Cheat Days?

nanagirl95

If I take a cheat day, am I messing up all my hardwork through the week? Am I better off not having one? How many people are getting results with them?

HeySwoleSister

Define "cheat day." There are about 10000 different things people mean when they say it. Some people just take a day where they eat at maintenance, others pretend that physics doesn't exist and eat everything in sight and then come on here a week later and complain they are "OMG PLATEAU!!!!!!" when in reality they have just been eating back their deficits on these "cheat" days.

One thing I would really advise is that you keep logging accurately what you eat, even on a day when you choose to just eat what you want without restriction. Your body will log it, even if you don't. Keep an eye on your log and look at the weekly goal reports. Only experience and evaluation of your own satisfaction and success will determine if occasional "treat" (not cheat) days are something you want to incorporate in your lifelong eating habits.

TavistockToad

Try the search button

DvrDawg

I agree with EW - you have to define how much you plan to cheat - I cheat one day on the weekend - I typically eat up to 1,000 extra calories once per week. But, I also add an extra 30 minutes of cardio that I don't calc in my target. Thus far, I have lost 20 lbs in 20 weeks - no doubt, I would have lost more had I not cheated at all -probably, like another 6 lbs. But, I am trying to adapt my eating for the long haul. And, I know when I finish losing the next 15'ish pounds, I need to have developed habits I can maintain - not eating pizza or a cheeseburger would not be sustainable. So, I am trying to learn how to eat indulgent foods sometimes but eating clean most of the time. Good Luck!!

HuskyHiker413

I also suggest searching this subject on the forums, it has been talked about in depth many times... Cheat days only cheat yourself!

kimkilbride

I agree with EWJlang, it depends on your definition of cheat day. I personally struggle to get back on the healthy eating train once I have a cheat day/meal so I prefer to limit them. Some people find that it really motivates them to eat healthy and exercise knowing that they have that "reward" coming.
I would say limit yourself to a cheat meal or outing instead of having a whole day of indulgence, especially if you are trying to lose weight. You will notice that the scale will go up and your pants bit tighter after you eat that cheat meal but once you go back to healthy eating you usually will be back to normal. That is just my experience anyways.

mrsgoodwine

You can totally undue your handwork with a cheat day. How about a cheat meal instead? Just keep in mind that there is likely to be a lot of sodium involved and you may have a lot of water retention afterwards. My advice, don't step on the scale for a couple of days because you most likely will weight in heavier. My second best advice, don't do a cheat at all. It's not worth it.

Leana088

On my "cheat days", I only ignore my macros. Not my calorie limit.

That means I eat up to my calorie goal and still log everything, but my macros are not ideal that day. I'm usually waaaay under on protein.

amunet07

I don't usually do cheat day that I plan. If I am on a weekend trip or some situation where I can't measure accurately, I do the best I can/ log it the best I can and count that as a cheat day; using best choices only.

aksteve777

We have to live life. I used to go somewhere and be anal about what Id eat. Don't cheat for the sake of eating cap as its hard to break our bods of craving. Better to indulge in good healthy food, good wine with friends. Not sitting at home eating doritos..at least my take.