It's OK Everybody cheats

[Suzanne]

This is something i have wanted to post about for quite some time. I can't tell you how many times i have read this in journals over the years on many different boards.

I am talking about contest prep and people journals when they post they have cheated on their plan, eaten entire boxes of cereal or even just a cookie or two or skipped WOs or cardio then tons of people come in and pat them on the back and say "oh it's ok everybody cheats" even when a person has repeatedly cheated. This is pertaining to unautohorized cheating on a contest plan.

How is this helping? I don't get it

1) Not everyone cheats, I do not cheat during prep and i know others who do not cheat.
2) I assume my competitors do not cheat which makes sure i don't cheat
3) By allowing yourself to think "everybody cheats" you are already allowing it to happen before it does

Do i think people should post anything mean in those journals certainly not but the words should be maybe to ask the person how bad they want this, remind them it is a competition and others aren't cheating instead of enabling the person in their cheating

When i go into prep i remember i CHOSE to do it
I chose to follow a diet
I chose to do the WOs
I chose to do the cardio
I chose to do whatever sacrifice it take to be my very best

And when you get through a prep without ever cheating or missing a WO or missing a cardio regardless how you place you can say you did your very best and you gave it 100% there was nothing more you could have done that alone makes you a winner

This question was completely misunderstood on another board so
I am not asking:
is it ok to cheat?
why do people cheat?
the purpose of cheat meals and refeeds?
do we support people in their thread when they do cheat?

I am asking specifically why people chose the words EVERYBODY CHEATS when they respond in the thread. Is it because they believe everybody does cheat? it is because they just don't know what else to say and feel saying that is being supportive?

My feeling is that saying "everybody cheats" is detrimental Why would the person think they can be strong enough to stick to their plan if everybody else cheats? how can one stick to a plan if they go in thinking everybody cheats?

[Angela123]

girl...u read my mind. i saw u posted this on another board. i wanted to tell you to post it here.

congrats on FL!

[Gaoshang Xiongshou]

Very nice thread! This should be really interesting!

[Scoobysnacks]

If it wasnt planned then there is no room for this, that I dont let happen.

However, planned "cheat" meals or metabolism resets, or loading days however you want to term them do have a place in prep. Look at Daves diet, people eat pizza once per week. Last year during my prep since I lose weight fast but I also wanted to keep my metabolism zooming I had a cheat on my b-day 9 weeks out and a cheat at superbowl 7 weeks out and one at 5 weeks out. My conditioning is best viewed in my profile pic and I feel it was pretty good. And after each and every meal I was down the next day.

If they are earned and built in, I think it can be beneficial, but if its just because you are hungry and get weak, then I 100% agree there is no room for that in prep.

Good points....

Ss

[tammyp]

its not ok to cheat. but id lie if i said i havent. not an all out food fest, but im a picker, so ill pick at a bite of this or that. it doesnt really hurt me, i always get ready a bit early, so im lucky. but its not something i do all the time either. i never have alot of weight to drop so my 16 week prep gives me plenty of time to drop 10 -12 lbs that i need to.

[Aaron Singerman]

I always PLAN my cheat meals far in advance... I have never broken down and just said "Fuck it"... The fact that I KNOW I have a cheat meal coming up (at some point) helps. When I start getting cravings for something I just add it to the list of things to eat on my cheat day/meal. I done quite a few 10,000 calorie cheat meals... BUT never without a plan! lol.

[Scoobysnacks]

I always PLAN my cheat meals far in advance... I have never broken down and just said "Fuck it"... The fact that I KNOW I have a cheat meal coming up (at some point) helps. When I start getting cravings for something I just add it to the list of things to eat on my cheat day/meal. I done quite a few 10,000 calorie cheat meals... BUT never without a plan! lol.

I agree...

[gman]

Now that I am taking a no excuses, all out approach, I only cheat on day 7 for one meal, just like Dave P tells me to. It's amazing how easy it is now that I am 5 weeks in. It gives me something to look forward to, just like Aaron said, when I see something that I crave I just file it away for my cheat meal. Then when day 7 comes, I have a whole list of possibilities! Finally, I am getting the bodybuilder mentality. It took me long enough!

[tdcoach]

If it is part of your diet ie..refeeds on keto, then it is not cheating. I think people are just trying to be supportive when they say, Everybody cheats. You are right , not everyone cheats, I wish I could say I was one of them.

[Suzanne]

I wasn't asking if cheat meals are beneficial

I am asking if someone goes off htier plan and cheats when they arent' supposed too why do so many people respond in thier journals "it's ok everybody cheats" it is the response i am asking about why don't people either tell them to scuk it up and do thier diet or if a fragile person (ie: has eating disorder nd really upset over the cheat) respond with something like "let's find out why so it doesn't happen again" or maybe even suggest comp dieting isn't for them til they get theri eating issues under control

[GirlyMuscle]

I think because the people who have competed and have cheated in their prep actually believe everyone does. I mean, on the boards especially we hear all the groans about how competitors cheat, etc. It's very rare that anyone posts and says, Hey all is well and I never cheat. Usually, it's people lamenting how they have cheated. Until ypou made this post I was under the impression that everyone cheated at least once in some way or another. It was actually a big eye opener to me when you posted that you never cheat. I'm glad you did post that. Now I have a different perspective.

[indianamonster1986]

I have during my first few contest preps because I had doubts in my progress. But like now I only cheat when it is a planned cheat day.

[GirlyMuscle]

And if it's planned it's not a cheat. Maybe it's a refeed, carb-up, splurge....but it's not a CHEAT.

[chucksm00th]

Its an excuse to make themselves feel better about slacking on their diet. These are the same people that complain about the fact they dont look as good as they wanted, yet they only have themselves to blame for being lazy and weak in that respect. A scheduled "cheat" is the only "cheat that should be consumed on a diet to kickstart the metabolism, other than that, if your cheating then you really dont want it as much as you think you do.

[Sistersteel]

I wasn't asking if cheat meals are beneficial

I am asking if someone goes off htier plan and cheats when they arent' supposed too why do so many people respond in thier journals "it's ok everybody cheats" it is the response i am asking about why don't people either tell them to scuk it up and do thier diet or if a fragile person (ie: has eating disorder nd really upset over the cheat) respond with something like "let's find out why so it doesn't happen again" or maybe even suggest comp dieting isn't for them til they get theri eating issues under control

I hate the word "cheat". Even if it is planned, that terminology stirs up guilt and paranoia in me. The subconscious is a powerful thing. The term refeed, carb up is far more appropriate in my opinion. Helps me keep my sanity. Your mind can sabotage you in a heartbeat if you are not careful.

Its quite simple really. The philosophy of a competitive bodybuilder is being the best he/she can be come show time. That leaves no room for error. So falling off a diet is unacceptable.

But the purpose of the boards is to show support to those who have chosen this path. Some people might be dieting for their first show and some might be seasoned competitors. You are more likely to see someone admit to falling off their diet if they have not been competing long. You will NEVER see a seasoned competitor admit to falling off a diet. The reason being: a seasoned competitior possesses the knowledge to fix a f*ck up. They have been down that road enough times and know their bodies well enough to get things back on track.

Newbies, on the other hand, think their lives are falling apart if they stray. They feel like they have ruinned all they had worked so hard for. So those among us who have been through that at some point in our athletic carreers, encourage those who have strayed by telling them it is ok.
We are not misleading them at all because the more seasoned ones among us know that the beginning stages will pretty much mold them into the future bodybuilders that they are going to be. You have to let them go through whatever it is they have to go through while helping them keep a positive attitude. These preliminary stages are crucial in separating the champs from the wannabes.

The rigor of this sport does a very good job at breaking people in on its own. We are here to offer encouragement and support.


On a side note, allow me to add that bodybuilding is more mental than anything. So its how you DEAL with these things that can either make or break you.