A little while back I started this (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=41577) thread and in light of the subject contained therein I am curious John, why would you take a week off from your regular eating habits if eating that way is what you enjoy. Or if you don't enjoy eating that way then why do you do something that you don't enjoy?

I don't mean to sound argumentative but it occurred to me while reading your last update that you seemed so happy that you were going to take a week off and eat whatever you liked. Why would that be any different to what you eat on a regular basis?

Well...obviously, I'm not John, but I think you might be misreading it a little. He didn't say that he was going to go nuts and eat pizza, pork rinds, and cheez whiz every day -- My reading is that while he'll probably eat healthy most of the time, he won't be super strict about it. If he is craving an occasional cheeseburger :drool:, he'll eat it....whereas normally, he would restrict it to a planned cheat meal.

Well...obviously, I'm not John, but I think you might be misreading it a little. He didn't say that he was going to go nuts and eat pizza, pork rinds, and cheez whiz every day -- My reading is that while he'll probably eat healthy most of the time, he won't be super strict about it. If he is craving an occasional cheeseburger :drool:, he'll eat it....whereas normally, he would restrict it to a planned cheat meal.
That about nails it. :)

I guess that most would perceive my post as negative but thats not my intention at all. I am just trying to get my head around why we do the things we do even if we would like to be doing something else.

The funny thing is that part of the reason that I posted again was that last night was my scheduled cheat meal and I couldn't think of a thing I really wanted other than my normal eggs/salad/tuna etc. I ended up making a pizza but it wasn't very satisfying at all.

Anyway, just to clarify matters, I strongly admire John for all that he has accomplished and often reference him and his achievements when motivating myself to do better. I am not trying to question your motives John and I wish you a really enjoyable vacation.

I just tend to question things quite a lot... drives me insane at times. :)

This is why I don't subscribe to the whole cheat meal thing. I never know when I'll feel like cheating. I don't plan the cravings, they come when they come, you know? So I just work them into my nutritional plan as best I can. If I am dying for ice cream then I'll have ice cream, no problem, I just "steal" 600 calories from my next couple of meals.

Plus, hey, why lie to ourselves? Eating healthy feels great, but so does letting loose every now and then. Actually every time I go on vacation and eat badly I end up feeling awful, which is actually a good thing since it reminds me how unsatisfying eating junk really is. It's only satisfying when you're doing the eating--afterwards you just feel like a big fat slob!

Vacations bring back all the memories of being fat and out of shape, so they keep me on the straight and narrow. At least that's what I tell myself when I'm stuffing my face. :lol: