Should i log my cheat day?

haileydwatson0513
haileydwatson0513 Posts: 4 Member
edited November 24 in Health and Weight Loss
i just started using my fitness pal, and i plan on having a cheat day just once a week. I wanted to get some opinions on whether or not its beneficial to log my cheat day or to log nothing at all? Thanks!
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Replies

  • LBuehrle8
    LBuehrle8 Posts: 4,044 Member
    Well if you're dead set on having a "cheat day" then I would definitely log it so you can see everything you're eating. My best advice would to incorporate foods you like in smaller portions into your days so you don't have to have "cheat days".
  • abrooks54
    abrooks54 Posts: 45 Member
    Yup.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Log everything. Personally, I don't believe in cheat days, as they imply doing something wrong.
  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
    Definitely log it if it's going to be a regular thing. You'll need to know just how much you're going over to make sure it doesn't take you just to maintenance.
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    haileydwatson0513 wrote: »
    i just started using my fitness pal, and i plan on having a cheat day just once a week. I wanted to get some opinions on whether or not its beneficial to log my cheat day or to log nothing at all? Thanks!
    If you will be doing it weekly, absolutely. It's extremely easy to eat away and entire weeks worth of progress in just one day. If you did them more infrequently, I'd say no. I maybe have 8-10 a year and I don't log them.

  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    I log every thing I eat then look at the calories over 7 days.
  • kathrynjean_
    kathrynjean_ Posts: 428 Member
    Yes, absolutely. Log everything. I find it's a good way to get into the habit of conscious (rather than mindless) eating.
  • garydeinert
    garydeinert Posts: 106 Member
    I agree with the team, log everything. MFP is for you, and it will show you your pluses/minuses but only if you log them.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
    Yes. if you don't, how will you know if you're still in a deficit overall?
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    Log everything - if you do you're not cheating.
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,213 Member
    LBuehrle8 wrote: »
    Well if you're dead set on having a "cheat day" then I would definitely log it so you can see everything you're eating. My best advice would to incorporate foods you like in smaller portions into your days so you don't have to have "cheat days".

    I'm in agreement. I don't think I'd like to feel hungry/deprived 6 days a week to compensate for a cheat day. I'd rather have a gentle deficit each and every day with room for small treats. But if it's important to you to set it up that way, log (even if you have to do it the next day), so you can make sense of your weight changes.

  • clarissanbowman
    clarissanbowman Posts: 5 Member
    Definitely log it in so you can still keep a track of what you are intaking
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    log everything.

    even the ugly.

    my weekend was REAL ugly.

    LOLOLOLOL
  • stephxo1
    stephxo1 Posts: 191 Member
    Yip, log everything! And I prefer a cheat meal rather than a cheat day. A whole day would take me the rest of the week to claw back to maintenance and I'd feel like crap after it too. Plus as you're logging and seeing the calories going up, you might stop that cheat day a bit earlier than you would without logging!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I'm going to start answering this often-asked question with a quote from bw_conway:

    "Stay rooted in reality, as painful as reality often is. Denial and playing games with yourself will not improve your life in any way, and this especially applies to your diet. I don't ignore bad eating habits any more than I would ignore bad spending habits - failing to balance your checkbook because you made a few bad buying decisions will not improve your financial standing."
  • abetterluke
    abetterluke Posts: 625 Member
    I like the cheat day approach and have been successful with it in the past so I get the idea. I like to look at my progress on a weekly level. So ideally what I'm hoping for is that by the time "cheat day" rolls around in the week I've had enough of a deficit the rest of the week to give me an idea of what I'm working with.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I log it all. It's nice to be able to have all the data to adjust your calories to lose more/less. Can't do that or know how much you really burn if you don't log everything.
  • Mezzie1024
    Mezzie1024 Posts: 380 Member
    Absolutely. There's no way to ensure your logging is accurate unless you log everything.
  • prettyblueeyes00
    prettyblueeyes00 Posts: 1 Member
    Yes. I too have a cheat day. I can eat a dessert or high calorie snack one weekend day per week. ONLY if I hit my calorie goal every day. Like this weekend I don't get dessert night as I went over on Labor day. Trust me you are fine to do this as long as you are doing well the rest of the week. And stay active. I also take a walk before dessert night
  • jaqcan
    jaqcan Posts: 498 Member
    I've fit desserts and snacks into my every day. I've set myself up for failure too many times cheating. A cheat friday turns into a cheat saturday and then the whole weekend, and Monday I'm off the wagon. Log everything, hold yourself accountable, because it shows up on your body whether you log it or not.
  • kgb6days
    kgb6days Posts: 880 Member
    Absolutely, however having a 'cheat day' imply that you do not intend to make this a lifestyle change and that you view it as a diet.
  • jdleanna
    jdleanna Posts: 141 Member
    edited September 2015
    If you DON'T log, and you just eat and eat and eat, you could erase your calorie deficit for the week without realizing it. So you'd be working all week for nothing. Better to log so that you can check to make sure you don't eat your way back to maintenance calories for the week.

    Have you thought about doing a maintenance-calorie day rather than a cheat day?
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    How will you know what your weekly deficit is if you don't? I would have a goal in mind, no matter what. What's the point of eating to the point where you might throw yourself out of a deficit? I try to log all of my high calorie days to the best of my ability, and I keep the calorie count in mind to give me an average daily deficit that will allow me to lose at a rate I'm happy with.
  • haileydwatson0513
    haileydwatson0513 Posts: 4 Member
    jaqcan wrote: »
    I've fit desserts and snacks into my every day. I've set myself up for failure too many times cheating. A cheat friday turns into a cheat saturday and then the whole weekend, and Monday I'm off the wagon. Log everything, hold yourself accountable, because it shows up on your body whether you log it or not.

    Thank you!! Out of all the comments this was the most positive and put it in the best perspective!
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
    Yes, log every thing so you're aware of what you're consuming. If your 'cheat day' is too extreme, you'll be affecting your calorie deficit and if your 'cheat day' isn't logged and accounted for, you'll be wondering why. Best of luck :]
  • allenpriest
    allenpriest Posts: 1,102 Member
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    Log everything. Personally, I don't believe in cheat days, as they imply doing something wrong.

    This. I choose what I eat. So days I choose to eat more than the MFP target for that day. But I'm not deprived because I'm not dieting. I'm planning what I eat and choosing to eat less.
  • allenpriest
    allenpriest Posts: 1,102 Member
    prettyblueeyes00 wrote: »
    Yes. I too have a cheat day. I can eat a dessert or high calorie snack one weekend day per week. ONLY if I hit my calorie goal every day. Like this weekend I don't get dessert night as I went over on Labor day. Trust me you are fine to do this as long as you are doing well the rest of the week. And stay active. I also take a walk before dessert night

    I don't think this approach works for me as I am getting away from thinking of food as a reward. I have proven I don't do food as a reward well.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,616 Member
    haileydwatson0513 wrote: »
    i just started using my fitness pal, and i plan on having a cheat day just once a week. I wanted to get some opinions on whether or not its beneficial to log my cheat day or to log nothing at all? Thanks!

    Your body doesn't gain or lose weight based on what you log in MFP. It gains or loses weight based on what you eat and what you burn.

    So, not logging a cheat day won't help you lose weight. Your body knows what you've eaten.


    Personally, I don't do cheat days. If I eat delicious food all the time, and if I want something more, I exercise for it.

    That said, I have taken one holiday from tracking and logging ... after I hit my first goal. I actually went on a holiday and didn't want to track during that time. However, while I was gone, I still ate reasonably well, and I exercised a whole lot more than usual.

    I have also taken one celebration day ... my husband and my anniversary. On that occasion, I ate slightly less than usual earlier in the day + doing more exercise than usual, and then the dinner we had together put me over by 300 cal. (probably the banana split we shared. :)) But that was OK. According to my weekly stats, I was just under for the week. And once in a while, you've got to celebrate something. :)
  • coreyreichle
    coreyreichle Posts: 1,031 Member
    Yes.

    Your body doesn't know if you're logging or not on MFP, those calories matter regardless.

    I even log (After getting back home) during backpacking trips.
  • jayjay_90
    jayjay_90 Posts: 83 Member
    Absolutely yes, always.
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