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Cheat day... Good or bad?

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alexstenman
alexstenman Posts: 1 Member
in Debate Club
I've read things advocating both sides. 1 day per week where you are allowed to eat whatever you want. I am interested to hear what the MyFitnessPal community thinks.

Please cite any sources you may have!
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Replies

  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    Good and bad is what you make of it. But if you indulge in cheat days:

    You're undoing some of your hard-won gains from the rest of the week.

    You're spiking your blood sugar.

    You're probably encouraging your cravings to stick around.
  • Ruatine
    Ruatine Posts: 3,424 Member
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    I think it all depends on how it's implemented. A "cheat" day where you eat everything you want could wipe out an entire week's deficit (or more). A "cheat" day where you still log and aim to eat at maintenance or perhaps just a smaller than normal deficit seems reasonable, and I suppose it could be good for someone's mental health.

    I don't know that I've ever seen a scientific discussion/article/study of having a cheat day. There are plenty of non-scholarly articles/blogs about it though.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    it does not matter...

    what matters is that you hit your calorie goal and meet your micro and macro nutrient requirements...

    I think cheat days are dumb because they enforce a notion that certain foods are "bad" aka "cheats" while others are good . Food is neither bad or good, it just provides energy and in the context of an overall diet there are no bad foods, just bad diets.

  • DorkothyParker
    DorkothyParker Posts: 618 Member
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    I have a sister who advocates a cheat window of 6 hours (I believe). I don't know much in terms of the legitimacy of refeeding from a weight loss standpoint, but I think it is valuable for her just to know that this window is available for goodies. I think it's every 10 days? Again, I'm not 100% on the details. A benefit of the window is that you will physically be unable to fit in as many calories compared to an entire day. Also, I think she tends to fast or eat very little before her feast.

    I also don't like the moral implications of "cheat." Maybe there is a situation where consumption of a donut has moral implications, but certainly that is not the norm. (Licking a donut and putting it back on the plate? Stealing it?)
  • Ruatine
    Ruatine Posts: 3,424 Member
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    DorkothyParker wrote: »
    (Licking a donut and putting it back on the plate? Stealing it?)

    :lol:

    I'm not a fan of the term "cheat day" either, but as a concept of setting aside a day or a few hours to eat treats that you normally wouldn't, I understand it. Personally, I don't do it - I have a hard enough time lately sticking to my goals without purposefully adding a day where I eat at maintenance. I don't think it has to go hand-in-hand with viewing foods as "good" or "bad" necessarily. I always saw it as a day where I don't stick to macro/micro goals like I would on a normal day of eating.
  • HungryasFuark
    HungryasFuark Posts: 463 Member
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    im a big fan of free days not cheat days .. they just work i know it is sometimes against the math of ur weekly target but if u really work hard enough during the week and diet correctly a free day wont do anything and will help u stay on ur diet and give u more energy for your workouts alot of time i plateu and free days help me lose more .. i take one every 8 or 10 days but it is also important to not eat till being sick or something jut enjoy it without killing ur self lol
  • DearestWinter
    DearestWinter Posts: 595 Member
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    I dislike the term cheat day because it implies there are "bad" or forbidden foods. During my TOM I may eat to maintenance a few days. That's the closest I get to a cheat day.
  • Sawjer
    Sawjer Posts: 229 Member
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    All depends on your diet/cheat day. If you're counting macro's you can treat yourself all the time as long as it fits, if you're on a bodybuilding diet, chicken/rice constantly etc.. then after the first two weeks I would recommend a cheat meal every week, but a meal... once you are full or leave the table chuck it away don't eat anymore. For example
  • BoulderScott
    BoulderScott Posts: 8 Member
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    Based on number of podcasts and other information I have read, I believe that a cheat or free day is good for a number of reason but with limitations.
    - your body is smart and if you stay in a calorie deficit for too many days/weeks in a row, it will learn and adapt to burn fewer calories each day.
    - calorie cycling (cheat day) keeps your body guessing and helps you continue on your path to weight loss.
    - Instead of only watching your daily calorie deficit of say 500 calories, watch your weekly numbers and as long as you are at -3500 calories at the end of the week you should still lose weight, even if you had one day in a small surplus(cheat day) and another day or two in a larger deficit.
    - If you believe in the concept of periodizing your weight training then you will understand why a cheat day works. It should help you avoid plateaus, the same way you should switch up your lifting routine with various weight x rep x set rest to keep your body guessing.

    I am currently experimenting with a general slow-carb diet with approximately 500 calorie deficit daily with 1 cheat day in a calorie surplus and one day of 18/6 intermittent fasting per week with a goal of 3500 total calorie deficit for each week.
    I weigh myself daily to track the trend weekly and I learn from the trend line not the weight number.
  • aleking618
    aleking618 Posts: 9 Member
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    Cheat meals on the weekend is what i do. Only 2 though and not complete rubbish. I make sure if im going to stuff myself silly its going to have at least some benefit so no eating 10 donuts or fried chips smotherd in mayo or tom sauce. Instead ill eat somthing like 3 bowls of chilli con carne or a tonne of tuna pasta mayo
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    Sawjer wrote: »
    All depends on your diet/cheat day. If you're counting macro's you can treat yourself all the time as long as it fits, if you're on a bodybuilding diet, chicken/rice constantly etc.. then after the first two weeks I would recommend a cheat meal every week, but a meal... once you are full or leave the table chuck it away don't eat anymore. For example

    why is a bodybuilding diet "constant chicken and rice" ?
  • aloranger7708
    aloranger7708 Posts: 422 Member
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    Personally I don't do cheat days anymore because I ate way too much to the point I would keep gaining/losing the same 1-2 lbs every week. Now I just incorporate what I want into my days.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    You might find this interesting:

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/refeeds-for-fat-loss-the-science-behind-leptin.html
  • monicaale38
    monicaale38 Posts: 23 Member
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    I have a cheat meal on the weekends, but rest of the day I try to eat clean
  • MrWufpack
    MrWufpack Posts: 17 Member
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    I eat about 500 above maintenance 1 day every couple of weeks. Basically, when I haven't seen the scale drop for a few days in a row. My weight usually goes up for 1-2 days, probably water weight from the greater amount of food, and then I have a "whoosh" where I drop 1-2 lbs under where I was before the "cheat day." I usually try to coincide it with a day where I'm running, so I have even more calories to eat, and will go often go out someplace that has calories listed and still has whole foods, like Chipotle.
  • MichelleLea122
    MichelleLea122 Posts: 332 Member
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    I really think it depends on your goals and current progress. If you're extremely overweight and need to lose weight for medical reasons, then you probably shouldn't be implementing cheat days. Or if you're in contest prep, you might want to do refeed days, but definitely not cheat days.

    Honestly I don't believe in cheat meals and certainly not cheat days (do you really need a whole day?). If I want to eat something, I'm going to eat it, but I'm also going to make sure it fits into my macros for the day. In fact I fit a whole pint ben & jerry's into today (granted I'm not trying to lose weight, but 1,200 calories is still a lot for me). I don't do it on the regular, but once in awhile I do. The word 'cheat' implies you're doing something wrong. In my opinion eating food shouldn't be something you ever feel guilty about. Yesterday I had a pound of brussels sprouts and today I had a pint of ice cream. As long as you hit your calorie/macronutrient/micronutrient goal, you can eat whatever food you want.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,123 Member
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    A once a week "cheat" day or even a meal would be more than enough to eat through not just my deficit for the day, but for several days. I do have days where I eat freely, usually for special events like birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, holidays and the like. However, none of the come to the equivalent of one day a weeks. Probably 12 - 15 days in the year. I take these free days because it is a way to keep me level mentally, and I figure the time together with friends, family is far more important than counting calories. I always try to get right back to my calorie goal the next day.
  • tequila5000
    tequila5000 Posts: 128 Member
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    I think cheat days are dumb because they enforce a notion that certain foods are "bad" aka "cheats" while others are good . Food is neither bad or good, it just provides energy and in the context of an overall diet there are no bad foods, just bad diets.
    Amen!

  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
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    I find it easier to stick to my way of eating if I do not take breaks. That doesn't mean there will never be a day when I go over on calories, or eat something that I usually would not, but it won't be for a whole day. Routines and habits work better for me than motivation.

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