Will a cheat meal hurt my efforts?
jacki865
Posts: 122 Member
Well I'm on a 1200 calorie diet and I just worked out and burned about 650 calories before dinner so my net is 1230 calories right now. I haven't ate dinner yet and my family ordered papa johns 
. I really don't want to have just one slice cause I'm really hungry so would a cheat meal hurt my efforts? Any tips so I don't binge on my favorite pizza ?
. I really don't want to have just one slice cause I'm really hungry so would a cheat meal hurt my efforts? Any tips so I don't binge on my favorite pizza ? 0
Replies
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How long have you been dieting? A cheat meal is pretty necessary once every week or two if you plan on restricting your calories for a long period of time.0
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Eat. Two slices and a simple side salad? You do the math...You have all the data. You can also look at your weekly goal under the "nutrition" option on the app.0
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Well I'm on a 1200 calorie diet and I just worked out and burned about 650 calories before dinner so my net is 1230 calories right now. I haven't ate dinner yet and my family ordered papa johns. I really don't want to have just one slice cause I'm really hungry so would a cheat meal hurt my efforts? Any tips so I don't binge on my favorite pizza ?
Of course a "cheat" meal will hurt your efforts if it puts you over your calorie goal for the day. But if it keeps you focused by satisfying a craving then who cares.0 -
Uh, no.galgenstrick wrote: »How long have you been dieting? A cheat meal is pretty necessary once every week or two if you plan on restricting your calories for a long period of time.
Cheat meals are never necessary. If you like them and they work for you, fine. Just be careful that you don't wipe out the deficit you worked hard to build by going too far over on calories when you splurge.
Many people eat 80% of their calories with nutrient dense foods and 20% treat foods every day. That lets you eat what you want, in moderation, when you want it.
You could have a nice salad with your pizza to fill you up with fewer calories. That way, you get your pizza but not too much of it.Well I'm on a 1200 calorie diet and I just worked out and burned about 650 calories before dinner so my net is 1230 calories right now. I haven't ate dinner yet and my family ordered papa johns. I really don't want to have just one slice cause I'm really hungry so would a cheat meal hurt my efforts? Any tips so I don't binge on my favorite pizza ?0 -
So what your saying is you have 1200 calories for pizza? I can't see any issue with having pizza. I eat pizza and lose.
1200 calories for me is a whole pizza, not sure about the pizza your having.
Or is your definition of cheating more about nutritional foods etc maybe just don't weigh yourself for a few days to avoid any potential water weight etc
Either way if you want pizza have some, it's not the end of the world. Sound like you could eat a lot of pizza and still be under you calories.0 -
How are you counting 'net' calories? What did you do to burn 650 calories and how did you measure it? How many calories are in a slice? What do you mean by cheat meal?Well I'm on a 1200 calorie diet and I just worked out and burned about 650 calories before dinner so my net is 1230 calories right now. I haven't ate dinner yet and my family ordered papa johns. I really don't want to have just one slice cause I'm really hungry so would a cheat meal hurt my efforts? Any tips so I don't binge on my favorite pizza ?
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I have a 1200 calorie deficit for dinner. I didn't realize I ate so little today cause I was really busy plus the burning 650 calories put me at that high of deficit. I'm asking cause my parents ordered pizza and idk if I should splurge a little or use those calories eating my "healthy foods"0
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If it fits your calories it's not a splurge...1200 calories is 6-8 slices of pizza, last I checked. Depending on the pizza, of course.0
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Overall you are probably under-eating.
But aside from that, a great way to avoid eating too much when you go out, is to eat something before. If it were me, I would make a low-carb protein/fiber smoothie. If you are not accustomed to eating much fiber, don't add too much at first, just 5g of fiber, and 25g or more of protein.0 -
Why are 3/4 of the people looking for advice here on a "1200 calorie diet"? Could it be because that's the absolute MINIMUM for anyone? Could it be because almost anyone's going to struggle with hunger at that level?0
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You should do it! A cheat meal every so often is fine. Drink some water before you eat, and have a salad with your pizza to balance it out if that will ease your mind.0
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Well I'm on a 1200 calorie diet and I just worked out and burned about 650 calories before dinner so my net is 1230 calories right now. I haven't ate dinner yet and my family ordered papa johns. I really don't want to have just one slice cause I'm really hungry so would a cheat meal hurt my efforts? Any tips so I don't binge on my favorite pizza ?
It depends what you mean by a cheat meal. If all you mean is eating pizza within your calorie goals, that will make no difference. It is calories in-calories out. With the exercise calories which are added to your goal, you probably have the calories to spare. Will you perhaps see a weight spike for a day or so? Maybe, but it will not be fat it will be water weight because of the sodium in the pizza. There are days where I have not eaten a lot and will eat a whole medium pepperoni pizza from Little Caesars as long as it fits into my calories for the day.0 -
I have a 1200 calorie deficit for dinner. I didn't realize I ate so little today cause I was really busy plus the burning 650 calories put me at that high of deficit. I'm asking cause my parents ordered pizza and idk if I should splurge a little or use those calories eating my "healthy foods"
If you've got 1200 calories for dinner ... eat 1200 calories.
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I find it more useful to look at my caloric intake over a week, than a single day. Same for nutrients, actually.0
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have 2 slices. at worst youll be at maintenance. You may lose a day of losing but you wont gain.
OH do you mean you have 1200 left for the day? Heck have 4 slices and fruit or something.0 -
Google Papa Johns's nutritional info, see what fits into your calories remaining, eat accordingly. No worries.0
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Sounds like you have done a lot of exercise and only a little eating.........so....uh, yes, eat some pizza?0
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Depends how far you go over. Generally speaking you need to eat over 3500 calories to gain a single pound. So if your goal is to lose 1lb a week and 6 days of the week you are good but go over by 1k on another day you will still be under 2500 and only lose 2/3 of a pound for the week or so.0
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depends on the pizza. look it up by what type it is and from which restaurant and make your decision then. my nutritionist said it's ok to splurge every once in a while. she said if I was going to have a cheat day not to go over board.0
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I haven't ate dinner yet and my family ordered papa johns. I really don't want to have just one slice cause I'm really hungry so would a cheat meal hurt my efforts? Any tips so I don't binge on my favorite pizza ?
Yeah, here's a tip. Papa Johns has a nutritional information calculator.
http://www.papas-nutritional-calculator.com/
I just put in some info that I might choose were there a Papa Johns in my area: medium (12") pizza, original crust, pizza sauce, normal cheese, 3 cheese blend, feta cheese, Italian sausage, pepperoni, black olives, onions, and tomatoes.
Per 50 gram slice (8 slices/pizza) = 280 cal
If I had 1200 cal to work with, I could have 4 slices and still have enough left over for a small low-cal yogurt.
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I just found where you can check your weekly calorie deficit, I am under about 4000 calories so I decided to go ahead and eat some more. I'm sure it will all even out. Idk if I should change my activity level from sedentary to slightly active since I do high intensity works outs everyday. That or up my daily calorie requirement. Oh I burned the 650 calories doing an hour of incline walking.
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I just found where you can check your weekly calorie deficit, I am under about 4000 calories so I decided to go ahead and eat some more. I'm sure it will all even out. Idk if I should change my activity level from sedentary to slightly active since I do high intensity works outs everyday. That or up my daily calorie requirement. Oh I burned the 650 calories doing an hour of incline walking.
Sedentary ... plus record your exercise on the exercise tab. It will add to your total calories available.
As an aside, 650 cal/hour seems high for walking ... but maybe it was really brisk with a steep incline?
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It was 3mph on a 15 incline for the most part. I increased and decreased in line as I went between 15 and 20. I recorded it in multiple calories burnt calculators and they all gave me roughly the same the estimate.0
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I just found where you can check your weekly calorie deficit, I am under about 4000 calories so I decided to go ahead and eat some more. I'm sure it will all even out. Idk if I should change my activity level from sedentary to slightly active since I do high intensity works outs everyday. That or up my daily calorie requirement. Oh I burned the 650 calories doing an hour of incline walking.
Good thinking. Now you're realizing you need to up your cals. You are young and active! If you weigh your food on a scale in grams, bonus points!!!! Log everything. So much better than undereating and struggling.0 -
Keep your activity level at the job you perform. Sit at a desk=sedentary; light activity=waitress. Keep it simple. MFP is giving you a calorie amount based on what you entered for weight loss. 1200 calories is usually for someone who hit '2 pound weight loss' per week. You may want to evaluate this over the next weeks. When I walk I just estimate a mile=100 calories. Keep it simple. Each exercise will vary the burn, but I'd rather be conservative on the calories I burn and eat half of them back. Why? This allows for the mistakes I'm sure to make when logging food. Make sense? If yes, tape a quarter to your phone for payment...kidding. Good luckI just found where you can check your weekly calorie deficit, I am under about 4000 calories so I decided to go ahead and eat some more. I'm sure it will all even out. Idk if I should change my activity level from sedentary to slightly active since I do high intensity works outs everyday. That or up my daily calorie requirement. Oh I burned the 650 calories doing an hour of incline walking.
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The worry is not the impact of one cheat meal. The worry is if it turns into two, then three then more in rapid succession (assuming these are not planned such that you say in your goals).0
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Unless its Brooklyn Pizza, then its only 4 sliceschandanista wrote: »If it fits your calories it's not a splurge...1200 calories is 6-8 slices of pizza, last I checked. Depending on the pizza, of course.
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richardgavel wrote: »The worry is not the impact of one cheat meal. The worry is if it turns into two, then three then more in rapid succession (assuming these are not planned such that you say in your goals).
Well considering I already have a stomach ache from that cheat meal, I don't think I will be doing it very often. I think my body is now used to my new way of eating so going back to my old diet doesn't seem as appealing
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About three years ago, I was doing mostly about 1200 - 1350 calories. I lost 61 pounds at about a pound and a half a week doing a weekly cheat day. Just make sure you log it and don't go over maintenance calories for the day.0
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