Cheat days and logging - thoughts?

Bethabee_

Sooo I just started back up again with MFP. Sundays are my cheat days. Some of the foods I eat aren't even countable. Example: I went to Mazatlan last night and had dinner and part of a fried ice cream. My question: Do you think it would be considered "fair" for me to still log in, even if I'm not counting to avoid from losing my streak. The reason I ask is I didn't log in, and I'm back at 1 day even though this is within my plan. Thoughts? I know, sounds dumb.

jrline

log everything Good Luck on your Journey

ndj1979

cheat implies bad and I do not believe in "cheat days" because I do not believe in good or bad foods. Food = food

eat the foods you like just fit them into whatever your particular goal is.

If your primarily concern right now is fat loss, then you can eat what you like, maintain a deficit, and lose weight.

VeryKatie

I didn't log around Christmas and was having the same thoughts. I've come to terms with it and think it's fair now. Maybe you could log the food (or a best guess) for your cheat days just once a month (not every week if you don't want to) that way, you kind of have an idea of what your intake is. Purely to help answer any potential questions you might have later (weight loss related, digestion related, sleep related, etc)..

absurdic

It is definatly fair since it will keep you motivated in mind. Like a litte reminder saying "hey, awesome that you have your cheat day today but remember what is up tomorrow". Personally I would make my best effort to guestimate what I'm eating on the cheat day since then my net cal for the week is much more accurate

FatFreeFrolicking

Log everything. Cheat meals/days included.

jkwolly

Who cares about the MPF "streak", I don't.

If I'm on point, that's all that matters.

Jennloella

If you're worried about your log in streak (weird) just log into the app, you don't have to log food - I don't log my food at all because I don't count cals, I use mfp to track exercise and lifting and it counts my consecutive days....

PenguinCounter

Log everything, even on your cheat days... otherwise your "cheat" will grow. Good luck!

JillyCornwall

Who are you being unfair to? Its your lifestyle, log or don't log, its your choice. Also remember that the only person you are cheating is yourself too! I know that from 40 odd years of cheating myself LOL!! Learn the lesson whilst you are still young enough to enjoy the results of your hard work.

keziasterling

I don't believe in cheat days. If you want to eat it then eat it just log it and carry on. All food is good in moderation. Xx

Atrocity108

I cheat like crazy on Sundays. I try to log everything. Sometimes its too hard just because I am snacking a lot, or I am not sure the exact volume of what I am eating. I try, but in the end of the day the only thing I care about is that my weekly cravings were taken care of and that I have no regrets.

DerekVTX

Certainly do not agree with not logging your food, and logging in to maintain a streak is kinda like lying.....only lying to yourself. If you maintain say a 3500 defecit all week to lose one pound, then your so called "Cheat" day you are not logging how do you know what to expect for your weight loss? If you don't log for one your weekly goals are not true, and really you are just pretending. Just a though but if you can not fit the food into or even near your daily goals and you actually do want to lose weight.....maybe you shouldn't be eating calorie rich foods like Deep Fried Ice Cream.

Holly_Roman_Empire

Log everything. Otherwise, in a few weeks, you'll come back here wondering why you've plateaued.

ndj1979

and yes log everything ..

and who cares about the logging streak? Losing weight should be number one ...

Unknown

This content has been removed.

Robbnva

ndj1979 wrote: »

cheat implies bad and I do not believe in "cheat days" because I do not believe in good or bad foods. Food = food

eat the foods you like just fit them into whatever your particular goal is.

If your primarily concern right now is fat loss, then you can eat what you like, maintain a deficit, and lose weight.

qft

gnik1

I guess it's up to the individual I try to log everything since it's quite easy to get on the slippery slope to not log anything at all. I know that happened to me first time round I continued with my workouts but I was not losing any weight and then stopped the workouts and put on weight. I believe you need to do whatever works for you and so far logging everything is working for me.

hegehrke

I think its best to log everything so you know where you are and understand if you've hit a plateau or have gained.
Personally, I think cheat days are important! Though as mentioned, "cheat" is quite negative, so I call it my treat days. You have to treat yourself at some point! They're also quite good for your metabolism; when you diet, you restrict your calorie intake, so when you do splurge a bit, your body becomes aware that it isn't being starved and will continue to burn fat. You can read up on it if you like, I know theres a lot of information about the positives of it. Good luck!

Holly_Roman_Empire

hegehrke wrote: »

I think its best to log everything so you know where you are and understand if you've hit a plateau or have gained.
Personally, I think cheat days are important! Though as mentioned, "cheat" is quite negative, so I call it my treat days. You have to treat yourself at some point! They're also quite good for your metabolism; when you diet, you restrict your calorie intake, so when you do splurge a bit, your body becomes aware that it isn't being starved and will continue to burn fat. You can read up on it if you like, I know theres a lot of information about the positives of it. Good luck!

I think that's a bit of an overstatement.

People that can fit a treat in their normal daily calorie allotment don't suffer negative effects on their metabolism.

Robbnva

yeah pretty sure the whole cheat to trick your metabolism has been debunked as not true...