What If We Stopped Calling It “Cheating”?
Finding balance in diabetes and weight management this summer.
by Dr Paula Diab, PhD, CDCES, Diabetologist & Weight Management Specialist
Summer is a season of celebration – long lunches with friends, family barbeques, holidays by the beach and ice-creams on hot afternoons. These special occasions are great to reconnect with friends and family but they can be a veritable nightmare for many people trying to manage their weight or diabetes. For many, these special moments can only equate to guilt!
Have you ever caught yourself saying: “I’ve been so good all week…” or thought “I cheated this weekend – my doctor / educator is going to be so disappointed in me.” Perhaps you’ve even thought of throwing in the towel completely – “I’ve completely blown my diet. It’s just not worth it!”
Why do we use this language of success and failure when talking about lifestyle and health? We describe meals as “good” or “bad”. We define ourselves as being “on track” or “off the wagon” and we refer to a weekend family celebration as a “cheat meal.”
But what if we stopped calling it cheating?
The word ‘cheat’ implies that we’ve broken the rules or done something wrong. It suggests failure, shame, and the need to somehow “make up” for our choices. Yet sharing a slice of birthday cake with family, enjoying an ice cream whilst walking on the beach, or celebrating with friends isn’t a moral failure – it’s part of living a full and connected life. As healthcare professionals, we increasingly recognize that sustainable health isn’t built on perfection. It is built on flexibility.
People who successfully maintain healthy lifestyles over many years don’t avoid every celebration or never eat dessert. Instead, they learn how to enjoy special occasions without allowing one meal or one weekend to define their journey. They recognize that healthy eating is about patterns, not isolated moments.
This is particularly important in weight management. Restrictive thinking often leads to an “all-or-nothing” mindset: one indulgent meal becomes an excuse to abandon healthy habits entirely because the day is already “ruined.”
But our bodies don’t work that way.
One meal doesn’t cause obesity, just as one healthy salad doesn’t reverse it. Health is shaped by the thousands of choices we make over months and years, not by what happens at a single holiday lunch.
The same applies to diabetes management. Glucose levels will never be perfectly flat, particularly during holidays and celebrations. A higher reading after a festive meal isn’t evidence of failure – it’s information. It helps us learn, adjust, and move forward without judgement.
Perhaps this summer, instead of asking, “How can I avoid every treat?” we could ask a different question: “How can I enjoy this season while still caring for my health?”
That might mean choosing your favourite dessert rather than eating everything on offer. It might mean going for a walk after dinner with family. Or it may mean savoring a meal without guilt and returning to your usual routine the next day. The goal isn’t to earn food through exercise or punish yourself afterwards. Nor is it to strive for perfect eating every day. The goal is to develop a way of living that includes both good health and joyful moments.
So, this summer, enjoy the celebrations – laugh a little longer around the table and make memories with the people you love. And if you find yourself reaching for an ice cream on a warm afternoon, perhaps the most important thing to leave behind isn’t the dessert – it’s the guilt.
At IDS, we believe that lasting success comes not from perfection, but from balance, compassion, and the confidence to enjoy life’s special moments while continuing to care for your health.
After all, that’s not cheating—that’s living. Now, to practice what I preach!
2 Responses
Sometimes food becomes a weapon or a tool in my family. My husband will guilt me into giving him the last bite of something he thinks I shouldn’t be enjoying because “I’m diabetic”. I try to educate him but if he believes he’s right, he doesn’t listen. I would like to get him in to get education with me. I love him but he’s just retired and I can see much of this in our future…he’s an engineer and he likes to fix problems. I would like to involve him in meal planning so he can see the balance and how nutrition needs to be the foundation of our meals. We eat out too often….
Such an important topic that applies to many people. Categorizing behaviors as “good” or “bad” or that one is “cheating” adds more mental weight in managing diabetes and can lead to burnout.