You see it on the internet, on reality television, maybe your friend does it, maybe you do it, but the shame remains the same. If anyone walks in on you doing it, their image of you changes forever.
I, of course, am speaking about cheating on your diet.
There is such a harsh negative stigma attached to breaking a diet for a moment or day. It’s as if you are committing a crime. Don’t get me wrong, I see the importance of creating a punishment for not following a regime. If you can do whatever you want, it wouldn’t be difficult and wouldn’t change anything.
But is beating yourself up the answer? I think not.
I’ve been eating better and better. This weekend I was by my little brother. Games, movies, and fun was involved and so some junk food had to be involved. It is nearly a law to do so. This means that I cheated on my diet.
First off, if I cheated on my diet, I would be doing something to achieve better results sooner. That is how I see cheating. If you cheat on a test, you have a piece of paper with answers on it so you can ace the test without much effort. If you cheat on a diet, you eat bad and that sets you back. Anyway, I’m going off on a tangent, that’s not the point.
I don’t care that I ate junk food. I don’t feel bad, I don’t regret it, it felt great, and I’ll most probably do it again soon. That’s absolutely alright and here’s why. In order to keep up with eating right, you need to feel right. In order to feel right, you need to keep away from wrong. It’s probably more complicated than that but the simpler you see it, the easier it is.
Don’t go overboard and completely lose track of the path. Just stay on it as much as you can and don’t fear stepping off it now and then. And if you feel bad, here’s a trick. Cook up something healthy. I can almost guarantee that you will feel better because you’ll know you’re back on track.
Had some fun and skipped out on the diet for a little? Cook or eat something fresh and healthy. Add lots of greens and leave out the regrets.