Ranty Friday — Cheat Day

I have been debating for a while whether or not I should bring back Ranty Friday, and seeing this picture on Instagram talking about “Cheat Day” this week sealed the deal for me

A picture shared not from an account that I follow but from a post that had been promoted and shared onto my timeline in the hope, presumably, I would buy it.   Oh how wrong the algorithm was on Monday.

I hate the idea of this sweatshirt with every fibre of my being.

What the hell is “Cheat Day”?  And why is it a thing?  The implication being this a day when we “cheat” on what it is we are eating that day?  That we have been on some kind of diet every day leading up to this randomly allocated day but are now allowing ourselves to don a sweatshirt and to fill our faces with food we shouldnt be eating?

Give over.

As far as I am concerned, and I know I am not allowed, there is no food that is not allowed.  Anywhere.  Ever.   (except Marmite).   The very idea that some foods are “good”, speed (yes that term exists in certain club circles), or bad and therefore there are foods we may allow ourselves to cheat with is just preposterous.

Nobody should be viewing food as one that they can “cheat” with.    Or that they should be modifying their behaviour for the following day after consuming it.   It makes me rage.

When will companies stop marketing food, or indeed clothing, as though it has to fall into a category either marked “healthy” or “cheat”.  Food is food.  There is no such thing as a bad food.   There is food that should you chose to eat nothing but that for the rest of your life might not be the best decision you could make, but it doesn’t make the food itself bad.

As an aside, the idea that this sweatshirt is being promoted during #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek makes me very uncomfortable.   The focus this week is on #BeBodyKind and therefore thinking about our bodies in a positive way, focussing on what they can do, being kind to them, and ourselves.

To have this sort of thing promoted this week of all week leaves a sour taste in my mouth.