Cheat meals

AveyHam

How often do you have them? And how many calories do you go over your base?

caradack1985

Never and none, I usually bank calories in advance.

JaxxieKat

I try not to have cheat meals. I try and plan ahead of time and either save enough calories or make sure I hit the gym that same day. I usually will only have one indulgent meal per month, but all calories are account for accordingly.

cerise_noir

I don't.

I make room for the food that I like if I want it, or bank calories.....or even eat at maintenance.

anlymc13

A cheat day is just a gateway into your old lifestyle. That is, assuming you want to change your ways and create a new way of thinking and living (not just looking for a quick fix).

Alienique

Rarely, but when I do, I go about 2000 calories over my norm. I don't feel guilty about it, cause it's a rare occurrence, and when it does happen, I just drink loads of water and eat nothing but fruits and veggies the following day.
From what I've read here, lots of people are strongly against cheat meals/days and you'll hear stuff like, "one cheat day can negate weeks' worth of dieting", but honestly, I've never found that to be the case. Just like 1 or 2 days of eating nothing aren't going to make you any thinner, 1 or 2 cheat days per month or 1 cheat meal per week is not going to set you back any (physically, it isn't possible unless you eat like a kilogram's worth of food in a single day). The danger with 'cheating' is with what it does to your psyche and the opener it provides for falling off the diet wagon.

LUHAN27

1 day a week, I never log in my food amount that day lol so I'm not sure how many calories I go over.

LUHAN27

anlymc13 wrote: »

A cheat day is just a gateway into your old lifestyle. That is, assuming you want to change your ways and create a new way of thinking and living (not just looking for a quick fix).

That's an interesting perspective on cheat days. Never thought of it that way.

Return2Fit

AveyHam wrote: »

How often do you have them? And how many calories do you go over your base?

I have a cheat meal a few times per week. I can't really explain why they don't affect me too much. My doctor tried to explain it, and all I heard was blah blah resets metabolism blah blah energy balance blah blah re-feed days are good...blah blah psychologically helpful...
Whatever...
My free days were about 2000 calories over budget, and my cheat meals today put me about 1000 calories over.
I lost 110 pounds with a weekly free day, and in weight maintenance I allow myself a few cheat meals every week with no ill effect. I never even tried to log them, and today, though I no longer log my foods, I eat intuitively and just know when to eat well, and when to pull back.
Practice makes perfect...or close enough to perfect.
Maybe this perspective can help you...
GOOD LUCK!

MissusMoon

I don't.

kwtilbury

I save cheat days for holidays and special events. On some of my biggest cheat days I've doubled maintenance calories (2,500-2,800 cal/day). The magnitude depends on how I'm doing relative to my goal at the time (cut/bulk/maintenance).

BridgetHarrington

I don't. If I plan on going out to dinner or will be in a situation where I will want to eat things that are available but not good for me, I bank calories and fit in extra exercise to compensate.

melodyesch

I think I have finally wrapped my head around cheat meals after umpteen years. What would happen is I would go out on Friday night and have a meal that I didn't plan for. Then, I would say that since I've blown it, I'll just get back to my diet on Monday. And so on and so on. And sometimes Monday would be the NEXT Monday.

Now, I plan ahead for what I'm going to eat and bank the calories to account for it. OR, if something comes up like last Friday where I misunderstood the special that I ordered and ended up with something WAY not healthy, I ate a reasonable portion (and it was GOOD), guesstimated the calories as best I could and then kept right on with my plan. I ate less the next few days to make up for the overage and still lost weight at the end of the week.

I think everyone has varying opinions on "cheat" meals, but you have to find what works for you. I plan when I possibly can but if something unexpected happens, I don't let it derail me for days.

Christine_72

Probably every couple of weeks or so, usually on a Saturday or Sunday. I park myself on the couch and watch all the shows I've recorded in the past 2 weeks, while i eat a couple bowl of cheerios and whatever else takes my fancy. However i must have hit at least 12,000 steps before i start.
I usually eat up to my maintenance calories, sometimes but not often, i go over by a bit.