The Cheat Meal
By sovknight | July 19, 2008
To cheat or not to cheat? That is the question.
Once a week, I cheat on my diet. It’s just one meal, one specific time, and it’s quite fulfilling. Thus far, it’s always been on Saturday, and the meal of choice has (with one exception) been delicious pizza.
I’m a pizza lover through and through, a fact to which any of my RL friends can easily attest. I’m also what’s known as a “pizza purist”, which means it’s pepperoni and cheese. I like other things, but I always go with the pepperoni and cheese, because that’s what I like best. Pizza is nature’s perfect food, and by that I mean that pizza can be anything. It can be cold for breakfast, it can be hot and delicious for dinner, it can be vegetarian, it can be a meat-lover’s dream, it can a snack, a meal, or even desert. Pizza is perfect because it can be adapted to fit any situation or lifestyle or taste. Pizza is awesome, which is why I choose pizza as my cheat meal, because it’s the one thing I despise giving up. It’s so incredibly yummy.
Of course, I track my calories as part of my diet, and entering my numbers on Saturday has become cringe worthy. Just as an example, my cheat meal this week consisted of a medium-sized Godfather’s pizza, and two Mexican cokes. The pizza alone was 2,080 calories, and with the Mexi-Cokes, the meal came to 2,371 calories… 421 calories over my daily maximum limit. I feel guilty.
Should I stop with the cheat meals? I do so love the pizza, but my personality is not habit-forming. I could, in theory, stop the cheat meals, or perhaps lessen the frequency. Still, I look forward to Saturdays because of them, and I think I’d miss it if I game them up. I’m so good the rest of the week, keeping my intake to between 1,200 and 1,500 calories per day. I’ve been getting in long hikes or bike rides consistently, and the results so far speak for themselves. Surely one day of going over the limit isn’t gonna wreck everything, is it?
Post a comment below and give me your take on my dilemma. Should I stop cheating? Should I change the frequency? Or should I just keep going, seeing as how I’m probably just over-thinking the whole thing anyway? Let me know!
Topics: Thoughts |
7 Responses to “The Cheat Meal”
Comments
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July 20th, 2008 at 6:45 am
Do you really need TWO cokes?
Kick a coke or both and I think you’re golden.
Bens last blog post..Bookshelves, Rejection, and Syphilis
July 20th, 2008 at 7:36 am
I think having a cheat day is a good thing. As long as it doesn’t turn into a cheat weekend or cheat day plus holiday. In our line of work it is nice to have something to look forward to each week. The days can get pretty dull and boring and having that time to enjoy something you love is important.
That being said, maybe the whole medium pizza isn’t necessary. I also agree with Ben that you could get rid of one of those Cokes.
Maybe I should take my own advice…………
July 20th, 2008 at 11:23 am
I’m with Ben, keep the cheat meal, but scale it back. You’d be better off eating half a pizza and one coke. Or get a small pizza or personal pan.
July 20th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
I agree with everyone else-keep the cheat meal.
Keep in mind it will be a lot harder to maintain your weight off once if you deprive yourself.
Don’t do anything to lose the weight in the short term that you’re not willing do to for the long haul…..no pizza? No way! Moderation. Eat until you’re full and then save the rest. (Or toss it if you’d be tempted)
One second thought, burn it! I once threw out a “Killer Brownie” (from Dorthy Lane Market…Mmmmmmm) included in my boxed lunch at work and fantasized about digging it out of the trash all day. Not one of my shining moments.
July 20th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
off once=loss
July 21st, 2008 at 10:31 am
Your actions are speaking loudly and you are getting results. Great things! Although your cheat meals are hurting you overall, they are hindering and learning moderation is just as important. You can have your cheat meal once a week but rather than the whole medium pizza order a small. I would cut it to 1 coke and a lot of water. Since you know that you are only getting 1 coke and a smaller pizza, you will savor the taste a bit more.
Add a salad to the meal. It doesn’t have to be huge, just make sure you are getting some good veggies in with your pizza. You will fill up with the smaller pizza and salad but you won’t be taking in as many calories. If you can’t order a smaller pizza, do you have the self control to throw half out?
You can cheat and enjoy the pizza without over extending your calories. Half the pizza and 1 coke would equal half the calories. You could still stay at or slightly above your suggested calorie intake for the day this way, not blow it completley out of the water!
Taunis last blog post..Insurance
July 21st, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Redhead, you know what I’m gonna say already. However, when has that ever stopped me?
Eat the pizza. Enjoy the cokes. Then work out a little extra. I’m down 120 lbs because I opted to have my cheat day with no regrets, and then made up for it a couple of days a week by mixing up my workout.
Oh, and of course purging. Lots and lots of finger-to-the-throat purging.
Kidding! Kidding! You know, in that way that eating disorders are so hilarious.
Ahem.
To return to my point - could I be down even MORE pounds if I cut my cheat day calories in half? Sure! But then I wouldn’t be able to sit on the sofa on Saturday morning, eating Salt-n-Pepper Kettle Chips and horrible-for-me-but-unspeakably-delicious Horchata while playing Mario Kart and listening to NPR.
Which is not to say I’ve abandoned moderation - I don’t think I could even eat a whole pizza anymore (and believe me, I’ve tried with disastrous results), so I just tear away portions of all the horrible cheat-day foods, put them on my cheat day plate, and hide the rest from myself in the fridge to give to my scavenger friends at work the next day. It’s perfect, really.
PS - I see your devotion to The Godfather is undiminished. This remains one of your best qualities.
Claires last blog post..Unacceptable!