Question about cheating. page

[Gadsie]

Hey, please read this thread: marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread52636.html or let me quickly introduce myself. I'm a 14 year old guy being "primal" I've been very strict for some months now. But life just isn't fun for me anymore. I know that might sound exaggerated but it's kinda true. So I decided to add in pizza, ice cream etc into my diet again with heavy moderation off course. I'm not dealing with health/weight problems and even though I don't eat grains I still don't have any problems with them. I asked on this forum if people thought it was "ok" for me to cheat. I know it's stupid to ask that to other people but yeah whatever. Most people said it wouldn't hurt me. However, how much can I eat unhealthy? I mean compared to the average kid my age I can eat ice cream and pizza everyday and it would be a healthier diet than they have. But if I compare myself to people on this forum then cheating once a year seems horrible. I just read a thread "what's your 20%?". And people said "I eat dark chocolate once a week".
Well my question is how much/often can I eat unhealthy and still be healthy? If that makes sense. I truly hope I can enjoy some awesome stuff once in a while.

And sorry if this message was hard to understand, english isn't my first language.
Thanks for giving away your time to read this self-related post

[Diana Renata]

Technically, you don't HAVE to do anything. It's all about weighing your goals against your lifestyle.

You're 14, so you're WAY ahead of the curve on this stuff. Most of us were much older when we decided to change our diets.

How much and how often you can eat unhealthy is up to YOU. Some of us can't do it very often, which is why we're here. If you like eating Primal, keep at it. If you want to enjoy pizza and ice cream with your friends, you can do that too.

Why not try eating Primal most of the week, then make once a week a special outting with your friends to have pizza and stuff? You've got a lot of years ahead of you. Your ideas and priorities will change many times through the next 15 years. I promise.

[jakey]

gadsie, i follow your frequent posts on here. you have an unhealthy relationship with food, and are far underweight, and if i believe you, you're also only 14. please stop trying out new diets, and trying to cut weight. please cheat a bit, and live your life. i wouldn't recommend this to most adults, but in your case - stop focusing on diet and exercise, and really, stop posting threads to this forum constantly. you're obsessing over it. you often post the same questions multiple times. the pictures you've posted of yourself elsewhere reveal a seriously underweight person who is completely obsessed with food in an unhealthy way.

[Sassy]

A great deal of the people on here who say they only cheat very rarely are ones who are trying, or already have lost a lot of weight - something that's not so easy as we get older. OR they have various medical issues or food sensitivities that they are dealing with.

It doesn't sound like you're dealing with either of those situations, so the answer for you is that you can eat whatever you like, and however much of it you want to the point that you still feel good.

I'm really against the concept of "cheating" because while I don't eat cake very often, if I choose to have a slice, I'm not cheating, I'm simply making a choice about what I want to eat that day. Too much cake makes me feel lousy, and interferes with my weight goals, so I only make that choice when it's worth it to me.

A good way for you to go (and Diana's suggestion was a good one too), is save your less healthy, more mainstream good choices for social situations. Also - pay attention to how you feel vs. how much pizza and ice cream you've eaten. If you find you can eat that stuff all weekend and feel fine as long as you go more primal during the week, there's your answer. If two slices is fine, but three makes you feel bad, that's good to know - you can generally eat two slices of pizza with friends and not suffer from it. etc.....

[billp]

Remember Gadsie that a lot of the people here talking about cheating are proper fatsos. You by the sound of it are not, so don't worry about it. So long as you mostly avoid veg oil and wheat (not exclusively), and get plenty of meat and animal fats, then you don;t have to stress. Just eat what you fancy. If you get enough animal fat you won't want sugar all the time and you will be fine.

Remember there is a big difference between your circumstances and a 40+ fat person. BTW I think you are a normal 14 year old and do not have an unhealthy relationship to food, least not as far as I know.

[Forgotmylastusername]

You're a young fit 14 year old. I honestly wouldn't even bother cutting out bread at this stage, no need to stress about it. You shouldn't be putting this much thought into food at your age considering you're young, fit and healthy. The only thing that's unhealthy about your diet is the fact you're obsessing over it. You shouldn't even be considering a pizza or a bag of chips a "cheat" as a 14 year old, you're not a metabolically deranged overweight sedentary middle aged woman.. Eat your fruit, rice, potatoes and veges during the week, then go live your life with friends on weekends and enjoy some pizza and chips.

[Saoirse]

EAT FOOD. please read michael pollan's "the omnivore's dilemma." you are still growing, and will be for a while, so your focus should be on getting plenty of nutritious food. make that your focus. "is this food going to nourish me?" you need a lot of healthy fat and a lot of meat because YOU'RE GROWING. please don't compare your diet to the diets of most on this forum, they are in a different place than you are. if you're too restrictive with your diet, you might impair your growth and become less healthy! so when you're eating alone or choosing your own meal, focus on nourishing foods for people who are growing. when you're with your friends, eat whatever you feel like eating.

[zoebird]

I agree with the others. And I'll talk about myself: this past week has been crazy for me food wise.

I am a 35 yr old woman, 18% body fat, no real dietary issues/problems. I do not consume dairy usually because it gives me an upset tummy. Nevertheless, sometimes I eat it.

This past week has been funny. Lots of parties and nonsense like that. I love parties. LOL I'm an introvert, but a party is a great thing.

On monday, I had a ginger slice (type of cake);
On tuesday, I had wedding cake with my client (brownie. and I had about 4 pieces of cake I think. LOL);
On wednesday, I had thai food and ate ALL of the rice!
On thursday, I had a white-chocolate/lemon slice (type of cake);
on friday, I had easter candy with DS.

On saturday, I had chips with my fish (home made, but still)
And to day is sunday and I've just had breakfast so far today, btu who knows what I'll get into this afternoon. LOL

It is FINE.

I haven't gained weight. I haven't gained inches. I haven't died.

I have had a sugar high pretty much running since monday. LOL

And you know? I would wager that if i continued on like this, I'd probably gain a few lbs, maybe a bit of body fat -- moving up to 20%.

Before going primal, I had rice daily (pretty much), and I had anzac biscuits daily. And I was happy with my body. I went primal to help my husband heal up. I thought it would be easier if we all ate the same, and paleo looked like a great option for us. So, we went primal, and it's been great. I lost body fat, got leaner, and feel great.

But it's not as if I wasn't feeling great before. So, you know, it's ok.

You are ok.

If you want to eat these cheats and treats, then do. Honestly. It's not the end of the world.

[sbhikes]

Take a look at this series of pictures. What the World Eats, Part I - Photo Essays - TIME Click through until you get to the American family. Notice all the sodas and juices stacked in the back, all the stuff in packages. And yet, they look pretty healthy.

I can see your dilemma. How can someone who is skinny and healthy figure out what is right when it's possible to eat a diet of mostly artificial food and stay healthy? What you can do is make the best choices you can. The really sick and unhealthy teens are eating worse food than that family. They never have fresh meat or vegetables. They drink 32oz sodas every day. They pop pre-made stuff in the microwave for dinner. They eat too many calories and eat candy and potato chips every day.

Even if you went out for pizza every day with your friends, you probably won't do that for your entire life. It's not going to hurt you, not even in the long run.

[zoebird]

I always find that photo-essay shocking!

It's so funny because the only "prepared" foods that we buy are mayonnaise, mustard, and hot sauce. Some of our spices are pre-mixed into flavor combos (cajun, mexican, etc).

Everything else is pretty much a whole food. We kinda look like the family from ecuador or bhutan.