I usually don’t condone cheating on things. Diets, however, are an exception to that rule.
You have to have superhuman levels of discipline to not schedule a “cheat day” every so often. If giving yourself an occasional day to eat whatever you want is good enough for the Rock on a weekly basis, it’s good enough for me and should be good enough for you.
When you’re at least trying to be conscious of your dietary choices, things like the Florida Strawberry Festival present a big challenge. You know you want to gorge on some of that ridiculous fair food that packs more calories in one go than three whole meals you’d normally eat in a day. You tell yourself you can’t, though, and you save your appetite for something healthy (or at least healthier) after you leave.
You don’t need to do all that. You can still eat that stuff. It’s all about balance.
As someone who likes to eat but doesn’t want to climb back up a chonk chart, I’ve figured out how to eat whatever I want up there and stay around a weight I’m comfortable with. I’m not here to debunk the “Festival Calories Don’t Count” shirts or tell you not to buy them. I think they’re fine. I’m just saying that’s more like a half-truth than a whole truth. You should be able to look at something and gauge how many calories are probably in it, which is usually to say a lot, so the trick on a non-cheat day is to go get that thing you want from that food vendor and make that your biggest meal of the day.
When I’m trying to be good but have a long day at the festival, I like to eat light and plan my biggest caloric intake around whatever greasy, fried fair food I buy there. Pickle Barrel sirloin tips will give you plenty of calories in one go, even if you don’t feel so full you could burst after downing them. The fried pepper jack cheese by the TECO Expo Hall is terrible for you, but it’s so good that I’d say it’s worth making some other sacrifices for. Just remember to go to the gym and/or get your extra steps in to burn some of those calories off.
But if you are planning to go buck wild on cheat day, go ahead and commit to it. Chase that Polish sausage dog from Netterfield’s with a strawberry shortcake and a giant lemonade. Crush that onion from Alessi’s and then let your stank breath part the line at Peachey’s for you like the Red Sea. Have fun and do whatever makes you happy, but know you’ll have some hard work to do for the next day or six.
Eat well and enjoy the rest of the festival, my friends.