24 Sep To Cheat or Not to Cheat?
If you are trying to live a healthier lifestyle or if you are attempting to lose weight, you may be asking yourself the big question that everyone asks: To Cheat or Not to Cheat?
Most experts agree that it is in a dieter’s best interest to cheat on his or her diet on occasion. After all, if you continually deny yourself from eating the tasty treats you enjoy the most, it has a tendency to lead to binge eating. In addition, continual denial is what causes many people to abandon their new, healthier eating plans. Therefore, in order to keep yourself on the straight and narrow, it is actually in your best interest to cheat. Therefore, the next big question becomes: How often should I cheat?
Cheating Every Day
There are two schools of thought on the cheating issue. Some feel that cheating on a daily basis is the best option. There are several pros and cons associated with cheating on a regular basis, however, all of which need to be considered when trying to determine if the daily cheating routine is right for you.
One of the pros to cheating every day is that you are able to satisfy your cravings on a daily basis. On the other hand, once you allow yourself to cheat, it becomes easier to overindulge in the foods you enjoy. In addition, when allowing yourself to cheat every day, it becomes easier to lose your discipline and to ultimately cheat throughout the day.
Another benefit to allowing yourself to cheat every day is that it gives you a daily reward for maintaining self-discipline each day. In addition, it feels less like you are “dieting” if you allow yourself to cheat each day. Still, for many people, the daily cheat provides too much temptation and too much gray area that can make it harder to stick to a regular diet routine.
Cheating Every Week
Cheating every week still offers many of the same benefits as cheating every day. You are still able to reward yourself for a job well-done and you are still allowing yourself to enjoy the foods you love. On the other hand, it encourages more self-discipline and, ultimately, will likely result in less calorie intake per week.
The con to cheating once per week is that many people think “cheat day” is a day during which they can cheat all day long. In other words, rather than simply having a snack that day that they normally would not eat, they use this day to completely ignore healthy eating habits. This binge behavior is not healthy for the body and does not help with losing weight.
Ultimately, your goal should be to create an eating plan that can be a permanent change in your eating lifestyle. If this involves cheating a little every day while watching what you eat or saving your snacks for one day per week, you have to find a system that works for you and then stick with it if you want to see results.