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Stumbled recently. Nothing epic, but my planned cheat day, though less extreme than last week's, turned into a cheat weekend. Then I traveled to NYC on Monday and ended up having a few beers and over-carbing a bit. The end result: I gained two pounds. Not the end of the world, but I'm traveling to Maine today and won't return home until Monday, so I'll have to be tough.
Trying to incorporate cheat days was a mistake. It wasn't necessarily bad physiologically, but it definitely hurt me by breaking the abstinence. My willpower and focus had been great, and the cravings were mere whispers. The cheat day attempts weakened me. No panic. I can wrestle myself back into disciplined form.
First cheat day's takeaway was that my normal way of eating was satisfying and that gorging made me feel like crap.
Second cheat day's takeaway was that I'm an all-or-nothing person, and cheat days weaken me, making the overall process much harder.
Thanks, buddies, for the advice and good counsel you've offered.
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 Comments
I appreciate and sympathize with your blog, espcially the "all or nothing type person" comment. I am just coming to grips with the fact that I am that person too. I wonder, why can't I just be reasonable when eating something off plan? Where is the moderation? Is it physiological (as in blood sugar issues) or psychological, or perhaps some combination of both? I'm paying the price for months of a lack of discipline, and having been unable to "wrestle" myself back to plan. Seeing my vacation photos is motivating me to get back on track. As in "really, that's ME?"
25 Jun 15 by member: trackin64
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Have same feelings on all-or-nothing and will power (Momentum) and normal diet is satisfying for me. Great problem solving and adjusting knowing what works and what doesn't . I now can have the words to help me when people say your so hard on yourself this won't hurt your diet just adjust tomarrow. Have a great day.
25 Jun 15 by member: Roienell
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Calories make you gain weight, not carbs. Understanding will lead to better results.
25 Jun 15 by member: Illdill
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2 lbs isn't too bad for a cheat weekend!
25 Jun 15 by member: KNuccio
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Control your caloric intake, then you can have 'cheat' days that maintain your current weight rather than increase it. If you are going to have 'cheat' days where you just totally ignore your diet, I'm afraid you will waste a lot of time and may never reach your goal.
25 Jun 15 by member: Illdill
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I empathize. Folks can tell me all day long that "just a little" is fine, but I know myself best, and what I know to be true is there are some foods that I just need to stay away from. It's not fair but as they say in The Fault in Our Stars, "Life is not a wish granting factory". We are all different but you know yourself best. Keep up the good work
25 Jun 15 by member: Nicole Strong Barrett
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I'm an all or nothing person too. If I knew moderation, if I could push away from the plate, if I could only have 1 serving of kettle chips, I wouldn't be here right now. You could say that a lot of us have that defect in common; it's almost like a prerequisite for joining here! Lol.
25 Jun 15 by member: Frosty Heimdall
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If I know there is a special day coming (I.e., my day & fathers day) and I know food is going to be not so good I make myself exercise more too burn the calories I am going to eat. I don't feel guilty and I question if the food is worth it. So far I haven't gained anything from cheat days
25 Jun 15 by member: hylndrsmistress
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Thanks for the input everyone!
25 Jun 15 by member: Sugar Waffle
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Thanks for all of the great support, everybody! I've been offline for the last few days, traveling. It was nice, coming back to this. Sounds like a lot of us are in the same boat. Trackin64, I ask myself the same questions. Over the course of recent months, I think that my physiological state has improved -- metabolism / hormones? -- because when I slip or cheat, it doesn't do the same degree of damage that it used to. That's good. But I'm still me, so the psychological stuff remains a challenge. Thanks again for the commiseration, ideas, personal examples, and advice. Great point about our common defect / prerequisite, FROSTY. Our language hear approaches the language of a substance abuse intervention. One way or the other, glad to have you guys intervening on my part...
29 Jun 15 by member: Lokidixon
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