Cheat/Treat Days

rbclftss

Hi All,

What's everyones opinions on treat/cheat days? do they work, don't they work?

Do you guys have them, if so how often?

I really struggle when it comes to the bad stuff, i "miss" it. so I don't know if a cheat day would work? obviously not yet as I am only on day two of my change, but maybe going forward?

I'd love to hear your opinions :-)

xxxx

mariehbil

I think it depends on your goal. Do you want to lose weight quickly or do you want to change your lifestyle? I personally aim to live in a way that I will be able to continue for years. For this reason I do allow myself cheat days, but I try not to go overboard. I don't want to be the person who turns down birthday cake!! If you have one a week or every other week, but the rest of the time you're really good, then I don't see a problem with it! It does slow down the process, but you're more likely to be able to keep going for a long time without feeling depressed.

naterciarodrigues58

I see cheat days as a reward for a good week, and something that keeps me going, so I do them like once a week.

HOWEVER, this does not mean I allow myself all the food I want one that day. For example, on Saturday, I decided I wanted a burger, so I prepared myself an healthier version of a burger (tofu instead of meat, brown roll, lettuce and cheese) and had a pack of baked crisps (lower in fat) and a beer. This was all logged and fit into my calorie allowance for the day and I was still within my limit, but it felt like a treat.

I will also allow myself treats like chocolate, even a slice of pizza or a bit of cheesy garlic bread... but I watch my portions, and no matter WHAT I eat, I LOG IT. It hurts so much to see huge red numbers that I keep my treats moderate. But they feel GOOD

rhall9058

Keep this in mind. Some will say they work all week so they can enjoy their weekend. Well............your weekend is essentially 30% of your progress. How do you just throw that out?

Most of the trainers/nutritionists that I have talked to have all said, rather than having "cheat days", instead make 10-20% of your DAILY calories, "yummy" calories. Is that a muffin? chocolate bar? maybe a frozen yogurt with fruit? The health of that is up to you. But it's easier to spread those out when you need them, then try to take it all in a "cheat day" and then end up spending all week trying to work from behind to burn it off again.

But in the end, it still comes down to calories in/calories out. So if you make those "yummy" calories, still keep them within your allotment, just 10-20 pct of your allotment.

nomoredoughnuts

I usually have 1-2 cheat meals a week max. They don't affect my weight loss and I think they are vital as you need to eat the 'bad food' occasionally to keep yourself from craving/binging.

I love going out for food or having a few drinks or ice cream and I've found that this way I'm a lot happier. I used to eat clean 24/7 and exercise back in winter but then I missed out on my social life.

Weight loss is indeed why we're here but at the same time it's not as important as your sanity.

However, some people do find it hard to go back to eating healthy the next day so it's up to you.

meredith1123

It all depends on the person. You have to be able to trust yourself to be able to have that cheat 'meal' on one day then turn around and continue on eating healthy afterwards for awhile.

It also depends on how many days its been and what your body can handle. You have to get to know your body and how you lose weight, what works for you and how many times a cheat meal won't effect your hard work. If i am really on a roll, i tend to have two cheat meals per month but if i'm at maintenance i cheat on weekends but eat very well off during monday through Friday. This is how i keep a balance. I've been doing this for so many years, i know my body. This is my lifestyle.

You have to find out what works for you and your body.

cutieryan

My goal is to change the way I eat long term- and there are certain things I don't want to have to give up FOREVER so I allow myself treats now and then but they are always pre planned and logged. I don't spend 1 day every week eating everything in sight but I do figure out ways to eat what I'm craving without going over my calorie goal.

tricksee

There is no right or wrong way to look at cheat days. Whatever helps the individual stick to there goal is what's best.

If an end of the week reward helps you that's great.

If daily mini-treats that are within your calori allowance suit you, it's just as good.

As long as neither get out of control you're golden.

Trust me, I'm a doctor.

MaepleT95

Honestly cheat days are dangerous, for me anyway, if I say- " okay today's a cheat day" then I will basically throw in the towel and stuff myself, it's really bad, then I feel HORRIBLE afterwards.:sick:
Instead I have upped my calorie intake (losing 0.5 lbs a week) and I incorporate 'treats', like yesterday was my parents anniversary, and we had pizza for dinner and cake and ice cream for desert, I knew ahead of time what we were having and I just made room in my daily calorie limit for that stuff, that way I don't overeat, but I still get to eat foods I like.
Also I eat back my exercise calories, so I can eat more- just be aware that myfitnesspal over estimates, so underestimate a bit if you'd like.
Hope this helps:)

nomoredoughnuts

Keep this in mind. Some will say they work all week so they can enjoy their weekend. Well............your weekend is essentially 30% of your progress. How do you just throw that out?

Most of the trainers/nutritionists that I have talked to have all said, rather than having "cheat days", instead make 10-20% of your DAILY calories, "yummy" calories. Is that a muffin? chocolate bar? maybe a frozen yogurt with fruit? The health of that is up to you. But it's easier to spread those out when you need them, then try to take it all in a "cheat day" and then end up spending all week trying to work from behind to burn it off again.

But in the end, it still comes down to calories in/calories out. So if you make those "yummy" calories, still keep them within your allotment, just 10-20 pct of your allotment.

This is also part of my thinking. It's either you will have 1-2 meals and work extra hard the next few days or you spread it out into little treats if you're not planning to go out.

If you make eating healthy a habit then eating the 'cheat foods' won't affect you enough no to go back on track.

clairyfairy247

I don't really have a cheat day to aid weight loss, I have them every now and again to preserve my sanity!

It's a struggle to resist treats for an extended period of time and an occasional treat day to have a little indulgence tends to keep me on track.

If you weigh in on a particular day of the week, make that your cheat day so you have a whole week to make up for it

catbubbles

I believe that cheating on occasion is very helpful in the long term. If you deprive yourself too long, you will fall off track. However if you allow yourself a treat once in a while you will help curb that strong desire (and we all know that desire is very strong).You do need to still be careful with your cheats though. I always still log my cheats to insure that I do not go out of control.

shrimpydoo

Like the other posts, I enjoy the occasional treat also, but I don't reward myself based on weight loss, but rather plan a 'cheat' as best I can. For example, if I find myself really craving an ice cream bar, I'll work it into my week somehow, log it, and more often than not, even earn the extra calories by doing more exercise that day. So far this planning and allowing myself things I enjoy occasionally has not impacted my journey negatively. I think it is important to not deprive oneself of things they really enjoy and crave for as long as it is done sensibly.

chezjuan

As others have said, I really see this as a lifestyle change, so I don't really have "cheat" days or meals. I eat anything I feel like, as long as it fits into my calorie and macro goals. So, if I want a cookie, and it fits, I have a cookie.

I also realize that life happens, and if I end up in a situation where I will go over my calorie goals and/or not meet my macros once in a while, I'll go with the flow and not worry about it. Sometimes I will plan for a big day, like Thanksgiving or my birthday. In that case, I try to stay within my weekly goals by eating lighter or exercising more before and after the event. I also do my best to log everything.

rosemaryhon

Hi All,

What's everyones opinions on treat/cheat days? do they work, don't they work?

Do you guys have them, if so how often?

I really struggle when it comes to the bad stuff, i "miss" it. so I don't know if a cheat day would work? obviously not yet as I am only on day two of my change, but maybe going forward?

I'd love to hear your opinions :-)

xxxx

From what I read, seems many of us prevent struggling with 'bad stuff' but not denying ourselves any food, not considering food 'bad stuff', and simply working anything we desire in to our menus.

I've had pizza, McDonalds, cake, wine ~ all portioned controlled. I don't consider them 'cheat days' though.

If you already miss foods after only a day or two, I'd suggest trying to change your mindset to stop thinking of foods as 'bad stuff'.

Good luck!

catbubbles

That is a great way to think of it. I do tend to have healthy treats everyday. Whether it is a protein bar, or a fruit bar. This helps keep me away from unhealthy treats. However, I do let myself have unhealthy treats on occasion.

IPAkiller

I don't like to plan "cheat days" by a specific date or day of the week. Sometimes *kitten* Happens and/or you miss a workout or you indulge on something that isn't good for you (AKA: have a beer or ten...). Because I don't plan my cheat days, I don't have the guilt of having an "unexpected cheat day" later in the same week. I also don't have the letdown of canceling my "cheat day" because *kitten* Happened earlier in the week either. I just record my damage done and work a little harder over the next day(s) to get myself out of the hole I dug.

iamkass

People are commenting in two different ways.. Some people seem to consider cheat/treat days when you eat treats but still fit into your daily calories. To me, that's not a cheat/treat day. That's just a day but I'm not a clean eater so maybe that's why. To me, cheat/treat days are when you go over your daily allowance. Which, you know.. isn't the end of the world. I never plan them because I don't want to purposefully go over my calories, I am still trying to lose weight after all. I also make sure not to do it more than once a week.. but again, life happens and sometimes I do.

We had a terribly hot and humid weekend and on Sunday night I ate 2 cups of delicious Haagen Dazs Rocky Road ice cream. That's 1240 calories (and most of those calories were above my daily allowance for weightloss). And it was amazing, and I deserved it.

IPAkiller

As for "the bad stuff"… MFP really helped eliminate the desire for the majority of that stuff. I started my journey at 245lbs by first doing research to understand how I became that big to begin with. I found MFP and just started tracking what I normally /sporadically ate throughout the day. Each time I scanned or searched something, the returned results horrified me. I quickly learned the cal counts and nutritional values (or lack of) of everything I normally ate. From there I started weighting whether or not if it was worth eating something. I learned that a lot of the "bad stuff" I craved wasn't even worth the calories or lack of nutrition. There were a lot of thing (not all super healthy) that were so much lower in calories and actually provided a bit more value.

rbclftss

Thanks to everyone that has responded it's been great to hear everyone's comments

I'm not missing any what I call naughty things currently but I know I will fancy things at some point! My boyfriends mum bought me a packet of custard creams yesterday and a treat bag of m&ms but I didn't open either and I felt so good! It just means I get to save them and have them as a reward maybe :-)

nxd10

I eat small portions of things I like every day. I have a 1/4 cup of ice cream or a square of chocolate. I split a milkshake with my husband yesterday.

All within my calories.

I don't understand this 'cheat day' concept. I have days I go over. Saturday I went over by 200 calories. But I had been very under the earlier part of the week and I was hungry. I was still 1000 calories under for the week.

In my experience, if I eat too much I feel bad physically and I also start to crave things like sugar and fat. If I eat a small amount all the time, I enjoy them and don't want more.

Kyrosh

Keep this in mind. Some will say they work all week so they can enjoy their weekend. Well............your weekend is essentially 30% of your progress. How do you just throw that out?

Most of the trainers/nutritionists that I have talked to have all said, rather than having "cheat days", instead make 10-20% of your DAILY calories, "yummy" calories. Is that a muffin? chocolate bar? maybe a frozen yogurt with fruit? The health of that is up to you. But it's easier to spread those out when you need them, then try to take it all in a "cheat day" and then end up spending all week trying to work from behind to burn it off again.

But in the end, it still comes down to calories in/calories out. So if you make those "yummy" calories, still keep them within your allotment, just 10-20 pct of your allotment.

That is exactly what I do! I have a treat day every day, but it's calculated in That why I can eat whatever I want, when I want it I try to eat it in the morning though, so I can still burn it off the rest of the day!