Cheat Days

kayla1991
kayla1991 Posts: 19 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Do you ever do cheat days? I try to do cheat days once a week.

Replies

  • gracepost123
    gracepost123 Posts: 81 Member
    Hmmmm yeah I've been trying to figure out what a good way is to get in a cheat day. I figured for me to keep on track I will have one cheat meal once a week. Not a whole day haha
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,170 Member
    No. I don't think of foods as good or bad. I eat what I like and fit it into my goals.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    I go without logging on certain special occasions, like birthdays, a few days around Christmas, Thanksgiving. Works out to around 12 days I don't log per year.

    I don't consider them "cheat" days, just some special occasions where I let myself eat more than I otherwise would. They certainly aren't regularly scheduled nor even close to once per week. Other than that, I always work what I like into my calories. Sometimes that's a burger and ice cream. Sometimes it's grilled chicken. Nothing is off the table as long as I meet my goals.
  • Bxqtie116
    Bxqtie116 Posts: 552 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    Nope. I fit the foods I want into my calories.

    ^ what they said. I fit those foods into my calories. I still enjoy pizza, burgers, and Chinese food on occasion and I have ice cream almost everyday. We all have favorite foods that we love to eat. The key is eating smaller portions and fitting it into your calorie allowance for the day.

  • Bruja924
    Bruja924 Posts: 51 Member
    Maxematics wrote: »
    Cheat days are a great way to undo your deficit for the week. If your weight loss requires a cheat day once a week, you're doing it wrong and you're most likely setting yourself up for failure. Fit the foods you love into your calorie allotment, like stated above, or bank a few extra calories every day by eating about 100 to 200 calories below your goal five to six days per week, then use the banked calories to splurge on a cheat meal whenever you choose.

    So I can eat Dominos pizza everyday as long as it fits into my daily calorie amount, AND still lose weight??
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,170 Member
    Bruja924 wrote: »
    Maxematics wrote: »
    Cheat days are a great way to undo your deficit for the week. If your weight loss requires a cheat day once a week, you're doing it wrong and you're most likely setting yourself up for failure. Fit the foods you love into your calorie allotment, like stated above, or bank a few extra calories every day by eating about 100 to 200 calories below your goal five to six days per week, then use the banked calories to splurge on a cheat meal whenever you choose.

    So I can eat Dominos pizza everyday as long as it fits into my daily calorie amount, AND still lose weight??

    Yes. If you stay in a deficit you will lose weight.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I have a Dgaf day every 3 or so weeks, but i try not to go over my maintenance calories on those days.
    I have days like these because i cant fit certain foods in the portions i want and still stay in a deficit.
  • xmichaelyx
    xmichaelyx Posts: 883 Member
    My cheat "day" starts Friday night and lasts until Monday morning. I keep my weekday calories very low so that I can eat whatever I want on weekends. Mostly that means beer.
  • amyepdx
    amyepdx Posts: 750 Member

    So I can eat Dominos pizza everyday as long as it fits into my daily calorie amount, AND still lose weight??
    [/quote]
    Technically yes, but I imagine it would be difficult to accurately count the calories every time. Even though there is nutrition info, you can't be sure that each pizza is made exactly the same. An occasional pizza night - absolutely!
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    I have a "controlled" cheat day. I average the week so my daily calorie intake is 1250 calories. My daily amount of calories is set up so that on one day I can eat at near maintenance. I consider that my "cheat day" since I have almost 400 more calories I can eat that day over the other days.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    Bruja924 wrote: »
    Maxematics wrote: »
    Cheat days are a great way to undo your deficit for the week. If your weight loss requires a cheat day once a week, you're doing it wrong and you're most likely setting yourself up for failure. Fit the foods you love into your calorie allotment, like stated above, or bank a few extra calories every day by eating about 100 to 200 calories below your goal five to six days per week, then use the banked calories to splurge on a cheat meal whenever you choose.

    So I can eat Dominos pizza everyday as long as it fits into my daily calorie amount, AND still lose weight??

    Yup.

    I mean, you would get pretty sick of it after a while, and it's not a very nutritionally balanced diet - but you could do that and still lose weight.
  • manicmuse1
    manicmuse1 Posts: 17 Member
    I am really torn on them. I was having a cheat meal once a week. However, going keto Paleo and now having a month stall out because I slipped, I don't think cheat meals are in my future. It's so hard for me to get in the zone of not craving unhealthy foods and hitting ketosis that even those little indulgent meal here or there quickly throws me off. It sometimes even leaves me in bed the following day feeling physically ill.

    Keep in mind we are talking about a single doughnut not like a box of them. I think because my autoimmune plays into what I need to eat... Cheat meals are going to have to be redefined in my book as healthy twists of things that slightly resemble their unhealthy counter parts.
  • healthy491
    healthy491 Posts: 384 Member
    I think it depends. When I gain and I'm trying to lose weight , my only focus is to lose weight quickly so I avoid cheat days. However, if I am maintaining , i just save some calories during the week and eat whatever I want on weekends :)
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    I dislike the emotional connotations inherent in the phrase "cheat"

    You're not cheating anything you're just eating

    Personally I have a calorie budget, that I deal with on a rolling 7 day basis...if I have the calories I will use them, if I don't I won't...if I choose to use them on ice cream, pizza or wine that's fair enough ...that's not a cheat that's just using my calories as I see fit

    I have a wide nutritious diet, and hit a minimum protein level daily ...the rest is just what do I wanna eat, how much can I have with my calorie budget ..omnomnom
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Couple of slices of pizza with a huge salad is under 500 calories

    500 calories is a meal for losing weight IMO
  • fatgiraffe2
    fatgiraffe2 Posts: 73 Member
    I don't have a cheat day so to speak, but if me and my OH decide that we want to go out for a meal and I don't want to pick the healthy option or if we just want pizza and beer, then I have it and try to keep within my calorie allowance for the rest of the week. This has seemed to work for me, we usually end up having a day like this once a fortnight but I don't plan it.
  • nickisa28
    nickisa28 Posts: 116 Member
    edited August 2016
    My 'cheat day' is normally on a Sunday. I'll eat at maintenance so I don't overdo it. This normally means I get to eat out with my family on that day and as its our 'family day' I'm either running around after the kids or our plans involve something quite active. For example last Sunday, I had a lie in so skipped breakfast, had a light lunch at home then we went to the park and museum, walking for more than 5 miles. I got to have Pizza Hut that day and some popcorn at the cinema later :) I also did my workout when we got home. Sometimes, one other day a week, I may have a cheat meal like a pub lunch with my mum but it will fit in to my calorie goal for the day. Can you tell I love eating out? ;)
  • caradack1985
    caradack1985 Posts: 254 Member
    No I don't, I might move calories around between days so I can eat more than normal on a certain occasion. But generally I keep within my deficit allowance and ensure I include the foods I enjoy within that so I don't get the urge to "cheat" ultimately I'd only be cheating myself.
  • cgvet37
    cgvet37 Posts: 1,189 Member
    When I was eating in a deficit, I had one meal a week where I ate what I wanted. I would be very strict during the week, and therefore stayed in a deficit. Cheat meals will derail you if you are not careful. As if you eat the weeks deficit back in that one meal, it's easy to do. Then you undid your deficit for the week.
  • kprimaverab
    kprimaverab Posts: 32 Member
    I try and keep a plant and meat based diet throughout the week. Saturday or sunday me and my boyfriend will have a desert or cheat MEAL. I don't think I have the ability to not over-do it if it was a whole DAY! Haha
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
    Christine_72 wrote: »
    I have a Dgaf day every 3 or so weeks, but i try not to go over my maintenance calories on those days.
    I have days like these because i cant fit certain foods in the portions i want and still stay in a deficit.

    This sounds like me. Once a week would be a disaster for me. I just have a random pig-out day once in a while (chicken parm or general tso's chicken, please!) every now and then

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