Like many people, I've spent much of my life trying various diets and methods of losing weight, some quick and painless, others slow and tiring. most of them including the so-called "cheat day".
The principle of the cheat day is simple: After going on a diet throughout a week or a month, you can eat anything you like on that day. The day makes all my eating and drinking not only satisfactory but acceptable. After all, I deserve it.
However, the problem for me was that cheat days were never quite that. Either they became happy cheat weeks, cheat months and sometimes cheat years, or they filled me with anxiety of going off-track so that I couldn't truly enjoy them. Using food as a reward only perpetuated my unhealthy relationship with food, and it troubled me in my approach to health.
After struggling for a couple of months, I came to realize the true colors of the cheat day. It goes to extremes — none or all. Also, cheat days imply that foods can be divided into "good" and "bad". That's why I felt guilty when I had a piece of cake for breakfast instead of fat-free milk. But food, in fact, has no moral (道德的)value. It is simply intended to fill your body and provide nutrition. Hopefully it tastes good, too.
This simple thought has inspired me to quit cheat days. I don't feel worried or ashamed any more and start to reconsider my relationship with food. I just pay more attention to the signs of my stomach, and eat what I desire while being mindful of the health results. Doing away with cheat days lightens my mind and improves my relationship with food.
