James 4:17 “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” NLT
“When is your cheat day,” someone asked me in the middle of my weight-loss journey. I didn’t know what they were talking about so I inquired further. Apparently, lots of fad diets boast about the once-a-week “cheat” meal or “rewards” meal. After talking about it a little more, I decided that I would indulge. After all, I’d been at this for months, and I hadn’t stepped out of line at all. I deserved it, and I had missed a whole lot of cheat meals. What would one meal hurt? So I loaded up the family, and we went out for Italian food. Chicken Scampi was on my menu for the evening, and I didn’t stop until I’d had the delicious breadsticks, two of them to be exact. It was so good. But in the back of my mind, I had this nagging feeling of guilt like I’d committed adultery or something. The food was good, but I felt horrible. I couldn’t even enjoy my hard earned “cheat.” Over the course of my weight-loss journey, I’ve had a few episodes like that. The food was great, but inside, I didn’t even enjoy it. And I sure didn’t enjoy it the next day when I stepped on the scale and had gained 2 pounds! 2 pounds! Really?!? From one meal? There’s no way I had consumed that many calories! When I looked up the nutrition, I had eaten a little over 1600 calories that meal. That was more than the calorie count I allotted for a typical day!
After several occasions just like the one described above, I realized that the struggle I felt during and after my hard-earned “rewards” meal just wasn’t worth it. It took two extra days just to get back to where I was before I ate the one meal, and after having a ton of carbs or sugar, I struggled with temptation all the more. For me, I decided that cheating was too hard. There really was no reward involved.
Just like my cheat meals, James warns his readers about doing things contrary to what they know to be right. It just isn’t worth it, in fact, it is sin. There’s no getting around it. Sin separates us from God, and as Christians, that should be the last thing we would want. Temptation is so hard, but James gives us a way to deal with it. Earlier in this chapter, in verse 7 he says, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
Many people think that in order to battle temptation in weight loss, one must indulge but just a little. Their reasoning is that if you want a cookie, go ahead and eat the cookie so as to avoid eating two later. My suggestion is to find an alternative and turn to God. We’ve already established that no temptation is too great for God, and now we read in James that if we resist the devil, he will flee! I think the point just boils down to whom we want to please. Do we want to please our flesh? Or do we want to please God?
Do you indulge in cheat meals? What is the struggle like after you’ve indulged? Is it worth it or would you be better off living a healthy lifestyle in total completion?
Read through James 4 and find encouragement from his instructions.
Galatians 6:7-8 “Don’t be misled--you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.” NLT
Proverbs 11:3 “Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people.” NLT
I have had what I planned to be a "cheat" meal. But I didn't plan to just go all out, hog-wild. At the end of my first week I wanted pizza. I planned to have two pieces and be done. I stuck to my plan, and ended up not even going over my allotted calories for the day (including workout). So far if I've "indulged", it's fit into my day. I do think that I would feel guilty having a whole day where I just ate whatever I wanted. I would feel like I've undone all my hard work for the week and all my sacrificing would've been in vain. I would have been SO discouraged to step on the scales the following day and see a gain! I have been able to have a cookie or two along the way, but I certainly would turn that cookie down if it meant blowing my calorie "budget" for the day. But I definitely know that without God's help through these past couple of weeks I would NOT be sitting here over halfway to my first month's goal. Two slices would've led to four. One cookie would've led to 6 or more. I've not touched a regular Dr Pepper since I've started because that's where I'm weak. I know where that road leads! I won't be making any cake. Too big a temptation for me right now. But my ONLY strength in this has been the Lord. My past "dieting" attempts have all failed within 3 days. I was thinking about food ALL day - what I could have next, what I could get away with having, when oh when would lunch time get here - just completely obsessing. And all that did for me was cause me to want the food I "couldn't have". I don't know why it's different this time. It's been almost easy, barring a few temptations that have crossed my path. But, praise God, He helped me overcome. I know there will be harder days coming for me, and more discouragement (like being really really disciplined for the last 5 days and only seeing the scale budge a 1/10 of a pound), but I pray daily to have the strength to press forward toward my goal. (Did I rabbit trail too much??) Anyway, so were my planned "indulgences" really a cheat meal if they were budgeted for? I do agree that I don't think an unlimited have-anything-I-want day/meal is a good thing!
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't call them "cheating" if they still fit within your calorie budget. Weightloss really is just calories in/calories out. While I try to cut down my sugar, it's because I personally can't handle it. Sugar for me just leads to more sugar.
DeleteYou're doing awesome, and I'm so happy for you. While the scale may only be moving a little, don't worry. It'll move sooner or later once your body realizes that this is how it's going to be. I'm proud of you!
Ok, well in that case I really haven't "cheated" since I buckled down and started logging all my food. (Since the 2nd or 3rd of this month.) We all have our "Achilles heel" where we can't dare to go. I wouldn't get too proud of me until after I have a month or two of PMS cravings! LOL! I haven't crossed that bridge yet, but it's a'coming. I am pretty excited about how I'm doing so far, though!
DeleteSo prepare now for those cravings. Is it chocolate? Fiber One has these awesome Double Chocolate Cookies. They're 120 calories, and they're almost the size of a cookie from the store in the mall. They're soft and chewy too. If you put them in the microwave for about 8-10 seconds, they taste fresh from the oven. They also have 20% of your daily value of fiber. It's an overall win.
DeleteDo you have a salty suggestion too? :)
DeleteSnapea Crips are really good. They're in a bag in the produce section of Walmart by the yogurt covered pretzels. They're only $1.50 a bag, and they're actually high in protein. I take them to work a lot.
DeleteThen there's of course my favorite popchips. They sell them in Walmart too in the chip aisle. (At least in Arkansas they do. I have to hunt like a mad woman here in MS to find them.)
And then there's Quaker Popped. They're actually Rice Cakes but they're really good. The kids are even addicted. You can get them in the chip/cookie type aisle.
And fiber one also has a sweet/salty bar. I think it's Salted Caramel. And there's a pretzel one too.
DeleteThank you! Those all sound good.
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