Those who have been following along the past few weeks know that I’ve been making some significant lifestyle changes.
Sure there were some who were not convinced at first, including myself. However, as time went on, it has become evident, to most people, that these changes that I have made are not just a fad.
The changes I speak of are not only related to health and fitness, though this has certainly been a primary focus as of late. I look forward to blogging and podcasting about many of the other areas of pursuing a balanced life. However, there are just so many new things that I’m learning about healthy eating habits and physical fitness that I want to share at this point in the journey.
With that said, the concept of “Cheat Days” has come up in a few conversations, both in previous “attempts to lose weight” and most recently with the “lifestyle changes” that I’ve been making. I’m going to simply throw out my opinion on this concept and ask you to understand that it is only “my opinion.”
Please note that, as I write this post, this is the time that I’ve considered formulating my thoughts into words on the concept of “Cheat Days.” This post will resemble my initial thoughts as far an official opinion on the subject.
In the past, I’ve attempted to lose weight through “dieting.” In my mind, I define diet as a temporary change in eating patterns for the purpose of losing weight. I’m not alone in this sort of definition as the Random House Dictionary defines dieting as… “to select or limit the food one eats to improve one’s physical condition or to lose weight.”
It’s a bit confusing to some when I declare that I AM NOT DIETING but I am trying to incorporate a Mediterranean diet into my lifestyle. Of course I’m using the word “diet” here as defined by “the foods eaten by a particular person or group.”
To get right to the point, what I am doing is not temporary. I am, in fact, changing my lifestyle. I have made “permanent” changes to what I eat. However, to go a step further, there has been a major paradigm shift in how I view food and nutrition altogether.
For me, the concept “Cheat Days” does not coincide with the concept of lifestyle change. To demonstrate my point, I did a quick Google search and found the following in an article titled “Cheat Days.”
Quoted from http://www.chetday.com/cheatdays.htm
Some people call it a “Free Day,” others call it a “Cheat Day.” Whatever you call it, it’s definitely a good idea to “relax” your diet once a week and eat something you really enjoy, provided that you do it in moderation.
If you try to be too strict all the time, then you are only setting yourself up for cravings and binging (not to mention it’s no fun). Food is one of life’s great pleasures so it’s not productive to completely deny yourself of anything that you really want.
Pick a “cheat day,” perhaps on the weekend, and give yourself permission to have one “cheat meal” of whatever food you want. Consider it your reward after a week of perfect eating and perfect training. If you eat five or six times per day (like you should be), that’s at least 35 meals per week. If 33 or 34 of them are perfect, then one (or even two) “cheat” meals aren’t going to hurt.
I could not disagree more with this guy!
The word “cheat” can be defined as “to violate rules or regulations.” I’m going to go for a bit of a stretch here and say that I define cheating, in the context of Cheat Days, as “to violate your principles and values” as they relate living a more healthy lifestyle.
It’s no wonder that some people choose to call them “free days” as opposed to “cheat days” as if you look up the word cheat, you’ll see that the word is so tightly associated to the words, “defraud,” “deceive,” “dishonest,” “unfaithful,” “swindle,” and “impostor.”
The term “Free Day” is no better. Free as opposed to what? The fact that we would consider ourselves slaves to our decision to healthier eating habits just doesn’t seem to be a healthy thought at all. I fear this concept perpetuates the notion that making a lifestyle change in the area of our eating habits is a means of “depriving” oneself.
In fact, in the quoted text above, the author even says, “it’s not productive to completely deny yourself of anything that you really want.” He then goes on to suggest that you should “give yourself permission to have one “cheat meal” of whatever food you want.” In fact, by the end of that statement, he says that even two such meals throughout the week would be a suitable “reward” for such hard work on staying on track and these would not likely hurt you.
A great friend of mine, Fred From Long Island, recently shared the following statement in the Health Fitness And Accountability section of the gspn.tv Community Forum. (Note: Quote Used By Permission. Also Note: This section is only viewable to registered forum members who are logged in.)
Recently I listened to an episode of Fitness Rocks in which Dr. Monte mentioned that overindulging on “special days” (as I call them) is a BAD idea, but I am guilty as charged.
For example, I used to eat maybe three slices of pizza and two garlic knots. Yesterday I ate two slices of pizza and one garlic knot, but I should have eaten maybe half a slice and half a knot. I kept up with my treadmill walking, so the net effect was zero.
I might not be so lucky next time.
I have to agree with Dr. Monte on his stance the overindulging on “special days.” He states that everything that we do with our body “TODAY” will have lasting effects in our overall health moving forward.
If we have deemed that “overindulging” is not a healthy activity to participate in, wouldn’t we want to avoid such activities altogether in pursuit of a healthier lifestyle?
I’ve never heard the concept of a “Cheat Day” or “Free Day” to someone who has made the decision to quit smoking. Could you imagine someone telling you, I only smoke during special occasions such as birthday parties and weddings. What if they said that they do this as a means of rewarding myself for not smoking the rest of the time? Or heck, what if they said that they once read that “it’s not productive to completely deny yourself of anything that you really want.” Sounds silly doesn’t it? Or is it just me?
A paradigm shift in the way that we view food is essential in understanding that our decisions for healthier eating habits are not a means of depriving ourselves, but a means of treating our bodies with the full pleasures of the nutrients that it desires and needs to provide us with optimal health and wellness.
In all fairness to the author of the article I quote above, if you read the entire article, you’ll see that the he actually makes some pretty good points to follow up what I quoted above. Some of the important statements include the following:
There’s never any excuse for “pigging out” and blowing your diet completely.
I also don’t recommend taking an entire day off your diet.
With that said, I still disagree with the author overall.
In fact, later in the article he writes, “Because the months of severe dieting may have put their bodies into “starvation mode.”
I guess that this is where the fundamental disagreement stems from. If you are dieting, as defined by temporary changes to your eating habits in an effort to lose weight, then I suppose that what this author states can seem to make a bit of sense.
Severe dieting may certainly help you to achieve a goal of massive weight loss. However, from everything I’m reading, “severe dieting” is far from the healthiest choice one can make in the pursuit of actual physical health.
Just the other day, I posted another entry titled “Eating Healthy Foods Has Made All The Difference!” In it, I share that I’ve not deprived myself of food. In fact, I’m eating more often than I have have in my past. What I choose to eat and how much I eat at each has drastically changed.
Last night, after having eaten very nutritious, low calorie foods all day long, I was still 863 calories under my allotted daily calories calculated for me to loose a healthy 2 to 3 pounds per week. Stephanie was kind enough to make a trip down to McDonalds and buy me a Hot Fudge Sundae. That snack was 330 calories.
When it was all said and done, I still went to bed well under my daily allotted calories for the day. I didn’t go to bed feeling that I was deprived of anything. I did not “cheat” or “break free” from my decision to live a more healthy lifestyle.
Snacks such as ice cream and chips may have little to no nutritional value at all. However, that doesn’t mean that these items are “unhealthy.” What is is “unhealthy” is eating foods that contain little to no nutritional value in large quantities on a habitual basis.
I never exceeded a daily net calorie intake of 1,901 calories during the Month of May 2009. Most days, my net calorie intake was around 1,500 calories or less!
During that month, there we three days when I enjoyed a serving or two of Peppercorn Ranch Sun Chips. However, those servings were carefully weighed out in in either a one ounce or two ounce serving and I stopped when that amount had been consumed.
These were not cheat days. These were just days where I allowed myself to eat a food item that provided less nutrition to my body than other choices I could have made. I made these choices in moderation and what fit in with what I had determined to be healthy eating patterns for my new healthier lifestyle. A determination that I have made based upon my educating myself about health and fitness through a number of available educational resources.
I don’t feel the need to “cheat.” In fact, on an almost daily basis, I am learning something new about how my body works with and reacts to the various types of foods that I eat. Therefore, for me, every day is a “Free Day!” Free in that I am breaking free from the “slavery of ignorance” as it relates to heath and nutrition and my old eating habits that were slowly killing me.
