Cheat Day Woes

eyeshinebright
eyeshinebright Posts: 51 Member
edited November 30 in Health and Weight Loss
I generally don't think about cheat days until they spontaneously happen (for example, cake at work for someone's birthday, or the impromptu 'let's go out for a couple drinks' night).

However, I tend to feel really bad afterwards. I feel guilty and wretched emotionally. I usually get over it once I realized it didn't affect my progress much or at all, but does anyone else feel this way?

Replies

  • shlive
    shlive Posts: 4 Member
    edited April 2016
    Cheat days (or what I call refeed days) are critical to long term weight loss. Slot them in at least biweekly and enjoy!
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    shlive wrote: »
    Cheat days (or what I call reseed days) are critical to long term weight loss. Slot them in at least biweekly and enjoy!

    How are they critical? I've been at this two years and never had one.
  • shlive
    shlive Posts: 4 Member
    Here ya go! Hope this helps!! :)

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/sclark60.htm
  • eyeshinebright
    eyeshinebright Posts: 51 Member
    shlive wrote: »
    Cheat days (or what I call reseed days) are critical to long term weight loss. Slot them in at least biweekly and enjoy!

    Hey, thanks! Are they critical because they kind of mess with your body a little bit or because they're good mentally?
  • eyeshinebright
    eyeshinebright Posts: 51 Member
    shlive wrote: »
    Here ya go! Hope this helps!! :)

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/sclark60.htm

    Interesting article, I'll do some more research on this. :)
  • Timorous_Beastie
    Timorous_Beastie Posts: 595 Member
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    Save the guilt for things you should actually feel bad about. The negative self-talk is worse for you than the cake.
    cake.png 576.1K
  • IGbnat24
    IGbnat24 Posts: 520 Member
    It's called life. It's gonna happen from time to time. Just accept it and move on. In the grand scheme of things, it's a drop in the bucket.
  • Charlot4444
    Charlot4444 Posts: 170 Member
    I go for a weekly deficit. This allows for a lot of spontaneous things to come up that I don't feel guilty over. And I have no issues saying no if I've already had a few too many spontaneous things that week. As this is (for me) about real life and doing this the rest of my life. I will probably always have some ups (mmmm cake, wine, chocolate) and downs (days when I stick to my diet) with my weight so being mindful, tracking, and learning to enjoy moments as well as know when to say 'no thanks' is just part of the whole scheme of things.

    I am also learning (slowly) that a couple bites are the real yummy parts and that stuffing my face doesn't make it any better, so I now take a little bit of everything I want (instead of my HUGE portions I used to have, and I of course still log it)****...

    ****Disclaimer I haven't learn this re: wine yet (ha ha ha) :blush:
  • eyeshinebright
    eyeshinebright Posts: 51 Member
    Charlot4444 wrote: »
    I go for a weekly deficit. This allows for a lot of spontaneous things to come up that I don't feel guilty over. And I have no issues saying no if I've already had a few too many spontaneous things that week. As this is (for me) about real life and doing this the rest of my life. I will probably always have some ups (mmmm cake, wine, chocolate) and downs (days when I stick to my diet) with my weight so being mindful, tracking, and learning to enjoy moments as well as know when to say 'no thanks' is just part of the whole scheme of things.

    I am also learning (slowly) that a couple bites are the real yummy parts and that stuffing my face doesn't make it any better, so I now take a little bit of everything I want (instead of my HUGE portions I used to have, and I of course still log it)****...

    ****Disclaimer I haven't learn this re: wine yet (ha ha ha) :blush:

    Haha, that makes sense! I try to go for much smaller portions when cheating now, I still feel bad but I'm going to try to break myself out of that. Wine is tough but so lovely ;)
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
    edited April 2016
    shlive wrote: »
    Cheat days (or what I call refeed days) are critical to long term weight loss. Slot them in at least biweekly and enjoy!

    For you, maybe. Not for everyone.

    If by "cheat day" you mean a whole day to just eat whatever I want and not log it, I don't do those because one cheat day usually leads to two, then three, then four....

    I do agree that it's important to not be too restrictive, so instead of cheat days, I incorporate treats in my daily menu. I have dark chocolate almost every night, for example. On Friday night, my husband said "We haven't gone out for ice cream in a while. Let's do that tomorrow" so I planned my Saturday accordingly.

    Sure, sometimes things come up unexpectedly. But then I try to do the best I can without going overboard and make up for it with exercise or eating less the next day.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    I don't have cheat days because I think that does set us up for negative feelings and guilt about the foods we are eating. I work the foods I love in every day or every week or every month. I tend to have more indulgent weekends so I bank some calories during the week so I can use them on the weekend, but I don't call them cheat days because I don't find that mindset helpful. I also do have occasions like you're describing OP, where I have something spontaneous that takes me far over my calorie goal, but I know these things are part of life, and they are fun, and I'm not willing to give things like that up. Plus I know it really doesn't detail my progress in the grand scheme of things.

    OP is the plan you are on too restrictive, and that's why you feel that these unplanned outings should make you feel guilty? What kind of daily deficit do you have, and when you go over, how far over are we talking? It's possible you still have an overall deficit for the week.

    Lose the feelings of guilt, that doesn't sound like a healthy outlook about food... It's just food. It shouldn't make you feel guilty.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,687 Member
    edited April 2016
    During my first 16 weeks here, I did not have a single day where I went over my calorie limit. None.

    If I wanted to eat more, I exercised more to compensate. For example, I had half a small cheesecake on my birthday in the middle of that ... but I cycled about 60 km first to compensate for it.

    I lost 15 kg in those 16 weeks.

    Then I took a month off logging, but still did a lot of exercise, and debated about continuing with the diet or not. That helped ... it actually showed me how my tastes had changed. I didn't want so much sweet or salty stuff. Tried to eat lots of donuts ... couldn't do it. Tried to eat a whole bag of chips ... couldn't do it.

    I decided to continue the diet, and for the next 16 weeks, I did not have a single day where I went over my calorie limit.

    I lost 11 more kg in that time.

    Then I started taking diet breaks now and then, and have more or less been maintaining. So it's not forever. For me, sticking with it for 16 weeks at a time is doable. I know there's an end to it so I can refuse the foods that don't fit into my diet now, and know that in just a few weeks I can have them again. :)
  • RobinvdM
    RobinvdM Posts: 634 Member
    shlive wrote: »
    Here ya go! Hope this helps!! :)

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/sclark60.htm

    I gave some thought to your comments and the article. I think the OP was thinking more about guilt related to the occasional sweet treat that comes with lots of processed sugars and guilt as opposed to what this article discusses, liptin/carbs and refeeding.

    From what I gather this article actually says avoiding "bingeing" on things like cakes and sweets and whatnot, but carb-loading to get liptin levels back up to kick start weight loss again. So you and OP not exactly thinking the same things as far as I can tell..

    However I enjoyed the article and had no idea refeeding was essential and will definitely consider how to incorp this as it is a scary notion from the "never done it before" perspective.

    OP- The cakes for bdays and ocasional treat isn't going to kill overall progress. You changing how you look at them is the first step in getting rid of the guilt. Don't think of it as cheating, cheating is naughty. Think of it as saying yes once in a while and remember to log it and move on with your life. My yes days can be as awful as cheese fondue and wine in excess. Talk about sodium and calories X,x. Log it and move on and enjoy the fact that you enjoyed it :)
  • eyeshinebright
    eyeshinebright Posts: 51 Member
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    I don't have cheat days because I think that does set us up for negative feelings and guilt about the foods we are eating. I work the foods I love in every day or every week or every month. I tend to have more indulgent weekends so I bank some calories during the week so I can use them on the weekend, but I don't call them cheat days because I don't find that mindset helpful. I also do have occasions like you're describing OP, where I have something spontaneous that takes me far over my calorie goal, but I know these things are part of life, and they are fun, and I'm not willing to give things like that up. Plus I know it really doesn't detail my progress in the grand scheme of things.

    OP is the plan you are on too restrictive, and that's why you feel that these unplanned outings should make you feel guilty? What kind of daily deficit do you have, and when you go over, how far over are we talking? It's possible you still have an overall deficit for the week.

    Lose the feelings of guilt, that doesn't sound like a healthy outlook about food... It's just food. It shouldn't make you feel guilty.

    I usually try to fit the cheat meals into my calorie goals. I'm currently on 1320 calories a day. I don't pay too much attention to macros other than getting enough protein and fiber in. So the guilt mostly comes from the fear of not being able to stop cheating I guess? I'm still relatively new at watching my food intake so closely, about two months or so. I get worried that I haven't formed the necessary lifestyle changes yet and that worry increases whenever I cheat.
  • eyeshinebright
    eyeshinebright Posts: 51 Member
    RobinvdM wrote: »
    shlive wrote: »
    Here ya go! Hope this helps!! :)

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/sclark60.htm

    I gave some thought to your comments and the article. I think the OP was thinking more about guilt related to the occasional sweet treat that comes with lots of processed sugars and guilt as opposed to what this article discusses, liptin/carbs and refeeding.

    From what I gather this article actually says avoiding "bingeing" on things like cakes and sweets and whatnot, but carb-loading to get liptin levels back up to kick start weight loss again. So you and OP not exactly thinking the same things as far as I can tell..

    However I enjoyed the article and had no idea refeeding was essential and will definitely consider how to incorp this as it is a scary notion from the "never done it before" perspective.

    OP- The cakes for bdays and ocasional treat isn't going to kill overall progress. You changing how you look at them is the first step in getting rid of the guilt. Don't think of it as cheating, cheating is naughty. Think of it as saying yes once in a while and remember to log it and move on with your life. My yes days can be as awful as cheese fondue and wine in excess. Talk about sodium and calories X,x. Log it and move on and enjoy the fact that you enjoyed it :)

    Thank you... as some others have mentioned, I think I sometimes have a not so great relationship with food. When I was younger, around 12-13 I used to starve myself. I've learned from that and have never done it again, but my weight has definitely yo-yoed since then. Also my self-image issues are kind of terrible right now. It's going to take some time to get used to all of this since I'm relatively new to healthy eating nearly 100% of the time. I was never really horrible, but I definitely used to splurge a lot more.
  • dwyerpj1
    dwyerpj1 Posts: 6 Member
    The birthday cake at work was actually me yesterday. I wanted so badly to say "no thank you", but didn't want to be rude. I ate the smallest piece of black forest cake and felt so guilty that I spent extra time on the treadmill last night burning calories. Realistically, in the big picture, one piece of cake won't make the pounds re-appear and I know that. It is funny how your mind plays guilt tricks on you. We are all on a weight loss journey but we shouldn't be food miserable all the time. A treat is just that...a treat. We all deserve a small treat every now and then. Don't beat yourself up about it. :)
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
    I think in short the existence of cheat (binge?) days correlates with one's discipline. Some people can fit in 2 of those days a week while others can't in 2 years.

    My brother in law, who's fit, doesn't count calories. When we get together he just eats until he's full but then I was told that on "regular" days he just doesn't bother to eat. Some people just don't put much priority in eating.
  • luoyaqiao0607
    luoyaqiao0607 Posts: 2 Member
    I just had an all you can eat yesterday after losing 8 lbs last month, and I felt it was the end of world... No all you can eat this month
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    eyeshinebright wrote: »
    I generally don't think about cheat days until they spontaneously happen (for example, cake at work for someone's birthday, or the impromptu 'let's go out for a couple drinks' night).

    However, I tend to feel really bad afterwards. I feel guilty and wretched emotionally. I usually get over it once I realized it didn't affect my progress much or at all, but does anyone else feel this way?

    Here's a new twist to consider - I wonder if you are feeling physically bad and interpreting it as feeling emotionally bad? I feel physically bad after overly sweet supermarket birthday cake and when I've had too much to drink (for me) the night before.
  • eyeshinebright
    eyeshinebright Posts: 51 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    eyeshinebright wrote: »
    I generally don't think about cheat days until they spontaneously happen (for example, cake at work for someone's birthday, or the impromptu 'let's go out for a couple drinks' night).

    However, I tend to feel really bad afterwards. I feel guilty and wretched emotionally. I usually get over it once I realized it didn't affect my progress much or at all, but does anyone else feel this way?

    Here's a new twist to consider - I wonder if you are feeling physically bad and interpreting it as feeling emotionally bad? I feel physically bad after overly sweet supermarket birthday cake and when I've had too much to drink (for me) the night before.

    Haha, sometimes I feel physically sick so yes it does tie into it. However I'm not sure if it's my guilt causing me to feel sick as I happen to feel physically sick for other reasons some times (anxiety, fear, etc).

    I think also when we're not used to eating overly processed foods anymore, it can wreck havoc on our systems.
  • xbrains
    xbrains Posts: 15 Member
    Charlot4444 wrote: »
    I am also learning (slowly) that a couple bites are the real yummy parts and that stuffing my face doesn't make it any better

    This is true! The first taste of something sweet or a good pizza is gonna signal the reward system in your head, but it's gonna dull down really quick. You really don't need to eat an entire pizza. Or, I keep telling myself that. ;D
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    shlive wrote: »
    Cheat days (or what I call reseed days) are critical to long term weight loss. Slot them in at least biweekly and enjoy!

    How are they critical? I've been at this two years and never had one.

    I incorporate my favourite foods into my daily calories. I don't deprive myself of the foods I love, I just eat less (and sometimes I don't! Lol). I just have to make sure to log correctly and fit the food in my daily calories.

    In the past, whenever I had cheat day, I ended up undoing some of the good work I did that week. Not worth it.

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