A cheat day? Or meal?
CarolF11
Posts: 67 Member
I would guess a cheat meal would definitely be better but I would like a whole day. Thoughts?
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Replies
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Sure, you can do whatever you want.
Just be aware that if you do this too often it can wipe out your calorie deficit for the rest of the week.
As a one off or an occasional thing, I don't see any problem with eating over your calorie goal.5 -
I will eat over my calorie goal sometimes but I always log it. I don’t consider living my life cheating. And because I have the data, I can easily see if my weekly average is on track. Live it and log it.8
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If I want to spend extra calories in one day I either bank calories from the week or do a serious workout that burns a lot of calories first. I'm not interested in blowing my calorie deficit for the week by eating over my weekly calorie goal. There are exceptions though.2
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A big cheat meal can ruin your weekly deficit if you eat "enough". I would advise, 1 planned meal where you eat to maintenance or just above.3
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Given the willpower and the choice, I'd choose a cheat meal over a cheat day...less damage done. That said, when I was on vacation last week I had several "cheat days".1
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lulalacroix wrote: »If I want to spend extra calories in one day I either bank calories from the week or do a serious workout that burns a lot of calories first. I'm not interested in blowing my calorie deficit for the week by eating over my weekly calorie goal. There are exceptions though.
Great idea! I usually don't workout so that could be a day I do. Thanks!0 -
I take a whole cheat day a week. It helps keep me sane knowing that I can enjoy some of the high calorie treats I want to. It is also a great day to pre-schedule if you have an event or party that you want to enjoy.
However... I don't go absolutely crazy that day either. I am still conscious of how much I am eating. I don't log on that day, but try and keep it reasonable. You don't want to throw away an entire week of being good by consuming thousands of calories.
I usually schedule them in advance for the week. However, if I go off track for a day before that I count that as my free day and skip the scheduled one.
P.S. I've lost a total of 170 pounds from my high weight. (365 - 195)7 -
Cheat days
The most horrific waste of 6 months of my life.6 -
3500 over your bmr will gain you a pound. Most of the time that would be near 5000 calories. Would u be able to eat that much?1
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I still don't understand what cheat days are all about. I have been waaaay over my calories the last couple of days, but I wouldn't class it as a cheat. I still log and it's a conscious decision, that I'm going to eat more on a particular day at the expense of losing weight at the rate I had planned to. When I am keeping to my planned deficit, there aren't any foods or drinks that I deny myself, as long as they fit.
If you don't keep track of the numbers how do you know whether you've sabotaged the rest of the week?3 -
Whatever works best for you. As long as you don't blow your deficit on that one meal or day.1
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I go over a lot, on a lot of days, but I log everything. I don't hide the reality from myself. If you need to pig out, then do it, no matter how much you eat. It's okay. But log every bite and pay attention to what you're doing. It feels weird to say, "I'm choosing to eat all the chips in this bag," but it keeps you honest. As long as you log, you can't fool yourself and then post two weeks from now wondering why you gained three pounds--was it my cheat day? For me, there are no cheat days. There's just overeating. I'm always going to overeat, I just don't do it every day anymore.9
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Cheating yourself is when you don't log. If you don't log, you don't know and you can't learn.
I'm having a difficult week with long work and time-shifted meals making havoc of my appetite. I'm still logging.5 -
godlikepoetyes wrote: »I go over a lot, on a lot of days, but I log everything. I don't hide the reality from myself. If you need to pig out, then do it, no matter how much you eat. It's okay. But log every bite and pay attention to what you're doing. It feels weird to say, "I'm choosing to eat all the chips in this bag," but it keeps you honest. As long as you log, you can't fool yourself and then post two weeks from now wondering why you gained three pounds--was it my cheat day? For me, there are no cheat days. There's just overeating. I'm always going to overeat, I just don't do it every day anymore.
I agree with this 100%, OP. There are days when I choose to go over, but I log everything. That way if I do gain weight, I will be able to understand what happened. It's hard to adjust when you don't have data.
Also, over time I have noticed that when I log the calories for certain items, I just don't want them as much as I used to. When I know how many calories are in some things, they just don't seem worth it. It isn't every high calorie item (some are still worth it), but it's happened to quite a few things. So my days where I go over calories do look different than they would have before I began counting calories.4 -
Hell, take a whole week!1
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I honestly fail to see the difference. If I have one cheat meal (which *I* call cheat meal, which means basically a 2500 calorie meal or more), I'm too full to eat anything else the rest of the day anyway (usually).
But of course it's not cheating as I make up for it by eating less the rest of the week.1 -
Cheat meals and days don't make me happy in the long run and they get in the way of my progress. That being said, I plan for days where I'll eat more than usual, like Monday for instance. I plan to eat more calories than usual. But I still plan to log them. Seeing that spike of intake on my charts reminds me why I'm not losing for the next two weeks...3
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The more you cheat, the slower you'll lose. It's totally your choice.5
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A cheat day? Or meal?
Personally, I've taken a cheat day once a week, going on 9 months now. My progress will have been slower than if I hadn't, of course, but I don't regret a single one of those days.
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Why do you need to cheat?1
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I live the "if it fits in your macros" lifestyle, and have for 4 years. I've lost and kept off 110lbs by not restricting foods that I love (I'm dieting for a bodybuilding show right now and I eat frozen yogurt and pie filling pretty much every day).
I don't feel the necessity for a "cheat meal" as a result, because I eat what I want, anytime..! More often than not, I could easily pack away three times more than I take, I choose not to because the self-control I've developed helps feed my self-confidence and personal goals ..
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catstratch wrote: »Why do you need to cheat?
Because I also love to eat sweets and fast food but I know it isn't good for me if I have it more than once a week since I'm trying to loose weight.0 -
Cheat Meals, or days help a lot of people stay on track for their goal. Just remember whatever works for you is what is best. Nothing else tops factual information from your own experience. Not everyone is the same.1
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Because I also love to eat sweets and fast food but I know it isn't good for me if I have it more than once a week since I'm trying to loose weight.
You can eat sweets and fast food if you want and still hit your calorie goal. You can also "cheat" but you're not really cheating, you're just deciding to take longer to hit your goal weight.
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catstratch wrote: »Why do you need to cheat?
Because I also love to eat sweets and fast food but I know it isn't good for me if I have it more than once a week since I'm trying to loose weight.
I lovelovelove fast food and dining out. And I log it all. Because that way, I know what my numbers are and what to expect on the scale. I will always love those high calorie foods and I have to find a way to make it work now so I can make it work when I get to maintenance.3 -
I find a way to make it fit at least under maintenance at the very least. I feel like "cheating" seems like you're adding it 'on top of' and that's a risky habit to get into...if you reach maintenance and you continue to eat extra 'on top of' you're going to end up right back where you started on this slippery slope.1
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I'm going with a cheat treat once a week or so. Like a major treat...Starbucks frappe, birthday cake, slice of cheese cake. Something I really like but know I would splurge on too often if I allowed it1
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Susieq_1994 wrote: »
If that's possible, can those who don't care to eat everyday not eat for several days after? That would be quite convenient.0 -
Cheat Meals, or days help a lot of people stay on track for their goal. Just remember whatever works for you is what is best. Nothing else tops factual information from your own experience. Not everyone is the same.
I eat sweets everyday. I have a lovely chocolate drawer at work.
It won't hinder your weight loss if you include them in your calorie goal. You could eat your whole goal in chocolate if you wanted and still lose weight. I wouldn't recommended it though for nutrition reasons
Deficit is king for weight loss. What you eat to achieve it, not so much.2
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