Are cheat days bad for your diet?
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As a collage student, i tend to drink every weekend-not a glass or two of wine but more like four-five cocktails or so. Don't judge, you all know what it's like lol.
It is at least 1000 calories that i don't need, and they don't bring me any nutrients, they are downright bad for me. But it's life and i have a lot of fun.
Usually on saturdays i have cheat days. Never ever set me back where i would eat pizza, chocolate, although i still have treats every day just within my calories. Actually it always pushes my weight loss a little as i'm always lighter on Monday than on Friday morning haha.
Go ahead, enjoy life, think of this as a long term lifestyle. You're gonna drink and eat yummy meals, as long as you are healthy most of the time, it's all good
It's not a race, getting fit is a long process that's never going to finish if you're serious about it. Even when you get to your GW you won't be like "good now i can eat all i want and lay on couch all day" It's even harder to control yourself when you're maintaining.
My point was, go ahead.
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Before when I would have cheat days they would spiral out of hand and I would end up never losing weight. I do cheat meals now but I still make sure I'm within my range of calories for the day.
So my cheats are probably not even cheating. I allow myself fast food one to two tmes a week and I preplan my food for the day around that one meal.0 -
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.
I've been here 4 years and this worked and works for me, through weight loss and maintenance. I work to weekly calories to allow for high calorie occassions.
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I don't do cheat days.. I just eat what I want within my calorie allowance. If I want to go over, I work out more and tbh this is the first time I've felt comfortable and confident about 'dieting'.0
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I don't generally do "cheat days" - I just eat what I like every day, within my calorie goals. If I have a "cheat," I don't think of it as that, I think of it as real life and it might be, for example, dinner at a great restaurant where I knew I was going to go over my calorie goals. These are on the rare side, meaning I am at a calorie deficit the majority of the time, and the occasional "overboard" (purposefully - I don't feel guilty or anything like that) doesn't cancel the overall deficit out.0
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I think it's all down to personal preference; i have found in the past because i'm a bit of a binger, a 'cheat day' can lead to a 'cheat half the week' few days, so i tend to not plan 'cheat' days. If i have a day where I've gone over my calories i try and compensate for it the next day. Also, i don't not allow myself anything, so by having enough in my daily calorie allowance to let myself have a little 'treat' every day (couple of scoops of ice-cream,a doughnut, some dark chocolate, etc.) i find that i stick to my 'diet' better than having a cheat day.0
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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.
Leptin is a regulatory hormone, when people start to diet, their leptin starts to go down. The more it goes down the hungrier and the more likely you will binge. As experienced dieters now, this is a common problem with dieting.
Having frequent cheat meals 1-2 a week, or a cheat day, will cause leptin to go up again, bring you back some sanity.
Is this saying anything more than that if you are eating so little that you're hungry, you'll feel better if you eat more? Does the rise in leptin levels last long enough to offset the cheat meal calories?0 -
I have cheat meals every so often, a really big one on my birthday, one every so often when performance levels at the gym are suffering, I don't socialise often so if I'm out with friends I'll allow myself something seeing as it's a rare occasion, and Christmas is just an all out eat fest. If you want a regular cheat day, then that's your call. But for me, there's no benefit to relaxing all of the rules and then feeling guilty, stressing over it and feeling bad inside because I've eaten too much.0
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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!)
I fully agree with this. However, I have a cheat day where I eat much more than my calorie goal. If you are on a weght loss schedule (time sensitive) then it is not good because you will lose weight slower. But, it keeps me sane and keeps me from getting bored with the eating plan that i have.0 -
I'm gonna rock the boat and say that cheat meals are bad for your diet. Consistent eating to reasonable macros will encourage your metabolism to burn fat, the longer you do this, the more 'momentum' you build up. A cheat day halts this momentum... sabotaging your weight loss. It's not ALL about calories in vs. calories out.
A cheat meal instead of a day would be much better, but better still is neither.
My philosophy is: everyday is cheat day! Just make sure you hit your macros on a day to day basis and in theory you will keep building your metabolic momentum!0 -
I think it really depends on how you define a "cheat meal" or a "cheat day". If you are talking about allowing yourself to go over on calories a bit that's one thing. If you are not logging at all and allowing yourself to eat crap until you feel like you'll explode that's an entirely different thing.
I have a friend who wouldn't understand why he wasn't losing weight with just one cheat day a week.....where he would stuff himself to a crazy degree eating a large meat lover's pizza followed by cake... after 2 big mac's and large fries for lunch and several candy bars. Hey, it's a cheat day so he ate whatever he wanted.
It's still basically CICO. If you eat thousands of extra calories on your cheat day you probably aren't going to like where CICO gets you.0 -
Hmm I see. excellent points everyone. I'll reconsider cheat days - Easter I know I'll cheat so I plan on working out everyday - no matter what.0
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jigglyjessica wrote: »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
See, that's the thing with [most] fast foods.
They're not very filling unless you order lots of it. Lol
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I am trying to lose weight, and therefore I do not plan to take cheat days or meals. I'm on a mission.
However, of course, if I exercise more, I can eat more. I will often eat up to about half my calories back.
And I don't eliminate foods or restrict myself to salad or anything.
For example, about a month ago, I ate half a small cheesecake ... and that was OK because I had exercised more than enough to cover it.
That's not cheating ... that's strategic planning.
And I figure that when I get down to a certain weight, I will increase my calories a little bit to slow the weight loss, and may be able to include more yummy food if I want.
This guy gets it.
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When I got close to my goal weight a few years ago I started using the weekends as my "cheat". First it started with Saturday all day and maybe going out for brunch Sunday and reigning it in a little for dinner. Then it turned into a gorge fest from Friday night until Sunday night. I started to gain my weight back slowly, but then due to some unforseen circumstances I couldn't work out like I had been... and it all came back and I had a really hard time getting back into the swing of things. Now I'm trying to stick to 2 cheats a week. So if I go out for dinner on Friday with friends, I'll try to eat healthy for a majority of the weekend and maybe go out for dinner Saturday or brunch Sunday. I still want to be able to go out and have a good time, but I don't want to overdo everything I've been working towards. I have always been able to lose still with the 2 cheats, but I feel like making 2 whole cheat days part of your regular routine would likely result in reversing most of the good you did over the week0
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I know people who swear by them, but it's not for me. My dad loved to have Sunday as his cheat day. He'd save up, and "go to town" - but felt like when he knew he could have it, it sort of took the fun out of it and he wouldn't end up having as much.
With me - I'd take that as artistic license to completely and totally binge, and trust me - it would be bad. Really bad.
My dad was fine with it, but it's not something I can handle. It's all about "know thyself" - if you like having a cheat day and can manage it, then by all means - give it a try. But go into it with "eyes wide open" and realize what, if any, limitations you might have or which way is better for you.0 -
I tried the 4 hour body diet before and it encourages a pig out cheat day but it was bad for me because I already had binge eating issues. Now I'm trying to work on allowing "naughty" foods in as long as I can 'afford' them calorie wise and not just cheating/pigging out (for me could be 4000+ cals)
So if you have issues with binge eating I'd stay away cheat days0 -
Bad for my diet, good for my psyche.
Yes, it's okay now and then.0 -
I have one higher calorie meal on the weekends, but do not consider it a cheat b/c I eat light the rest of the day in order to fit it in my calories and I'll exercise to make up for the rest. I have to plan for it.0
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On the weekends I don't log, and I'm more liberal in the quantities of food I eat. With the way I eat on weekends (family style meals w/lots of different options and many things I haven't cooked myself) accurate logging was futile, time consuming and annoying. Plus, I don't intend to go through my life logging every calorie I eat. I'm very disciplined during the week, and I've found that this works for me. I've been doing it this way for 4 months or so, have consistently lost weight, and for the most part I find it pretty easy.0
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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?
They were for me. I started with a cheat day, which became a cheat weekend, which became a full on "off the wagon" binge that lasted...awhile.
So for me, cheat days are out of the question. If you can control them, then more power to you! I will have a meal once in awhile (I've had 3 since January) where I will allow myself to indulge and go over calories. But not a whole day anymore.0 -
They're bad for mine! I really screwed up this past week. Gained weight even though I really tried to burn off the excess. No more cheating, no more slacking.... ugh why did I do that.0
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I agree!0
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Like others have said, depends on what you consider a "cheat" meal or day.
I don't use that terminology, but when I first started I had one day a week where I ate basically maintenance calories. In theory I guess it slowed me down, but I was really fat and was losing 2+ lbs a week even with that and it made it more sustainable given I was going to be on restricted calories for a long time.
After a while I raised my base calories to 1400 and also started exercising enough to rack up some large burns (I was biking long distances and training for a half marathon) so I simply used exercise calories to achieve the same thing without sacrificing my deficit for the day.
Now I am close to goal and am trying to keep a narrow deficit, so it's more like I sometimes give myself permission to go over, but try to keep it around maintenance.
For me it's about calories, not the specific foods I eat. I do try to eat mostly a healthy diet, but I think a lifestyle includes making room for a variety of foods I like from time to time, so I'm not calling any particular food a "cheat." But going over my calories occasionally is a splurge day or some such.
IMO, being able to have such days and get right back on track (and not make them too crazy) is actually an important part of the learning process, as chances are they will happen once the weight loss process is over too.0 -
Cheating is never acceptable!
Oh you mean food, there's no such thing.
Learn to eat in moderation, the end.0 -
FoodFitnessTravel wrote: »As a collage student, i tend to drink every weekend-not a glass or two of wine but more like four-five cocktails or so. Don't judge, you all know what it's like lol.
It is at least 1000 calories that i don't need, and they don't bring me any nutrients, they are downright bad for me. But it's life and i have a lot of fun.
Usually on saturdays i have cheat days. Never ever set me back where i would eat pizza, chocolate, although i still have treats every day just within my calories. Actually it always pushes my weight loss a little as i'm always lighter on Monday than on Friday morning haha.
Go ahead, enjoy life, think of this as a long term lifestyle. You're gonna drink and eat yummy meals, as long as you are healthy most of the time, it's all good It's not a race, getting fit is a long process that's never going to finish if you're serious about it. Even when you get to your GW you won't be like "good now i can eat all i want and lay on couch all day" It's even harder to control yourself when you're maintaining.
My point was, go ahead.
When i drink i just mix some vodka with some crystal light. A lot fewer calories.
Good idea!
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I just eat pretty much whatever I want as long as it fits into my calorie goal on MPF. I am accountable for everything I eat and I am getting a lot slimmer since I have shifted my mindset. I don't like the expression "cheat" day/meal. If I think that I will eat too many calories (e.g. if I am going out for supper), I exercise extra to fit them in as best as possible. Sometimes I go over my goal intake by a couple of hundred calories, but I can work them off within a day or two. In my opinion, if long term weight loss - and then maintaining that goal weight - is your objective, then it is just not going to work if you cheat and pretend that you are just relaxing. It is a lifestyle. We should try to be relaxed all the time, but fit it all into our limits.0
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^^In my opinion, if long term weight loss - and then maintaining that goal weight - is your objective, then it is just not going to work if you cheat and pretend that you are just relaxing. It is a lifestyle. We should try to be relaxed all the time, but fit it all into our limits.
This.
I am here because I want to permanently and sustainably change my relationship with food and exercise.
I don't expect to always stay within my self imposed calorie budget. And I don't feel particularly guilty when I, occasionally, do not--though I do feel pissed off it the food quality wasn't worth it!
But to deliberately decide that "there is no calorie budget today"? "I'll do whatever", because it is an "official cheat day"?
How would that help me to permanently and sustainably learn not to operate like I used to when I would eat four dinner plates during Sunday brunch and have trouble walking out of the restaurant?
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