachos.

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AnnieT

04/20/2015 4:57PM

Great post, wish I could help you. As soon as you find out "the trick", lemme know! Just came back from a 4 night hotel stay that hosted a free "cookie bar" from 8-10pm. Guess what happened?