{"id":42153,"date":"2021-07-10T10:15:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-10T14:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=42153"},"modified":"2021-07-18T13:29:35","modified_gmt":"2021-07-18T17:29:35","slug":"diet-cheats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/diet-cheats\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Diet Cheats Set You Back: Don’t Give in"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Is it okay to have a cheat day when on a food plan? Can diet cheats really set you back?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Dr. Glenn Livingston in Never Binge Again, <\/em>diet cheat days can be harmful to your food plan. When you break your diet to eat an unhealthy meal, your brain makes you feel bad and you tend to give up on your diet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is why Never Binge Again <\/em>says that you need to stick to your food plan: all day, every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Why Diet Cheats Don’t Work<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve tried to lose weight before, you\u2019ve almost certainly felt urges to break your food vows with diet cheats. First you say, \u201cYou\u2019ve been eating well for a week, so let\u2019s just have one cheat day.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then you say, \u201cWell since you\u2019ve had one cheat day, that proves you\u2019re weak. You should feel bad about yourself. So let\u2019s go back to our binge eating.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past, you would have thought of these as a natural, rational part of yourself<\/a> that needed to be listened to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you\u2019ve isolated the fat-thinking self to a separate entity, the Pig, you can recognize all such urges as Pig Squeals<\/strong>. These are complaints, feelings, and impulses to get you to binge again. Squeals are all attempts to destroy your goals so the Pig can get what it wants (this is why the Pig cannot be tolerated and is owed nothing but contempt).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pig Squeals can sound like pretty rational arguments, especially when you\u2019re vulnerable. When you\u2019re hungry and crave something, a lot of things make sense when they shouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pig doesn\u2019t care about rationality or about your higher goals. Don\u2019t argue with the Pig. Just recognize the Squeal for what it is\u2014a sabotaging of your smarter self\u2014and ignore it. Don\u2019t give in to it or reason with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n