Cheat day..yes or no?

DisruptedMatrix

so yeah first week on the diet this go round and i have to change my answer. i just excersized and burned extra calories, and then i enjoyed personal pan pizzas and quarter pounders. i lost 9lbs.

jenkofb

No cheat meals early in the game. It's too easy to fall off for me. Diet has to become a habit first. Then momentum needs to take over. Cheat meals are best for me when I hit a plateau. That little calorie boost can get my metabolism going again.

VeryKatie

I like the idea of them for special occasions only (in terms of actually allowing yourself to over eat). Think Christmas, Easter and my birthday. Not other people's birthdays, not Thanksgiving or other national holidays. It's a pick your favourite holidays kind of deal to me. And no more than one every 2 months. Otherwise all your efforts can go down the drain, especially when you're close to goal.

JeromeBarry1

Whom do you wish to cheat? That's my question. Why would you want to do that? That's my other question. My questions don't address your food intake, rather, your motives.

Christiee1993x

I believe a cheat meal once a week should suffice but if you are still losing weight you should log it. Maybe once a month a cheat day, but still, if you are not at goal log it.

Collieluv

I can't do any cheating. I'm an all or nothing person, no such thing as a little bit for me. I fall right off the wagon, so to speak.

777Gemma888

Starting out , a cheat day worked for me. Planned on eating whatever I fancied all week long. My cheat day would roll by, oftentimes, I chose to stick to my normal. I believe just thinking about it and being able to break from what seemed restrictive, as in to have an opt out day was liberating enough.

ETA: Eating lamb all day was my thing. Lamb sausages with eggs for breakfast, lamb gyro for lunch and rack of lamb with mint sauce for dinner.

amandapleighse92

No cheat days are bad ideas!

brianacaldera3

Look up paleo dessert recipes! I am constantly baking those treats (and/or eating dark chocolate) and i don't feel so bad eating it because it's all natural and nothing processed. And they're delicious and i personally try to have a little treat a few times a week because if i deprive myself all week, i will binge hard on that "cheat day"

littlebritttfit

i try to stay away from cheat DAYS and instead maybe have a cheat MEAL or a cheat TREAT.

SingRunTing

I don't do cheat days. I don't like the term.

Day to day, I follow the 80/20 rule and usually leave 200-300 calories after dinner for a snack of my choosing. Most of the time it's ice cream, but sometimes its chip/dip, a piece of cake, or even an apple & peanut butter. It all depends on what I'm feeling that day.

I follow IIFYM, so I'll have pizza or french fries sometimes, but it's not cheating. I work the rest of my day around it. Every once in a while, I'll have a day where I throw macros out the window, but I'll still stick to my calories. Still not cheating.

I do have planned "no counting" days where I eat whatever I want and don't pay any attention to them. I don't consider this cheating because its part of the plan. They are decided in advance and for a reason. They are generally major holidays, special events (birthday, anniversary), or vacation. For example, on Thanksgiving, I don't track. Or we're going on a trip to NYC in December and I'll eat all the foods.

Having times like that are necessary and part of living your life. I can't imagine anything sadder than worrying about calories during Christmas or not indulging in the local cuisine when traveling. It's part of what makes this a life long commitment instead of a diet. It's what has let me do this for 3 years without quitting. For me, these days need to be few and determined ahead of time or else I can decide that every day is a special day. I try to limit them to ~10 days a year (fluctuates due to vacation sometimes). I can't completely undo my progress in 10 days a year.

Richie2shoes

I used to be an advocate of cheat days, but find they don't work for me anymore. Instead, I acknowledge that there will be meals/occasions that I'm going to go over like holidays or parties but if I'm on track the rest of the time a bad meal here and there won't hurt anything. I also use a 3-day rule for cravings. If I want something that I normally wouldn't eat, like donuts, then I wait 3 days. If I'm still craving donuts at that point I get a couple and try and work around it.

jonni82014

Cheat meal, cheat day = Cheater. I don't want to be labeled a Cheat or a Cheater. I incorporate Unplanned foods into a meal ie taco (UNplanned food) and salad (planned food)

MarkR_2013

Not unless I've got some seriously ingrained good habits. Otherwise, I will undo several days progress.

mdavis440

I feel way too guilty. So now I just incorporate something I really want ( chips, fries, cupcake) into my count and if I don't have enough calories to justify it I choose a better option. I'm too scared I'll get back into bad habits like binge eating

Asher_Ethan

I personally need a, "meal with unlimited calories" about once every other month for my sanity.

RoxieDawn

Cheat day... NO .. Actually the word cheating implies breaking a rule or law.. This implies that bad feelings, shame and guilt go with that...

I do an indulgent meal (not a day) that's planned out and usually in advance. No cheating or bad feelings.. Win Win.

Wiggymommy

I did some research on this. Check out leptin levels and the need for maybe like a cheat meal just to refuel leptin levels. I'm on a 1200 calorie diet and I cheat about 1 time a week and still losing 2.4 pounds a week on average. No exercise either due to a recent sprain

Gallowmere1984

Wiggymommy wrote: »

I did some research on this. Check out leptin levels and the need for maybe like a cheat meal just to refuel leptin levels. I'm on a 1200 calorie diet and I cheat about 1 time a week and still losing 2.4 pounds a week on average. No exercise either due to a recent sprain

It's definitely a thing, and why I take two week diet breaks at maintenance when I am on a hard cut. That being said, it may not be needed for people who are eating a reasonable deficit. I don't do reasonable though, and would prefer to avoid tanking my hormones any worse than I already do.

kristikitter

To paraphrase Ghostbusters... there is no cheat day, only fooooood* (that you enjoy and count in).

*for me, anyway.

_SalmonSultan_

I like to go out to dinner with my boyfriend once a week (when I've been able to stay on track for the rest of the week). It let's me have something I've been craving, and I get to spend time with the person I love. I do tend to go above my calorie limit on these days, but try to make sure the day doesn't exceed 1,500-2,000

mcw1313

Personally, I don't think I would have made it as far as I have (I'm down 51lbs in 4.5 months) without knowing that i was going to be able to have a cheat meal once a week. My DH and I go on a date every friday night and every friday night, I order what I want. Now, I don't order like an appetizer, entree, dessert and soda. I might order a burger and fries instead of a salad, but I DO order that burger and fries. After a while on the diet, I no longer can finish the whole portion, so I figure I can't be doing myself that much harm. Mentally, I need to know that I can have a one off meal every once and a while and it's not the end of the world. It's too all or nothing the other way and I think that would lead me to give up if I ever slipped up. YMMV!

Grathiael

Yes.

Julia_yulia

I don't do cheat days (since I just fit the treats I want into my daily goals), but I've found it easier to lose if I stick to my diet unless I'm at an event or on holiday, which I still try not to overeat on.

hansonmedical2

Yes! If you don't have a cheat day every once in a while you'll get burnt out.

fallingwave

For me -- No. If I have a treat day it leads to cravings and I fall off the wagon. A small cheat meal or snack, MAYBE -- but personally if I eat something I shouldn't it really messes up my progress.

Geocitiesuser

No cheat days. No cheat meals. Just moderation and sane eating habits.

CSARdiver

How do you define cheat days? Are these out of control binges? Then no.

Equating weight to finance and your plan is to get out of debt - if you are paying $100/week towards a credit card debt would you have a cheat day and splurge $1000 on Amazon and add more debt?

Don't think of it as a diet - think in terms of budgets and don't take on more than your body and habits can handle. I know I'm going to want a beer tonight, so I budget accordingly. Either I'm going to have less of another food item or add an equivalent amount of exercise to counter the additional calories.

jaxxie

CICO. Start there. I haven't read all the responses. I'm an avid iifym, but that's not for everyone. Log honestly is the best info.

JstTheWayIam

You can get away with a weekly cheat "meal" and still lose for a while but eventually you will get stuck.

No cheat days... Think cheat treat, once a week... Imho