Cheat days, what's yours like

245

Replies

  • BodyByBex
    BodyByBex Posts: 3,685 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    lithezebra wrote: »
    You cheat days are sad. Seriously y'all need to live a little

    Different strokes. I have fun fitting into my size 0 dresses instead of eating whatever I want.

    I find I can be my ideal size and eat whatever I want by eating whatever I want within my calorie allowance

    This.

    (I'm inadvertently stalking you again @rabbitjb :mrgreen: )
  • ThatFatAsianNerd
    ThatFatAsianNerd Posts: 1,415 Member
    I pretty much destroyed an entire box of pizza and some breadsticks for lunch today. For dinner, ate a double (#2) with fries at The Habit. In between lunch and dinner, I had like 3 bags of M&Ms. Right now I feel like eating some ice cream. I might just go to the store and buy a some Haagen Daz or Dreyer's or something. I gotta eat more crap today -- as much of it as I can.
  • rainbow198
    rainbow198 Posts: 2,245 Member
    edited January 2016
    I don't have cheat days. I do save calories during the weekdays for the weekends/events however.

    Every Friday I go out for pizza, Saturday I might go out too or make a high calorie decadent dessert like a gourmet cheesecake. I don't make an entire day of it however. I plan for what I want and fit it in my calorie budget.

    I feel like I have the best of both worlds...I don't deprive myself and I still have what I want within reason and still able keep a tight body with a flat tummy.

    For me it's all about that balance.
  • JamalIgle
    JamalIgle Posts: 55 Member
    You cheat days are sad. Seriously y'all need to live a little

    I prefer to eat what I want in moderation than have a "cheat day". Who am I cheating on? Me? No, moderation works better than "cheat days". That way, you're not constantly depriving yourself in hopes of a "reward" at the end of the week like some trained circus seal.
  • This content has been removed.
  • Scamd83
    Scamd83 Posts: 808 Member
    You cheat days are sad. Seriously y'all need to live a little

    @Thin_Beauty94 I like you, you get it. If there was some magic way of having a day for eating whatever I wanted and still losing fat overall, I'd be consuming all of the delicious processed and packaged things. I wish people wouldn't try and suck all of the fun out of a cheat day by trying to redefine it as something else. If you're going to cheat, cheat. If not, fine, good for you, don't call whatever it is you do a cheat day though.
  • Beautiful_Warrior94
    Beautiful_Warrior94 Posts: 197 Member
    Scamd83 wrote: »
    You cheat days are sad. Seriously y'all need to live a little

    @Thin_Beauty94 I like you, you get it. If there was some magic way of having a day for eating whatever I wanted and still losing fat overall, I'd be consuming all of the delicious processed and packaged things. I wish people wouldn't try and suck all of the fun out of a cheat day by trying to redefine it as something else. If you're going to cheat, cheat. If not, fine, good for you, don't call whatever it is you do a cheat day though.

    Exactly! Like you're letting your body have for one day that things you don't typically have throughout the week. People keep saying a cheat day is terrible and will only cause you to gain back all the weight you lost. You didn't gain all the weight in one day, so you won't lose all the weight in one day.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Scamd83 wrote: »
    You cheat days are sad. Seriously y'all need to live a little

    @Thin_Beauty94 I like you, you get it. If there was some magic way of having a day for eating whatever I wanted and still losing fat overall, I'd be consuming all of the delicious processed and packaged things. I wish people wouldn't try and suck all of the fun out of a cheat day by trying to redefine it as something else. If you're going to cheat, cheat. If not, fine, good for you, don't call whatever it is you do a cheat day though.

    Exactly! Like you're letting your body have for one day that things you don't typically have throughout the week. People keep saying a cheat day is terrible and will only cause you to gain back all the weight you lost. You didn't gain all the weight in one day, so you won't lose all the weight in one day.

    Yeah but no. You can gain a pound of fat in one day... good luck losing a pound of fat in one day...
  • Scamd83
    Scamd83 Posts: 808 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Scamd83 wrote: »
    You cheat days are sad. Seriously y'all need to live a little

    @Thin_Beauty94 I like you, you get it. If there was some magic way of having a day for eating whatever I wanted and still losing fat overall, I'd be consuming all of the delicious processed and packaged things. I wish people wouldn't try and suck all of the fun out of a cheat day by trying to redefine it as something else. If you're going to cheat, cheat. If not, fine, good for you, don't call whatever it is you do a cheat day though.

    Exactly! Like you're letting your body have for one day that things you don't typically have throughout the week. People keep saying a cheat day is terrible and will only cause you to gain back all the weight you lost. You didn't gain all the weight in one day, so you won't lose all the weight in one day.

    Yeah but no. You can gain a pound of fat in one day... good luck losing a pound of fat in one day...

    Ah well if you gain a pound of fat that's it, it's all over, you've ruined everything forever and there's no way you can undo that.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Scamd83 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Scamd83 wrote: »
    You cheat days are sad. Seriously y'all need to live a little

    @Thin_Beauty94 I like you, you get it. If there was some magic way of having a day for eating whatever I wanted and still losing fat overall, I'd be consuming all of the delicious processed and packaged things. I wish people wouldn't try and suck all of the fun out of a cheat day by trying to redefine it as something else. If you're going to cheat, cheat. If not, fine, good for you, don't call whatever it is you do a cheat day though.

    Exactly! Like you're letting your body have for one day that things you don't typically have throughout the week. People keep saying a cheat day is terrible and will only cause you to gain back all the weight you lost. You didn't gain all the weight in one day, so you won't lose all the weight in one day.

    Yeah but no. You can gain a pound of fat in one day... good luck losing a pound of fat in one day...

    Ah well if you gain a pound of fat that's it, it's all over, you've ruined everything forever and there's no way you can undo that.

    It's not my point. My point is that you just can't compare losing weight with gaining weight, which I see a lot on the forums... but just no. You can undo one week of deficit with a cheat day, but good luck having one week of deficit in a day...
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
    No cheat days. It would just be cheating myself, and what is the point of that.
    All things in moderation and work it into my calories for the day.
    It has been working for almost 4 years for me, while losing and on maintenance.
  • Larissa_NY
    Larissa_NY Posts: 495 Member
    Why would you need a "cheat day" when you're at maintenance? I thought the point of those was to take a diet break.

    Sometimes I overdo the tacos and margaritas on a special occasion, but I'm not going to stuff myself just because it's Saturday. That seems weird to me.
  • This content has been removed.
  • Scamd83
    Scamd83 Posts: 808 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Scamd83 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Scamd83 wrote: »
    You cheat days are sad. Seriously y'all need to live a little

    @Thin_Beauty94 I like you, you get it. If there was some magic way of having a day for eating whatever I wanted and still losing fat overall, I'd be consuming all of the delicious processed and packaged things. I wish people wouldn't try and suck all of the fun out of a cheat day by trying to redefine it as something else. If you're going to cheat, cheat. If not, fine, good for you, don't call whatever it is you do a cheat day though.

    Exactly! Like you're letting your body have for one day that things you don't typically have throughout the week. People keep saying a cheat day is terrible and will only cause you to gain back all the weight you lost. You didn't gain all the weight in one day, so you won't lose all the weight in one day.

    Yeah but no. You can gain a pound of fat in one day... good luck losing a pound of fat in one day...

    Ah well if you gain a pound of fat that's it, it's all over, you've ruined everything forever and there's no way you can undo that.

    It's not my point. My point is that you just can't compare losing weight with gaining weight, which I see a lot on the forums... but just no. You can undo one week of deficit with a cheat day, but good luck having one week of deficit in a day...

    Okay, so your point is having a bad week in terms of calorie intake is a major setback that cannot be undone and will ruin everything. I mean you keep wishing someone good luck as if this would be a massive thing that could not be overcome.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Scamd83 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Scamd83 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Scamd83 wrote: »
    You cheat days are sad. Seriously y'all need to live a little

    @Thin_Beauty94 I like you, you get it. If there was some magic way of having a day for eating whatever I wanted and still losing fat overall, I'd be consuming all of the delicious processed and packaged things. I wish people wouldn't try and suck all of the fun out of a cheat day by trying to redefine it as something else. If you're going to cheat, cheat. If not, fine, good for you, don't call whatever it is you do a cheat day though.

    Exactly! Like you're letting your body have for one day that things you don't typically have throughout the week. People keep saying a cheat day is terrible and will only cause you to gain back all the weight you lost. You didn't gain all the weight in one day, so you won't lose all the weight in one day.

    Yeah but no. You can gain a pound of fat in one day... good luck losing a pound of fat in one day...

    Ah well if you gain a pound of fat that's it, it's all over, you've ruined everything forever and there's no way you can undo that.

    It's not my point. My point is that you just can't compare losing weight with gaining weight, which I see a lot on the forums... but just no. You can undo one week of deficit with a cheat day, but good luck having one week of deficit in a day...

    Okay, so your point is having a bad week in terms of calorie intake is a major setback that cannot be undone and will ruin everything. I mean you keep wishing someone good luck as if this would be a massive thing that could not be overcome.

    Either you don't know how to read or you have a very vivid imagination.
  • lizkharvey
    lizkharvey Posts: 65 Member
    I have my cheat days on Sundays. Sunday morning until I go to bed I eat whatever I'm craving and I don't count the calories or anything. I might have cappuccinos, pizza, pasta, soda, etc. The next morning it's back to clean eating and I don't weigh myself until Tuesday or Wednesday lol then I weigh myself every morning after.
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
    edited January 2016
    Larissa_NY wrote: »
    Why would you need a "cheat day" when you're at maintenance? I thought the point of those was to take a diet break.

    Sometimes I overdo the tacos and margaritas on a special occasion, but I'm not going to stuff myself just because it's Saturday. That seems weird to me.

    If you addressing me about the "Why would you need a "cheat day" when you're at maintenance?" It is because I can not, nor can anyone on maintenance, at least that I know about, eat above maintenance calories, without regaining weight.

    No diet break. Diet, by definition, is the kind of foods that a person habitually eats. Different from a weight loss diet. The statistics are very high for regaining back weight lost, some sources as high as 80%, or even higher, by five years after losing the weight. A lot of people gain even more weight back than they lost. I am on a mission to be in the small percent that keep the weight off. 26 months and still watching what I eat. It is the way it has to be for me. I am not going back. I will have to log and monitor for as long as I live, that is a fact for me.

  • __Wolf__
    __Wolf__ Posts: 137 Member
    I try to build little rewards into my meals to keep me going. Most of the time, I'll have a cookie I've baked at home with dinner or a little snack as a reward for a good work out. I still keep well within my caloric limits but I don't really need cheat days because I find that they make it really hard to stay consistent.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    edited January 2016
    I don't really think of it as a cheat day but on Saturdays I'm not as strict with myself. It is the one day of each week I "allow" myself to go over on calories by more than 100. On Saturday it is more likely that I'll have a "real" dessert (think pie or ice cream VS my typical fruit or a couple big marshmallows) and/or 1 or 2 restaurant meals. For awhile these Saturday indulgences were getting out of control though so I've reined it back in a bit, by having a small "normal" breakfast at home and sweets OR craft beer, not both. Fortunately my husband and I both tend to be on the same page AND we get way more exercise (hiking usually) on Saturdays so it's not quite such a big issue.
  • cookielover_96
    cookielover_96 Posts: 177 Member
    You cheat days are sad. Seriously y'all need to live a little

    Yup agreed
  • bshave81
    bshave81 Posts: 107 Member
    I will usually do one day a week where I indulge in something not as healthy for me. Usually it's more of a cheat meal.
  • samgamgee
    samgamgee Posts: 398 Member
    I eat at a bigger deficit 6 days a week so I can fit in a big indulgent meal once a week and still lose weight. Usually something like a medium stuffed crust pizza, some cheesy chips and a bottle of wine - I can fit those individual things in on normal days if I want, but I do enjoy having a big blow out meal, it helps me stay on track and not get disillusioned with the weight loss thing. I might only lose two thirds of a pound instead of a full pound, but for me it's worth it.
  • Larissa_NY
    Larissa_NY Posts: 495 Member
    Larissa_NY wrote: »
    Why would you need a "cheat day" when you're at maintenance? I thought the point of those was to take a diet break.

    Sometimes I overdo the tacos and margaritas on a special occasion, but I'm not going to stuff myself just because it's Saturday. That seems weird to me.

    If you addressing me about the "Why would you need a "cheat day" when you're at maintenance?" It is because I can not, nor can anyone on maintenance, at least that I know about, eat above maintenance calories, without regaining weight.

    I wasn't addressing anyone in particular, and your answer doesn't seem to have anything to do with my question. Yes, if you eat too far over maintenance consistently, for long enough, you'll gain weight. What does that have to do with cheat days and why you'd need them if you're not restricting your calories anymore?
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
    Larissa_NY wrote: »
    Larissa_NY wrote: »
    Why would you need a "cheat day" when you're at maintenance? I thought the point of those was to take a diet break.

    Sometimes I overdo the tacos and margaritas on a special occasion, but I'm not going to stuff myself just because it's Saturday. That seems weird to me.

    If you addressing me about the "Why would you need a "cheat day" when you're at maintenance?" It is because I can not, nor can anyone on maintenance, at least that I know about, eat above maintenance calories, without regaining weight.

    I wasn't addressing anyone in particular, and your answer doesn't seem to have anything to do with my question. Yes, if you eat too far over maintenance consistently, for long enough, you'll gain weight. What does that have to do with cheat days and why you'd need them if you're not restricting your calories anymore?

    But I am restricting my calories @ maintenance. I don't eat like I did pre-MFP, not anywhere near it. Just so you realize, some of us do not have to eat too far over maintenance to gain weight. And yes, I am restricting my calories. I do not have cheat days. I eat at or below my maintenance calories. I am only eating about 300-400 more calories per day than I did while I was losing. I could easily eat more than double what I am eating at maintenance.

    JW, why do you think such a high percentage of people regain all of the weight they lost, and some gain even more than they lost.

  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    My only "cheat days" - which I don't think of as cheating at all - are the about ten days per year I have special events (birthdays, christmas, weddings, etc.) There I try to eat reasonably but I don't plan my calories and I have no set goal.

    Other than those, I work all the foods I like into my daily meal plans. I gave up basically nothing; some foods I eat in much smaller amounts or frequencies than before but I still have them when I feel like it.
  • speeno
    speeno Posts: 55 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    Don't really get the concept as I'm not cheating anyone, including me, by eating more some days than others or enjoying good food.
    To me the idea sounds like restriction most days and freedom only a few days - that wouldn't be a happy or sustainable long term routine for me.

    This.

  • Zephalia
    Zephalia Posts: 79 Member
    I don't use the concept of a cheat day either. I make better choices every day and if I'm wanting something, then I try to fit it in my calories for the day. If I can't make it fit, I log it and try again tomorrow.

    For example, I've had a nice slice of birthday cake for three days in a row and fit it into my calories. I usually have a McDonald's breakfast sandwich or a wrap later in the day - there's pretty much something every day that I let myself have. I just make it work. If I don't give myself that allowance, I will binge eat on the weekends and ruin my progress.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    edited January 2016
    You cheat days are sad. Seriously y'all need to live a little

    Yup agreed

    "Live a little" is what fat people say to you when you lose weight and you don't want to eat French fries or dessert or whatever it is they're trying to get you to eat so you'll be just like everyone else. Some of us need to stick with our good habits, almost all the time, because it reinforces the harder, but healthier, way of eating.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    lithezebra wrote: »
    You cheat days are sad. Seriously y'all need to live a little

    Yup agreed

    "Live a little" is what fat people say to you when you lose weight and you don't want to eat French fries or dessert or whatever it is they're trying to get you to eat so you'll be just like everyone else. Some of us need to stick with our good habits, almost all the time, because it reinforces the harder, but healthier, way of eating.

    Ok that makes me sad, lol. Can't imagine having to eat that way all my life.
  • robingmurphy
    robingmurphy Posts: 349 Member
    I don't do cheat days and don't ever plan on having them. I've come to realize that the idea that I can eat whatever in certain circumstances or times and somehow not have it count is a big part of what has led me to be overweight. I am working hard to re-teach myself that every calorie counts. If I want to eat something, I need to work it into my overall weekly calorie budget. Just like I would never set aside one day to go to the store and buy whatever I want and pretend it doesn't impact my bank account, I will never set aside a day to eat whatever and pretend it doesn't impact my body. It all counts. I need to manage what I eat just like I manage my money.