Have you ever fallen off the diet wagon and then said, well, I may as well enjoy myself today, since I’ve already messed up. I’ll get back on my diet tomorrow. If this sounds familiar, you’re dealing with one of the biggest reasons that diets fail. Cheat days are fine, within reason, but if you’re letting them get out of control, you are dooming yourself to failure in more ways than one.

Let’s say that you simply cannot ignore that piece of chocolate cake that is looking at you and pleading with you to partake. It’s easy enough – we’ve all fallen victim to the cake monster a time or two. But, after that piece of cake, you start to beat yourself up. You did it *again*. By this point, you’ve already mentally defeated yourself for that day, so why bother eating healthy? Most of us then turn around and scarf down a pizza for dinner, since we’ve already derailed our diet for the day anyway.

This is exactly what you do not want to do. One piece of cake made have added 500 extra calories, but how about the rest of the day? It’s time to break free of that cycle and banish your cheat “days” for good. We’re not saying that you have to avoid cheating all together. We’re human, it happens. You fall down, it’s natural. The key is to get back up immediately, and not roll around in a banana cream pie for the rest of the day.

By saying, “Ok, I had that piece of cake. I shouldn’t, but I’m not going to let it ruin my diet,” you’re allowing yourself to breath, to make that mistake and get back up. You may need to do a little retraining at first, but you’ll get there. It is vital to stop beating yourself up mentally. After all, it is only a piece of cake. By kicking yourself repeatedly, you’re only going to want to eat more. If you have an issue with eating for comfort, this could spiral out of control.

Cheat days can really wear on a diet, and if you banish the concept of a cheat “day” you can do a lot better. Instead, have a cheat “lunch” or a cheat “snack.” You won’t be completely demolishing your diet and you won’t fall off track. Avoid the “Well, I’ll just do X amount of sit-ups” routine as well. Chances are you won’t, and you’re giving yourself just another reason to beat yourself up again. Realize that every now and again you’re going to make mistakes.

No one is perfect, and sometimes, that cake gets the best of us. You may lose that battle, but you don’t have to lose the war. Get the right mindset and become your best ally instead of your worst enemy. This will help you stay on your diet, and more importantly, you’ll be building up your own self-esteem as you go, and that will pay off for the rest of your life.

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Originally posted 2008-10-13 05:08:56. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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