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Cheat day... Good or bad?
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I think giving yourself a whole day to eat whatever isn't the best. You don't want to get into the bad habits that led you to having to watch what you eat in the first place. I think a better idea is having a "treat meal" every once in awhile. If I want a pizza night or I'm going out with friends, I'll make sure it's on a gym day so I have the extra calories to spare to get something special. I used to get into the mindset of "well I ate something bad so I might as well go crazy today" which can turn into a never ending cycle.1
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I don't do a cheat day, because one turns into two and three and so on. But I do have a cheat meal once a week. Today is my cheat meal, I am having Chinese food. I have been craving some beef lo mein and egg rolls for 2 weeks and I managed to make it work today and im only going over my calories by 4. I'm happy lol1
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Matters of nutrition are rarely, if ever that black and white...there's a lot of gray and nuance and whatnot.0
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Good for some, bad for others. Like most everything.0
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My dr gave me one cheat day each week. With guidelines. The idea isn't to go completely haywire and wreck everything. So I chose Saturdays, which are generally pretty busy for me and keep me away from the kitchen. I'm an emotional eater, and if I'm near food, I'll cram it in my mouth - being away from the kitchen is a good thing!! I have a healthy breakfast, then pack the car with my favorite snacks. For supper, we have pizza and breadsticks of some stripe (we love Papa Murphy's!). That generally fills us up enough that we're not spending the rest of the night grazing. But we keep salads and nuts and fruits and granolas and healthy homemade trail mixes in the pantry. (I stopped keeping candy and cookies back in January!)
So really, cheat day works for me.
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I eat mostly all every day .. You shouldn't deprive yourself ... Just stay in your daily calories numbers .. And exercise
Diet is like kid lol more you say no to it the more it want it
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Cheat days for me are not about what I am eating, rather how much. Sure, I can eat pizza everyday, but I can't eat 5-6 slices like I always want to. I can have that second bowl of ice cream. I can have all the garlic butter I want. I can drink like a fish.
My cheat days are self-limiting though. I really hit a wall around the 1700-2000 calorie mark and I just, ugh, I don't want to eat anymore - stomach might literally explode. Cat jumped on my gut after my Friday Bacchanalia and agony. And it is hours before I can even think of shoveling more food down my piehole. I watch those 10k+ cheat days on YT and I just have no idea how they do it.
Anyway, the fact that I end up in pain at the end of it is pretty good deterrent for keeping me from doing it again...for a week.
I'm a calorie banking maintainer. So doesn't really matter what I do on Friday, my weekly deficit is so large.0 -
Yeah, I focus on the week as a whole. So I might have a high day (or 2), but they aren't "cheat" days (which suggests to me over calories). Of course, right now I just have to convince myself my goal for the week is a deficit, not maintenance.
But in any case I agree that it depends on the person.0 -
Cheat days - yes they're great....and then no they were not.
I lost just over 100 pounds with that weekly cheat day, and all was well. I needed that day to pig out on all the junk foods I craved morning, noon and night. As things progressed, my cheat days became less of a food binge and more of a few cheat meals.
Again, all went well.
After reaching my goal weight, I set new goals in weight maintenance to lose fat and maintain strength.
ADIOS CHEAT DAY!
I have maintained almost 5 years now, and my fat levels slowly drop, but that's a function of a much cleaner diet...and no cheat days.0 -
rhtexasgal wrote: »I just build in at least 100 calories for a treat of some sort each day. That could equate to one or two pieces of chocolate, a small pudding, or 1 scoop of ice cream. Giving myself permission to do that, I have never needed a "cheat" day. I know it is psychological but knowing that I have that cushion for a treat each day? I often end up not eating it. Now, these days, I cannot be spontaneous and go out to eat at the drop of a hat but I can plan ahead so if I want those fried pickles with the fried shrimp, etc. I will, knowing that the rest of that day is salad or extra veggies. So in essence, I don't have cheat days ... I will eat what I want and make sure that I am still within my calories. "Cheat" just has too many negative connotations for me.
I do this too. I don't believe in forbidden foods but if it's a less healthy food, say a piece of chocolate cake I stick to the three bite rule. That way I feel like I'm indulging but not going overboard. I will also add a little extra physical activity to balance out calories in/calories out. I do eat dark chocolate several times a week but I don't look at that as cheating. Dark chocolate is good for your heart, has fiber, and just taste so damn good that it makes me happy!!! I have learned to make my own chocolate bites with coconut oil, dark cocoa powder, and a little stevia. When I do eat it I really savor the flavor!
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I have done a lot of reading and the common thought is that eating too far below calorie requirements puts you into starvation mode which means you store fat instead of losing or you exercise too much and don't eat enough. I still tried this approach by just staying at the calories required because it is good to be open to everything. But in the end, I think that they might be right. Then, I started to remind myself usually once a week or every two weeks that I can't lose any weight if I just keep eating below the calories required. So a cheat day is a fabulous thing because it tells the body 'hey, I'm not starving!' and it seems to get weightloss going again. This is my theory based on what I've seen. The above information about the starvation mode is all over this website and in fact comes up and
Starvation mode is not a thing. Seriously there may be a ton of 'information' on it online, but it's really not a thing. Your body does not suddenly stop obeying the laws of thermodynamics, because of too little calories. Yes studies have shown your metabolism does slow down during a caloric deficit, but not to such a degree to offset a caloric deficit. If you want to implement cheat days, because they work for you, so be it. But don't do so under the impression that your body needs a reminder that it's not starving.3 -
That's likely to lead to not losing weight because your effort on all the other days is balanced out by that one day of splurging. Not worth it. Plus the bloat, fatigue etc. Associated with such behavior.1
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I have done a lot of reading and the common thought is that eating too far below calorie requirements puts you into starvation mode which means you store fat instead of losing or you exercise too much and don't eat enough. I still tried this approach by just staying at the calories required because it is good to be open to everything. But in the end, I think that they might be right. Then, I started to remind myself usually once a week or every two weeks that I can't lose any weight if I just keep eating below the calories required. So a cheat day is a fabulous thing because it tells the body 'hey, I'm not starving!' and it seems to get weightloss going again. This is my theory based on what I've seen. The above information about the starvation mode is all over this website and in fact comes up and
Do some more reading, if starvation mode was an actual thing all of those horribly underweight poor people you see on the adverts appealing for aid would not exist. If you want an excuse to tell yourself you need to over consume stuff one day, then go with it, it's only you who'll pay the price for it. But starvation mode is a term used by people who want to pretend they know science. And not many on here are going to give you the backup for your p**s poor science that you're probably seeking so you can feel good about yourself as you cram oreo number 56 into your mouth. Do what you want, but don't pretend you need to. Not many here are stupid enough to buy into this BS and it's an insult that you'd even post this.1 -
TheCrawlingChaos wrote: »I used to schedule cheat days, but it would often cancel out a lot of my work. I've decided to take a new approach to things now and I don't have "cheat days" at all. If I need to have something less than ideal healthwise I will do it, but I don't make it a habit.
I stole the idea of viewing those meals a "rare and appropriate " meal rather than a cheat from Penn Jillette. Same amount of bad for me, but psychologically it feels less like I'm doing something bad. But interestingly enough, those cravings that I was filling weekly on my cheat days before have now pretty much vanished and I can't really even think of a time in the past 3 months where I had a "rare and appropriate " not-so-healthy meal.
Rare and appropriate, I'm going to use that. The word "cheat" is just too negative for me. But rare and appropriate are special days to be planned and appreciated.0 -
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You can do it, just know you would have lost more if you hadn't.0
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I don't know about a whole day dedicated to cheating lol... I'd never make any progress. Honestly I have one cheat meal a week on Sundays, which is when both my husband and I go out and have a date night. Even on the day I have my cheat meal I usually stay within my calories. I just eat less for breakfast and lunch and for my snacks something really small and tea to hold me over. That way when dinner time comes and we go out I can sort of indulge. This Sunday we are going to Melting Pot for the first time and I am so excited because I hear it's amazing.
So I say one cheat meal a week... but still try and stay within your calorie goal for the day.1 -
Oh and further more... It is okay if you go over your calorie goal at least once a week... Just last week I was stuck at 214lbs... I was so frustrated I ate half a sausage and pepperoni pizza... I only went over my calories about 200, but the day after I finally got past 214lbs to 211.1lbs... Keeps your metabolism on its toes 1
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MeganSchuyler16 wrote: »I don't know about a whole day dedicated to cheating lol... I'd never make any progress. Honestly I have one cheat meal a week on Sundays, which is when both my husband and I go out and have a date night. Even on the day I have my cheat meal I usually stay within my calories. I just eat less for breakfast and lunch and for my snacks something really small and tea to hold me over. That way when dinner time comes and we go out I can sort of indulge. This Sunday we are going to Melting Pot for the first time and I am so excited because I hear it's amazing.
So I say one cheat meal a week... but still try and stay within your calorie goal for the day.
Well said... One cheat meal a week and try to stick to within a couple of hundred of your calorie goal.0 -
MeganSchuyler16 wrote: »I don't know about a whole day dedicated to cheating lol... I'd never make any progress. Honestly I have one cheat meal a week on Sundays, which is when both my husband and I go out and have a date night. Even on the day I have my cheat meal I usually stay within my calories. I just eat less for breakfast and lunch and for my snacks something really small and tea to hold me over. That way when dinner time comes and we go out I can sort of indulge. This Sunday we are going to Melting Pot for the first time and I am so excited because I hear it's amazing.
So I say one cheat meal a week... but still try and stay within your calorie goal for the day.
Well said... One cheat meal a week and try to stick to within a couple of hundred of your calorie goal.
Thank you I have my moments lol. 0 -
I don't like the term cheat. It makes it seem like what I am doing is something that is too restrictive and I need to break free of. I prefer to eat what I want and make it fit in my calories for the day. If I am going to go over on a day I adjust by eating a little less for a couple of days and when I eat what I want I do it in moderation.
I just make my food choices smarter, I don't eat a lot of high calorie food in the normal course of my day or week, but I will indulge in moderation with no guilt at all when out with friends and family because there is room for it in my calorie goal. It isn't cheating, it is part of the plan I have for myself.2 -
I eat whatever I want to everyday obviously most of the "good" stuff but If I want Ice Cream and it's still within my allowance then I'll eat it.0
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I don't believe cheat days are good . I've been a yo-yo dieter for many years. Weight just seems to roll off of me, but it also rolls back on. I am usually very strict with my self but as soon as I eat the forbidden fruit watch out. This time I have to treat it like drinking. I quit drinking 36 yr ago and smoking 37. None of my friends would ever say "oh go ahead have a beer, just one won't hurt." I treat some food like that. Do I want that piece of candy,(do i really want that beer). Yes I want it but I know I can't have it.
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Cheating the whole day would be a diasaster for me. I do better just having a special treat each day. Deprivation never works in the long run....for me anyway.0
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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
why is a bodybuilding diet "constant chicken and rice" ?
It's not I was just putting an example in. I didn't want to list a full bodybuilding diet aint no one got time for that bro! 0 -
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.
This!!! Thank you!0 -
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I don't do cheat days, I just work what I want to eat into my calorie plan.2
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