How do cheat days work?

Fatvaporizer
Fatvaporizer Posts: 139 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So we struggle to not eat anything we want for 6 days a week. We try to resist those cravings. We try to avoid those delicious looking high-calorie desserts. But should we be allowed to eat anything we want on those cheat days, considering it's just once a week? So for example, I am on a diet Monday to Saturday, then Sunday, I can eat cake, ice cream, pizza, anything I want, until I'm full and satisfied, right?

Replies

  • dmspurli
    dmspurli Posts: 12 Member
    It depends on the person. Many people cannot do what you mentioned and then return to "perfect" eating the next day. Personally, I allow myself a small cheat item during one meal a week. For example: tonight I had Diet Coke with my dinner. Last week I ate a small bag of ruffles chips.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Maybe, maybe not. For some, they can easily undo their weekly deficit with a cheat day.

    I prefer to work cake, pizza, and ice cream into my calories and macros. I have pizza almost every Friday, ice cream a couple times a week, and cake for special occasions IF it fits (I passed a slice up last week because it didn't).
  • DeviatedNorm
    DeviatedNorm Posts: 422 Member
    I keep it to a cheat meal. A cheat day can easily blow your calorie limit by 1000-2000 (or more!) calories. A cheat meal? Not so much.

    I also notice that the more I eat like crap the more I want to eat like crap. An entire day of cheat eating would likely leave me craving fatty and sugary foods the next day.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    I do a controlled cheat day. I eat at maintenance 1 day and 1 day I eat pretty low to offset it.

  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    You can't cheat on food. It's food. I eat what I want within my calorie goals, log it and move on.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,282 Member
    Fatvaporizer wrote: »
    So we struggle to not eat anything we want for 6 days a week. We try to resist those cravings. We try to avoid those delicious looking high-calorie desserts. But should we be allowed to eat anything we want on those cheat days, considering it's just once a week? So for example, I am on a diet Monday to Saturday, then Sunday, I can eat cake, ice cream, pizza, anything I want, until I'm full and satisfied, right?

    Not sure who is included in the "we ' of your post who try to avoid delicious desserts etc.

    I personally do not try to avoid delicious desserts - I dont eat them every day but I dont deny myself them either - as long as they fit within my calorie budget.

    I dont do cheat meals or cheat days - however I do view my calories as a weekly thing and some days I eat more, some days less than my daily amount - but I aim to have weekly total under goal.

    I recognise that this cheat meal or day idea does work for some people - nothing wrong with that, we all have our own strategies.

    But if you are eating totally whatever you want in whatever quantity you want on one day, you could easily blow your weekly deficit.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    edited October 2016
    The concept of "cheat" days/meals has become more and more popular on these forums recently and is, for many, not required and possibly harmful to their attempts to lose weight.

    I think that the idea of cheat meals has come from the bodybuilding/fitness competitor world (where there is some - but not as much as some would have you believe) evidence of benefits. IMHO is that for most, they are a bad thing. If you're overweight or obese they are not required (although there will be people who have used them with success) and may derail your loss for the week.

    For competitors approaching stage body fat levels (at least sub 10% BF for men), cheat meals are employed to either:
    • Give the dieter a mental break from the monotony of diet food
    • Restore leptin levels*
    • Replenish glycogen to give muscles a fuller appearance**
    • Replenish gylcogen to give a boost to subsequent work outs (or recover better from earlier work-outs)

    *it's worth noting that the current understanding is that you need longer than 1 meal, or even 1 day to restore leptin levels. I seem to recall reading that it is in the region of 3 to 4 days.
    ** This would only be employed very, very close to stage time and is likely to be much more controlled than "go out and eat pizza".

    TL:DNR if you're fat - forget cheat meals or at least plan the meal and track it to ensure you meet your weekly target.
  • MarlowJo13
    MarlowJo13 Posts: 43 Member
    My cheat day is one meal or two small snacks that are "bad". Generally this means a small can of pringles and some candy (those are my weakness!)
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    edited October 2016
    MarlowJo13 wrote: »
    My cheat day is one meal or two small snacks that are "bad". Generally this means a small can of pringles and some candy (those are my weakness!)

    So you classify some foods as "bad" and then allow yourself to eat them, but classify that as "cheating"?
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    Jakep2323 wrote: »
    StealthHealth wrote: »
    MarlowJo13 wrote: »
    My cheat day is one meal or two small snacks that are "bad". Generally this means a small can of pringles and some candy (those are my weakness!)

    So you classify some foods as "bad" and then allow yourself to eat them, but classify that as "cheating"?

    Please don't start with the 'demonising food' lines. The thread is not about that. Cheat meals are more a mental approach to dieting that work for some people but not others. I'm sure if you had Dave and Tom losing weight together and Dave ate "low calorie" foods and had a cheat day and the Tom ate what he wanted whilst staying under his calorie allowance then they would both lose weight - maybe one quicker than the other but speed isn't important to me

    Thanks for attempting to be the thread police but my comment was specifically about cheat meals - @MarlowJo13 only needs to classify her "cheat" as such because she has previously classified pringles and candy as "bad". Her interpretation of "cheat" is inexorably linked to her classification of "bad".

    In your example Dave is only cheating because he has a previous construct of eating low calorie foods. Dave and Tom could be eating identical diets but Tom does not consider that he has a cheat day/meal.

    So how is my comment not about cheat meals?
  • MiniMansell1964
    MiniMansell1964 Posts: 188 Member
    Your not a puppy or a 4 yr old

    Just show some will power
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    Jakep2323 wrote: »
    I agree with the girls above that do a cheat meal etc. I generally have a meal and few beers. The beers help to blow off steam. It isn't for everybody - some people prefer balance throughout and some prefer to be strict and them have a blowout. For me the guilt helps to motivate me and the beers helps release. Works for the Rock as well

    Women.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    I'm on about a 3 week cheat meal... Lol. I've been famished lately. It's okay. I'll just call it a mini bulk.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    edited October 2016
    DeviatedNorm wrote: »
    I keep it to a cheat meal. A cheat day can easily blow your calorie limit by 1000-2000 (or more!) calories. A cheat meal? Not so much.

    I also notice that the more I eat like crap the more I want to eat like crap. An entire day of cheat eating would likely leave me craving fatty and sugary foods the next day.

    Lol if I order what I want even one meal can be 2000 calories EASILY (considering that dessert alone is often close to 1000 calories in restaurants). So in the end, cheat meal, cheat day... same deal.

    And yeah, it will most likely wipe out my deficit... which is fine because I'm maintaining. But you got to eat less the rest of the week if you're planning on going 2000 calories over on the week end.
  • cross2bear
    cross2bear Posts: 1,106 Member
    I dont get the rationale behind a cheat anything. If this is truly a lifestyle change (and it is for me), then I cant live one way during the week and another way on the weekend - its like being a vegetarian but eating bacon on sunday!

    I dont restrict anything - I find a way to fit it into my calorie allotment - beers, cake, sweets - anything. Cuz I really CAN eat this way for the rest of my life, and cannot live with trying to balance good days and cheat days - thats how I got fat.
  • OhMsDiva
    OhMsDiva Posts: 1,073 Member
    I dont have a cheat day, but on Friday I will have something that I have a craving for such a specific meal or food. It is usually nothing crazy but I still count it in my daily food. But as someone mentioned, I have foods throughout the week that might be considered cheat foods as long as it fits in my target for the day.
  • littlechiaseed
    littlechiaseed Posts: 489 Member
    You don't have to avoid foods you like to lose weight, just watch your portions and make sure they are included in your calories for the day. Like pizza. I LOVE pizza, so not eating it is out of the question so when I make sure it fits in my alotted calories for the day which could be take out pizza even, just not eating as much as I would if I wasn't trying to lose weight.
  • futureicon
    futureicon Posts: 348 Member
    Yup, I eat nachos almost every day.. one serving, which equals 7 chips with a pinch of melted cheese and some salsa. It makes them like a delicacy. Ha. I don't do cheat days but I eat whatever tf I want.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    That's just it, they don't really work. One cheat day or cheat meal can easily undo all your hard work for the entire week. It's just not worth it. Eat what you love every day, just stay within your calorie goals and you don't need cheat meals or days.
  • Sarahb29
    Sarahb29 Posts: 952 Member
    If I am under my calorie goal or exercised more I have a treat meal once a week. Today is my treat meal day, wing night! I'm fasting all day until dinner.

    If you have a whole "cheat day" you might consume all your banked calories over the whole week in one day. At least I know I would..
  • NanCaudill
    NanCaudill Posts: 18 Member
    I'm so new to all this, i cant fathom a cheat meal. I did however go to brunch at O'Charley's sunday morning with family. I tried to just "keep it reasonable" and made up for it during the rest of the day.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    I eat whatever I want for the most part. That has nothing to do with what a cheat meal or day, or hell, month is to me. I'm talking blowing my calorie goal not cause I feel deprived, but because I just feel like eating as much as I want of whatever I want. It is more for sanity purposes than anything else.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    Since this question comes up quite often here, I figure I will just copy one of my responses from a Cheat Day/Meal Thread earlier this week since it seems relevant... there are a number of different ways of looking at this. Most people here work some indulgences into their overall diet (noun). Whether they do that in the form of an infrequent "cheat" day/meal or whether they work in the indulgences on a more regular basis - most people do not strictly adhere to a life with no "treats".

    Beyond the impact of a cheat day/meal on your total calorie consumption, there can be a psychological impact to the concept as well. Some people find that calling things "cheat" meals implies that they are being "bad" and this creates negative thoughts around food (something that many people here struggle with to begin with). Some people find that having those free for all meals/days can set off a binge/restrict cycle, something else that people here often struggle with. Others find that if they are managing a small deficit to begin with, that having a meal or day where they don't track calories at all can hinder their progress, basically destroying their weekly deficit in one meal/day, which can be very discouraging.

    Personally, I work the foods I enjoy in on as regular a basis as I can accommodate in my calorie allotment. I have a glass or two of wine pretty much every day, as well as something sweet like a piece of chocolate, a small serving of ice cream, etc. About once a week I have pizza or a fast casual meal like Qdoba that tends to be a little larger than my normal meals, and then about once a month I go out with friends or my husband and have a much more indulgent meal or a big dessert. I plan for those meals and bank calories in the days leading up to them, do extra exercise the day of the event, and log everything anyway. Even if I am over my daily calories quite significantly, I try to make sure that it doesn't put me outside my maintenance calorie total for the week. This has worked well for me, but I wouldn't call any of those things "cheating", but then again, I also don't call this a "diet". It's just how I choose to manage my calories.

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