Cheat day/meal

alicer461

opinions on having a cheat day/ meal once a month or so? I haven't had any treats for a month now and I was wondering if a small treat would be ok?

Thanks

callsitlikeiseeit

do a search. theres about a million threads that cover the topic

and the consensus? do what works for you and that's sustainable for you.

higgins8283801

Do you plan to cut out treats forever? If no, you're going to have to make them work for you.

I don't have cheat meals or treats. I eat what I want and make it work.

Last night, I had ice cream and apple crisp. I planned my entire day around it--because it was that important. lol

Liftng4Lis

Cheating means doing something wrong. I'm not, so I don't. If I go over, I log it and move on. It's just a day.

higgins8283801

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

Cheating means doing something wrong. I'm not, so I don't. If I go over, I log it and move on. It's just a day.

This too.

GabinkaP

I took a day off my diet once a month back in the day (when I lost 30 pounds in 7 months). I didn't count a single calorie that day and would eat whatever I wanted. I plan to do that this time around, too. It's just nice to take a break and eat really yummy stuff now and then.

livingleanlivingclean

higgins8283801 wrote: »

Do you plan to cut out treats forever? If no, you're going to have to make them work for you.

I don't have cheat meals or treats. I eat what I want and make it work.

Last night, I had ice cream and apple crisp. I planned my entire day around it--because it was that important. lol

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

Cheating means doing something wrong. I'm not, so I don't. If I go over, I log it and move on. It's just a day.

What these people said.

MorganMoreaux

I cheat every Friday after work - I allow myself and extra 500 calories. Sometimes I have make a huge dinner, sometimes it's a dessert. I look forward to it. Sometimes I go over the 500 - then I workout extra on Saturday. I still log everything. I haven't found it to be detrimental to my overall goal.
If it's been a month since you've had a treat you should reward yourself. Just plan for it and ENJOY!

SueInAz

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

Cheating means doing something wrong. I'm not, so I don't. If I go over, I log it and move on. It's just a day.

My opinion, too. If I want a treat I make it fit into my day. If it's a party or all-day event I don't worry about and get back to plan the next day.

Unless you plan on eating without treats the rest of your life you should try to develop a sustainable plan for fitting them in. Otherwise, when you hit your goal weight you're going to have a very difficult time finding a new "normal" that allows you to maintain your weight.

peachyfuzzle

Totally read this thread while eating an M&M Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich...

girlviernes

I like to call them treats and not cheats. Those things are just fine to have in your diet, daily, weekly, or whatever you find works best for you. They may be more calorie dense, but that's okay. You can decide to go a bit over for the day, or eat less of your other food for the day, whatever you prefer.

segacs

Fit the foods you love into your calories, including the treats. I don't do 'cheat' days but I eat chocolate almost every day.

Trying to deny yourself for too long isn't sustainable.

Machka9

alicer461 wrote: »

opinions on having a cheat day/ meal once a month or so? I haven't had any treats for a month now and I was wondering if a small treat would be ok?

Thanks

1) I try to eat good tasting food every day.

2) If I want something extra, like for example the cheesecake on my birthday last month ... I exercise for it.

7lenny7

Every time I try to cheat my body finds out. I just can't sneak anything down my throat without my body knowing.

chickabelle

I have a cheat meal every monday but I make sure to do twice as much exercise on mondays lol. You have to be able to treat yourself once and awhile. Otherwise you will get frustrated and eat everything in sight (atleast thats what i used to do). I've lost 20 pounds since march consistently so have your meal and get back on track.

LovelyIvy466

I had a cheat meal yesterday. It wasn't a particularly large meal, or a decadent meal, I just found for the third day in a row that at the end of the day that I was still really hungry (unusual for me in the last few weeks) so I ate an extra meal. Looking back at my diary I blame it on a few things:

1. I have been eating a lot of soup, which I have a hard time logging because I didn't cook it and because each bowl is nutritionally pretty different (more/less broth, more/less vegetables, more/less meat). I think I was overestimating my calories by quite a bit.
2. I did cardio and a power yoga class. I always under-log my cardio because I think the MFP counts are very generous, but I had the opposite problem with the yoga. For power yoga the calorie estimates based on weight are literally all over the place. I go with the MFP calorie count, but it was like 189 calories for the workout, which is EXTREMELY low, 200 - 350 calories below other calorie counters.
3. Stress. More and more stress, less and less sleep.

I decided I didn't want to feel like I am depriving myself and I just ate the damn meal- which I also logged. I went over my calories, but just one day won't kill me. IMO if you don't indulge yourself a little when you really need it (for whatever reason) then you're going to snap and abandon the calorie counting!