Cheat Day Or No Treat Day?

VodkaAddictx

Do you have a treat day?? Or not? If So how often? Life's boring behaving all the time...

qpmomma1

If I am craving something, I work it into my day. A few days ago I had 2 twinkies. It wasn't the best thing in the world, but I stayed within my calories and was able to get back on track with nutrition the next day.

Sapphires4me

I agree, don't deprive yourself of something then you really can't focus on anything but that. Fit it into your calories and add a little to your workout. Everything in moderation and accounted for.

T1DCarnivoreRunner

At first, I would give myself cheat days when I reached certain milestones. Mind you, I have a tremendous appetite, so it was very nice to be able to finally eat as much as I wanted after feeling like I'm starving for so many months that it took to reach that "milestone" weight.

So I would lose for 4-6 months and then have a "cheat day." I would log most of what I ate on cheat days, but would not restrict. Some cheat days were 15K-18K calories, and sometimes 20K-30K calories. I don't think there was ever a day where I exceeded 32K calories. Of course, the problem with eating as much as I want is that I would often gain back months of weight loss in a single day. That awareness made me give up on cheat days. I admit that it is now a lot more difficult to stay within my calorie goals and I even have found myself for the last 2 months going over calories once or twice per week (just by 1K-2K calories, not as much as I would if I had a real cheat day) a lot more often because I can't stand feeling like I'm starving every day and I know a cheat day destroys so much progress. Still, I'm considering doing another one to "fill my tank" so I can go back to a deficit every day without feeling overwhelmed right away.

Need2Exerc1se

I do. I don't always have a treat when I'm craving it. Sometimes I'll just plan to have it on the weekend. This has two benefits for me. It has taught me not to freak out over every little craving. I can have that food whenever I want. I control it. Plus, about 1/2 the time the craving goes away by the time I planned to eat it. It was just a passing thing.

Most of my treat or cheat or whatever you want to call a high calorie day are occasions - holidays, birthdays, parties, gatherings, etc. I have more than enough of these in my life without purposely adding more high calorie days.

MelaniaTrump

For me it was disastrous. I would rather save up the calories during the week for that day and enjoy. Here is my entry which is in the food log database.
Carry Over - Unused Calories From Past Week

CooCooPuff

I add in foods into my daily goals and accept that there will be days when I go over, holidays, vacation, etc, and just roll with it. If I need to, I'll undergo a slight deficit.

janejellyroll

I work the foods I want into my daily plans -- I don't want to divide the rest of my eating life into "behaving myself" and "not behaving myself." On certain days (Thanksgiving, Christmas), I won't try to hit a certain calorie goal -- but I still log everything.

oolou

kimerfy wrote: »

Do you have a treat day?? Or not? If So how often? Life's boring behaving all the time...

No, I try instead to work my treats into my calorie allowance. Currently magnum icecream bars are my thing. And brie and crackers. I also plan for digestive biscuits twice a week when my theatre group meets!

joelacy11

If I crave something really bad, I wait until the end of the week and have it. I keep my macros lower through the day and then bang PIZZA. I always have too much and feel sick - its fantastic.
get your craving out of the way and it puts you back on track. You could also try IIFYM. I use this approach to some of meals every now and again.

VodkaAddictx

joelacy11 wrote: »

If I crave something really bad, I wait until the end of the week and have it. I keep my macros lower through the day and then bang PIZZA. I always have too much and feel sick - its fantastic.
get your craving out of the way and it puts you back on track. You could also try IIFYM. I use this approach to some of meals every now and again.

Haha this is what I do!!!! But was wondering If I was ruining everything I'd been doing.. I have a serious blow out.. a pub meal or takeaway then can't get enough chocolate n sweets... Then get straight back on track again the day after.. Some times have a treat next day then jump back on the wagon!!

kshama2001

My appetite spikes up premenstrually so I eat at maintenance for a few days. Mostly just more normal foods, but I have some higher calorie treats then as well.

oolou

kimerfy wrote: »

Haha this is what I do!!!! But was wondering If I was ruining everything I'd been doing.. I have a serious blow out.. a pub meal or takeaway then can't get enough chocolate n sweets... Then get straight back on track again the day after.. Some times have a treat next day then jump back on the wagon!!

Whether you're ruining everything or not depends on how much you've blown your calorie deficit for the week.

For example, if you manage a total deficit of 3000 calories over a week (eating at a deficit of 500 cal a day) - but on your cheat day you eat at a surplus of 3500 cals over your daily goal ... yeah you just ruined your week. You won't gain, but you also won't lose.

But you'll only know for sure if you log everything you eat on your cheat day

ashesfromfire

I love cheat days / cheat meals. Firstly, because I plan on enjoying my favorite foods for the rest of my life but this teaches me moderation. It also helps me with cravings. I might be dying for a giant sugary latte and bagle, and if I still want it three days from now on cheat day then I will definitely have it and enjoy it! But it gives me a place to put those cravings I would otherwise give into. And, moreover, only a couple of those cravings last until cheat day, so instead of having 15 indulgences a week, I have 2 or 3 and it all shakes out better in the end ♡

Need2Exerc1se

kimerfy wrote: »

joelacy11 wrote: »

If I crave something really bad, I wait until the end of the week and have it. I keep my macros lower through the day and then bang PIZZA. I always have too much and feel sick - its fantastic.
get your craving out of the way and it puts you back on track. You could also try IIFYM. I use this approach to some of meals every now and again.

Haha this is what I do!!!! But was wondering If I was ruining everything I'd been doing.. I have a serious blow out.. a pub meal or takeaway then can't get enough chocolate n sweets... Then get straight back on track again the day after.. Some times have a treat next day then jump back on the wagon!!

This may or may not be a problem. If your overall calories (on average or weekly) are still in a deficit then you should lose fat. But, it is possible to undo 6 days of deficit with one 'serious blow out'.

Spierce02

Every couple of days I'll have one soda or two lindt truffles. Usually I'm below my calorie goal so I don't feel guilty about and it hasn't had an impact on weight. I use to live off of soda and chocolate and knowing that I can still have it once in a while is great.

benzieboxx

I had a mochi ice cream last night. Best 120 calories ever. I don't have "cheat days" because I will go overboard, but I definitely treat myself. If I feel too deprived I'll binge and that's kind of the opposite of what I want.

What really helped me was I stopped thinking of my favorite foods as "bad". There are no "bad" foods. Or good foods. There's just food. I mean yeah obviously there are foods that are healthier than others, but I still don't label them. Labeling things just lays the guilt on me when I do indulge in them.

cbelc2

I keep some dark chocolate for a treat as long as it fits into my daily cals, carbs, and sugar. Do I go all out? No.

harrybananas

Don't deprive yourself. Treat yourself every day. Don't be 60yrs old and teethless and regret you didn't eat what you wanted when you were young.

TaraHancock827

I cheat every Saturday. If I want 14 donuts then that's what I eat. Yes it derails everything I did from the week but I cant diet 7 days a week or id go crazy. Maybe that's why I cant loose the 20 pounds I desperately want to loose...hello!! LOL

janejellyroll

TaraHancock827 wrote: »

I cheat every Saturday. If I want 14 donuts then that's what I eat. Yes it derails everything I did from the week but I cant diet 7 days a week or id go crazy. Maybe that's why I cant loose the 20 pounds I desperately want to loose...hello!! LOL

Yes, "cheat days" are only compatible with weight loss if the person using them doesn't cancel out the calorie deficit they've created during the rest of the week.

kgirlhart

I don't really do cheat days. I just work whatever I want to eat into my calorie goal. It keeps me from feeling deprived and also stops me from bingeing. I don't really feel like I'm dieting. I'm just watching my portions. I don't really worry about going over my goal on days like Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays etc. I try to get in an extra workout on those days, but I eat whatever I want. I do try to keep my portions sane, but I try not to stress about it.

BioQueen

I try really hard to not have a cheat day, but rather a "cheat" meal, or something I wouldn't normally eat. Life happens. My friend wants to celebrate her bday with a night out with a beer and girl scout cookie pairing/tasting, and you bet I'm going to go! But I won't let the whole day fall apart and I will probably work out a little more than normal to prepare for it.

Sredster

When I first started exercising I wasn't going to have any but then I felt burned out and really craved a cheat meal. So after my first month or so I started to do a cheat meal every week. It wouldn't exceed 600 calories though. So I still haven't gotten fast food since July of 2015!

katiebean

I often have a day (or two) of the week where I eat or drink a lot and go hundreds over my calorie goal but I don't feel bad about it. I also usually have little treats throughout the week. Neither seem to have derailed my weight loss. We all need treats

cwolfman13

I think the "cheat" mentality is all wrong...to think you're going to be 100% bang on all of the time with your nutrition or your exercise is a hugely unrealistic expectation. Life happens...I don't consider that to be "cheating"..."cheating" inherently implies that I'm doing something wrong..."cheating" implies doing something shameful...personally, I don't put that kind of moral value on my diet.

I eat well most of the time...'cuz that's what's important...going out with my boys to the monster truck show and having some junk food on a Saturday night is pretty friggin' irrelevant to the way I live my life as a whole...I don't think of it as "cheating"....I don't plan a day of *kitten*...I just roll with life. So long as I'm kicking *kitten* 80-90% of the time, what difference would it make? Big picture...logical thinking...

lemurcat12

I sometimes plan ahead to have a higher calorie day or two on the weekend, like if I'm planning to go out to eat or want something that is harder to fit in (less of an issue since I've been at maintenance). I eat a little less on the other days to allow for this.

I don't really think of it as a cheat day (or even a treat day).

kgirlhart

Sredster wrote: »

When I first started exercising I wasn't going to have any but then I felt burned out and really craved a cheat meal. So after my first month or so I started to do a cheat meal every week. It wouldn't exceed 600 calories though. So I still haven't gotten fast food since July of 2015!

I wouldn't consider a meal under 600 calories to be a cheat meal.

toe1226

every day is a treat day! and I got nothin' to cheat on.

dearmrsowl

I just work whatever I want into my daily calories or try to make a calorie-friendlier version of whatever it is that I'm craving. On holidays I usually don't care about the calories but try to not totally overeat and still log everything. I know that not everything is ruined by one 'bad' day since I didn't gain all the weight in just one day. However, I know that for me regular cheat days would probably ruin my week's progress.

keepupwithjack

I do a cheat meal. I track and eat what I normally would for breakfast and lunch. For supper, I go out to eat and get what I want (within reason). Then, since I love to bake, I come home and bake a small batch of cookies for my family. Then it's right back to to careful tracking and calorie deficits the next morning.

I think a whole day of cheating would derail me fast!