Cheat day.... yay or nay???????

annathebanana135

So i am on day 6 and i am doing well with counting calories. When i started this journey i said i would have a cheat day and eat what i want as long as i dont over eat and have a small portion. Now im thinking maybe thats a bad idea and its too soon to do that since im still struggling with adjusting to my new eating habbits, getting upset trying to plan meals and count calories, and still feeling hungry after i eat. So maybe instead of a cheat day maybe a cheat meal or snack? I even came up with a name, so good sunday, cause what ever i have to eat or drink is going to be soooo good lol. Thoughts on this please.
Thank you!

JaydedMiss

You need to fix your mindset...not even a week in and already talking about cheat days? Fit your snacks into your daily calories. Simple dont overcomplicate it. "Cheat days" Shouldnt exist, shouldnt have to. especially after 6 days...Easily undo all your work with a single cheat day. Theres nothing sayign you cant eat what you want to eat daily aslong as you make it fit your calories. I eat burgers often. And chocolate. And iv lost 80 pounds in 9 months.

Stop demonizing foods you love like their cheating.

VoodooChild76

I didn't have a cheat day for at least the first 6 months. That was more like a cheat snack. I finally sat down and had a meal sized cheat after a year. That being said, do whatever it take to keep you set on your goal. If that's 1 cheat a week do it. Just don't beat yourself up over it.

jemhh

Have a maintenance day on Sunday if you'd like. I'm not a fan of cheat days, which for so many people mean unlimited eating.

kgirlhart

I don't do cheat days, meals or snacks. I work treats in every day and only eat foods I like.

sfit85

For me, I need cheat days to enjoy this journey! I eat strict (1200 cal) during the week and I eat what I want on Saturdays, but I make sure I don´t feel too full. Works for me and I don´t feel deprived.

cwolfman13

I think with only a mere six days in, you'd be doing yourself a disservice. My guess would be that mentally you're not even to the point of really trusting the process and "cheat" days will ultimately blunt progress and reinforce mistrust of the process.

I started my weight loss process in late September of 2012...I kept pretty well to my calories (more or less) early on and developed a trust in the process and the math...I didn't have a high calorie day until Thanksgiving of that year. Once I developed a trust in the process I allowed myself to be a little loser from time to time, but rarely an entire day...more like I'd go out and have something I normally didn't have day to day, but I usually compensated for that elsewhere...if I did have a whole day, it was never more than maintenance.

patslitzker

I preferred having a victory meal every 10 lbs, then you're earning it.

annathebanana135

Sounds like i should hold off on a cheat day then, though its sad to hear you all made valid points and your right, cheat days dont sound like a good idea and in the back of my mind i knew this and thats why i had to ask. I just really wanted my white chocolate mocha xtra sweet this morning and a chocolate shake for dessert!

Rocknut53

Feeling you need a cheat day can be remedied by getting lots and lots of exercise. You can eat a little more if you move more. That said, I don't do cheat days on purpose. There are days I eat a little more, but I still count those calories so I have a constant awareness of what's going in. You will learn as you go forward how to balance it all out, eating enough of foods you like but not enough to sabotage your efforts. It takes time.

red99ryder

I have never planned overeating days .. real life brings enough of those my way already .. if.I want something I just try and fit it in my calories .. some days I'm a little over

Good luck

amusedmonkey

I like "so good every day" better, because almost everything I eat has to be good. No cheat days for me, though. The concept itself is counterproductive to my style of dieting and implies that I'm in this suffocating torture chamber 6 days a week, and then I get to breathe on the 7th. That's not how I wish to spend my life. Knowing I have the option to eat anything I want on any given day, even if it's higher in calories, works better for me. I just have to think if it's worth having on a certain day, then move my calories around to fit if it is, even have a maintenance day if what I want doesn't fit neatly.

Question: do you have your calories set to the default 1200 calories? Do you eat back at least some of your activity calories? There may be a better way to handle your dieting that would not leave you hungry all the time.

ETA: another question: how many calories are in your chocolate mocha and chocolate shake? You may be able to fit one of them one day and the other the next without having to designate a cheat day.

GottaBurnEmAll

jemhh wrote: »

Have a maintenance day on Sunday if you'd like. I'm not a fan of cheat days, which for so many people mean unlimited eating.

This.

I do maintenance days and maintenance breaks. When I go on vacation, I don't log. But this is me, and I'm just losing vanity weight at this point. When I was actively losing the bulk of my weight, I had very different approach, and I didn't take a break from things until ... oh, a year after I'd started everything.

OP, one thing jumped out at me in your initial post ... the issue you raised about being hungry all the time. Some hunger when it's getting close to meal time is normal when you first start dieting. Being hungry all the time isn't.

How aggressive is your deficit? Are you trying to lose 2 pounds a week? Maybe slow down your rate of loss a bit.

kimny72

What do you mean by cheat day? Are you making certain foods off limits otherwise? Or are you talking about a day you don't log?

I eat "treat" foods all the time, I just make them fit into my calorie goal. So I don't need a special day when off-limits foods are allowed. Honestly living like that would make me sad.

If you mean a day where you don't log, I would think you need to commit to logging everything everyday for awhile until it becomes a habit before you try taking entire days off. Logging becomes so much easier once it's a habit.

As someone else mentioned, taking a day every week or two weeks where you eat your maintenence calories can be useful if you are running a steep deficit. Just make sure the deficit you've chosen is realistic and you aren't being too aggressive, even with a day off that leaves you in danger of burning out before you reach goal.

kgirlhart

annathebanana135 wrote: »

Sounds like i should hold off on a cheat day then, though its sad to hear you all made valid points and your right, cheat days dont sound like a good idea and in the back of my mind i knew this and thats why i had to ask. I just really wanted my white chocolate mocha xtra sweet this morning and a chocolate shake for dessert!

How many calories is it? If you can work it into your goal you can have it. You just have to decide if it is worth the calories. You may be hungry later in the day if you "waste" calories on it. But it might be worth it. Only you can decide that.

cwolfman13

annathebanana135 wrote: »

Sounds like i should hold off on a cheat day then, though its sad to hear you all made valid points and your right, cheat days dont sound like a good idea and in the back of my mind i knew this and thats why i had to ask. I just really wanted my white chocolate mocha xtra sweet this morning and a chocolate shake for dessert!

For one, can you just work those things into your calories for the day.

Secondly, a maintenance day here and there isn't a bad thing...it's actually a good thing and can help reset hormones, etc...but I'd at least give it some time to allow the process to get rolling...you don't want to blunt progress this soon.

Psychgrrl

Don't believe in "cheating." Eat what I want and fit it into my calories. No food is "bad" or "good." Restricting often leads to binges, which are less physically and mentally healthy than any "bad" food.

not_a_runner

Another vote for a weekly maintenance day and fitting what you want into daily calories.
I tried "cheat days" for a while, lost no weight, and was constantly thinking about foods I wanted to over eat.
There are some strategies you can use if you want a higher calorie goal once or twice a week. Calorie banking, where you save calories from some days and add them onto another day, has worked well for me. Just be sure you're still eating a reasonable amount on the days you're cutting your cals.

annathebanana135

I wouldnt over eat, i would have small portions, i would log it too, i need to eat better i eat poorly lots of junk not enough greens, my cheat day is more like caring less of what i consum i guess, i want to not overthink my meals for the day and have something ive been craving all week if that makes sense. I use to eat a lot of fast food and pizza, carbs, and chocolate i figured cutting those out 6 days a week out of 7 why not have one of those if i been craving its not all day or anything, like i been craving a chocolate shake from dairy queen all week and i dont want to add those calories cause it take a big chunk and i want to do well and eat well on those days, so having it on an off day to satisfy that craving that itch. I dont know, im overthinking, all i know is i want to eat better daily without incorperating unhealthy foods but have a day where i can enjoy those little things.

kgirlhart

Stop worrying so much about good vs bad food. Food is just food. I think it is better to work foods you crave into you goal than to get to a point where you just have to have it because for me at least I am more likely to overeat if I do that. I ate Dairy Queen last night. I got a mini blizzard. It was awesome. I would have gotten a medium before, but the mini size hits the spot for me now.

amusedmonkey

annathebanana135 wrote: »

I wouldnt over eat, i would have small portions, i would log it too, i need to eat better i eat poorly lots of junk not enough greens, my cheat day is more like caring less of what i consum i guess, i want to not overthink my meals for the day and have something ive been craving all week if that makes sense. I use to eat a lot of fast food and pizza, carbs, and chocolate i figured cutting those out 6 days a week out of 7 why not have one of those if i been craving its not all day or anything, like i been craving a chocolate shake from dairy queen all week and i dont want to add those calories cause it take a big chunk and i want to do well and eat well on those days, so having it on an off day to satisfy that craving that itch. I dont know, im overthinking, all i know is i want to eat better daily without incorperating unhealthy foods but have a day where i can enjoy those little things.

That's overthinking it though, isn't it? You're not even a week in and you are already struggling with the concept and feeling like you need a break. Trust me, if you consider incorporating "bad foods" every now and then whenever you feel like it's appropriate without hard rules other than wanting to stay within calories, you will notice your nutrition improves overall on its own because many of the lower calorie items that you would use to balance the higher calorie ones are often nutritious. The whole bad and good foods is a whole other topic too. It's okay to make effort to eat better, in fact it's a great thing to do, but making 80%, 70%, or even 10% effort for years to come is better than 100% effort then burning out after a couple of weeks.