Are cheat days bad for your diet?

saiyuli69

Is it okay to have a cheat day?

Belle8312

Easiest answer: Yes.

However, I usually go for a cheat meal, not a whole cheat day.

callsitlikeiseeit

as long as it doesnt become cheat week, or month, or decade LOL

lots of people do them. i prefer to eat what i want as long as i am within my calorie goals. i just finished a giant oatmeal cream pie LOLOL 330 calories of happiness (ill be happy when this box of them is gone though! LOL!)

corinic91

It's all about the net deficit in the end. If you're in enough of a deficit during the week that eating at or even above maintenance one day won't undo all of your other work, go for it. Lots of people swear by cheat days for their sanity. I used to eat 1200/day and then have a cheat day once a week, and it worked for a while. Now that I've been on it for longer, I'd rather have more calories to eat every day so I'm at 1400-1500 / day and don't go all-out any particular day of the week.

Personal preference, really.

saiyuli69

Okay I'm usually under my deficit for the entire week so I was thinking of making Saturday and Sunday my cheat/relax days? So long as I don't go crazy it's fine?

saiyuli69

callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »

as long as it doesnt become cheat week, or month, or decade LOL

lots of people do them. i prefer to eat what i want as long as i am within my calorie goals. i just finished a giant oatmeal cream pie LOLOL 330 calories of happiness (ill be happy when this box of them is gone though! LOL!)

Hahaha easiest calories to make lol. I feel the same for Twinkies lol.

crazyjerseygirl

saiyuli69 wrote: »

Is it okay to have a cheat day?

I've been told "don't have a cheat day, have a cheat meal". So that's what I do. If I'm eating out, I eat out! But I keep breakfast and lunch light and healthy!

jigglyjessica

I had a cheat meal today since someone went to burger king :x but it fit in my calories. it just sucks that I'm a little hungry still

Merkavar

I just see the cheat days as unnecessary.

Seems people use cheat days because of cravings. Shouldn't you include what your craving into your regular diet, just in smaller portions? Less often? Etc

To me if I felt the need for a cheat day it would be a sign I am either restricting my diet to much or something like that and I should change so I don't quit all together.

Are cheat days like a slippery slop to cheat week or month?

JimFsfitnesspal

I do not do splurge / cheat days or meals. Occasionally I make a mistake: am forced to eat out by my poor planning, it is the one day a month my boss buys us doughnuts, or the meals just landed on the heavy side when totaled up. I will suck it up and move on. I do not let it get me down. But also, I do not plan ahead to fail by having cheat days or meals.

TheVirgoddess

saiyuli69 wrote: »

Okay I'm usually under my deficit for the entire week so I was thinking of making Saturday and Sunday my cheat/relax days? So long as I don't go crazy it's fine?

You can easily wipe out a weekly deficit in a weekend if you're not careful.

If you have trouble on the weekends, you should track calories on a weekly basis, rather than daily. That way you can track and "bank" your calories for the weekend - instead of "cheating".

I don't do cheat meals/days. I just don't find them necessary. I work too hard to "cheat".

Good luck.

lisafrancis888

I was reading on here that cheat days can be good as they make your Leptin levels go up which Is something to do with burning fat. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will add or comment on this.
I was thinking of starting a cheat day once a week. As long as over the week you are still in deficit it seemed to make sense.

jigglyjessica

I guess it depends on what you consider a cheat. I consider a cheat something that I can eat within my calories that sucks health wise lol or it can push me over by max 100 calories.

emdeesea

I have one cheat meal a week, usually on either Friday or Saturday, where I have basically whatever I want. But I also keep my calories about 100 lower each day during the week than I normally would to make up for it. It works for me. But I couldn't do an entire day. That would put me way over.

besaro

They worked very well for me. It helped me deal with my cravings saying I could wait for my splurgy meal. They cause a bit more of a problem now because my deficit isn't as great so they are more impactful.

Merkavar

emdeesea wrote: »

I have one cheat meal a week, usually on either Friday or Saturday, where I have basically whatever I want. But I also keep my calories about 100 lower each day during the week than I normally would to make up for it. It works for me. But I couldn't do an entire day. That would put me way over.

But is that a cheat meal? Sounds like your eating with in your calories. Or at least your weekly calories.

Say you save up 100 cal Monday to Friday so your under by 500. Then on Saturday you have pizza, a lot of pizza and go over Saturday by 500, you still at net zero for the week.

savvyfantastic

Depends entirely on your concept of a 'cheat' and what it means for you, what you eat, your goals and how it affects your mind.

Eg, if you have a massive binge every weekend, it's no longer an exception, it's part of your regular functioning. Speaking as a reformed Friday night pizza and block of chocolate eater.

Enjoy life, and live life in moderation, for sure. We're too lucky to do otherwise.

Digduga70

I do utilize a cheat day, and I don't use the food log on that day because I could care less about calories on that day. It definitely keeps my metabolism guessing, and helps keep me lean. I will note I usually only "cheat" 3 times per month.

emdeesea

Merkavar wrote: »

emdeesea wrote: »

I have one cheat meal a week, usually on either Friday or Saturday, where I have basically whatever I want. But I also keep my calories about 100 lower each day during the week than I normally would to make up for it. It works for me. But I couldn't do an entire day. That would put me way over.

But is that a cheat meal? Sounds like your eating with in your calories. Or at least your weekly calories.

Say you save up 100 cal Monday to Friday so your under by 500. Then on Saturday you have pizza, a lot of pizza and go over Saturday by 500, you still at net zero for the week.

Yeah, you're right it's not really a "cheat" because I work it in, although it's nowhere near being healthy, lol. But I consider it a cheat because I do go over for the week, but not enough to put me too far off. (Over by like maybe 100-200 calories)

Digduga70

lisafrancis888 wrote: »

I was reading on here that cheat days can be good as they make your Leptin levels go up which Is something to do with burning fat. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will add or comment on this.
I was thinking of starting a cheat day once a week. As long as over the week you are still in deficit it seemed to make sense.

lisafrancis888, I believe you are correct, but I too am no expert. I frequent John Romaniello's site and have done his FPFL program with great results. Here is one of many blog post from Roman on this topic;
http://romanfitnesssystems.com/articles/in-defense-of-cheat-days/

Hope this helps, if not sorry for adding to the confusion...

Jgasmic

I've been knocking out half of my weekly deficit each weekend with restaurant meals that put me way over. I'm ok with only losing half a pound some weeks instead of a full pound so that doesn't bother me. I don't think of it as a cheat, because there isn't anything I'm not "allowed" to have. I don't know what I'll do when I start aiming for half a pound a week, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. If I was in a rush to lose the weight I probably would approach it differently.