Never understood the 'cheating on a diet' idea. Cheating is taking a short cut in the marathon so you don't have to run as far. Cheating is hiding aces in your sleeve at cards. Cheating is getting yourself a second sex partner when you're supposed to be monogamous.

Surely nobody cheating here thinks they're taking the quick and easy route or getting something for nothing, do they? It's slipping, stumbling, relapsing... taking a break, if you must... but calling it cheating sounds like you're doing something sneaky to win rather than running backwards for a while to sabotage yourself.

Cheating on a weight-loss diet would be liposuction.

lol never thought about it like that and your right

What a great view point. Thank you!

I gotta disagree with you - and not just because strong words help us to avoid self-delusion. A partial definition of the word:

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
transitive verb
1 : to deprive of something valuable by the use of deceit or fraud
2 : to influence or lead by deceit, trick, or artifice
3 : to elude or thwart by or as if by outwitting <cheat death>
intransitive verb
1 a : to practice fraud or trickery b : to violate rules dishonestly <cheat at cards> <cheating on a test>

If you make a committment to a plan and deliberately deviate, it's a cheat. You may drink during Induction and eat 40 carbs a day - losing weight all the while - but that doesn't mean you were on the straight and narrow. Call it what it is or don't, but a rose by any other name...

I completely agree, when I "cheat" I feel guilt, for enjoying food!
Isn't that what it's for? So I decided to say "splurge" because it means I deserve it after all the hard work. Hopefully I'll have less guilt and if someone wants to maintain or lose they shouldnt have to feel deprived and suffer. In moderation a splurge is okay. Of course there is a difference between splurging and having triggers that cause you to binge so in that case splurging, at least on regular carbs is not a good idea. There are lc treats to splurge on while you wait though-jello, lc icecream bars with pecans are really good. And sf chocolates. But I agree cheat is the wrong word. losing weight is really hard because we have to restrict how much and what we eat and we should not punish ourselves with guilt especially when we have been losing consistently whether it's 1/2 lb or 5lbs a month. Losing one pound means restricting a whole lot of carbs, calories and being mindful every single day. The best plan is one tailored to your needs that helps an individual maintain a diet, so you decide whether you are "cheating" or not. Of course by someone elses standards you can be cheating. This is why it's good to be flexible and have patience with yourself. This is not an all or nothing "commitment". It's a learning process and I'm not going to feel like a failure if one day I decide to have a pint of icecream. I came off plan, and got back on-that'snot cheating, that's living and enjoying food even while losing weight.

Personally, I don't care if a person cheats - errr, I mean, splurges - their way to goal in a matter of days, eating caramel sauce and nachos at every opportunity. The issue for me is broader, in that some tend to ask board permission to deviate (as if we can absolve each other), advise others to follow their lead ("Well I eat popcorn all the time and it doesn't affect my weightloss, honest!"), or martyr themselves when they have less-than-stellar results ("Must I have give up my beloved candied apples when I've already sacrificed soooOOOOoooOo much?!"). To paraphrase a biblical text, 'Each must carry their own load.' It'd be cool to see more people making food choices without making excuses or getting caught up in semantics, is all. This may not have anything to do with your original thoughts Bexicon, but I wanted to explain my rationale since I'm in the minority today.

Just one fat girl's opinion, of course. May we all eat, drink and make merry this fine weekend.

Make that two fat girl's opinions. I think you have to make it a strong word for it to mean anything. I don't lie, cheat or steal, so using the cheat word keeps me eating what is allowed. Or, even exercising when I'd rather not. It holds me accountable. Once I give my word or even make a commitment to myself, I'm on the straight and narrow from there on out. My reward is how good I feel because of the results of my actions. I know in my heart that those foods that are not allowed never taste as good as we remember and the taste only stays with you a few minutes after I chew and swallow. It's not worth it to me. We need to learn new ways of rewarding ourselves besides with food. Feeling like we "deserve" a bad food for all your hard work at losing weight is what gets us in trouble to start with.

Sunny!

Argh. I think I was not clear. Cheat is wrong because cheat is not strong enough.

The definitions you provided are why I think it's the wrong word. You are not tricking, deceiving or outwitting anyone by cheating on a diet -- you are choosing to go backwards to the detriment of nobody but yourself. Cheating is an attractive word -- cheating is all about getting ahead dishonestly. If a person thinks bingeing on carbs is 'cheating,' I have to wonder what game they think they're playing or whether they understand what they're trying to win.

Better terms:
Screwing yourself over
Sabotaging yourself
Slipping
Relapsing
Losing sight of the objective
Giving up

You want strong?
Failing
F*cking up

They're more accurate and they are not even synonyms for cheat. "Cheating" on a diet is an insult to cheats

The way 'cheat' is used in this forum is analogous to: "I'm going to cheat in my cancer treatment by skipping some of my chemo."

"I'm going to cheat on this math test by writing down the wrong answers to get a lower mark."

Edited repeatedly for (hopefully) clarity.

I don't believe in "bad" food. I know how many calories and carbs I eat and how often and that has not stopped me from losing weight, those so-called "mess ups" are part of the plan. This is not a 'I need to lose weight faster than you' plan, it's a weight maintenance for life plan and being overly strict will only deprive you even more and cause you to feel unnecessary guilt. Does guilt help you lose weight? Is a strict diet the way you are going to eat forever? I think people need to give themself some room to "mess up", if that's what you want to call it.

As far as comparing cheating on a diet to skipping chemo therapy, that is very extreme! For someone with obesity as a life or death situation that might apply, but to someone like me, it doesn't.

I understand the concept of not demonizing certain foods, and I realize not everyone is the same, but it seems like a lot of people change the word to avoid changing the behavior.

I know I'm personally guilty of talking myself into things I shouldn't have, and while beating myself up isn't the answer... since it can lead to a guilt-induced binge, it's just a matter of semantics sometimes.