Why I had to ditch "cheat days," & what I did to lose 100+ lbs

There were many commonalities I found in different fad diets while preparing to lose weight. More protein… Less sugar… No carbs… More vegetables… But something that was often common amongst all diet conversations were cheat days. Eat well all week, track your calories and your macros, and choose one day where you allow yourself to eat something you crave. When I first started my weight loss journey, I thought (just like many others,) that this was the perfect equation for me! I would be strict all week and struggle with my cravings because I knew that come the weekend, I would have a day where I could indulge and give in to something I loved. Except there was one problem… at 270lbs, I was addicted to sugar. I wouldn’t be able to control myself, I would indulge in way more than I should come that cheat day Sunday, and before I know it, I’m sitting in bed surrounded by candy wrappers.

Monday would come… I would beat myself up and get ready to start over, avoid the scale and look at my bloated stomach in disgust for a few days. Here’s the thing though, I would never learn my lesson. I would get to the months end having only lost a pound or two and wonder what I was doing wrong. I was so good 6 out of 7 days, I would work hard and exercise… I should be losing but I’m stuck in a plateau and I couldn’t understand why.

What I didn’t realize was how strong my addiction to sugar truly was. I expected my body and mind to just accept the fact that sugar was no longer a staple in my life without fear, without struggle, and without overdose.

After a few months of seeing very little progress to the amount of work I was putting in, I realized two things.

1. I was overwhelming my body by trying to do too much at once. (read my blog about separating weight loss and fitness here.)

2. And cheat days were causing me to back step to any if not all of the progress I had been making in the week.

Sugar is addictive, like really freaking addictive… like more than you even realize, addictive; and every time I sat down to have one of my “cheat” options, it would quickly turn into a day of bad choices. I was having a weekly relapse every week and didn’t even realize it. What happens when someone tries to quit smoking “cold turkey?” Yup, more often than not, they’re going to end up grabbing another cigarette. The odd few will make their way past addiction and succeed, just like with weight loss, but the majority of people are going to find another stick between their fingers at some point.

So why is food any different? Your taste buds change when you stop having so much sugar in your life, it’s hard to use your “willpower” when all those taste buds are doing is telling you that everything tastes like shit. But eventually, if you stick to it long enough, those taste buds will start to taste the natural sugars for what they are… sweet. Did you know that vegetables actually taste sweet?

Yeah, me either. Did you know that sugars in pops and juices can overload your taste buds and are totally overwhelming? Guess what… when you go long enough without them, they definitely do. It took me months to realize that I was sabotaging myself by holding out for these cheat days. I was purposely killing any progress I was making and made it harder for myself to succeed because of this habit that I thought was the right thing to do. Diet culture had told me that it was how we got by, instead of teaching me how to slowly wean myself off the foods that caused my body harm. Diet culture failed me because most who sell diets, don’t truly want you to succeed… because not every diet works for every person… because everyone is different and has different struggles… because not everyone can quit cold turkey. I changed from that moment, I started allowing myself to have small amounts of sugars each day instead of just jumping and going for that healthy life without support. I did it for myself, I allowed myself to have a slice of cake at a party, so I could stop myself from indulging in the candy bar or bowls of chips.

I ENJOYED MY DIET!

Guess what happened? I lost weight… like a lot of it… like 100+ lbs over two years. Slowly but surely, every week I would see the scale drop.

260…

250…

230…

220…

199…

I hit milestone after milestone and watched as clothes that were once tight became loose. I struggled but I didn’t fail and I stopped beating myself up for mistakes I made along the way.

Over time, my sugar intake became less as I started reaching for natural alternatives as well. I became stronger, I felt better, and I started to want good real food over junk. For the first time in a long time, I had faith in my capabilities. I had faith that I would be able to accomplish what I truly wanted… I would find the healthy life I always dreamt of and I would learn along the way instead of blindly following in someone else’s footsteps. So what’s stopping you?

Look at your diet, do you love what you’re eating? What can you do to change the struggle you’re feeling and become successful?

I hope this blog helped you realize a thing or two about the lifestyle you’re creating for yourself, because you never stop living it. Enjoy what you’re eating because you’re not going to come to a day where you no longer need to follow a diet. This is your life now and will continue to be if you truly want to be healthy, so stop punishing yourself!

Don’t hate every step of the journey, find a way to love it! <3