How do you "cheat"

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adriennemarieb
adriennemarieb Posts: 38 Member
in Food and Nutrition
How do you choose to have a cheat meal?

Do you have a meal or a day that you can eat whatever you want, no restrictions?
Or do you keep it within your calorie goal?
Do you still stay in your macros?
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Replies

  • grace173
    grace173 Posts: 180 Member
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    So many cheats to think of but I don't do them regularly. Obviously pizza is a BIG cheat. My fav cheat is a chinese take away. (beer, wine and a chippie...ooh and a coffee slice lol
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
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    Fat bombs! Yeh!!! Only once a week at most. I make mine with almond butter, coconut butter, and kerrygold butter with stevia to sweeten. :)
  • joeelliott87uk
    joeelliott87uk Posts: 4 Member
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    If i'm on a challenge or trying to reach a goal, i don't cheat till my habits are in tune with the lifestyle changes, then i would have a cheat meal every 4 days to keep me sane lol works for me, its like tricking your body.

    I wouldn't suggest cheat days as they are harder to recover from but if you must then really limit them :)
  • MommyL2015
    MommyL2015 Posts: 1,411 Member
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    I don't cheat. I'm having pizza tonight (and a lot of weekends too) and it fits in my day, so there's nothing to be cheating on.

    Days when I go over are just another day. I eat it, log it and move on. Nothing cheaty about that either. Balance is key.
  • brb2008
    brb2008 Posts: 406 Member
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    Always within my calorie goals, I can eat whatever i feel I need. I make sensible choices and indulge when I want to. I don't think of them as cheating at all :)
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
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    After I run a halfmarathon I alwayss allow myself a meal with unlimited calories.
  • Ashtoretet
    Ashtoretet Posts: 378 Member
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    I have maybe one a month and eat at maintenance. Though on Thanksgiving I did go about 200 over maintenance since my gym closed too early for me to make it over.
  • RoseTheWarrior
    RoseTheWarrior Posts: 2,035 Member
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    I don't cheat. I have a lifestyle that involves healthy choices. I really dislike the word "cheat" when used to describe something people eat, as much as I dislike the fact that "diet" has become a bad word, when in reality it should simply describe the things you eat regularly. What other people call "diet" I call "the newest celebrity fad in-thing crap".
  • socioseguro
    socioseguro Posts: 1,679 Member
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    RoseTheWarrior wrote: »
    I don't cheat. I have a lifestyle that involves healthy choices. I really dislike the word "cheat" when used to describe something people eat, as much as I dislike the fact that "diet" has become a bad word, when in reality it should simply describe the things you eat regularly. What other people call "diet" I call "the newest celebrity fad in-thing crap".

    +1
    some days I go over my daily calorie. Life happens. I will go back to my nutrition plan as soon as I can.
    I eat more on thanksgiving, Christmas, new year and my birthday. Those are my plan overeating days in a year.
  • Lovee_Dove7
    Lovee_Dove7 Posts: 742 Member
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    So far, I don't cheat. Maybe about a month from now, I will.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    edited December 2015
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    adriennemarieb wrote: »
    How do you choose to have a cheat meal?

    Do you have a meal or a day that you can eat whatever you want, no restrictions?
    Or do you keep it within your calorie goal?
    Do you still stay in your macros?

    I don't "cheat". I already eat with almost no restrictions - only a restriction on overall calories.

    I take fewer than 10 days "off" per year - days I set no calorie goals and log to the best of my ability without trying to reach any goal. These are birthdays, weddings, Christmas, etc. On those days I try to eat "reasonably" but set no other real goals. I often end up under what my calorie goal would have been anyway.

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    I don't have a reason to cheat. I fit the foods I like into my calories/macros as I can.
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
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    I'm with the other non-cheaters. Occasionally I have a day where I indulge more than normal; sometimes that's planned, sometimes it isn't, but I don't view it as cheating, I don't punish myself or try to "make up for it" later, I just pick back up with the next meal and keep trucking along.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    I don't cheat. I either meet my goals, or choose not to once in awhile.
  • adriennemarieb
    adriennemarieb Posts: 38 Member
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    I see. You're all hung up on a word and haven't actually answered my question. Thanks, anyway.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,604 Member
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    Cheating would imply that one is going BEYOND the rules. Rules in weight loss are calories in/calories out. So if one isn't exceeding their calorie goal, then it's NOT cheating.
    The issue is that many people have this assumption that calorie dense foods that are lower in nutrition are "unhealthy". Yet many of the most athletic/fit people will eat these everyday and still stay within their calorie goals and meet their macro/micro nutrient essentials.
    If one has a calorie goal and exceeds it eating "healthy" foods, is that cheating?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • MommyL2015
    MommyL2015 Posts: 1,411 Member
    edited December 2015
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    adriennemarieb wrote: »
    I see. You're all hung up on a word and haven't actually answered my question. Thanks, anyway.

    Well, your first question was "how do you choose to have a cheat meal?"

    Since we have to answer that to get to the others, no one is hung up on that word. Unless you mean cheat in a different context? Do you mean cheat as in go over total calories or eating something like pizza and ice cream?

    I don't cheat. Therefore, I don't consider having a meal or a day where I have no restrictions. I do have days where I don't count or I may go over. Those are not cheat days, they're just days.

    Second question, I may or may not stay within my calorie goals. I don't plan cheat days. I do have days like holidays where I don't track, but again, I don't cheat on anything. I live life day by day and whatever happens, happens.

    Last question: I don't track macros. I do try to get enough protein and fiber, but don't care of I go over. I usually go over my macros when I go over my calories, yes. I may or may not go over any macro on any day regardless of whether I'm under or over calories.

    ETA: Oh, and I wanted to say that I don't ever restrict any type of food out of my diet. I eat whatever I feel like, so things like pizza and ice cream are always on the menu.
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
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    adriennemarieb wrote: »
    How do you choose to have a cheat meal?

    Do you have a meal or a day that you can eat whatever you want, no restrictions?
    Or do you keep it within your calorie goal?
    Do you still stay in your macros?

    *sigh* fine

    1) no, I don't have any days or even any single meals where I chuck all reason down the chute and eat with reckless abandon. I plan my eating day at Unholy O'clock in the morning and stick to it with some minor alterations, probably close to 95% of the time. The other 5% i'm mindful just not necessarily so exact.

    2) I tend to look at my calorie goal over a period of time, usually a week. So long as my intake averages out to match my weekly goal, I consider that success and don't get hung up as much on the daily overs or unders. So yesterday I was over the daily goal by about 150-ish calories. The previous 2 days I felt pretty crappy and wax under by more than 300 both days. But overall my week is going to roll out fine as long as today & tomorrow stay relatively on-target.

    3) macros are a whole different game for me. My doc suggested that eating in a ketogenic fashion *might* be helpful in reducing my chronic arthritis pain. So now the "rules" for macros are all different and i struggle with it. But I'm getting better. (Not better enough to evaluate if it's actually going to be beneficial wrt the pain yet unfortunately. Frankly it still comes down to if/when the desire and the potential gain come together in my head). So no, I don't often hit my macros but I do try.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
    edited December 2015
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    I log everything I eat and make treats and special meals fit into my goals. On the few occasions where I have a particularly high calorie meal, I log it and balance it out over the next few days. I follow a weekly goal.

    I do not have "free" cheat days or meals where I don't account for my calories.

    ETA: I also don't restrict any foods. I just fit them in.
  • Lefty1290
    Lefty1290 Posts: 551 Member
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    I used to do cheat days and now I just fit in whatever I want.

    http://thecouponproject.com/losing-weight-on-a-budget-why-i-dont-do-cheat-days-and-what-i-do-instead/

    One popular idea among dieters is the “cheat meal” or “cheat day.” The philosophy is simple: eat healthy for most of your meals and then you can eat whatever you want for a meal or a day as a “cheat.”

    While I think you should be able to enjoy foods you love in moderation, I propose we do away with the concept of the “cheat meal.” Here’s why.

    Watching your Attitudes about Yourself

    In the introduction post to this series, I shared my belief that a big part of your ability to lose weight has to do with your attitudes. So much of our success hinges on our ability to be kind to ourselves and develop a healthy relationship with food.

    Simply put, the word “cheat” has negative connotations – that you’re doing something wrong. You ate salad all week so now you can “cheat” by eating a double cheeseburger with fries on Sunday. Tell me, if you call that a “cheat” meal, are you truly going to enjoy it? Or, in the back of your mind are you going to feel a tinge of guilt, because you are “cheating?”

    I think it’s time we stop assigning guilt to food like this, because ultimately it can cause us to have negative feelings about ourselves. If we are cheating on our diet, we must be cheaters.

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