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.
Photo Credits: 1
Originally posted 2008-10-13 05:08:56. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related Posts -
How to Keep Weight Off Permanently How many times have you gone on a diet, only to gain back the weight, plus a little dividend? For many people, dieting is a vicious cycle full of ups and downs, and plenty of discouragement. If you want to keep your weight off permanently, you are going to...... -
3 Hour Diet Review Jorge Cruise made his name with his "8 minutes" line of workout videos. As a well known fitness trainer, he has taken advantage of the short workout routine popularity surge. The three hour diet is logically the extension to his regular fitness routines, bringing a diet regime that suits the...... -
Eat These Foods Every Day Losing weight and getting healthy is about a lot more than simply avoiding foods that are high in fat. Many people unfortunately make the mistake of removing higher calorie foods from their diet without replacing those foods with healthier substitutions. Starving yourself, though it may seem to be, is never...... -
5 Ways to Avoid Cheating on Your Diet Starting a diet can be a momentous event and most of us going into it with the best intentions. We want to lose weight and we want to look and feel better, at least for the first few days. Three days in however, and you may be ready to...... -
How to Start Implementing Small Changes Into Your Diet The right way to diet is really all about implementing small and healthy changes. This is the way to sound dieting, and the only way that you are going to lose weight effectively. If you are serious about losing weight and getting healthy then you absolutely need to be willing......
Related Websites -
Rollerblading Safety Rollerblading is a truly wonderful sport and it provides for great exercise, keeping you in shape. People from all over the world and all kinds of walks of life can enjoy rollerblading simply because its very nature is fun and easy. Coupled with the enjoyment of the sport of rollerblading,...... -
Beachy Perfume Review This is a review of the Beachy perfume for Women, designed by Lilly Pulitzer. Palm Beach is well known for the amazing white sand beaches that it offers in combination with luxury living and truly carefree days. The Beachy perfume by Lilly Pulitzer was developed by a perfumer known as...... -
Collecting More than Coins with Value There are some people who simply base their collection on coins with value that they have been able to find. They do not think about any personal connections to any of the coins in their collection â they simply worry about how much their collection is worth. While coin collecting...... -
Learn to Play Bass Guitar For someone starting out with a first instrument, a bass guitar is an excellent choice. The bass guitar is probably the easiest stringed instrument to learn to play, far easier than either an acoustic or electric guitar, a banjo, a mandolin, or a violin, for instance. And a stringed instrument...... -
Learning How to Deal with a Coin Collector: 4 Tips to Success The world of coin collection is interesting and full of connections, with each coin collector working with other coin dealers to get the piece that they want. Those who are interested in serious coin collecting need to be well versed in the art of the sale, understanding what they should......
- Milk Free Supplements & Diet Exercise & Fitness
- 300 Workout Supplements & Diet Exercise & Fitness
- Polar Beat Heart Rate Monitors Monitors & Pedometers Gym, Workout & Yoga Exercise & Fitness
- Gymnastic Fall Trampolines Cardiovascular Equipment Gym, Workout & Yoga Exercise & Fitness
- One Piece In-Ground Pools Pools Pools & Spas Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living
Categories:
diet, healthy eating, Meals, motivation, nutrition, snacking
Tags:
3 comments ↓
Yes, my “cheat days” are called the weekend. It is a wonder that I lose weight at all.
This is one of my biggest pet peeves. Why does everyone call it a “cheat”? What are you cheating on? Yourself? Your life?
Why would you set yourself up for failure and poor self-images with a negative word like “cheat” when you choose (and you do CHOOSE) to eat something that is not healthy?
We live our lives and our lives include things like birthdays, lunches out with co-workers, barbecues, celebrations, donuts … all those things that aren’t necessarily healthy, but are there. When I choose to eat a piece of cake or a donut or have a lunch out with a friend and eat something fried or drenched in cream sauce … that’s not a cheat … it’s a TREAT. It’s a CHOICE I MAKE. And once I have my treat, I’m satisfied and happy and I move on with the rest of the day, rather than wallowing in guilt because I’ve “cheated”.
In order to be successful at long term weight loss, people have to lose this concept that living our lives in moderation is some form of CHEAT.
It feels like I have more cheat days than non cheat days. I should work on that…
Leave a Comment