Advice for "Cheat Days"

Zellyrus

I've been doing well for a few weeks now (1200-1300 calories, eating healthier, exercising daily, lost 5 lbs). Yesterday I had my first diet "cheat day", 2 days a month I have built into my schedule where I can go out to eat.

But man.........I wolfed down a giant beer, a taco, and entire large pizza for dinner. Felt terrible afterwards and gained back most of the weight I'd lost in the last few weeks.

I like having these days, especially since I am faithful to my diet all the other days. But it's like if I give myself an inch, all my self control is gone.

How do you all use cheat days (and if not, why not)? Should I still count calories on these days, but just increase my limit for that day?

janejellyroll

Have you considered eating what you want, but just in a normal portion size? I mean, I love tacos and I love pizza . . . but an entire pizza and a taco probably isn't a typical portion size for you. In my experience, it isn't the foods that I eat that make me feel terrible as much as it is the portion size.

So have a beer and a couple tacos. Or have a beer and some pizza. But you don't have to combine it all into one meal, you know?

I think this is one of the potential drawbacks of the "cheat day," that it encourages some people to fit everything into one day or meal instead of figuring out ways to make it work daily.

I'm going out to dinner tonight so I'm going to have pizza. I want to still hit my goal, so I planned my breakfast to be a little lighter and I'm going to have some salad with my pizza (because eating salad first helps me eat less pizza).

kiara1066

It's probably temporarily the weight gain I would say it's the sodium you probably ate during the cheat day. I still count calories on the days I eat out because it's good to know the numbers for what you're eating. I had some Chinese yesterday and wrote the calories down. It had a lot of sodium, so I wasn't surprised today I gained 0.4 calories. It should fall off within the next few days, and I eat around 1200-1300 calories as well. Don't feel discouraged so far I have lost 13.5 pounds eating what I want in moderation. I eat out about 2-3 times every week, but I check the calories, and have it work with my calorie allowance. And if I ever go over I plan that as well . I often jump rope for 30 minutes, or take a walk. Or if I am feeling too lazy, not eat as much the next day. The tip that has helped me with eating out is having some to go. I eat the rest the next day. So even if the item is. Thousand calories I would spread it between 2 days!

helenrosec1

I don't have cheat days because I'm enjoying what I'm eating on my diet. If I feel like I want pizza, I'd rather make my own and use healthier ingredients, that way I feel good about what I've eaten and enjoyed it. If I want chocolate (which is rare for me) I'll eat a healthier option like a Nakd bar or something and count it into my daily calories and maybe exercise more that day.

FemmeFireRL

I believe going out for a meal instead of cooking it myself is a treat. I tend to check the menu options with the MFP App before ordering to allow me to make better choices, indulge a little without blowing my entire week.

ilex70

There seems to be a few different thoughts on cheat days.

Some say just avoid, because it just slows down your overall progress. Then you get the flip of that, which says spiking calories for a day can help reset metabolism.

And there are some people who just go all out, don't log, and decide to be okay with whatever the fall out is because they need the break mentally to keep going. Then those of us who log it, or at least make a good attempt to log it, because data is good.

If you plan to cheat regularly, and you don't want it to stall your weight loss, you might want to keep a weekly tally of your total calories...saving a little everyday from your budget...that you then can spend on a big weekend treat. Just think of it like money...I have X calories to spend, what can I get and stay reasonably within that budget? Even if you do go over I think it is good to know what you are doing so when the scale reacts you can better judge the input/output.

Alternately, if you don't want to make it that complicated, just eat at maintenance for your cheat day.

d_thomas02

Sounds like you may be under eating at 1200-1300 calories. I'd consider revising your weight lose goals and choose a more modest goal. Eat closer to your daily energy expenditure and stay away from "cheat" days entirely. What you eat is not as important as how much you eat. Practice portion control now, 24/7/365.

You don't have to be hungry to lose weight. And if you're not hungry, you don't need to "cheat".

snickerscharlie

Zellyrus wrote: »

I've been doing well for a few weeks now (1200-1300 calories, eating healthier, exercising daily, lost 5 lbs). Yesterday I had my first diet "cheat day", 2 days a month I have built into my schedule where I can go out to eat.

But man.........I wolfed down a giant beer, a taco, and entire large pizza for dinner. Felt terrible afterwards and gained back most of the weight I'd lost in the last few weeks.

I like having these days, especially since I am faithful to my diet all the other days. But it's like if I give myself an inch, all my self control is gone.

How do you all use cheat days (and if not, why not)? Should I still count calories on these days, but just increase my limit for that day?

Personally, I don't have 'cheat' days. Because who, exactly, am I cheating on? Cheat days can set up an all-or-nothing mentality which, as you've seen, can be completely counter-productive to your goals, and makes the non-cheat days seem sadder somehow. It can be a recipe (pun intended!) for failure for some.

If I have a day where I overeat for whatever reason, I log it, learn from it, and move on. At least by logging it I have an accurate record of when and how things went off the rails.

For me, I find it works better if I build an anticipated night out into my overall 'budget' which then allows me to enjoy myself without feeling any 'cheating' guilt. But this budgeting is something that takes some practise to achieve, so chalk up the other night as part of the learning curve.

I also agree that you may be eating too little overall, which will cause you to binge because, well, you're hungry, dammit! What is your height and current weight, and what have to set as your weekly loss rate?

Francl27

I had one two days ago. I needed one. But I'm not in denial that it probably wiped a week of deficit for me (I have a small deficit). So I typically save those days to special occasions (holidays and birthday).

So... if your plan is to lose, it's just a bad idea. Have smaller portions within your calories instead.

callsitlikeiseeit

aside from holidays and birthdays, where i dont typically log any food, i dont have cheat days. i make the things i like fit into my days all the time. pizza (though im not really a fan i do have some on occasion), beer, sweets, whatever... i make room for the things i like and enjoy them regularly.

as you seem to have discovered, an unbridled cheat day can undo a lot of work, very easily

ldowdesw

I had a bit of a piggy day last Friday, then felt rotten about it, so got my packets out of the bin and scanned them all. I new I had to track what I had eaten to be accountable for it, then when the scales go up I can look back and see why. Next time I have a piggy day, I'm going to save a few calories from the days building up to it, and plan my calories in advance. I did find that from eating rubbish that I felt physically and mentally low and it wasn't worth it. Xx

Zellyrus

Thank you for all the advice! I agree I definitely need more a plan for these days instead of just letting myself run wild. I think I will eat what I want, but just watch out for how much.

I really want to find that "just say no" mentality. So far it's been easy for me to diet because I am surrounding myself only with lower calorie, healthier, less processed foods. This is great, but invariably I am going to go to a party/buffet/something and I'd like to NOT be tempted into eating everything in sight.

snickerscharlie wrote: »

I also agree that you may be eating too little overall, which will cause you to binge because, well, you're hungry, dammit! What is your height and current weight, and what have to set as your weekly loss rate?

I'm 5'2 and 183, losing average of 1.5-2 lb a week. I've been told I should get more calories in, especially with exercise, but honestly I am rarely hungry. I eat 3 standard meals of about 300 cal each and have 3 snack times during the day where I eat something right around 100 calories.

kportwood85

One thing I am currently trying to do: on the weekends, when I know I tend mess up, I changed my settings to maintain. It was an extra 1000 calories!!! So I can eat more, I definitely feel like I'm splurging. But, I'm not undoing any of the work I've already done. Just staying put. I still log. Maybe something like that would work?

KareninLux

Funny, I just don't get cheat days.
Whenever I 'cheated' (before MFP) I felt terrible.
I don't cheat now. I log every fricken thing.
Sometimes (only 7 times in almost 80 days of logging) I have been over the 1200 cal limit but usually not by very much... <100 cals. I will cheat later. Much later. And then I will probably not really cheat - just enjoy maintenance. Can't wait.

livelovebbg

I hate the term "cheat day." Why does eating something you enjoy, like pizza, tacos and beer, have to be cheating? Why does eating some of my favourite foods have to carry such a negative connotation? Eat the foods you love, and eat proper portions, and you won't feel sick or awful afterwards. It can be done - trust me!

ZeroDelta

No cheat days for me. Stay on task. Get to my goal.

Sadie_j

Advice, look into IIFYM and work these foods into your meals without it being cheating. 1200 calories? You're probably nearly starving which makes it tough to not overindulge when the food is available to you. I follow my macros during the week and on the weekends, I do my best but mostly just try to stay in my calories, even if that means three pieces of pizza and almost no protein. My suggestion is to increase your calories slowly. If your weight is still going down, increase calories 20/week or so and track, see how your body responds. If you're still losing, continue this. The goal should be to eat as much as possible and still lose weight. If you think you can eat 1200 calories every day forever, you're wrong. Losing weight is hard. Keeping it off is statistically nearly impossible because people are too restricting and can't keep that up forever.

Mom2Frankie

My most "successful cheat day" is when I eat half the amount I did before. I don't even order a large pizza. You can't over eat if it isn't in front of you. Also I eat out or at a table. Sitting on the couch in front of the TV is awful. And I eat twice as much

Becca_250

This has probably already been said but personally, I don't do blowout cheat days because most days I will crave something that would be considered "cheat" like a sugary treat, usually chocolate, so I just fit those things into my daily calories. I find it easier to stay on track when I don't deny myself of something I want. The biggest thing for me though is portion control. So I want ice cream... Do I need the whole tub of ice cream? No. Will two scoops satisfy me just as much as five? Yes. So I get a bowl and measure it out rather than digging the spoon right in. I think it's quite often just the mental satisfaction of eating the craved food than the actual quantity. We have pizza once a fortnight or so, I used to quite happily eat a whole large one. I could probably still eat a whole large one but now I eat my pizza with a knife and fork on a plate (it's the same takeaway pizza but rather than using my hands). Just by cutting it up and eating it properly (and therefore slowing down), I can only manage 3 maybe 4 slices instead of 10. The only time I really worry about fitting cheat foods into my day is if I'm finding that I'm consistently going over my cal limit (maybe more than three days in a row), it's usually because my portions have sneakily got bigger again!

Pinkylee77

I weight about the same as you and only try to lose a pound a week. I know I am going to eat more in the evening and plan for that. Last Friday I knew I was going to have pizza. I figured out how many I wanted and ate lighter during the day. I was still under my calories for the day and has a small bedtime snack. I eat what I want just not all at once or in the same day.
I never binge eat, it will just make me feel bad.

rosebarnalice

What's considered "cheating" depends on what the game is.

For me, the "game" is to be honest about what I eat--even when I'm not particularly happy or proud of it.

I have days when I choose to go over my calorie goal--like when I'm travelling, or a special party or Friday date night with the hubs. That's being human.

Even if it's twice (or once, 3X) my calorie goal, I log what I eat and drink. Period.

In my game , it's not "cheating" if I'm still honest with myself.

ElizabethOakes2

I don't consider it 'cheating'. I know that if I deny myself the chance to once-in-a-while eat something I really like, I'll be discouraged. Once a month, I plan an 'eat whatever I'm craving' day. Funny story, though. Yesterday was my 'cheat' day and we went out for mochas (I love a good mocha!) and then to Indian food. I drank my whole mocha, but by the time dinner came around, I was so excited for Indian food! I was like, yah! Chicken tikka masala! Garlic Naan! Yeah! ... and then, well, I ate about six bites and felt completely satisfied. My "splurge" day cost me an extra 200 calories total. We brought home lots of leftovers. From now on, no more Indian food unless we can find another couple people to go with us to split dishes.

T1DCarnivoreRunner

kiara1066 wrote: »

It's probably temporarily the weight gain I would say it's the sodium you probably ate during the cheat day. I still count calories on the days I eat out because it's good to know the numbers for what you're eating. I had some Chinese yesterday and wrote the calories down. It had a lot of sodium, so I wasn't surprised today I gained 0.4 calories. It should fall off within the next few days

+1

napilibay

I haven't had a cheat day in over two weeks and today it hit me. I had two homemade smores and homemade Fajitas/rice/beans which wouldn't be too bad but I had already met my 1200 calories before dinner. I probably ended up hitting 1800 for the day. Oh well, as long as I stay focused the rest of the week I should be OK right?

groversa

janejellyroll wrote: »

Have you considered eating what you want, but just in a normal portion size? I mean, I love tacos and I love pizza . . . but an entire pizza and a taco probably isn't a typical portion size for you. In my experience, it isn't the foods that I eat that make me feel terrible as much as it is the portion size.

So have a beer and a couple tacos. Or have a beer and some pizza. But you don't have to combine it all into one meal, you know?

I think this is one of the potential drawbacks of the "cheat day," that it encourages some people to fit everything into one day or meal instead of figuring out ways to make it work daily.

I'm going out to dinner tonight so I'm going to have pizza. I want to still hit my goal, so I planned my breakfast to be a little lighter and I'm going to have some salad with my pizza (because eating salad first helps me eat less pizza).

I agree with this 100%! I still eat everything I love, but I eat the right amount of it. I have pizza, A LOT because I LOVE it. But I have lost 10 pounds in the last month! Just make sure you're also getting in water fruits and veggies and you will be fine as long as you are logging your food accurately and staying under your goal. Feel free to add me as a friend, I have an open diary

snickerscharlie

I haven't cut out any of the foods I love. For me, that would be a recipe to fail. I just eat them in moderation.

When I started (almost a year ago) I looked at what I could cut down on without feeling ripped off.

It started with my morning coffee. It used to be a double-double for a whopping 210 calories. For one mug of coffee. Before breakfast. I switched out the cream for 1/2 and 1/2. Did that for a week. Replaced one of the 2 sugars with a packet of Stevia. Did that for a week. Went from 1/2 and 1/2 down to light cream the next week. Then I replaced the other teaspoon of sugar with a second packet of Stevia. The result? In a month, my morning coffee went from 210 calories down to 53. That's a 75% reduction. Just in my morning coffee. And I still enjoy every drop!

I made small bunches of similar changes very gradually. I tried low calorie options of products I buy at the grocery store. Found some winners. Greek yogurt is the bomb. Found a bunch of total losers, too. Fat free cheese is just plain nasty.

tl;dr - Start small, make gradual changes, keep the foods you love - just eat less of them.

I'm down 75lbs in under a year and I haven't suffered.

ahoy_m8

I don't do them. At least not intentionally. I have, however, employed the opposite of a cheat day with some success. By that I mean having a 1000 cal deficit one day/week. That's >half my weekly deficit goal. It gives me closer to maintenance for the rest of the week. It's kind of like 5:2 IF but one day vs. 2 and more calories.

I'll echo the question about whether 1200-1300 to too much deficit, unsustainable *for you.* FWIW, when I go off the reservation, it's when ive been eating too low *for me*.

Pinkylee77

snickerscharlie wrote: »

I haven't cut out any of the foods I love. For me, that would be a recipe to fail. I just eat them in moderation.

When I started (almost a year ago) I looked at what I could cut down on without feeling ripped off.

It started with my morning coffee. It used to be a double-double for a whopping 210 calories. For one mug of coffee. Before breakfast. I switched out the cream for 1/2 and 1/2. Did that for a week. Replaced one of the 2 sugars with a packet of Stevia. Did that for a week. Went from 1/2 and 1/2 down to light cream the next week. Then I replaced the other teaspoon of sugar with a second packet of Stevia. The result? In a month, my morning coffee went from 210 calories down to 53. That's a 75% reduction. Just in my morning coffee. And I still enjoy every drop!

I made small bunches of similar changes very gradually. I tried low calorie options of products I buy at the grocery store. Found some winners. Greek yogurt is the bomb. Found a bunch of total losers, too. Fat free cheese is just plain nasty.

tl;dr - Start small, make gradual changes, keep the foods you love - just eat less of them.

I'm down 75lbs in under a year and I haven't suffered.

That is fabulous and way to go!!! You are doing it right

cattfield7

kportwood85 wrote: »

One thing I am currently trying to do: on the weekends, when I know I tend mess up, I changed my settings to maintain. It was an extra 1000 calories!!! So I can eat more, I definitely feel like I'm splurging. But, I'm not undoing any of the work I've already done. Just staying put. I still log. Maybe something like that would work?

^^ this. I don't so much call it a cheat day, because I still track, I just eat at maintenance for a day. If I know I'm going out, or its a Saturday and I'm just sitting around the house wanting to eat! It gives me the extra calories that I'm craving without feeling like I've erased my weeks work.

AnnPT77

Zellyrus wrote: »

I've been doing well for a few weeks now (1200-1300 calories, eating healthier, exercising daily, lost 5 lbs). Yesterday I had my first diet "cheat day", 2 days a month I have built into my schedule where I can go out to eat.

But man.........I wolfed down a giant beer, a taco, and entire large pizza for dinner. Felt terrible afterwards and gained back most of the weight I'd lost in the last few weeks.

I like having these days, especially since I am faithful to my diet all the other days. But it's like if I give myself an inch, all my self control is gone.

How do you all use cheat days (and if not, why not)? Should I still count calories on these days, but just increase my limit for that day?

As others have said, I don't get the "cheat day" concept. Some days I go over my calorie goal. I log it; I go on with my routine. Cheating who or what? Real life happens. I don't see any need for drama or angst over food. Life is too short.

If you lost 5 pounds before your "cheat day", and gained the same after it, it's almost certainly water weight (mostly). (I've gained that much in pure water weight in 24 hours, BTW, though it's rare - 2 or 3 pounds is not rare at all.) But to gain 5 actual pounds of real (not water) weight, you'd have to have eaten (roughly) 17,500 calories more than your maintenance calories. I'll bet you didn't.

Giant beer? Well, my pint of craft beer once a week or so usually clocks in around 300 calories (I like IPA). One big pizza chain's web site says a large meat lover's stuffed crust pizza is 3,440 calories. Highest calorie single taco I found in the MFP database before I got bored with looking was 565 calories. So, 300 + 3,440 + 565 = 4,305. Of course your actual details will differ, but this should be fairly close to a worst-case scenario, just for discussion purposes.

Let's assume you'd already eaten an entire 1300 calories that day before this meal(s), so 5,605 total calories for the day (4,305 + 1,300) . You're losing 1.5-2lbs/week, so your deficit is at least 750 calories/day. So, let's estimate your net daily maintenance calories at 1200 + 750 = 1950 at your current weight.

Therefore, your "cheat day" was 3,655 calories over maintenance (5,605 - 1950). That means a real weight gain on the order of 1 pound (1 pound = about 3,500 calories). The rest is likely water weight. To lose this cheat-day weight at your current deficit, it will take about 5 days (3,655 / 750 = 4.87). After that you'll start losing new weight again, if you stay on your current deficit. You'll probably see the water weight drop away by then, too, if not sooner.

This is how I think about over-goal days. It's just a story problem in arithmetic. If you choose, you can do this kind of arithmetic on your real data, to get a better estimate of the impact. There's no reason to feel guilty, panic, feel you've ruined everything, give up, or anything of the sort. Drama is optional (personally, I hate drama).

Was your cheat day worth a (roughly) 5 day delay in reaching your goal weight? Only you know the answer. Would you be less likely to go wildly over on cheat days - or less likely to want cheat days at all - if you increased your calorie goal (slowed your loss rate)? Only you can guess. Or experiment.

Personally, I log every single day. Sometimes I go over goal - occasionally by quite a lot. I try to reserve it for true special occasions. If it's extreme, I calculate the impact as above and decide whether it was worthwhile, and if not, I think about how to modify my behavior in the future. If I see an over day coming, I sometimes fit in extra workouts or cut 100 calories for a few days in advance, so I come out OK for the day or week despite the splurge. (I wouldn't cut much more below 1200, by the way - I'm currently at 0.5lb/week loss so I have more wiggle room). But if something comes up, and I go over, and I'm keeping it rare, I just get back on track without worrying about it.

Zellyrus

Thank you for all the math and the overall perspective.

AnnPT77 wrote: »

If it's extreme, I calculate the impact as above and decide whether it was worthwhile, and if not, I think about how to modify my behavior in the future. If I see an over day coming, I sometimes fit in extra workouts or cut 100 calories for a few days in advance, so I come out OK for the day or week despite the splurge. (I wouldn't cut much more below 1200, by the way - I'm currently at 0.5lb/week loss so I have more wiggle room). But if something comes up, and I go over, and I'm keeping it rare, I just get back on track without worrying about it.

The idea of counting calories.....long term....is new for me. I tend to just think day by day (which is why I probably had so much drama from so many calories!) Glad I did have a bad cheat day though, so if nothing else I know what NOT to do!

I think I'm going to have to avoid beer personally, if only because I get drinking munchies like crazy.