Cheat Day

haggs88

What are everyone's thoughts on a cheat day once a week? I know you should have one at least one a week so you don't go insane from the "by the book dieting" but I always feel guilty when I splurge on my cheat day.

For the record on my cheat day I follow my diet for breakfast and lunch and dinner is when I would typically eat what I want.

What are your thoughts?

Nony_Mouse

I don't do them, I just fit the things I want in, either by saving up calories through the week if it's something big, or by doing some additional exercise so I have more calories for the day that can be used for something like gelato for dessert (my cal limit without exercise doesn't have a huge amount of wriggle room).

A lot of people here use this method. Basically eat nutrient-rich foods for the most part to ensure you meet your macros and micros, use any additional calories for 'treats'. Guilt-free weight loss.

livingleanlivingclean

I don't believe in attaching negative associations with food. If you need to "cheat" in life, you're not doing something right. Or you need to make changes. Same with food.

ibnfaqir

I only do it if I feel very lethargic and my performance in the gym is sagging. Even then I eat 500 cals more than my maintence. I overload on carbs (clean carbs) since I am cutting on low carbs. You cant just go to a chinese buffet and stuff your face because then you will have undone all the weeks hard work. There has to be method to your madness. Good luck.

Orphia

I don't do it.

Why would I want to cheat myself?

cazbit

I don't have a cheat day. If I give myself a license to eat, I will EAT and that would just undo all my good work all week, plus I would end up feeling pretty rotten the day afterwards. Having a cheat day would also make it feel more like a diet to me whereas I'm trying to think that this is just my life now and this is how I eat and act in order to feel and look healthier.

What I do is keep in mind is that events will come up, like on 4th June I have a team dinner - so I will go to that dinner make the best choice I can with the options available, log it and not feel bad about it.

So instead of cheat days I don't worry when events come up that maybe will make me eat a bit over my allowance.

Rob_in_MI

I usually do. We had BBQ ribs at work last night in fact. They should a pinned a curly tail on me when I finished.

flitterfoot

I don't do cheat days but since I still have so much weight to lose I have 1500 calories a day without exercise so I have plenty to spend. I do have a night out coming up and I'll probably be way over goal even with exercise but I'll try and log everything (until I'm too drunk to remember or care) and accept that's is not a normal day.

I think that if I have a cheat day I'd undo all the work I put in for the week. The reason I'm so big is lack of control when it comes to food. I'm just starting to have a healthy(ish) relationship with food so a cheat day would be more of a problem for me.

thankyou4thevenom

I don't do cheat days. I do refuel days. My work days are typically low calorie, so I tend to see what others call cheat days as days to practice good nutrition and eat to maintenance.

WeoooBeans

I used to do cheat days, but I realised that by doing that, I overindulge and sabatoge myself. Now, I just fit what I want into my calories I have alloted for the day.

TimothyFish

I don't do cheat days. I've accepted that since I'm eating at a calorie deficit, I'm not going to be able to eat as much as I otherwise would. Throwing a cheat day in the mix just messes up the calorie deficit for the week. I think you're better off aiming for a similar calorie intake everyday, because you get in the habit and you start to do it automatically. Cheat days seem like self reward, and since we all think we deserve to be rewarded more often than we are, we start having more cheat days.

Eventually, I'll be eating at maintenance (probably mid to end of next month). My plan is to eat about the same every day, but to aim for a slight (50-100 calorie) deficit. I believe that will make it easier to handle a few bumps along the road, such as that extra piece of cake or mindlessly eating too many chips one night. But I'm not going to purposefully put bumps in the road, but rather, if my weight drops too low, I'll just add some extra calories for a few days to gain weight.

Orphia

TimothyFish wrote: »

I don't do cheat days. I've accepted that since I'm eating at a calorie deficit, I'm not going to be able to eat as much as I otherwise would. Throwing a cheat day in the mix just messes up the calorie deficit for the week. I think you're better off aiming for a similar calorie intake everyday, because you get in the habit and you start to do it automatically. Cheat days seem like self reward, and since we all think we deserve to be rewarded more often than we are, we start having more cheat days.

Eventually, I'll be eating at maintenance (probably mid to end of next month). My plan is to eat about the same every day, but to aim for a slight (50-100 calorie) deficit. I believe that will make it easier to handle a few bumps along the road, such as that extra piece of cake or mindlessly eating too many chips one night. But I'm not going to purposefully put bumps in the road, but rather, if my weight drops too low, I'll just add some extra calories for a few days to gain weight.

@TimothyFish you seem cool.

snowflakesav

on some days when I am very busy and active I don't need to manage my calories as much. For example Yesterday I ran 8 miles in the morning. Spent 4 hours sight seeing (mostly walking and standing) and walked a mile to dinner and back. Dinner was a total of 1841 calories. That puts me just at maintaining for the day and it works into my lifestyle.

89Madeline

TimothyFish wrote: »

I don't do cheat days. I've accepted that since I'm eating at a calorie deficit, I'm not going to be able to eat as much as I otherwise would. Throwing a cheat day in the mix just messes up the calorie deficit for the week. I think you're better off aiming for a similar calorie intake everyday, because you get in the habit and you start to do it automatically. Cheat days seem like self reward, and since we all think we deserve to be rewarded more often than we are, we start having more cheat days.

Eventually, I'll be eating at maintenance (probably mid to end of next month). My plan is to eat about the same every day, but to aim for a slight (50-100 calorie) deficit. I believe that will make it easier to handle a few bumps along the road, such as that extra piece of cake or mindlessly eating too many chips one night. But I'm not going to purposefully put bumps in the road, but rather, if my weight drops too low, I'll just add some extra calories for a few days to gain weight.

This. I really thing this helps better in learning the lifestyle of being healthier. I also think, psychologically speaking, you'll be craving for that cheat day all week if you tell yourself 'i can't have it now, but i can on saturday!' and then on saturday you'll eat everything you had to say no to for a week and you probably overeat. Which is fine every once in a while of course, but once a week sort of defeats the purpose of the deficit you were maintaining for six consecutive days!

For me, portion control helps most. I lost 20 kgs, never stopped eating chocolate. But in smaller amounts. It helps with the crave and prevents me from binging down a whole bar in the weekend. Instead, I eat half a bar throughout the whole week and stay (more or less) within my goals if I'm being a good girl, lol.

tinascar2015

Orphia wrote: »

I don't do it.

Why would I want to cheat myself?

Exactly. I see planned, repeating "cheat days" as days to look forward to....too much. Why should I spend all week looking forward to feeling bloated and sluggish and undoing some of what I accomplished that week?

The diet isn't the prison you're trying to break out of. Overeating is. So planning a cheat day, to me, is like being released from prison and then going back there on weekends. That makes no sense to me.

alyhuggan

I used to and it screwed up my progress. Big time. I will have a big cheat meal once every now and again but I fit it into my maintenance calories. :P

serenity1097

I don't do "cheat" days, I just eat whatever I want & fit it into my daily goals. If I go over my goals then I log it & move on. I don't consider it cheating as this is not a test, for me it's a lifestyle Plus to me it seems calling certain foods a "cheat" just seems negative & would make me feel guilty about eating whatever makes me happy!!!

patrikc333

will never do, as it will show lack of commitment on the new lifestyle I chose. if I want to eat a lot, I exercise a lot and make room for it, within my daily allowance

SCV34

No cheat days for me, I just eat everything what I want but in moderation. I have been around too many people that have not been successful with the cheat meal or cheat day mentality.

playmadcats

I don't do cheat days, however now and again I will have a treat eg three course meal out. Usually celebrations or as a reward. I take the theory that a treat once every couple of months is better than a cheat once a week. Have since found out the treats are far more enjoyable now they are not a regular thing.
The small things eg a cookie or ice cream I fit in.

Jgasmic

I don't have cheat days, but I do have days where I eat up to maintenance. These days are almost always days I'm socializing and eating outside of my home. I could go out to a restaurant and stay within my calorie goals, but if I'm going to spend $20 or more on an entrée I'm going to eat it the way the chef intended with all of the yummy sauces and oils that come with that. I don't let losing weight interfere with my enjoyment of life, so I feel no need to "cheat" because this is just how I live my life now.

snickerscharlie

haggs88 wrote: »

What are everyone's thoughts on a cheat day once a week? I know you should have one at least one a week...

Nope!

Undoing most of what I strove to achieve all week long is counterproductive for me. If I want something calorically-laden, I simply work it into my allotments for that day. A "cheat" day only cheats yourself.

Liftng4Lis

haggs88 wrote: »

I know you should have one at least one a week so you don't go insane from the "by the book dieting"

Who says?
Nope. Cheating implies one is doing something wrong. I'm not. If I want something extra, that I haven't earned through exercise, I eat it, log it and move on.

allyphoe

If sticking to your target deficit for more than 6 days in a row makes you "go insane," you might consider a more sustainable deficit.

Some days I am extra hungry. When I am, I eat more.

haggs88

So, after all your feedback that is much appreciated I've come to the consensus that I'm going to eliminate the "cheat day".. If there's something in particular that I'd like to eat I'll fit it in by exercising more or recalculating my calories to accommodate.

Thanks again!

snickerscharlie

Now you got it!

snickerscharlie

And on the days when I do go over, I just log it honestly and move on...

Harleyb87

my formula is 7 days very strong and then a cheat day gives me something to look forward to and it make it easier to stay on my diet

snickerscharlie

BeckaFrieri wrote: »

my formula is 7 days very strong and then a cheat day gives me something to look forward to and it make it easier to stay on my diet

If you need to have a cheat day to "look forward to," you may want to rethink what you're doing. Deprivation dieting/bingeing doesn't usually work long-term.

sazziek

As long as your not having McDonalds for breakfast, Taco Bell for lunch, and Wendy's for Dinner, I think you are ok. lol. I think eating healthy two out of the three meals is a great way to stay motivated, reward yourself AND not feel so guilty about "cheating'. Good idea

Harleyb87

snickerscharlie wrote: »

BeckaFrieri wrote: »

my formula is 7 days very strong and then a cheat day gives me something to look forward to and it make it easier to stay on my diet

If you need to have a cheat day to "look forward to," you may want to rethink what you're doing. Deprivation dieting/bingeing doesn't usually work long-term.

Actually its worked for me for years I stay extremely healthy for 7 days and I look forward to a cheat meal at the end of the week theres nothing wrong with it. I dont starve myself ever. I lost over 220 pounds and kept it off for over 5 years. I did go through some hard times and during that time gained some weight but I wasnt following a diet at all. Thats why I am on the path of losing weight again but there is nothing wrong with looking forward to a cheat meal.