Do you?

lperry1725
lperry1725 Posts: 26 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Do you log your cheat days on MFP? I know days that I eat not so great stuff or eat out more than I intended to? Do you still log your cheat days when you just know they go above your calorie goal?

Replies

  • MTDDS18
    MTDDS18 Posts: 62 Member
    I do to the best of my ability. A lot of my high calorie eating days are when I'm with my friends or family and eat potluck style, so it's impossible to know the exact ingredients in the dishes or exactly how much I ate.

    I estimate and move on
  • Tabbycat00
    Tabbycat00 Posts: 146 Member
    Yes. It helps me to figure out how I can make up for it throughout the rest of the week.
  • KorvapuustiPossu
    KorvapuustiPossu Posts: 434 Member
    The point of logging is to stay accountable and keep track of your eating habits. What is the point of not logging it? The diary is for you and being honest is the only way to go. Not logging it doesn't change the fact that you ate it. And with time it will give you a better insight into you weight loss-maintaining-gaining weight. I log everything, good and bad.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    I think it's a good idea to log it for most people. It's quite possible for a cheat day to wipe out the deficit created the other 6 days of the week, and so seeing the magnitude of the cheat day may help if you come to a point that you're not making progress you expect.

    Now there could be reasons not to log it -- I've had clients use methods where they just don't log every so often but that's not for purposes of cheating/overeating as much as it's for getting them to step away from the habit of logging. That's largely an individual thing though.
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
    Yeah, even if you don't log it, your body will so you may as well know what to expect...I also like being able to go back over the diary to figure out what's happening on the scale...though that usually ends up at sodium intake.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    I log everything and when I can't remember every bit, I do a quick add of 500 or 1000 (or whatever) depending on what it was and add an entry in notes as to what I ate so I have a record
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    My body logs everything so why wouldn't I?

    This is a great answer.

    When I first started, my cheat days or treat meals would completely wipe out my entire weeks deficit.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,050 Member
    Not logging a cheat meal if your commitment to weight loss is important, would be obtuse IMO. Just cause you didn't log it, doesn't mean it didn't happen.
    Part of weight loss/gain/maintenance is owning up to how you do it. Whether good or bad.

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  • dutchandkiwi
    dutchandkiwi Posts: 1,389 Member
    edited July 2016
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    My body logs everything so why wouldn't I?
    Exactly! Not logging, for me personally,, would be akin to lying to myself. Why would I want to do that?

  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    Yes. If I don't log it, I don't know the damage I did. Unlogged cheat days can result in you not only over calorie goal, but so far over that you undo the deficit you had built up the rest of the week. This can result in you maintaining instead of losing.

    Log everyday. Log everything you eat/drink even if it's over your calorie budget. Your body will know, so why wouldn't you want to know. Being as accurate and consistent as possible will get you the best results.

    If you have a 500 calorie deficit:

    Your good for 6 days and then eat 500 over on day 7. You will lose 0.857xxx lbs this week instead of 1 lb.
    Your good for 6 days and then eat 1000 over on day 7. You will lose 0.714xxx lbs this week instead of 1 lb.
    Your good for 6 days and then eat 1500 over on day 7. You will lose 0.571xxx lbs this week instead of 1 lb.
    Your good for 6 days and then eat 2000 over on day 7. You will lose 0.428xxx lbs this week instead of 1 lb.
    Your good for 6 days and then eat 2500 over on day 7. You will lose 0.285xxx lbs this week instead of 1 lb.
    Your good for 6 days and then eat 3000 over on day 7. You will lose 0.142xxx lbs or maintain this week instead of 1 lb.
    Your good for 6 days and then eat 3500 over on day 7. You will maintain this week instead of losing 1 lb.
    And so on...

    If you don't log on that day you decide to overeat, then you don't know if you are still okay for weight loss or if you just ate the deficit you had built up all week. Log, Log, Log.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    Yes.
  • dhimaan
    dhimaan Posts: 774 Member
    Yes.
  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
    If possible, I log daily.
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    I try to log everything and calculate my weekly deficit. I don't care if I'm over or under one day as long as my total numbers at the end of the week are good.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    when I logged, I logged everything regardless...it's kind of the point.
  • Wolfena
    Wolfena Posts: 1,570 Member
    Yep - lets you see the trend of weight loss or lack of it (or gain) and sometimes it's an eye opener because even though you think you are cheating you are not doing near as bad as you think!
  • Colt1835
    Colt1835 Posts: 447 Member
    I don't call 'em cheat days, but some days I won't log if I don't feel like it. I'm not married to logging. It's not my life, it's just a tool I use. I'm not the type to get obsessive about things.
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
    I don't have cheat days, if I did, I would log them.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    edited July 2016
    If you're cheating on your diet, you're not on a diet :D

    Don't be a cheater. Don't go on a diet. Make a lifestyle change (and I don't mean going on the "lifestyle change diet" that's so popular these days).
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I log everything. That way I know how much I have to make up for the rest of the week.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    I don't have cheat days but I have days where I have crazy intakes. Yessss
  • dlkfox
    dlkfox Posts: 463 Member
    Live it and log it. I log everything so I have the data. I especially use weekly averages.
  • STEVE142142
    STEVE142142 Posts: 867 Member
    kommodevaran wrote: »
    If you're cheating on your diet, you're not on a diet :D

    Don't be a cheater. Don't go on a diet. Make a lifestyle change (and I don't mean going on the "lifestyle change diet" that's so popular these days).

    This is the key to success. It's a lifestyle change
  • RainaProske
    RainaProske Posts: 636 Member
    "Do you log your cheat days on MFP?" I don't cheat, but I make mistakes, and I log everything.
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