Cheat Rewards


(Matt) #1

Hello all

I’m sure the overall answer will be don’t cheat, and my initial experiences seem to verify it.

However, in the past if I have done “diets” I found myself wanting to cheat all the time. It seems different on Keto though.

I started 3 weeks ago (fri 6th July) at 103.1kg, and I weigh myself daily and keep a log of it too - today I am at 95.2kg. So overall, I am happy with the weight loss. However, I told myself that once I got under 15stone I would give myself a cheat day (so on friday I was 94.8kg, so yesterday was my cheat day).

Its strange because in my mind I had planned a lavish day of gluttony, in reality though it was just a little bit more eating.

My breakfast was 2.5 weetabix and a 70g bag of Coconut mushrooms - so overall it was about 70g carbs. Then for lunch a tin of mackrels in tomato sauce (I was a little hungry because weetabix and basically sugar VS a steak/eggs/cheese/spinach breakfast was a little lousy). Then for dinner I had a mixed meat curry, chips and rice (I’m sure over 100g of carbs, maybe even more).

Fast forward to this morning. My test strips show I’m not in ketosis, my weight has gone up 0.4lbs, I feel a little groggy, I am hungry, and according to my tracking I have put myself back 4 days in terms of body metrics like body fat %/muscle%/water%.

Was it worth it? No, not really. Apart from that very first coconut mushroom (which was amazing to be fair), the rest of my meals did nothing to excite me.

My initial plan was to have a “Reward” day when I hit certain milestone targets (next one being under 200lb), but I am now debating if there is any point. Or maybe just stick to a cheat meal instead of a day? If it is going to kick me out of ketosis and set me back days, then it probably isn’t worth it.

Thanks
Matt


(Allie) #2

If you have to “cheat” then one meal would be better, but a big part of keto for a lot of people is breaking that emotional link with food being used as a reward. What other ways could you treat / reward yourself that wouldn’t be so damaging to your health?


(Matt) #3

Thanks.

Honestly, I’m not really sure about any other rewards. I haven’t really found following the diet difficult really, and I think part of it is down to the initial success I had with it.

In my head, the fact that I am bettering my health is more of a reward, as I don’t really want anything else.

At least now I know that my cheat meal wasn’t all that, and that maybe I don’t even need one anyway.

Thanks
Matt


(Hoteski) #4

Think the longer you stay in keto the more you won’t want to cheat. Reward yourself with none food related treats. If your hell bent on loosing the weight then why do something that will slow down the process not by a few hours but up to a week. Makes no logical sense. Id Iove a slice or a whole cheesecake… But noway José will I have a bite of one. I don’t consider carb loaded foods a reward anymore… delicious keto home cooked food is my reward most days instead. The sight of loosing 3stone (4lp away) is my reward. Knowing I’ve only got 3 more stone to go is my reward… The end is in sight… Of loosing weight that is… Keto can stay. I don’t plan on putting this weight back on. And when in keto I ether loose or stay the same. I don’t go up. That’s my reward. Anyways you get the idea.


(bulkbiker) #5

I really don’t understand the “cheat” thing… the only person you’re cheating is your own health. What is the point?
Its not as if the “cheat” food is even nice.


#6

Matt, there’s anice thread on here about how folks plan to reward themselves when they reach their goals. I haven’t read through in a while, but I think the rewards were not food-based and were creative and fun.


(Anne) #7

I was at whole foods the other day, shopping while hungry, and I found myself buying nice soap which matches the colors in my bathroom, and a couple bath bombs, and some flowers. I only bought the food I’d gone in intending to purchase, so that impulse buying from hunger expressed itself as non edible bath stuff!

I dont think theres anything inherently wrong in sort of turning keto into a game, at least in the beginning. Track food and if the macros line up right you win, that kind of thing. But I’ve always been very competitive purely against myself!


(Allie) #8

Of course there’s always the reward of new clothes in smaller sizes… or even using the money saved through keto to save up and really treat yourself to something you’ve wanted for a long time… :grinning:


(TJ Borden) #9

For sure. I’ve… “indulged” from time to time, and not only has it almost always been disappointing; either because whatever it was just didn’t taste as good as I remember, or because I felt like shit afterwards.

The main difference for me has been that because I just FEEL better on keto, if I take a day off, I WANT to get back on. I can’t wait to make a pile of bacon for breakfast, so falling off long term isn’t the risk it was on other “diets”


#10

At the beginning I said I would have a cheat day on my birthday which would be 3 months in. As time has progressed it became a cheat meal. Now I look for keto alternatives to that cheat meal and keto birthday cake / cheese cake.

Right now the cheat is I will have a few bites of something but thats it. I assume by the time my birthday comes around I wont want to cheat at all!

I feel so much better on this woe that I like this feeling more than the taste of the food left behind. :blush:


(Ron) #11

My reward is being able to eat all that delicious meat and fats and get healthy from it. Keto isn’t a diet, it is a pleasure!:joy::joy::joy::joy:


(Anne) #12

My mom and I have birthdays a week apart, so I visited my parents last week for both of them. On moms birthday, I made lasagna with grain free noodles from scratch. The noodles have arrowroot and tapioca starch along with almond flour so they are NOT keto, but I put so much delicious meat and cheese and homemade sauce in that you really didnt get that much pasta per piece of lasagna. In fact, I ate it for dinner, then breakfast the next two days, and never dropped out of ketosis!

I looked at the lasagna noodles as a sort of cheat. Upping the carbs somewhat but staying grain free (I have celiacs so gluten free is a given but I could have found gf rice or corn pasta to use) meant we could have a truly amazing meal. Lasagna was always a go to for events when I was growing up, it felt nice to make one i could eat now. (My mom is starting keto as well, so i didn’t want to make something super duper carby for her OR me)

I also made two flavors of ice cream and turned them into an ice cream cake! That was incredibly tasty.

On my birthday, we went out to an Italian restaurant which specializes in gluten free. I ordered chicken parm, which has a carby breading, but had (the best ever) sauteed brocolli with lots of olive oil and garlic instead of pasta. And we had fresh strawberries with heavy whipped cream at home for dessert!

Oh, and I made gnom-gnom’s waffle recipe for breakfast on my own birthday. So good!


(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #13

That is exactly why I don’t do cheat meals. If I want a reward, I go to a steakhouse with Wagyu beef and enjoy it.


(mags) #14

Some days I feel out of sorts and I can’t fill myself. Today was one of those days. But even if I want to cheat or ‘reward’ myself I can’t do carby stuff. Today I’ve probably eaten twice what I usually do and a great slab of wonderful cheese. Oh and a homemade keto cheesecake. More protein than I should but not over on carbs. Somehow miraculously I’m no longer tempted. For me that is a massive NSV!


(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #15

As others have been posting, if you need to cheat, make it a keto cheat. There are some great keto cheesecake recipes, and lots of other keto treats, in the Food forum and all over the Netz (I’m big on keto cheesecake at the moment, because mine was a real hit yesterday at the church picnic).

These days I am happy with some blueberries in Greek yoghurt and/or heavy cream, or a piece of unsweetened chocolate. (This is the glazed-doughnut guy talking, by the way.) :bacon:


(karen) #16

I have to agree, I don’t understand a “reward” that will accomplish exactly the opposite of what I’m rewarding myself for accomplishing. Planning a carb binge is like saying, “I can’t wait to save $500 so I can throw $100 away.” ???


(the cheater) #17

Well, I’ll play devil’s advocate here since this is the one opinion that hasn’t been voiced yet lol!

I cheat nearly every week and have still managed to lose almost 50lbs since mid-February. I really don’t weigh myself anymore except just out of curiosity. I feel so good all the time, look good, have wonderful energy, sleep, mental clarity, etc. that weight-loss has all but dropped off my to-do list (I may still have another 10lbs or so to drop if I REALLY cared).

At any event, my cheats are all-out binges. One night may consist of: $15 of Taco Bell followed by a couple donuts, 2/3 package of Oreos, pizza, ice cream, Pringles, beer… anything I want and as much as I want. The trick, of course, is to know yourself. If you know you’re someone who will buy this stuff and, if you don’t finish it all that night, will snack on it the next day and the next and eventually fall off the wagon all together, then maybe you need to cheat more controlled; like just go to a restaurant and order what you want so you don’t have leftovers or anything non-keto in the house.

But for me, after my cheat night (it’s usually a Friday night after I’ve fasted all day), I immediately get back on the wagon the next morning with a keto meal; I may even fast the next day. The long of the short of it is that it works for me; then I simply bag all my “leftover” snacks up and drop them on the common table at work and that’s the end until the next time.

I know this sounds extreme - and it may be - but it works over the long run. An added benefit is that if you know you’ve got an event coming up, you can save your cheat day for that and not have any worries since you’re just getting back on the horse the next day.

You say you put yourself back 4 days; this I don’t believe from that little cheat. But let’s say you did. Look at it this way: Each week you move forward 7 days and back 4 - you’re still gaining 3 days every week! That’s still progress. Is it slower? Sure. But you’re the only one you have to be accountable to in the end. Perhaps don’t look at the cheat day as a “reward” - I agree that rewarding oneself with a behavior for avoiding that particular behavior is probably not terribly healthy, psychologically - like, I’m trying to quit gambling so if I make it a week then I can go to the casino every Friday, but there are other motivations and ways to frame it; for me, it’s roughly the equivalent of going to see a movie. It usually lasts about 2 and a half hours, costs about $25, and I’m over it and on with my life usually even later that evening. Do I stall my weight loss? Perhaps. But do I also get to go to Walmart and see all the fun people? You bet! I also play my Nintendo Switch while I’m chilling at Taco Bell. It’s become a bit of a ritual.

In the end, I’ve made amazing progress that literally EVERYONE who knew me 6 months ago is blown away by. I feel great, my blood work is great and my doctor’s happy. But again, you have to know yourself. One thing you did differently than I, it seems, is spread yours throughout the whole day. I’ve never done that. I figure my cheat can only last for as much room as I have in my stomach - then it’s over. So maybe, if anything, orchestrate yours a bit more thoughtfully. My point is that (no pun intended) you can still have your cake and eat it too while on keto.

Again, I know my opinion on here is unpopular but it’s helped me (or at least hasn’t hindered me) - I know keto is great and easy and doesn’t require a sort of “reward” like a cheat day, but maybe I’m just not getting enough variety so that’s why it’s so intriguing and fun? Who knows? Okay, I’m prepared to be told how and why I’m wrong… go for it! :smiley:


(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #18

Hey, if it works for you, great! But would I stop at only three dozen glazed doughnuts? I don’t think so. And I like having all my fingers and toes, not to mention normal blood work, given that I come from a family where diabetes is highly prevalent on both sides.


(Ron) #19

And when I was smoking cigarettes I knew that every one I smoked was taking 7 minutes off of my life span but I sure felt great smoking it.:smirk::wink::grin:


(Troy) #20

Now that’s a :tada: Party!!
Wow
Going All in…” no holds bar “:rofl:
Gave me flashbacks
PLus, you had all the outlets covered too… congrats on the planning. Brilliant
Drive thru, donut shop, grocery store, pizza delivery, beer at some point

Oops I digress

In all honesty , Thanks for sharing though
That’s why this forum is so awesome
We are all different and can share

One HUGE concern
What did you do w the other 1/3 package of Oreos ?:thinking:
Why stop at 2/3’s
Haha