Cheating Doesn't Apply Here

I originally posted this in response to another post a few weeks ago.  The holidays were full of people upset that they had "cheated" on their diets, and were looking for ways to stop.  It made me think about the word "cheating" and it's real meaning.

Cheating refers to an immoral way of achieving a goal. It is generally used for the breaking of rules to gain unfair advantage in a competitive situation. Cheating is the getting of reward for ability by dishonest means. 

So if we were "cheating" on our diets, wouldn't we be eating nothing but carrots and celery, and exercising 8 hours a day?  

For many of us, we have such a negative self image as it is, and we unconsciously use words that perpetuate the stereotype.  Take the word "diet" for example.  What comes to mind?  For me, pain, agony, tears, frustration, and years of not being successful come to the forefront.  And yet, the definition of diet?  

In nutrition, diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism.^[1] Dietary habits are the habitual decisions an individual or culture makes when choosing what foods to eat. 

It's a pretty neutral word that has been misused throughout the years to the point it has a negative connotation. Remember Richard Simmons, the exercise guru?  He tried to change the word diet to liveit or something similar.  He too recognized that we had been beat down by the word never living up to its promises.  

So for the new year, I will make a conscious effort to not say that I am "cheating on my diet".  Instead, I am "deviating from plan".  And by the way, I'm going to try real hard not to deviate from plan!

Happy New Year everyone!

Awesome post!!

Thanks, and Happy New Year!