How Do "Cheat Days" Work?

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Replies

  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
    rebeccachance wrote: »
    Everybody is different.... Each week me and my boyfriend both decide what day of the week were going to have a cheat day and what we're going to have. We decided this week it was Tuesday (today) so we started the day with normal breakfast then went and did a really difficult mountain bike track. We came home and ordered the much awaited pizzas that we've been talking about all week. I enjoyed every mouthful and it actually has the affect on me where I enjoy it, but I can tell it's bad when I've eaten it just by how I feel. The day was cheat day but just consisted of the pizza, I didn't have anything else other than my morning weetabix, so I went a 1000 over.
    For the next 5 days now I'll have my 1200 cal and we will 'clean eat' nothing bad. And that always pulls it back for me and I see a loss, apart from tomorrow, the day after a naughty day I only have 1000 calories, but I make sure that 1000 is fish and veg.
    I'll eat clean, go to the gym and know at some point next week we will have a take away. And that's what stops me falling off the wagon. If I know a treat is coming once a week then dieting doesn't just become a bore! X just my opinion, like I say everyone is different x

    That's a really neat pattern. I definitely agree that everyone's different. It sounds like you're really active, whereas I'm not so much. Thanks for sharing your experience!
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    yusaku02 wrote: »
    "How do cheat days work?"
    They don't. Make what you consume fit your macros and calorie allotment.

    BOOM!
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
    edited August 2015
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    yusaku02 wrote: »
    "How do cheat days work?"
    They don't. Make what you consume fit your macros and calorie allotment.

    BOOM!

    *sigh*

    we've already covered this

    "cheat day" as in a higher-calorie day for a weekly deficit, NOT a log-free day or anything like that. I know how a deficit works. >:) That was the question. About a weekly strategy versus a daily one.

    I thought I'd made that clear in the initial question, but apparently I am not the best communicator because people keep missing this.
  • harmoniebaby
    harmoniebaby Posts: 5 Member
    shadowofender wrote: »
    I think that for most people, they try to limit to a "cheat meal" just to control it a bit better. I find that logging everything, even a cheat day or meal, helps my brain recognize what I'm doing and eventually learn to limit the "cheats" to where it's just part of my day to eat what I want within reason.

    In my opinion, the logging everything is what makes it stick. Cheat meals and days are OK if that's what you like, moderation is another way to feel like you're not depriving yourself. Just make sure you're not undoing all your week's work in one day or else you're being counter productive.

    Exactly! Logging everything, even "fails", helps you to understand exactly what your progress is and exactly how much cheating you can get away with.
  • piperdown44
    piperdown44 Posts: 958 Member
    Hmmm, my cheat day, not exactly on a weekly basis, more like every two weeks, is eating up to maintenance. Still log everything though. Following this keeps me at a deficit for the week (or two weeks).
    Works for me. Down from 224 to 193 and still dropping.
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
    kae612 wrote: »
    What would you suggest?


    I would suggest not planning on cheating.

    I thought I was already pretty clear on that.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,681 Member
    kae612 wrote: »
    How Do "Cheat Days" Work?

    I've read some people find that "cheat days" help them stay on track for the week. I have been having some difficulty lately with that. Once I've "failed" I seem to spiral a little bit for a number of days, which I suspect may have destroyed any progress I might have made in the past few weeks. I'd like to try to get out of that mentality to actually continue to move forwards, and thought this might be worth a shot.

    I'm wondering how you plan for cheat days and how you make sure you have an overall weekly deficit? Do you have an "upper limit" for that day, or a weekly total calorie goal? Is there another calculation that you use other than just the MFP one? just how do you use a "cheat day" effectively?

    Thanks! :)

    Cheat days don't work for me.

    1) I eat foods I like all the time. While I am on a mission to lose weight, and while I have a limited number of calories to work with, I refuse to eat foods I don't like. I just finished one of my favourite lunches and only about 400 cal. :)

    2) If I want more ... more quantity (i.e. 2nd helping) or more variety (i.e. pizza, ice cream, the chocolate fondant dessert I had last Friday) ... I exercise for it. I earn it.


    Therefore, I do not go over my calorie limit ... I don't need to.



  • Patttience
    Patttience Posts: 975 Member
    I haven't read the posts above so someone I might be repeating.

    Anyway don't go down the path of cheat days. In the medium longterm these will be the reason why you fail and give up.

    Instead, figure out why you've had the triggering fails. What caused you to want to break out? Is it because you are restricting your food too much: too few calories, poor food choices, uninteresting food, stress, tiredness, low mood? Whatever you've been doing, its probably not been as good as it could be.

    Work out a way to eat that you can live with for the long term. Maximise nutrition and satisfaction. Don't cut calories severely adn look after yourself with sleep, relaxation etc.
  • ncfitbit
    ncfitbit Posts: 1,058 Member
    edited August 2015
    I agree with those who suggested maybe more calories on a daily basis might be more helpful for adherence. I found it super helpful at first. One cheat meal or day wouldn't cut it for me because my life isn't such that I go out on weekends or some other day on a regular basis. One week it's a Tuesday event and next week it might be Sunday. It matters because it's very unmotivating to have your "cheat day" on a Tuesday and then have to pay it back the whole rest of the week or if you have two big events one week and none the next. That just didn't work for me.

    I will also second that the fitbit is super helpful for figuring out your TDEE. It has been for me and I think it's because my non-exercise activity level varies a lot by day. Also, especially if you don't feel like you do a lot of exercise, it's very motivating to see on a daily basis how a few extra steps here and there can add up and make a big difference in your calories burned for the day. I have my Flex synced to MFP so it will add or subtract calories for the day depending on whether I'm burning more or less than I told MFP I think I'm burning (I set mine to Lightly Active). The added bonus is that I find those normal activity burns are less likely to make me super hungry than say a long run or intense cardio session.
  • 555_FILK
    555_FILK Posts: 86 Member
    edited August 2015
    rebeccachance wrote: »
    Everybody is different.... Each week me and my boyfriend both decide what day of the week were going to have a cheat day and what we're going to have. We decided this week it was Tuesday (today) so we started the day with normal breakfast then went and did a really difficult mountain bike track. We came home and ordered the much awaited pizzas that we've been talking about all week. I enjoyed every mouthful and it actually has the affect on me where I enjoy it, but I can tell it's bad when I've eaten it just by how I feel. The day was cheat day but just consisted of the pizza, I didn't have anything else other than my morning weetabix, so I went a 1000 over.
    For the next 5 days now I'll have my 1200 cal and we will 'clean eat' nothing bad. And that always pulls it back for me and I see a loss, apart from tomorrow, the day after a naughty day I only have 1000 calories, but I make sure that 1000 is fish and veg.
    I'll eat clean, go to the gym and know at some point next week we will have a take away. And that's what stops me falling off the wagon. If I know a treat is coming once a week then dieting doesn't just become a bore! X just my opinion, like I say everyone is different x


    Wait... you had a light breakfast, the pizza, and nothing else - and you went 1000 over for the day? THAT is a LOT of pizza!!!! :p
  • ebbingfat
    ebbingfat Posts: 117 Member
    edited August 2015
    I let myself "cheat" on the weekends, but I really don't think of it as cheating. If I'm home I eat healthy, but usually I'm out with friends which typically means eating out, ordering pizza, or drinking. This has definitely helped me sustain my "diet" so far, because I'm not over-restricting. I don't have to skip out on dinners with friends, and I don't have to miss foods that I love.

    Sunday-Thursday I typically eat 1300 calories, which for me is roughly a 1000 calorie deficit. That means I go into Friday/Saturday with a 5000 calorie deficit. Even eating whatever I want all weekend, I don't seem to be eating back my entire deficit because over the last month I have lost 8 pounds. I don't bother tracking what I'm eating on the weekends since it hasn't seemed to be an issue. I know that eventually as I lose more weight and my maintenance weight becomes lower I'll have to pay more attention to it, but at the moment it's keeping me sane and starting me off slowly. It's easy for me to eat well on the weekdays, so I'm just going to stick to that for now and then slowly work on making healthier decisions on the weekends over time.
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