The Cheat Day

Let me start this post by saying two things: Numero Uno:  I am "dieting" so to speak, but I desperately need to make a lifestyle change. So as most diets end, that's not what I'm going for here.  Numero Dos: I've lost a good chunk of weight before. About 7 years ago (way before kids), I joined Weight Watchers and lost 24 pounds. Yeah, pretty awesome, right? So while I do know how to lose the weight, it's the making it stick that I have struggles with. In some ways, I feel like I'm figuring it out all over again.

The idea of a cheat day when you are dieting is sooooo appealing to me. Eat sensibly and deny yourself those daily "bad for you" cravings, (Okay, who am I kidding, the hourly cravings.) and then have one day a week to indulge in whatever you like. The idea being that you are eating healthier; but you aren't saying no forever to your Maui Onion Chips or your Cookies and Cream ice cream.

I get it. Living life in the real world does mean the occasional ice cream cone or brownie. Mmmmm brownies........ Sorry, I'm focused now. Because really, when someone tells me I absolutely, positively cannot have something. That is the one thing I cannot stop thinking about. It's the one thing I want more than anything else. Isn't it true that as soon as you start trying to lose weight, you constantly think about food?

Well, I had a cheat day earlier this week. I also had one the week before, on Tuesday to be exact. So Tuesdays seem to be the day to cheat. And speed and get pulled over by the police. And get into the 15 items or less line at Safeway with 50 + items. Yeah, I had stellar day that day.

Actually, it's Andy's cheat day, so it just made sense to cheat on the same day. After 2 cheat days I'm not so sure it's the way to go. As I said at the beginning of this post, I'm just figuring things out. I want this weight loss to stick this time and as I continue this journey I'm sure I'll make many mistakes and have some bad food days.

So I really thought about how I felt at the end of my cheat day. First I'll tell you what I ate. I know you are dying to know!

Breakfast: Coffee and croissant at Starbucks (This is actually party of my weekly date with Lily.) Not too terribly bad.

Lunch: Turkey and mustard on a sourdough roll with Maui Onion chips and ice tea. This probably does not sound like a cheat meal to most; but these are two foods I love!! Normally, I wouldn't eat the sourdough roll (lots of white flour) or the chips, because chips=fat.

Dinner: 2 pieces of pizza and a rather skimpy salad. Again, not so horrible; but I pretty much muscled the second piece down. I totally would've been fine with one. I guess, what put me into the "I feel crappy" zone was the McFlurry from McDonald's on the way home from pizza.

I was full but it was my cheat day and this was my one chance to eat the sweet stuff before my next cheat day.

Did I really need to fill my entire day with fatty foods and basically no fruits or vegetables??????? I have to give a resounding NO! So do I throw the whole cheat day out all together? Or maybe I need to pick just one meal to splurge instead of three. I'm working this one out and trying to figure out what will help me get to my ultimate goal. I guess I'll let you know come next Tuesday.

Here's what I do know. And I'm basing this on how I felt at the end of the day. I felt full, too full. I used to feel like this all the time and I don't like it. It's one of the reasons I said, "Enough is enough. I need to stop eating like this!!!" Also, my stomach just felt how it feels when you eat fatty foods all day. That's all the detail I'm going to give on that. There is such a thing as TMI.

So in the spirit of limiting TMI, this post is done!