~CHEAT DAYS~

rakaelbrown
rakaelbrown Posts: 7 Member
edited May 2016 in Food and Nutrition
Do you all have a cheat day? Can I eat anything I want, despite calories. What are the typical rules for cheat days?

Replies

  • Wolfena
    Wolfena Posts: 1,570 Member
    If it's a cheat day - YOU make the rules... just don't go so overboard that you ruin all the work you put in on the other days.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Never. I fit the foods I love into my plan in moderation. If you do choose to have one, be sure to count your calories so you don't erase your entire deficit.
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
    edited May 2016
    I usually just make sure to eat foods I enjoy daily while staying in a deficit.....its easier
  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,120 Member
    edited May 2016
    Nope. I make everything I want fit into my day or within my week if I can't fit it in that day (within reason). One cheat day for me can wipe out any calorie deficit I may have during the week (if I eat at a 250kcal daily deficit for 6 days and then eat 1500kcal over my maintenance 1 day -which isn't too hard to do with a meal out or a Starbucks drink and a pastry-, then I would maintain my weight)
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,630 Member
    My rule for cheat days: I don't have cheat days.


    I do, however, have diet breaks after reaching certain weight goals or if I am in a maintenance period.
  • distinctlybeautiful
    distinctlybeautiful Posts: 1,041 Member
    I don't cheat. Cheating has terribly negative connotations for me. I do have days when I allow myself not to meet my goals. Sometimes that means not logging, which generally results in going over my calories and not hitting my macros. Sometimes that means logging but allowing myself to go over my calories. Sometimes that means staying within my calories but ignoring my macro goals. It's working for me.
  • faidwen
    faidwen Posts: 131 Member
    mkakids wrote: »
    I do occasionally.

    MY rules for me....
    Have a cheat meal, not day.
    Log everything accurately no matter how much I go over.
    Save calories throughout the week to have more to 'spend' on one meal.
    Dont complain about waterweight gain the following few days from salt and increased foods.
    Dont complain if I actually gain by eliminating a weeks worth of deficit in one day (was my choice afterall).

    I must say, this is perhaps one of the BEST statements I have read in a long long while.

    Although I have learned that cheat "DAYS" and myself don't like each other very well. Once you realize that you CANNOT complain about the water weight, sodium weight retention, and sordid other ill begotten side effects from that single cheat day / meal, you can rationalize it. DON'T BEAT YOURSELF UP!!!! Jump back on track, and soon you are "ALL GOOD" again.

    Just don't complain!!!

    Take it for what it is.... an indulgence.

    Don't make it a habit.

    REALIZE that you lost the weight once, you can do it again. Nothing is permanent!! It is about a lifestyle, not a single moment in time :)

    THANKS!!!

  • mickeygirliegirl
    mickeygirliegirl Posts: 302 Member
    No cheat days.

    It's WAY easier to log everything and eat something that may be "bad" on a deficit than to feel you have to try to make it up later and/or possibly eliminate any deficit you had from the week.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    There are no typical rules. I also wouldn't take a whole day of just eating whatever, just a *kitten* it meal here and there.
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
    I don't have cheat days. If I can fit ice cream, pizza, wine and steak into my daily calories, why would I need a cheat day? I look at every day on my weight loss journey as training for lifetime maintenance. I've lost this amount of weight before, but took more and more cheat days on maintenance until every day was a cheat day. Of course I gained it all back. I have come to realize that for me, I'm not making a lifelong change if "cheat day" is in my vocabulary.

    I've set one day where I won't log: Thanksgiving. My goal is to eat reasonable portions that day, but I'm not going to sweat it. ONE DAY per year. I can fit a slice of cake into my birthday without going over. Winter holidays don't offer things I can't fit in. There is only one day per year for me that involves a lot of food, and I still don't want to undo progress with it.
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
    I'm going to add...if my feed is any indication of reality, for some a cheat meal or day turns into a cheat weekend. It can turn into an even longer spiral. Maybe one or two people stick with the one meal and do alright, but I'd say far more don't.
  • STEVE142142
    STEVE142142 Posts: 867 Member
    distinctlybeautiful wrote: »
    I don't cheat. Cheating has terribly negative connotations for me. I do have days when I allow myself not to meet my goals. Sometimes that means not logging, which generally results in going over my calories and not hitting my macros. Sometimes that means logging but allowing myself to go over my calories. Sometimes that means staying within my calories but ignoring my macro goals. It's working for me.

    Totally agree with the cheating comments. By calling it cheating you're implying you're doing something wrong. This isn't a diet it's a lifestyle change diets suck and most people fail at diets.

    For this to work you have to enjoy it. Every once in awhile you're going to go over your calorie count so what. In the long run if you have one day a month where you go a thousand calories over your limit it's not going to matter in the scope of things. It's only going to matter if you do it all the time
  • nixxthirteen
    nixxthirteen Posts: 280 Member
    I don't "cheat" because I'm not on a "diet". I'm teaching myself appropriate portions, and how to control myself. These are skills I'm going to need to use for the rest of my life, so I find great success in working treats into every single day.

    That said, I DO have the rare occasion where I allow myself to go over my calories on purpose. My birthday is coming up in the middle of a long weekend, and there will be indulgence :).
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    edited May 2016
    I have treats that I work in to my plan. I've worked waaaay toooo hard for waaaay tooooo long to blow it or slow my progress with mindless eating.

    This is s lifestyle 24/7/365.
  • lauraesh0384
    lauraesh0384 Posts: 463 Member
    I don't have cheat days. I might occasionally indulge in something I don't normally eat. Once a month I'll get a burrito bowl from Chipotle, but it's not a free for all to eat over my calorie goal.
  • neiltillbrook
    neiltillbrook Posts: 26 Member
    edited May 2016
    Like a few people above have mentioned, I'll have a cheat meal rather than a cheat day. Even then I don't have it every week.

    On Mondays I go out with "the boys" for food and cinema. If we go to a place I can record for, I'll go ahead and account for it in advance. If I know we're going to a place I can't, I'll make good choices for what I'm going to have, but I won't beat myself up over it. If I want to share a bowl of nachos, I'm going to share a bowl of nachos. Only difference is the old me would've had a sharer bowl to himself.

    Mondays are my weigh day, so I know I've got another 7 days of eating well to get back on track before stepping on those (not so dreaded anymore) scales.
  • Pam_Shebamm
    Pam_Shebamm Posts: 167 Member
    I reserve my cheat meals/days for special occasions. I.e. if I'm going to somebody's wedding or a fancy work event or something, I'm not going to waste time trying to log my meals. I'm just going to eat and enjoy it.

    Sometimes that occasion is froyo with one of my best girlfriends I only get to see once every month or two.

    It's your choice.
  • xCyanideGirlx
    xCyanideGirlx Posts: 116 Member
    I havent had a cheat day yet, but im thinking of having one every 30 pounds i lose. That way they will be infrequent and i wouldnt undo my progress.
  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
    i have date night weekly where i dont count calories and have whatever i want. if it fits, it fits, if it doesn't it doesn't. life has so many rules, i choose to not make a big deal out of this.
  • Mavrick_RN
    Mavrick_RN Posts: 439 Member
    edited May 2016
    My wife and I have a Bonus Meal once a week. We alternate who picks the meal/restaurant. For that one meal anything is fair game (Pizza, fried chicken, BBQ ribs, chocolate, whateva). I never have to say "I can't ever eat that again." because I save that crave for the Bonus Meal.

    No take home, no dishes. One meal and done until next week!

    This is quite doable as a lifestyle as there will always be Bonus situations that I don't want to miss out on. If it's just a little thing, someone at work bakes homemade chocolate chip cookies with pecans, I fit it into my calorie goal.

    Do not expect exercise to compensate for over indulgent food choices.
  • kirstinethornburg
    kirstinethornburg Posts: 300 Member
    No I do not have cheat days I keep my carbs under 5o all the time doing low carb . I found cheat days backfire on me and make me sick. So I just simply eat healthy and lean and green all the time.
  • dlkfox
    dlkfox Posts: 463 Member
    No cheating. I eat delicious food all the time. Sometimes there are food events where I will go over my day allotment. I enjoy myself and estimate the best I can and use the calorie average for the week on the phone app to make sure I am still working toward my goals....or know the reason why I didn't lose weight that week. After all, I gained this weight (again) because I wasn't paying attention and I indulged far too often. So no cheating. I incorporate.

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