Why do people cheat?
I cheat on myself every single day.
I nibble. I bite. I snack. I sip. I don’t log those calories.
I’ve been struggling with losing those “last 7 pounds” for awhile now. I tell myself, “I do everything right. I eat well. I exercise 5 days a week. Why can’t I lose the weight?”
It’s because I’m not being HONEST with myself. If I sprinkle some shredded cheese on my scrambled eggs in the morning, I should count those calories–it might be 80 calories I’m not logging! That adds up if I “skip” calories at every meal. By the end of the day, those snacks and bites and nibbles might add to 200+ calories that I didn’t track.
And in the end I’m just hurting myself. I’m lying to myself if I think those calories “don’t count.”
“I’m on vacation. These calories don’t count!”
“I just had one bite, not the WHOLE donut! I don’t need to count those.”
It’s time to change the lazy thinking. It’s time to track FOR REAL. Part of my problem lately is that I went on vacation and splurged every day. I enjoyed eating out. I tried to make healthy choices but I did go a little overboard. I also got out of the habit of recording my calories.
Dinner last night was healthy. But did I cheat?
We made turkey burgers for dinner. I saved a lot of calories by using the Sandwich Thins instead of the full-calorie hamburger buns.
I chopped what few vegetables I had on hand: one small carrot, lots of broccoli, part of an onion, and mushrooms for Michael.
I mixed some Grapeseed Oil in a bowl with minced garlic, dried Marjoram, Oregano and fresh thyme and then mixed all the veggies in the oil to coat.
I roasted the veggies in the oven while Michael cooked the bacon turkey burgers in the skillet. While the food was cooking I munched on some tortilla chips. Did I count the calories? No.
Michael melted a slice of Swiss Cheese on the burgers (70 calories) but I didn’t count the small nibbles of shredded cheese I got from the fridge.
I put light Mayo and mustard on the buns. I was getting impatient waiting for dinner so I ate about 4 green olives. (Did not count those either.)
The roasted veggies were okay. I think I’d rather have my vegetables steamed or raw. Sometimes roasted veggies are good but I just prefer it another way.
The veggies were definitely healthier than having chips with the burgers (even though I did munch about a handful of tortilla chips).
We watched Top Chef (which was awesome–Fabio is the best!) and I had some ice cream for dessert.
Bottom line: I had an okay food day. I came in around 1700 calories of what I DID count. Doing some quick math on the “nibbles” “bites” and “sneaks” I’d add 200 calories to that. I’m still under 2,000 for the day which makes me happy but I COULD be better.
I CAN be accountable.
I CAN be truthful to myself.
I CAN stop nibbling. It’s just a matter of reminding myself to be honest.
QUESTION: Are you a nibbler? Do you cheat? How do you change that behavior?
Maia
I’m a nibbler too. But, what I do is that I kind of guesstimate how much nibbling I’ve done, and then I add about 50 more calories to that amount, and add it in. Kind of a buffer. No clue how accurate it is, but I guess I’m still holding myself somewhat accountable.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Fabio too! So glad Marcel is gone…
Lisa Eirene
I usually do the same thing Maia–I over-estimate most of my food to factor in the nibbles and inaccuracies of counting.
Beth @ Beth's Journey to Thin
I am definitely a nibbler. joining Weight Watchers has helped me to be more accountable becuase I try to track as much as I can – but I have the same attitude about eating a little bit of something – how can I count it? Yesterday I had a salad and it was huge so I couldn’t finish it, and so I ate the rest for a snack so I didn’t “cheat” myself out of points. I think that defeats the purpose. lol.
Lisa Eirene
A coworker doing the new WW said the same thing–that she feels like she’s eating all the time now and she has to really work hard to eat all her points. Seems funny to me!
Carbzilla
This is a great post. Who are we cheating? Ourselves!
I have not been cheating on WW, and I’ve been counting every Point (not to say I haven’t had to guesstimate here and there). But what I have been doing is eating things I gave up, like cereal, because I still wanted to believe that a Point ( or calorie) was just that.
At my meeting this morning, I was up .4. Not a biggee except that I’m only down ONE pound for SIX weeks of Weight Watching. What that tells me that What I eat is as important as How Much I eat. I’m not freaking out ( ok, I did soothe myself with a little shoe shopping) because I still feel like it’s an experiment in what works best for me.
The urge to sneak is strong. Maybe bc we’re so “good” we want to get away with something naughty? In this case, we’re really cheating ourselves, and that makes me more than a little sad. I track my “sneaks” but maybe we should make Feb Sneak-free month. 🙂
Lisa Eirene
I will whole-heartedly get behind a “February Sneak Free” month! We should all vow to do that!
I’m sorry you are up a fraction. I understand that frustration. After my birthday indulging I am terrified to get on the scale and see what the damage is. I think you are right about WHAT you eat. Michael thinks that if someone ate 1500 calories a day in Cheetos they wouldn’t gain weight as long as they stayed at 1500. The theory is good…but I know that when I eat too much sugar I gain–even if I stay within my calorie range.
Jill E.
i am the biggest snacker but i never really thought much of it until my fiance started to see that i did not really eat meals. i still allow myself to snack but i try not to eat what i am cooking and if i am super hungry i try to have some fruit or chew some gum since i know i will be eating soon. though its super hard and some days i dont and i pay for it, like having an egg roll i totally did not need with lunch but the next food decisions is all i can change.
and yay fabio! but i have to say i am a huge carla and antina fan so i am super happy for them. and it was about time jamie packed her knives.
Lisa Eirene
Oh man, snacking while cooking is my WORST habit!! I really need to break that.
I like Carla a lot too!
Jim
Portion sized tupperware is all win Lisa!!
I have 2, 1/2 cup size tupperware I put my snacks in. Once those two are gone, that’ sit.
My basic day goes like this:
Breakfast, Shake + GoLean cereal (this stuff is ubber food) + milk. 1 server of each.
Snack 1 – 1/2 Cupr tupperware of nuts. You’d be surprised how much you can put in a cup. 1/2 is 2 servings of nuts BTW.
Lunch – Some sort of wrap. usually Borshead Buffa Chicken from the delly, black olives, spinach and whatever else i top it with.
Snack 2 – Another 1/2 cup tupperware with peaches, or fruit or something different than Snack 1. All measured of course.
Dinner. I measure my servings.
Also, I log my food before I pack it to goto work. I do fitday.com first thing in the morning and enter my days food. I am at 1000-1100 calories be the end of the day. Leave me 900 – 1100 for dinner, plenty!
Tupperware and pre-logging my food has helped me lose my 2.5 – 4lbs per week. We’ll see what this week brings!
-JB
Lisa Eirene
I’ve been wanting portion sized tupperware! I love that idea! And you are so right. Measuring out the correct portions makes a huge difference. Sometimes we are cheating without even knowing it!
And I save about 900-1000 for dinner too. I know I eat more at night so I make sure I have the calories for it.
Anonymous
I just came across your health and fitness blog. Your article about staying on track with your calorie counting was especially interesting. I especially liked your comments about being honest with yourself, because that extra sprinkle of cheese can make a difference on the scale at the end of the week. I am adding you to my favorites.
Lisa
You found me out!! This must be a common problem. I cheat by not actually measuring or weighing what I have. I’m doing Weight Watchers and last night I had saved 10 points for ice cream, which is a lot of ice cream or a little unhealthy icecream. I didn’t bother to measure it and wrote it down as 10 points, which I am sure that what I had was more than 10 points. So rather than finding out what 10 points worth of the icecream that I had looked like, I cheated and made a “normal” bowl. The problem is the icecream itself. I had gotten to where I didn’t eat it and then I ended up preferring light ice creams because the regular ice cream was “greasy”.
I like the portion sized containers and use those myself, but I really prefer to weigh things like chips.
My biggest problem is not eating enough and saving points then getting to a starving point, losing it and eating anything in sight.
Lisa Eirene
Oh I’ve been there! Getting so hungry that I eat whatever is in sight.
My trick is dishing up treats like ice cream in the smallest bowl possible!
Lauren @ Hungry Dancer
I am such a nibbler!! Which is ok when you are maintaing, but when I’m trying to lose it kills me for sure!!! Every bite really does count.
Lisa Eirene
You make a good point: I was maintaining and not gaining so I was okay with the nibbling. Now that I want to lose a few pounds I need to knock it off.
Amy
I only count calories about once a month or so to keep myself accountable. I like to try to eat mindfully most of the time….but I do have a terrible habit of popping things into my mouth. An extra slice or 2 of roast beef or chicken at lunch, an extra piece of cheese, a cracker or 2 when I give the kids afternoon tea…….I did count all my extras one day and was horrified when just 3 bites of my husbands donut came to some insane amount of calories equivalent to an entire meal :O
Amber from Girl with the Red Hair
I think this is my problem too, and WHY I can’t lose the last 5-10 pounds. It’s frustrating!!
Good luck getting your nibbling in check 🙂
Lori
I am a bigtime nibbler. Mine is mostly habit, though. I don’t consider it cheating. I write it down.
Lisa Eirene
Well that’s good! My problem is NOT writing it down.
Cortney G.
I’m such a snacker! I read the book “Naturally Thin” by Bethany Frankel. I know that she was on a reality show as a housewife in NY HOWEVER she is not the bimbo that she may come off as. I know that I can’t count calories because I become super obsessive. She gives you ways to think about eating habits that are realistic and attainable. She uses the metaphor that your dies is like a bank account. It has honestly helped me out tremendously to eat healthier and make much better choices without obsessing! Don’t forgot that you are a confident lady who had done amazing things and your health is not merely measured by the number on the scale! 🙂
Lisa Eirene
I have no judgment against different ways to get healthy. I think a lot of different programs and ideas have benefit. Especially if it works for you. 🙂
I’m curious about the “bank” idea.
Cortney G.
She basically says our diet is like a bank account and when we su
Splurge and take calories “out” of our bank account we have ou “money” (ie fruits veggies etc) back in so we don’t “overdraw” our acct. She explains it way better than ne about how to balance it out through the day but it is something that really helped me. Her book isn’t about counting and sticking to a strict routine but she really helped me with balancing what I ate in a day andearning portion size by changing the size of my dishes. I really enjoyed it as as an audio book because she read it and has a sassy no nonsense attitude.
blackhuff
I’ll confess and say, yes sometimes I do nibble and don’t count it. I think with being a working woman, at work I can’t nibble on something I don’t have. On a Saturday I’ll perhaps nibble some extra slice of cheese or some extra veggies and don’t count that either.
steena
Yep, busted, I’m a nibbler. I also buy something, take one bite out of it, and then pass it to my husband. Haha. It doesn’t count if he finishes it, right?
But you’re right, those extra nibbles & bites do add up.
Lisa Eirene
I’m glad I’m not the only one……
How you feeling Steena?
Jane
Someone recently said “What you eat in private shows up in public”. That hit me in the head like a sledgehammer. I never thought about it like that before. It is so true. I measure, weigh and journal my food but those little bites and nibbles go unrecorded. I don’t know why I do it. I fool only myself.
Lisa Eirene
I like that saying. It’s pretty true!!