Do you log on cheat days?

saun86

How many cheat days do you have and do you log your food?

beemerphile1

Why would I cheat? It seems counter productive. Log everything and stick with your goals.

pinggolfer96

beemerphile1 wrote: »

Why would I cheat? It seems counter productive. Log everything and stick with your goals.

Not if you're bulking!!!(:

Sabine_Stroehm

beemerphile1 wrote: »

Why would I cheat? It seems counter productive. Log everything and stick with your goals.

THIS. A true "lifestyle" isn't something you cheat on.

SuperheroSadie

I don't have cheat days, but I do have a cheat meal every week. Usually it's 3-4 beers or a few glasses of wine. (Do they count as cheating if you cut calories the days before in anticipation?) Regardless, yes, it is logged. Always log! Forces you to not cheat so much that you set back your progress, but enough that you let yourself have fun for a night.

JustMissTracy

I'm not a big "cheater" per se....The word itself makes me feel like I'm fooling someone or myself, and I have no intention of doing that. Having said that, I do lighten up on the calorie watching on Saturdays....I still eat pretty much the same as during the week, but I allow myself to have a couple of drinks, and maybe a munchie with the hubby. But I log it all, vodka, chips, whatever...That way, if I go wildly over, which I rarely do, then I'll be more aware next weekend....maybe not eat the chips, because I really REALLY want to meet my goals! Accountability goes a long way!!

JustMissTracy

pinggolfer96 wrote: »

But if you're bulking, it's intentional, and suits your goals...so it wouldn't be "cheating"...

beemerphile1 wrote: »

Why would I cheat? It seems counter productive. Log everything and stick with your goals.

Not if you're bulking!!!(:

JustMissTracy

Not sure what happened..but the first part of the quote above was me, not pinggolfer...lol

Pawsforme

I strongly dislike the notion of cheating.

Real life means some days you eat less, some days you eat more and (hopefully) mostly you have normal/average days.

I log even on holidays. Maybe not with pinpoint accuracy, but at least in the vicinity. I like to see the data.

But I don't think there's a right or wrong here. Do what works for you. It's what you do the majority of the time that matters.

kwtilbury

Yes.

faramelee

I agree with the others here - the word cheating is such a negative word and we really need to be losing all of the negative connotations surrounding food. There is no bad food - it's all about moderation and as @Sabine_Stroehm mentioned 'lifestyle'! If you cut something out of your diet completely there's a good chance that you'll end up bingeing on it, then you'll feel like you've failed and that craps over all of the rest of your good intentions.

Good luck!

Sabine_Stroehm

faramelee wrote: »

I agree with the others here - the word cheating is such a negative word and we really need to be losing all of the negative connotations surrounding food. There is no bad food - it's all about moderation and as @Sabine_Stroehm mentioned 'lifestyle'! If you cut something out of your diet completely there's a good chance that you'll end up bingeing on it, then you'll feel like you've failed and that craps over all of the rest of your good intentions.

Good luck!

I cut lots out of my lifestyle, actually. I don't eat sweet treats, I don't drink sodas. I cut out lots of things I decided didn't help me reach my goals. (are they bad? meh). I don't binge. It's about what works as a lifestyle for the individual. Just like everything else. And if your approach leads to binging it's probably not sustainable. I wanted to eliminate things from my life, rather than thinking I had to to lose weight.
We all have our own lifestyles.

Francl27

I log everything all the time. Might just quick add calories in my head (by now I have a pretty good idea of how many calories are in things, usually), but I log it.

ultrahoon

Same way I log on regular days. Accurately as possible. The way I see it is that I want my data. I will want to have a really good feel for exactly where my maintenance is when I am done cutting. If I don't log my pizza nights, then I can't ever reach my maximum potential for accuracy.

salembambi

non holiday related high calorie indulgence days usually get logged

hmichaud09

I try to log everything I eat. Over Thanksgiving I ball parked the pickies I ate and overvalued most of it. I'll do the same with Christmas / New Years. I am good the rest of the time, so splurging on a holiday will not kill me.

I also don't embrace the idea of a cheat day. I will splurge on a meal or snack ....or wine, but I make sure its logged and I either add extra exercise the next day or just suck it up and start fresh the next day.

Bbeliever215

I log everything and as mentioned above I ball park some entries if I am bit completely sure of the ingredients. I usually overestimate these entries too for insurance.

youngmomtaz

I log it all. The handful of christmas candy, the cheescake, the extra nibbles off my husbands or boys plates, the taste of something I don't want a whole peice of, the wine, the beer, today it is eggnog. Logging keeps me from eating the whole pkg or batch of things and reminds me to be cautious with the rest of my choices for the day. If at maintenance or on a cut I log all of it!

Asher_Ethan

When I "cheat" I always log it. I always try to anticipate when I'm going to have a big meal and eat less the week leading up to it. Example: I know Christmas I'm going to eat and drink a lot. So I've been eating less all this week.

datsundriver87

I log everything but I know I'm not as critical on days where I know I am going to eat allot, for me I use this app to make sure my "normal" day nutrition is where I want it to be, so for example the next three days are considered holidays to me... I will log the crap ton of candy and alcohol I will have, but it won't with pinpoint accuracy like I do on an average day. Just something I can look back on and go "oh yea that's why I gained 2 pounds this week!"

faramelee

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

faramelee wrote: »

I agree with the others here - the word cheating is such a negative word and we really need to be losing all of the negative connotations surrounding food. There is no bad food - it's all about moderation and as @Sabine_Stroehm mentioned 'lifestyle'! If you cut something out of your diet completely there's a good chance that you'll end up bingeing on it, then you'll feel like you've failed and that craps over all of the rest of your good intentions.

Good luck!

I cut lots out of my lifestyle, actually. I don't eat sweet treats, I don't drink sodas. I cut out lots of things I decided didn't help me reach my goals. (are they bad? meh). I don't binge. It's about what works as a lifestyle for the individual. Just like everything else. And if your approach leads to binging it's probably not sustainable. I wanted to eliminate things from my life, rather than thinking I had to to lose weight.
We all have our own lifestyles.

Precisely, lifestyle, I was agreeing with you! I must admit I didn't word the second part very well, I meant that if you cut something out completely which you adore, you may feel the pressure and buckle to it therefore going the whole hog and giving in completely. I think it gets to the point, sooner or later, whereby you do want to cut it completely either for your goals or because your tastes change along side the dietary lifestyle changes.

dutchandkiwi

I log everything, why would I lie to myself? Seems kind counter productive. My 'over' days are usually planned within my weekly goals.

glassyo

I only consider not logging cheating and, even if I only estimate something I've had, it's still closer than not logging it at all.

Except the past week and a half with the cake and the cookies and the donuts and the nuts and the candy. Well, I did my best logging with the candy and donuts and cookies but the cake and nuts? Did the scale I keep at work even *see* these items? Not until they were almost gone.

pie_eyes

Sometimes I accidentally go over my calories. If I'm like 500 calories over which happens more often than id like to admit I won't log and deem it a cheat day. I just get embarrassed

cookielover_96

Yes because I don't want to hide or deny the fact that I ate a lot.