Cheat meal 1/week ?

hannahrahntana

Hi, I'm curious what everyone thinks about having a cheat meal once per week. My boyfriend and I are trying to lose weight together and he wants to incorporate a cheat meal once per week. I'm kind of against the idea because I don't want it to set us back from the progress we make during the rest of the week. Thoughts?

joneallen

Don't think of it as a cheat meal. Just add it into your daily macros.

SergeantSausage

If you're feeling a need to "cheat", then you're doing it wrong and have a much higher probability of failure.

Incorporate ALL THE FOODS you like to eat, and then there is no need to "cheat", right?

ejcanavan

A cheat meal implies you are doing something wrong. Why not just eat normally and splurge your calories into something special one night ? I had to change my thinking a lot from what is considered "cheating" as compared to just eating what I like in moderation.

vismal

No matter what you call it, cheat day, free day, etc, it still counts. If you are in a 500 calorie surplus for 6 days, then on day 7 you get into a 1500 calorie surplus, you have undone half your work for the week. If you get into a 3000 calorie surplus, you have undone your entire week. I think when you limit yourself to one free day a week, it makes you want to go overboard on that day. I prefer to just eat the foods I enjoy in smaller portions every day and save free meals for special occasions, like holidays and vacation.

cwolfman13

define it...what makes it a "cheat" meal?

I tend to take a very big picture view of my diet overall and don't look at something like a slice of pizza on Friday evening as a cheat...I try to get a lot of whole food nutrition in overall, but I don't look at things like pizza and what not as necessarily "bad" when in the right context and in appropriate amounts they are negligible to my diet overall.

njitaliana

If you don't deprive yourself of foods, you don't need to cheat. As long as you stay within your calories, you can still eat everything. But, I wouldn't "cheat" by having a 2500 calorie meal each week. I'd just keep it within your allowed calories. You could save up your exercise calories for the day you want to eat more. Or you could exercise more that day.

krknobbe10

I think it is better to enjoy your "fun foods" in moderation throughout the week. Maybe you guys go out every Saturday night and you tend to have a burger instead of a salad, that is fine, just pair it with cottage cheese and don't load up on condiments. So you are still getting the burger, just in a healthier way. During the week, eat small amounts of candy, ice cream, fries, whatever you consider off limits. I tend to eat one sweet a day like at night I will have some peanut m&ms or one cookie after dinner. I have learned to eat clean and when I have other "bad" food at a meal, I make sure other items are clean or try not to eat a huge portion of it. It takes time but moderation is always key.

techgal128

Sometimes the foods I like are just too high calorie to fit into my macros. I'll eat a junky meal every two weeks or so that I just won't count. Your goal is to change your lifestyle, not just go on a "diet". Treat yourself now and then. Just work harder the next few days to make up for it.

MKEgal

SergeantSausage wrote:

If you're feeling a need to "cheat", then you're doing it wrong and have a much higher probability of failure.
Incorporate ALL THE FOODS you like to eat, and then there is no need to "cheat", right?

This.
Eat what you like, all the time, in smaller portions.
Be flexible. If you have more than you probably should of something one day, realize you did it, figure out how to avoid doing that again, and move on. (Or arrange the rest of your calories that day to account for it. Or exercise more that day.)

CorlissaEats

I think it comes down to how you have your diary set up. I do zig zag calorie goals. Each day of the week is a different number to aim for that contributes to my overall deficit goal. It lets me eat more on the days I am home, or that I work out, and less on the others. For example, Sunday I am home all day. I cook for my week and I frequently bake. Having a higher goal lets me enjoy my day without guilt.

If you want to have a cheat day or meal because it fits your life, then build it in. Personally, if I bake a batch of cookies- I'd rather be able to have 2 or 3 than nibble at a single on because its the sensible thing to do. I don't consider it a cheat day, Sunday is not a free for all. I still have a goal, its just a few hundred calories higher than the rest of the week.

hdrenollet

I think a cheat meal is a necessity, but then again it depends on your goals and how fast you want to achieve them. Once per week seems a little excessive to me. I do one "Reward Meal" per month. I don't call it a cheat meal, that would imply that it's wrong. This is when I get to take my family out to one of our favorite restaurants and eat what I like from that restaurant. The rest of the month, we cook healthy meals at home. I don't see anything wrong with this. My case may be a little different though, my diet is less about weight loss and more about overall health (I have high cholesterol), but in eating healthier every day I am losing weight so they really go hand-in-hand. I can't give up on my favorite foods altogether, but I don't see a problem with it in moderation.

Also, occasional cheat meals have shown to have some benefits when dieting, especially if you hit a plateau. It can help kick your metabolism into high-gear and help you get past your plateau. See this article for more info: livestrong.com/article/542505-the-art-and-science-of-cheat-meals/ and there's many more out there that say the same thing.

SandyCoils

SergeantSausage wrote: »

If you're feeling a need to "cheat", then you're doing it wrong and have a much higher probability of failure.

Incorporate ALL THE FOODS you like to eat, and then there is no need to "cheat", right?

ejcanavan wrote: »

A cheat meal implies you are doing something wrong. Why not just eat normally and splurge your calories into something special one night ? I had to change my thinking a lot from what is considered "cheating" as compared to just eating what I like in moderation.

Both of you said a mouthful of truth! I use the food database on this site to plan out my days - especially if I am eating out. That helps me prepare myself for how I need to eat for that day. I use my calorie goal as like a bank account. I don't want to get "overdrawn" or go over my calorie count for the day. So, if I want to make a "large purchase", I plan for it - just like if my calories were money. I love Applebee's Fiesta Lime Chicken. I know that meal is 1170cal. If my husband and I go there, I know I need to have Special K and fruit for breakfast, and something similar or a small bowl of chili (Wendy's large chili is 250cal) or something like that to finish my day so I don't get "overdrawn". I even posted in my blog, places I've eaten from at lunch and posted the cals of frequently purchased items - just to remind myself of what I could be sacrificing if I eat them. I know I can eat them, but should I, and how do I compensate later that day if I do?

SandyCoils

njitaliana wrote: »

If you don't deprive yourself of foods, you don't need to cheat. As long as you stay within your calories, you can still eat everything. But, I wouldn't "cheat" by having a 2500 calorie meal each week. I'd just keep it within your allowed calories. You could save up your exercise calories for the day you want to eat more. Or you could exercise more that day.

+1 cosign!

holly55555

I eat what I want on weekends and eat healthily Monday-Friday. But I ALWAYS am at my calorie goal for the week. On weekdays, I usually am a little under my goal since I'm eating so much protein, etc., and then on the weekends when I go a little over my goal, it evens out. I just make sure to control portions on the unhealthy foods.

You should be able to do this, too as long as your calorie limit isn't too low. You can also incorporate more exercise to give you extra cheat meal calories.

ladygi19

Cheat meal, and cheat day are two different animals all together. I also thibk you can have a cheat meal and still not end up with a surplus. If it's that important to you, plan it and log it... check your weight. If you are low carbing, remeber how long it takes to get back into ketosis, 2-4 days possible depending. 2 slices of pizza won't ruin your week per say. A whole pizza and a 6pk of beer will. I personally don't want to deal with the Carb water retention because for me it is mentally discouraging so I don't really cheat often and when I do I still make sure that it's not going to kill my ketosis.

ladygi19

Sorry for typos lol can't seem to edit the post to correct them

diegops1

I take one of my grandkids to dinner every Friday night. Sometimes mine is carne asada tacos at the local roach coach (250 cal each) or beans, rice & a couple corn tortillas at a sit down place (about 400 calories). Add the Negra Modelo and I am in under 700 calories for dinner. That gives me about 700 calories for breakfast & lunch. And that doesn't count my exercise at 350 to 450 per day. So I can go out, have fun and still stay on target. Pizza on Sunday for the family get together is another matter. I either have to turn it down or use a lot of will power to just eat one slice.

markja

If I'm 1000 calories over on day 1 and then I'm back on track for days 2 through 7, I've still posted a net loss for the week. I may not be down 1 lb, perhaps only .5. No worries. I'll still be down for the month and the year. I'm trying to lose 50 lbs for the year and there will be both good and bad cycles between now and Jan 2016.

LeslieCampbell35

Every other Sunday I eat at maintenance. The rest of the week I eat around 1300 call a day. As long as you watch your calories on your "cheat day" you should be fine

May_Rose

The correct answer: Do what works for you. You've just begun to change your diet, so see how you feel after a week. If you want a cheesburger, pizza, or whatever, then eat it but make it fit into your alloted calories for the day. Or, eat at maintenance level one day per week if you're feeling a bit deprived. Different things work for different people. Best of luck!

LessthanKris

Whatever you want to call it, we usually eat out once every one to two weeks. Some of those days I keep everything check, make sure I eat something on the healthier side and log it. I do try to save calories throughout the week if I know the meal is coming.

Other times, I just go ahead and eat whatever I want. I am not on a diet. I am trying to lose weight and I have goals but sometimes, something sounds good and I am not going to never have a high caloric meal or a yummy dessert sometimes. I know now it will only be a sometimes thing and if I am doing everything I need to the rest of the week, I am still going to see a loss. Just do not let is snowball into more than one meal.

hannahrahntana

Thanks for the input everyone, lots of great advice out there. Boy aren't semantics important ha!

GirlPowerFitness

I prefer cooking my meals rather than eating out. I have a Weight Watcher tool to divide the portions on my plate. I'm going to try the Blood Type diet for a variation to what I usually eat. I think a cheat day will undermine all my hard work. I won't concern myself with the impulse to snack on junk food. Furthermore, I'll drink lots of water to aid weight loss.

Seraphina_Rowan

''Cheat meals/days'' or whatever don't exist. That's almost as bad as demonizing food. Eat what you want but fit it into your day properly. Don;t have ''one day'' for something that you find ''unhealthy'' calories are calories. On top of that make sure you don't restrict yourself from different foods because it'll never work you're just depriving yourself of something you don't actually have to. Make this change for the rest of your life instead of just a temporary thing because in all honestly restricting will only become temporary.

avskk

If your "cheat" meal or day puts you over your calorie goal, it's going to either undo some of the work you've done or actually make you gain weight (depending on whether it just eats into your deficit or actually puts you over for the week). What you have to decide is whether that's worth it. Is it worth it to have a weekly blowout that's going to slow you down or even stop you? Or would you rather maintain your deficit and either work harder during the week to earn that meal or just make it fit into your daily goal?

You could do lots of things: save up your exercise calories over the week for a big meal on Friday, cut your daily calorie allowance by 100-200 to bank calories for a big Saturday splurge, simply choose to only eat your cheat meal and nothing else on the day you have it... but ultimately, it's all about that calorie deficit. There's no magic about the act of dieting alone that makes you lose weight; it's just math. One "cheat" can undo all the work of the week if you don't plan for it, but the flipside of that is that if you plan it right you can have that big meal and be just fine. Just don't kid yourself that it's okay not to count those calories.