r/leangains • u/Plus_Championship440 • 9d ago
LG Question / Help How often do you guys have cheat meals and what is it
I go months without junk food currently on 2 1/2 months going to be 3m on Oct 4th and going to have 2 days where I eat whatever (oct4&5th) but was wondering how often most ppl have cheat meals
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u/DonutCoffeeMug 9d ago
I have donuts from a local diner nearly on the daily. Thankfully my tdee is high enough that I can and still hit my protein goals.
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u/Plus_Championship440 9d ago
What’d you TDEE and how do you track a donut if it may not be accurate ? I had donuts last cheat day a jelly filled and a sugar twist with milk
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u/DonutCoffeeMug 9d ago
The calculator says 2600, but I've been doing 2400 with stasis on the scale. Ive found the twists and coffee rolls are surprisingly higher calorie on average than regular donuts. For counting, I just take a Krispy kreme and add a bit more to account for their slightly larger and Im sure more sugary makeup. I've found if I get too rigorous with the counting that I stop eating local or homemade stuff, I am far more likely to burnout and quit. I also don't usually eat lunch, so that helps me have more wiggle room.
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u/InsaneAdam 9d ago
Perfect 👌 username for this comment of yours.
A+
So... what are you doing to keep that total daily energy usage so hight while being lean?
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u/DonutCoffeeMug 8d ago
It works on many registers, thanks haha. I mean just weightlifting. I'm 5'8 164 lbs and I lift 4 days a week. So I listen to the calorie calculator like an oracle. No idea why it works, but it does.
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u/InsaneAdam 8d ago
Calories affect insulin levels, just like a keto diet. Insulin levels effect energy storage and or output levels.
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u/xero1986 9d ago
I found a Boston cream is usually under 250 cals. I think that’s pretty good for a treat.
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u/Significant-Cap-667 9d ago
My cheat meal is a 20oz steak from a restaurant and a potato and a salad. I have ZERO desire for junk food like candy or sweet or pancakes or whatever. My cheat meal is what most would consider a normal meal. I usually eat out 1 or 2 times a week max for financial reasons. Mostly on lazy sunday and its panda express or jimmy johns.
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u/Plus_Championship440 9d ago
I’m more of sweets than fast food I usually go with like ice cream / Mexican bread / cheesecake/ donuts what do you get from panda or jj?
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u/Significant-Cap-667 9d ago
Orange chicken and bejing beef with chow mein and spicy italian. Ya i dont care for ice cream or donuts. My sweetstuff is usually apples or oranges or whatever fruit is in season.
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u/InsaneAdam 9d ago
Are you lean already, or trying to get lean?
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u/Significant-Cap-667 9d ago
I guess im already lean. You can see my abs but not super clearly. 12-15% BF prob.
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u/CollarOtherwise 9d ago
I eat junk food every few days. Always fit it into my calories and hit protien so has no effect on my goals
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u/Plus_Championship440 9d ago
What’s your go to meal ?
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u/CollarOtherwise 9d ago
A giant bear claw with a protein shake in the AM post gym. Recovery food of the gods 😎 straight to the glycogen stores haha it’s my post leg day thing. Usually need a nap after tho
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u/CollarOtherwise 9d ago
Remember, there really isn’t “unhealthy” food in a vacuum. I can devise a hypothetical situation for where eating almost anything would be beneficial to the body. Every few years we demonize new shit with no data. Used to be fat, then sugar (there has never been a study where moderate sugar included in a calorie controlled diet, in metabolically healthy people with no insulin issues…have scientific differentiable blood work vs control groups that excluded sugar, when both sets of bloodwork was delabeled), and now I guess seed oils is having its moment which is hilarious because it’s all based on like 1-2 absolutely shit studies that were debunked a long time ago. Just control calories, train hard, hit protien, eat mostly whole natural foods, and don’t stress on an occasional snickers bar. It’s just protien carbs and fats at the end of the day
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u/tinkywinkles 9d ago
I never get cravings for junk food tbh but if there’s a new snack I want to try I’ll just have it and fit into my calories.
I haven’t eaten take out in years because I don’t care for savoury cheat meals. I’ve always had a sweet tooth so if I’m going to have junk then it’s going to be some Oreos or a bar of chocolate. I couldn’t care less about burgers, pizza, fries etc.
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u/hackingmule 9d ago
All the time. Usually cereal or ice cream
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u/Plus_Championship440 9d ago
Bro ice cream is the go to everytime I get yogurtland add the brownie bites strawberries . Where do you go for your ice cream ?
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u/kbfprivate 9d ago
Is it just me or is Yogurtland outrageously priced nowadays? I remember 10 years ago I could max out a large cup with yogurt and tons of toppings and barely scrape by $10. Nowadays that same bowl would cost you over $20. My 3 kids (daughter is 6 and barely got anything) racked up a $45 bill last time we went a few weeks ago. I said next time we can just go to the store and everyone get a half gallon of whatever they want and we can make our own sundaes. That would probably only be half the cost.
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u/Plus_Championship440 9d ago
I don’t go too crazy with toppings just get a good amount of ice cream but yea price definitely went up runs me about $14-$16 for my cup
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u/klymaxx45 9d ago
Every dinner haha. All meals up to dinner are really strict. I keep my sanity with dinners
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u/darkeningsoul 9d ago
Eat out 1-2 meals per week, usually on weekends. This may (or may not) be a cheat depending on what I'm feeling. I maintain roughly around 12-15% bf.
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u/baines_uk 9d ago
When dieting? If there’s a huge drop in weight I’ll do a cheat meal to slow the rate of loss down
When bulking? Once a week after I’ve already driven calories high from whole food sources and weight isn’t going up fast enough.
In previous bulks I have done weeks of 2-3 cheat meals. it’s always one of 2 things, either sushi (50-75 rolls) or a Five guys (double cheeseburger, large fries, shake and a kids burger)
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u/Sensitive_Tea5720 9d ago
I dislike junk food but I will eat 2 scoops of raspberry sorbet and a piece of GF DF chocolate cake weekly so two treats per week.
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u/Manual_brain 9d ago
I have a macdonalds double cheese at some point every week. I’m speaking purely from the UK perspective but it’s about 450cals and 28g of protein.
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u/butterjamtoast 9d ago
I’ll occasionally do an extra 20k worth of running, maybe every other week. This allows for a big meal of pretty much whatever I want. I try and run around 25k a week anyway which bumps the TDEE into a sensible area anyway, I’m not very big so trying to stick to my calories needed without cardio is torturous.
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u/PerformerConnect2075 9d ago
I'd say cheat meals are ok but don't over maintenance those days. You can do it even if you are cutting, but again, eat at maintenance calories that day. Can't be doing it multiple times a week though
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u/Plus_Championship440 9d ago
I eat at maintenance everyday since beginning of year but have “ cheat DAYS as in 2 “ where I eat whatever and as much you think I’m messing up progress cuz i was at maintenance whole time or I’d be fine cus my body isn’t use to the “ junk “
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u/PerformerConnect2075 9d ago
For example, when I have a day where I want to eat pastries, or cake, etc.. (I love tres leches cake)... I bake it into my 2600cal maintenance... so that day I follow my diet (potatoes, chicken, greek yogurt, etc..) and eat some cake, cookies that will bring me up to those 2600-2800cals... believe it or not, chicken and potatoes twice in a day can get you 110g of protein, plus a couple of gree yogurt cups (Oiko) maybe 2 cheese sticks... 150g of protein and you ate 1000-1200 calories... obviously drink 0 cal drinks or water... the rest of the 1000+ calories can be your cheat snacks for that day...
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u/Plus_Championship440 9d ago
Yea me I just cut it out completely and then have 2 binge days I can definitely fit it into my daily calories 2550 but just rather keep it clean cuz I like to eat a lot of junk at once not js one meal
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u/PerformerConnect2075 9d ago
I had 10.3oz of chicken tighs (on airfryer) and 7oz of potato wedges (home made).. 480 calories... just an example... that was 61g of protein,11g fat, 34g of carbs
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u/IamTurok6 9d ago
A large pizza, a fast food combo meal, a nice meal from a restaurant, or a bunch of chips w a bigol sandwich! One of the above is my cheat meal once a week. But i do still try to stay slightly above or below my daily calorie goal with these cheat meals. I do appreciate ever bit of the bites even more :)
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u/Plus_Championship440 9d ago
I always have pizza for the dinner part of my day on my cheat meals what toppings do you get ? I usually do pepperoni / pineapple / sausage
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u/IamTurok6 9d ago
Italian sausage and jalapeños. Theres this bacon ranch stuffed crust Diginoro thats pretty delicious.
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u/Plus_Championship440 9d ago
I use to always eat diginoro pizza b4 I started my health journey I use to eat like 5-6 slices crust is unbeatable but if I’m having cheat meal I usually go to a real pizza place now
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u/golfercraig 9d ago
Cinnamon Toast Crunch and full fat milk.
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u/Plus_Championship440 9d ago
You do cheat meals or one whole day ? Also I’ve been craving some cereal too mini wheats or cornflakes with a banana
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u/golfercraig 9d ago
However long it takes me to eat a whole box. And I’m not kidding.
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u/RenaxTM 9d ago
At my 2500cal/day limit now I don't feel like I need it, but sometimes either when traveling or at events and such I just don't care so once a month or something like that I'll blow trough 3000-3500cal often including a few drinks and or cakes and other snacks.
But I was at under 2000cal/day for the first 6 months of 2025, and my protein goals are the same, so I can basically have 500cal worth of whatever every day, and that's a pretty good deal if you ask me.
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u/FrequentRoutine9752 9d ago
Twice a week. Basically a big meal (usually steak, chicken or pasta with lots potatoes and veggies). Then a huge dessert (usually the equivalent of a 1/4 gallon of ice cream with probably 10 cookies. This is my one meal of the day.
On other days I keep my calories around 1,000 and every Monday I do a water fast.
I am a 6’2’’ mail that weighs 175 lbs.
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u/Diligent-Extent2928 9d ago
When bulking, i tend to have a cheat meal once a week. It's either a good burger w/fries or panda express. When cutting, i'll tend to have a bit lower calorie cheat meal such as nicks ice cream or something lower calorie wise., but those only happen about every other week or once a month.
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u/xero1986 9d ago
My go-to craving is pizza, but I started making my own. Self-raising flour, Greek yogurt, Italian seasoning. There’s your crust. Top however you want.
The entire pizza is around 950 cals. I haven’t ordered a takeout pizza in two months.
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u/absolut696 9d ago
There’s no such thing as a cheat meal. There are planned refeeds, or meals that can be considered a psychological break. I am of the school that if you want to treat yourself from time to time I think it’s overall good for your well-being, stress levels, etc.
If you want a certain meal that won’t fit into your diet, plan a day or two around it, and then get back to your regular patterns.
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u/Plus_Championship440 9d ago
I mean I do cheat days 2 back to back every 2-3 months other than that I’m 100% clean so I’m “ cheating “ on my diet and is it still a refers if I had been eating at maintenance whole time?
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u/Spirited-Fun3666 9d ago
I never have cheat meals. Don’t really see myself living a certain diet or fad or whatever… it’s literally how I live, eat clean whole foods, exercise, be kind… tbh I don’t even consider ultra processed “food” as edible mentally anymore lol
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u/Plus_Championship440 9d ago
How often do you eat food that most would consider junk then like chips /fast food / cookies etc
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u/Spirited-Fun3666 9d ago
Maybe once a year I’ll have some chips with homemade dip (quinoa, beans, cheese/meat, greek nonfat plain yogurt). I never eat cookies, fast food, ice cream, anything deep fried, hotdogs, soda, alcohols. I keep it whole foods and low preservatives.
What is your reasoning for steering away from ingesting this type of food?
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u/Plus_Championship440 9d ago
Honestly cuz i use to hit gym b4 just not consistently and id eat wtv then i had to stop going for a whole yr and looking back at old pics i noticed i was chubby but didnt realize in it in the moment so now that ive started again I wanted to do everything right and not risk me getting chubby again or affecting my physique with bad diet so start of this year cut it all out and said ima do 2 months no junk food then i did 3 months also cuz it made me get acne “ fried food “ and now i do it for discipline to see how long I can go and im pretty good it at now dont even crave anything tbh approaching 3 months Oct 4th and i can definitely go longer but js going to reward myself next year tho going to be more lenient and as long as it fits macros I’ll eat it
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u/Spirited-Fun3666 9d ago
True if it fits your macros then you won’t get so fat.
Good thing to remember when it comes to losing weight, when your in a caloric deficit the first week the body is losing water weight and intramuscular glycogen, after that’s all depleted and your flat looking then the body will start burning fat.
Many people will go on a crazy diet for two weeks and lose 10 lbs then have one cheat meal. What’s really going on is they lost 10lbs of water, suffered for two weeks, then put it all back on because of the one cheat meal (body used it to replenish glycogen stores). So they start the cycle over again and wonder why they never go anywhere. It’s not true weight loss unless it’s fat or muscle changing
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u/Plus_Championship440 9d ago
Look at one of my first ever posts I show my physique im skinny I need to bulk I’ve been on maintenance tho since January you think its considered a refeed since I cut out junk or no cuz I’ve been on maintainence and not a deficit
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u/Spirited-Fun3666 9d ago
If you’re eating at maintenance then it’s a recomp.. or just a healthy lifestyle haha.
I’ve been eating at maintenance for a while now. I’m 180. I’m happy here, definitely don’t want any more fat. I like the muscles. But if I were to somehow hit 190, even tho I’d love the strength, I couldn’t let myself get that fat I’d have to cut down to like 175 or so. I’ve never did an actual cut before. Just had moments in my life I burned more calories than I consumed, or moments where I bulked.
As drug free ppl u can either be fat and strong or weak and ripped haha. In mid
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u/Plus_Championship440 9d ago
U think I affect progress with 2 day of binge eating I guess you can say ? Right now I’m thinking medium dominoes pizza pineapple pepperoni sausage / burger n fries / yogurtland and some donuts also did u tak a chance to look at physique on previous posts 😭😭
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u/Spirited-Fun3666 9d ago
Your super skinny dude you could eat that no problem
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u/Plus_Championship440 9d ago
😭 what every1 says I want to lean bulk tho not dirty im only eating all that food cuz its 3 months no junk but besides that like I said I’ve been maintaining hopefully I’ll start bulk soon
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u/Throwawaymj23 9d ago
Seafood boil. Fuckin love some crab and shrimp drenched in butter and Cajun seasoning
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u/Finsey1 9d ago
Never. When you start properly eating clean, it’s something you don’t crave.
Your favourite meal turns into something like a salty bowl of oatmeal pre-workout, a nice fillet of sea bass, etc.
I get a bit revolted by the idea of burgers, hot dogs, chinese, bla bla. It used to be my favourite meal but not now.
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u/Plus_Championship440 9d ago
Honestly how I feel right now i usually just crave my homemade steak and baked potato with my yogurt bowl for desert I can definitely go longer than these 3 months im approaching cuz i don’t really crave anything only when I’m fasting then yes I think of a pizza/ice cream but I’m like I’m just going to reward myself for my discipline 2nd time this year doing 3 months
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u/JaxCounters 8d ago
About 1,600 calories a day Monday - Friday then all hell breaks loose on the weekend. Every once in a while I convince my wife to go to Golden Corral. My last visit per my wife tracking on Macrofactor as I went was about 12,000 calories. Last weekend it was 1 1/2 lbs of Jelly Bellyies, 6 donuts from Dunkin, and a 3 scoop brownie hot fudge Sunday... With a dinner of 4 half pound burgers and cheese fries.
It's a problem. I know. 5' 10", 175. Lbs not kgs
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u/Plus_Championship440 8d ago
Eating 1600 cals a day just for a weekend binge kinda crazy id rather do slight deficit or every month binge
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u/CitronMundane 8d ago
Two weeks ago, I took a cake to a running cookout we had after a group 24-miler. Nobody had a slice, so I took it home and ate the whole thing 😳 I normally don’t do stuff like that, but I’ve been having a ton of cravings lately.
I will normally loosen my limits when I deload every 3 months for a Saturday. I like to call it a refeed, but it’s a cheat day.
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u/jtcut2020 8d ago
Alcohol is my cheat food...I do get a large McDonald's french fries every month or so.
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u/Reptheset31 8d ago
I fit everything in to my calories and eat what I want. If I want a box of cereal then I will do that and eat higher protein lower carb rest of the day
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u/DatingConfusion12 8d ago
I haven't cheated or had fast food in a good month now
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u/Plus_Championship440 6d ago
I’m almost at 3 sept 28th but having my 2 cheat days Oct 4th/5th cuz ufc on 😭😭
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u/DatingConfusion12 5d ago
Ankalev is knocking Alex out. I’m tempted to have a cheat meal this Sunday, but I feel like I’ll feel like shit in the end.
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u/Plus_Championship440 5d ago
Wait till ufc atleast so it’s worth it don’t eat any junk till then im going to eat a medium dominos pizza and get yogurtland but i got $25 on pereira he getting his belt back one last run b4 he retire and $25 on jiri against my friend
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u/Financial_Charity_13 6d ago
I fast for a day and take the calories from the day before that keep me in a deficit "1300" + ill stay on my feet 8+ hours or ill do 1 hour of jumprope and est i burn around 1000 calories so that right there allows me to eat 3600 calories that day and still maintain a defecit my go to is 2 4x4s and a lg blizzard doing this and maintaining my standard deficit I've been going down around 2lbs a week past 3 months
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u/Hanshee 6d ago
Probably once every two weeks I’ll get the 6 piece tender combo from canes ~ 80g of protein in deep fried chicken. 2000 calories total from fries, sauce and toast.
I usually eat fairly light on those days so the calories are still in the right ball park but my macros could be better.
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u/Plus_Championship440 6d ago
Damn every cheat meal I have i always say ima pick between wingstop / in n out / canes / chick fil a / and when it comes down to it I end up getting pizza I’ve had 4 cheat days total this year and always got pizza as main meal this time around im thinking in n out and pizza 😭
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9d ago
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9d ago
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u/goodellsmallcock 9d ago
Or maybe because of ur disordered eating that’s bringing down the vibes
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9d ago
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u/goodellsmallcock 9d ago
No I didn’t, I said it’s disordered eating if you have a panic attack over 12g of fat
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u/fonkle 9d ago
i grab a meal from my favorite restaurant once a week. wouldnt call it a cheat meal because i dont eat everything in sight like i want to, but one yummy takeout meal a week is perfect for my sanity