Cheat days!
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I call it a cheat day, just because it is a known word. My "Cheat day" I will just not worry so much and stay right around a maintenance day caloric intake instead of 1000 calories under.0
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Cheat meals are for people in the process of slowly changing their diet instead of dropping everything in one day it makes it easier. I've been having more than I should lately because the change is difficult because I'm a huge baby about big changes lol. I'm hoping to start going weeks without a cheat meal and hoping I no longer desire one because it can really put a damper on my success. I don't believe in dieting but I do believe in clean eating it just takes time for someone like me to go 100%0
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stop viewing food as bad/good/cheats/clean/evil/etc…
food = food it gives your body nutrients and energy and is neither good or bad. Just make sure you hit your micros/macros/calorie targets. If you go over some days on calories no big deal you can make up for it the next day be eating less or not…
when I first started I fell victim to the whole cheat day where I can have "bad" foods…however, I soon found that set me up the rest of the week as saying "oh, if I have ice cream I am cheating on my non cheat day" …now, I eat ice-cream pretty much every day and other things that I like within my goals, which makes sating on tack much easier and is liberating.0 -
i do have a meal out once every other Saturday that is considered a "treat"- i don't worry *as much* about calories- but i tend to not eat my calories back those weeks and work out a little extra those days to burn off some additional cals.
even though i try to remain in my weekly calorie allocation i consider it a "treat" because its something to look forward to- that i don't have every day (pizza, Chinese takeout, whatever)0 -
i have been actively losing for a month and i will be having my first cheat day tomorrow. when i was losing my weight last time (long story why i gained it back...) i would have one "free day" per month. i wouldn't log anything, and i would eat anything and everything in sight. chili dogs, french fries, donuts, etc.
so tomorrow is my day. then friday i will start hitting it strong again and won't have another free day until end july. for me, the reason i do it is because it allows me to stay stronger during the days when i crave really trashy foods. i am not a moderation type person. meaning: i can't have a bite of a donut or a small amount of cake. i eat it all! LOL so, if i have one day per month that i know i can eat anything, then it's easier the other 29 days to stick to my calorie goal intake, knowing that i have a day when it will all be worth it.
it worked last time, i lost 60 lbs, so i am going to do the same thing this time.
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WeddedBliss1992 wrote: »i have been actively losing for a month and i will be having my first cheat day tomorrow. when i was losing my weight last time (long story why i gained it back...) i would have one "free day" per month. i wouldn't log anything, and i would eat anything and everything in sight. chili dogs, french fries, donuts, etc.
so tomorrow is my day. then friday i will start hitting it strong again and won't have another free day until end july. for me, the reason i do it is because it allows me to stay stronger during the days when i crave really trashy foods. i am not a moderation type person. meaning: i can't have a bite of a donut or a small amount of cake. i eat it all! LOL so, if i have one day per month that i know i can eat anything, then it's easier the other 29 days to stick to my calorie goal intake, knowing that i have a day when it will all be worth it.
it worked last time, i lost 60 lbs, so i am going to do the same thing this time.
for the record, moderation does not equal a bit of a donut....you can have the whole thing, or two if you want.0 -
WeddedBliss1992 wrote: »i have been actively losing for a month and i will be having my first cheat day tomorrow. when i was losing my weight last time (long story why i gained it back...) i would have one "free day" per month. i wouldn't log anything, and i would eat anything and everything in sight. chili dogs, french fries, donuts, etc.
so tomorrow is my day. then friday i will start hitting it strong again and won't have another free day until end july. for me, the reason i do it is because it allows me to stay stronger during the days when i crave really trashy foods. i am not a moderation type person. meaning: i can't have a bite of a donut or a small amount of cake. i eat it all! LOL so, if i have one day per month that i know i can eat anything, then it's easier the other 29 days to stick to my calorie goal intake, knowing that i have a day when it will all be worth it.
it worked last time, i lost 60 lbs, so i am going to do the same thing this time.
for the record, moderation does not equal a bit of a donut....you can have the whole thing, or two if you want.
well, for me, that doesn't work. when i eat donuts, i eat 6 (or sometimes 8 at shipley if they are hot). then i'm screwed for the rest of the day (and even the next!) because i'm over on calories. i would personally rather eat nice and clean and full of fresh fruits, veggies, etc. for 29 days of the month and be able to overdo it for one day. that's JMO.
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A cheat day or meal is when you have a meal or day where you do not follow your diet, however you define your diet. could be going over on calories, eating the wrong foods, drinking the wrong things; it depends on you. Personally, I do not do cheat days because for me, that is a lack of dedication. Willpower has been a tough thing for me in the past when it came to dieting, therefore, I take it very seriously this time.0
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anxioushero wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »I've been here almost three years and I still can't figure out what a cheat day or meal is. To me, it's just an indicator that a lot of people have really *kitten* relationships with food.
People DEFINITELY do - if you're trying to radically change your lifestyle it's understandable to not want to go cold turkey though. This is why I'm asking what people view as a cheat day! Because for me that is drinking I suppose, and I "save up" for it throughout the week.
I tend to look at the big picture and my diet as a whole, not individual days or meals. I eat really, really well for the most part...I'm admittedly a food snob and a whole foods to minimally processed food snob at that (like probably 95% of my diet)...but I don't, for example, look at pizza night with my boys every couple of weeks as "cheating"...it's just pizza night and it's pretty irrelevant to the whole of my diet. I also drink a 2 or 3 glasses of wine or have a couple beers or a couple vodka and seltzers most every night...again, I don't see this as cheating...just having a cocktail.
This is why I have difficulty understanding what "cheating" is..."cheating" to me implies that you are doing something inherently wrong and I just don't view food that way.
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cwolfman13 wrote: »
This is why I have difficulty understanding what "cheating" is..."cheating" to me implies that you are doing something inherently wrong and I just don't view food that way.
i see what you're saying. so i call mine free days. it's really the same thing. it's just me allowing myself to eat something that i normally will not eat while trying to lose weight. if i consistently eat those foods that i eat on free days, then i'll be back to my starting weight in no time. but if i give-up those foods forever, then life doesn't seem worth living! LOL
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I don't do cheat days. I do maintenance days. So I eat every calorie I'm allowed including exercise calories in preparation for when I hit my goal weight because that's what you have to do when you get there. Of course I'll be able to eat less as I get smaller but that's why I'm doing it now. To get used to the amount I can eat to maintain.0
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my cheat meals are my birthday, christmas, thanksgiving, and easter. Now I still eat pizza and whatnot on weekends, but it fits my calories.0
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Saturday and Sunday are generally my "treat days", I guess. At the beginning of my ~weight loss journey~, if you will, I realised that eating at a calorie deficit would be tougher for me on the weekend, so I decided to just go with it - if there were any treats that I wanted, I put them off til the weekend, and ate a bit lighter throughout the week to compensate. This worked really well for me, because I didn't obsess over what I was craving because I knew I'd get it in a few days, and sometimes I had forgotten about it by then anyway. Now that I'm more or less in maintenance, I still use this strategy. Honestly, I would never have had even a fraction of the success I have without this strategy. It keeps me from overindulging and allows me to practice moderation in my diet. Nearly 200 lbs lost, and I've never felt like my diet is restricted.0
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Depends on what you wanna call a cheatday. Everyday is one for me. Ice cream, chocolat,e crisps/chips, popcorn. Whatever I feel like. Just usually within my calorie limit, or a little above if i've been particularly active.
Although usually on Fridays and/or Saturdays, I will eat less of my "normal daily food", to have more calories to be greedy with chocolate or whatever else. Rather than just having little bits. Haha0 -
I have my cheat day on Saturday after 6:30am weigh in, and I pretty much eat what ever I want last Saturday was sushi and a big dinner.0
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WeddedBliss1992 wrote: »i have been actively losing for a month and i will be having my first cheat day tomorrow. when i was losing my weight last time (long story why i gained it back...) i would have one "free day" per month. i wouldn't log anything, and i would eat anything and everything in sight. chili dogs, french fries, donuts, etc.
so tomorrow is my day. then friday i will start hitting it strong again and won't have another free day until end july. for me, the reason i do it is because it allows me to stay stronger during the days when i crave really trashy foods. i am not a moderation type person. meaning: i can't have a bite of a donut or a small amount of cake. i eat it all! LOL so, if i have one day per month that i know i can eat anything, then it's easier the other 29 days to stick to my calorie goal intake, knowing that i have a day when it will all be worth it.
it worked last time, i lost 60 lbs, so i am going to do the same thing this time.
If that works for you, no problem. I'd perhaps suggest logging it all anyways so that way you are aware of what you're eating. Knowledge is power!0 -
extremelygrumpycat wrote: »WeddedBliss1992 wrote: »i have been actively losing for a month and i will be having my first cheat day tomorrow. when i was losing my weight last time (long story why i gained it back...) i would have one "free day" per month. i wouldn't log anything, and i would eat anything and everything in sight. chili dogs, french fries, donuts, etc.
so tomorrow is my day. then friday i will start hitting it strong again and won't have another free day until end july. for me, the reason i do it is because it allows me to stay stronger during the days when i crave really trashy foods. i am not a moderation type person. meaning: i can't have a bite of a donut or a small amount of cake. i eat it all! LOL so, if i have one day per month that i know i can eat anything, then it's easier the other 29 days to stick to my calorie goal intake, knowing that i have a day when it will all be worth it.
it worked last time, i lost 60 lbs, so i am going to do the same thing this time.
If that works for you, no problem. I'd perhaps suggest logging it all anyways so that way you are aware of what you're eating. Knowledge is power!
i will log everything today - might be interesting to see calories. thx for the idea. scary thought though! LOL
***ETA just logged for today, my "off day" over 3300 calories. so that is 2.75 days' worth of eating in one day! aye aye aye!
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WeddedBliss1992 wrote: »extremelygrumpycat wrote: »WeddedBliss1992 wrote: »i have been actively losing for a month and i will be having my first cheat day tomorrow. when i was losing my weight last time (long story why i gained it back...) i would have one "free day" per month. i wouldn't log anything, and i would eat anything and everything in sight. chili dogs, french fries, donuts, etc.
so tomorrow is my day. then friday i will start hitting it strong again and won't have another free day until end july. for me, the reason i do it is because it allows me to stay stronger during the days when i crave really trashy foods. i am not a moderation type person. meaning: i can't have a bite of a donut or a small amount of cake. i eat it all! LOL so, if i have one day per month that i know i can eat anything, then it's easier the other 29 days to stick to my calorie goal intake, knowing that i have a day when it will all be worth it.
it worked last time, i lost 60 lbs, so i am going to do the same thing this time.
If that works for you, no problem. I'd perhaps suggest logging it all anyways so that way you are aware of what you're eating. Knowledge is power!
i will log everything today - might be interesting to see calories. thx for the idea. scary thought though! LOL
***ETA just logged for today, my "off day" over 3300 calories. so that is 2.75 days' worth of eating in one day! aye aye aye!
Haha, scary idea but I think it's a good way to keep things into perspective. At least now you KNOW that your "off day" was that amount and what kind of macros it gives you. Knowing is good. I find that it helps down the line when making decisions about what to eat as well on regular days too. I just find it very interesting to see all types of meals logged. Congrats on LOGGING it
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I don't have cheat days or cheat meals. But I do eat a lot on the weekends. But that's just my normal diet. I don't get "cheating."0
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