Do you do cheat days? What do you do?

callafox

My husband and I both measure and weigh our food, and we count our calories. Food is still important to us and we have a cheat day each week, but we haven't fine tuned our cheat day rules just yet. (About us: Our current goals are cutting down (fat & loss) after a clean-ish bulking cycle. We both lift heavy 4 days a week and do cardio 3 of those days as well.)

How do you manage your cheat days?

SergeantSausage

If you feel the need for Cheat Days, you are doing it wrong.

TavistockToad

i follow IIFYM, so i dont 'cheat'.

Foodiethinking

Cheat day? No. Maintenance days? Yes. I'm a uni student and go home every two weeks for the weekend, during which I'm at maintenance. I don't eat considerably more, I just have dessert or the odd takeaway every few weeks. Obviously there are days, like Christmas, that I don't have calorie limits. But if I call maintenance days 'cheat days' then it feels like I shouldn't be letting myself have that day. The key is to not deprive yourself too much so that you don't NEED that cheat day. The important thing is week-long calorie goals so it doesn't affect your overall deficit too much. This is what works for me anyway.

djmp21

About 5 years ago I'd have cheat "days" and would binge on anything and everything - feeling *kitten* but doing it anyway.
Best way I've found is to have a cheat meal of any kind - usually a packet of lollies with some chocolate milk. Afterwards I feel so terrible (cause you're full and it's crap food) that it puts me off for more than a week.

Bry_Fitness70

An entire day? I don't do that. Do I occasionally eat a meal that has more carbs or fat than I generally would allow for a single meal, because it sounds good? Sure, a few times a week I do that.

dramaqueen45

I don't really do cheat days, but try to eat a variety, eat healthy and if I eat junky foods I work those into my calories for the day (seems like someone is always bringing in donuts at work!). Every great once in a while I might have a day where I go way over my calories (ie last Saturday I went to the Cheesecake Factory and had one of their light lunches but finished it with a 1110 calorie piece of Godiva chocolate cheesecake- yum!!). But that is a very rare treat.

I was on a diet once upon a time based on a book called Eating for Life. The diet was very simple - eat 6 small meals per day- each meal needed a fist size of carbs and a palm size of protein (and then you could add vegetable as much as you liked). Then there was one day per week where you could eat whatever and as much as you liked. I did lose weight on that, but I found it to be unsustainable, not because of low calories, but because I was too busy to stop and eat that many times per day. So what I'm doing now I feel like is sustainable long term. I just eat what I like with a slight calorie deficit and exercise for heart health and to tone muscles. When I meet goal I will slowly bring up calories to maintenance level and continue to exercise. So it's not a big switch from being on a "diet" to not. Maintenance after all is what is most difficult.

malibu927

Nope. I fit the foods I love into my day.

loribethrice

I do a treat day once a month where I'll make food that I actually want to eat fit into my calories like a small pizza or a Blizzard from DQ.

nawedm

yeah i do cheat day! cheet weekend also! lol....usually take out food i like and its so bad for me i dont have a way of putting it in my diet, or I go to a restaurant....so one or the two dinners of the weekend I spend 1500-2000 calories on a dinner alone.

btw, I do extactly the same, 4 days (sometimes 5) of gym, and 3 days a week I take my bike and I do 30-35 km in 75 mins.

prestigio

Cheat days, no.
Less healthy meal yes.
Once a week or so I eat a meal like fries and fried snacks, though I fit that in my caloric goals.
Throughout the week I also eat some ice cream every now and then, or some chocolate, though again I make it fit my macro's.

Phrick

I don't call it "cheating" because that implies I'm doing something wrong, or that the food I want to indulge in is somehow "bad." But I get the concept you're talking about. I do partake in treats, on a regular basis, but I work them into my goal for the day rather than planning them very far in advance... what I mean is, I don't deprive myself all week, pining for and anticipating this big glorious weekend blowout "cheat." I don't think that's a particularly healthy approach, since my goal is to make this something I can adhere to for the rest of my life (and I tend to get a little obsessive when I approach it like that - I know because that's how I did it when I started this thing). Instead I pre-log my days to meet my goals, and if I have any wiggle room left I add in treats (a brownie...or a dozen of them, if you look at my Monday diary! A serving of ice cream. Whatever). Sometimes I know we're going to be going out and I will log my desired dinner (say,a burger) first then plan the rest of my day around that to ensure that I still meet my minimum goals for the day. It's become second nature at this point.

PoisonIvy088

My cheat day is on Sunday. Its the day where I eat at maintenance. And have dessert after dinner. That's it. Nothing fancy or over complicated. A cheat day for me is more about what I eat than how much. I still eat a reasonable amount, just, maybe not so reasonable food choices.

callsitlikeiseeit

no cheat days. i eat what i want, within my calorie allowance. i want to eat more? i earn it by more exercise.

frksfrau

I don't plan cheat days. However, if I am tempted for something that maybe a little high in the calorie department, I eat enough to satisfy the craving, log it, and move one.

Liftng4Lis

SergeantSausage wrote: »

If you feel the need for Cheat Days, you are doing it wrong.

Agree

tracie_minus100

I used to, but had to stop because they turned into cheat weekends, then cheat weeks. It's a slippery slope, at least for me.
Now I just make room in my day for things that would be considered "cheats" (though I don't call them that anymore). I will have a chocolate bar a couple times a week and make it fit into my calories.
There are times when I go over my calories (birthday party, things like that)...sometimes way over my calories. I log it and move on.

RipperSB

I've said it before, I'll say it again - if you log it, it's not cheating!

blcook23

I don't really have a day of "cheating". I count everything I put in my mouth even if it is bad for me on those one days I may have a gone a little overboard. Though on a Friday, which is my weigh day, the only "cheat" I do is I may substitute the wheat pasta for white pasta serving. Even if I am eating out I really look at the menu and make the good choices though that fried and greasy food looks delish I know I won't feel good after eating it because my body is no used to not having so much oil/fat/salt and what not. The thought of cheating will mean I will slip into old ways and that is why I am making the change for the good. If it is sweets what fruit can you substitute for that dessert...what good fats can you eat that will help avoid those cravings and help keep you full while drinking water. It is all in portions.

_lyndseybrooke_

I don't "cheat," but I do eat less during the week in order to eat more on weekends and still be at my weekly calorie goal. This allows me the freedom to indulge and eat out with my husband, but it's not cheating if it's within my calorie limit. I don't go hungry all week in order to do it - eating more on weekends is what I've always done.

Hm, well, I changed my mind. I "cheat" one weekend per month. I still log, but I go over my weekly goal. It usually includes a date night. It didn't hinder or slow down my weight loss when I was losing and it hasn't resulted in any weight gain now that I'm maintaining. I don't "make up" for it the previous or following week, either. I don't need to have this weekend, but I want it, so I'm going to continue to do it.

af_wife2004

No. If you "cheat" on your lifestyle, you cheat on your health. Why not incorporate what you feel like you're missing into your meal planning? I limit eating out and try to plan ahead for days when I want homemade pizza or a decadent treat. I still eat the things I enjoy, I just limit them so I don't feel deprived. This is a lifestyle not a diet.

KBurkhardt08

I've only been doing this for a couple of months and I have one cheat day a week. Usually a weekend day. At first it was a "eat everything bad in sight" kind of day. But the longer I do this the more I dont feel the need for crazy cheat days. Instead Ill have a burger or something for dinner one day a week and maybe a brownie or something. Not absolutely crazy and still usually end up pretty close to calorie goal. I agree with others saying that this is a lifestyle change and if your lifestyle change consists of having a cheat day..then make it work.

Misterfish96

Don't worry about it. It's ok to stray now and then. I don't plan for cheat days but there are certainly some days where things don't go as planned for whatever reason. The way I see it, the important thing is to stay mindful of my goals and to not be to tough on myself when I slip a little.

TheRoadDog

I never consciously start out to have a cheat day. There have been times, however, where I eat something I shouldn't and then say "*kitten* it! Might as well enjoy myself today and start over tomorrow."

flatlndr

I don't call it a cheat, because it's part of my plan ... I eat at deficit during the week, and at maintenance on the weekends. It means my losses are a bit slower than if I were to eat at deficit all week, but it allows me to have a drink, dessert, etc., and fit into my overall plan.