Should you "cheat" when on a diet?

Preparation, Preparedness & Prevention Fitness and Nutrition
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An excellent article from one of my authors, Monica Mollica :cool:

Monica Mollica
February 1, 2012 by Monica
Cheating on a diet – good or bad?

In discussions about dieting, a topic that often comes up is that of “cheating”; is it good or bad to cheat once in a while during a diet?

In order to answer this questions appropriately, it is necessary to look at both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of dieting, and the physiological and psychological responses they each elicit.

Dieting – what are we really talking about?

The dictionary definition of “diet” and “dieting” is “to eat and drink sparingly or according to prescribed rules” or “a controlled intake of foods, as for medical reasons or cosmetic weight loss”.

However, these definitions do not tell us anything about the two different aspects of dieting; the quantitative and qualitative parts, and their respective consequences. In everyday parlance, dieting usually implies both eating less calories (quantitative aspect) than usual and eating “specific” foods (qualitative aspect).

Nevertheless, when considering the consequences of “cheating” (more formally known as dieting consistency / inconsistency) and trying to answer the question whether it is a good or bad practice, it is important to distinguish these aspects of dieting. Let’s take a quick look at each:

Calorie restriction

Calorie restriction (also known as dietary restriction). When reducing calories our bodies respond by lowering basal metabolic rate, and there also is reduction is spontaneous physical activity. If the calorie restriction is severe enough, our bodies go into starvation mode, which will counteract any fat loss efforts 1,2.

Specific food restriction

A diet usually has an explicit (or implicit) list of foods that it recommends. Eating specific foods has a more psychological impact than calorie restriction per see, especially if you don’t like the foods that are part of your diet plan.

The different types of “cheating”

Cont:

http://www.brinkzone.com/articles/cheating-on-a-diet-good-or-bad/

2

I always thought it was better to cheat a little than to binge a lot.

3

Or to cheat a little so that you don’t lose focus of why you are doing it.

I eat quite a bit better now than I ever have, because as the article points out, it’s long term… not just until you lose the weight. That being said, I will “treat” myself to certain things. Kinda like cheating, but it sounds better. :smiley:

4

When I did the Body for Life thing with the ex we couldn’t WAIT for our first “cheat day” and had the whole day planned out around what we were going to eat. We both wound up feeling so sick that it wasn’t worth it. Ultimately our “cheat day” turned more into just not being so rigid about things, but what we ate didn’t vary much.

I see “cheats” all the time and find most of the behavior odd. Like the 300 lb broad that comes into the breakroom at work and cuts a donut into 1/4 slices as her “cheat”. Bitch, it’s not the donut that’s the problem, it’s the gallon a night of icecream you’re downing in the dark! Or the guy at the Arby’s drive-through who’s Hyundai is actually canted due to his weight ordering a bunch of shit and then a diet coke. child please.

5

I have a wicked sweet tooth, so I kinda need a little something here and there. I feel just aweful physically if I binge. my best control mechanism is to just not keep crap around the house.

I also find that sublimating that urge to grab a donut or something with some pushups or a bike ride works remarkably well.

Also, keeping dark chocolate around to kill the sweet tooth without over consuming works for me.

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I started realizing the value of a cheat day in high school. I was 5’7 188lbs with 26% body fat and lost 40lbs in 2 months because I was tired of being the fat kid. strict dieting was real easy for me for 2 months.
I competed in powerlifting in the 148lb weight class and had a rigid diet during the week. But right after weigh in on saturday we all ate Krispey Kreme and peanut butter etc. Sunday turned into the cheat day. And Monday I was right back on track with no problems.

I think cheat days help maintain sanity and a light at the end of the tunnel. “Maintain my diet perfectly until this day and I’ll let myself eat X” it breaks up your diet into weeks instead of months.

I eat now for growth so forcing myself not to eat isn’t an option. But forcing myself to eat enough of the right thing is the battle. 2-3lbs of lean beef or chicken every single day is very monotonous. The cheat day breaks up the pattern.

Sunday’s are for football and cheating.

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Diets don’t work anyway. Cheating just makes them fail sooner than they otherwise would. Lifestyle change, permanent, is the key to sustained weight loss.

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Used to use the Mirkin Diet. It was pretty tough to stay on. At least for me. No refined carbohydrates — such as white bread, pasta, bagels, cookies, crackers, etc. It was low-fat, high-fiber diet, you will eat fruits instead of their juices, whole grains in place of white rice, pasta or white bread.

He advised that you could eat whatever you wanted, for 2 out of the 21 meals (Per week)

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DH & I are not on diets. We have simply changed what and how we eat. We use a calorie budget (MFP app on Android) and set a weight loss goal. Then we can eat what we want provided we count all the calories in, and then log our exercise (biking or walking or running for DH). We have cut out most processed carbs like white rice, non-whole wheat bread, most pasta etc, but that is more due to DH’s diabetes. However I will say it has done wonders for losing excess poundage.

If I want a beer, I simply have to decide if it is in my budget for that day, and if I want to really spend those calories for a beer, or if there is something else I would rather consume.

Saturdays are our special meals day, as a good friend from here, comes over for dinner, and we cook or grill to our hearts content. Even so, we tend to moderate what we eat and mostly stay within budget, even on a non exercise day. I might have a sample of dessert, but generally not a whole serving–even of homemade pies.

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I both agree and disagree with you. A “diet” is a lifestyle change.

The one word I think is “key” that you said is “permanent”.

Dieting wont work if you dont stick to it permanently. Changing your lifestyle wont work unless you change it permanently.

Saying diets dont work is false. I would say certain gimmicky diets are bogus but not all of them are gimmicks. Some are based on science, like “put the fork down”. Begining a diet can be a step towards a permanent lifestyle change.

11

Agreed.

Its a lifestyle. I don’t eat XYZ. That means I don’t eat XYZ…ever.

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Extreme diets don’t work, but when we look at “diet” as the simplest definition in terms of eating habits, having a common sense, healthy diet works great. Do people “cheat” for convenience? sure. But outside of weird bulking up diets, or crash slim-down diets, what most people need is brain-engaged diets not crazy ass plans.

common sense diets work very well and don’t require cheating. but if you’re eating smart 99% of the time then “cheating” and having that one piece of chocolate, really isn’t.

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I have a theory that only fat people drink diet soda.

When have you ever seen someone of a healthy body weight drink diet soda?

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I’ve seen them (healthy-weight folks) drink diet soda. Some were diabetics, both type I & II.

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I cheat once or twice a week ( about 2-3 meals). It’s mostly stuff with at least protein in it, like steak, noodles, etc… A lot of carbs.

Always after leg day (Sundays).

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There’s no reason what so ever to follow such a restrictive plan, and for some, it dooms them to failure long term (see comments by the author on that) and life is way to damn short not to have a slice of pizza and a beer once in a while as far as I’m concerned. For some, they have to be strict, due more to psychological factors with the individual (again, see article) vs any real physiological reasons.

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Simple “diet” rules…Eat less and exercise more… Had a donut(s) at work? Fine …walk / run an extra mile or two that night…never been a fan of dieting so cheating on a ‘diet’ doesn’t really apply:)

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As with most things in life, K.I.S.S works there most of the time for most people.

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+1

And it aint easy, unfortunately!

20

Super Bowl Sunday…#1 reason to cheat. At least once a year. Followed by maybe Christmas, Thanksgiving, La dia de los muertos for that Mexican cake.