Opinions on cheat days

xandrapn6
xandrapn6 Posts: 13 Member
edited November 15 in Health and Weight Loss
I was wondering where everyone stands on having cheat days?
I've found that it helps me to have a scheduled cheat day every so often. It gives me a day to work towards and know that I can have some naughty foods that day. It also helps me to not completely binge out on bad foods because I know that I'll have a other cheat day eventually. If I try to just cut out all bad foods I just can't do it.
Does anyone else do something similar to this, or is this a bad method? Maybe I have weak willpower, but it's worked so far
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Replies

  • Skyblueyellow
    Skyblueyellow Posts: 225 Member
    Every so often I have a "cheat meal", meaning that I don't track the calories or macros. I do this every other month or so.
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
    I eat what I want---correct portion size.
  • Decapins
    Decapins Posts: 49 Member
    edited February 2017
    if it works for you great! if i go overboard one day it just makes me go off track though. so i can have treats sometimes but i can't have a 3000 calorie day
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,130 Member
    There's another post on this here http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/38761502#Comment_38761502
  • Rebecca0224
    Rebecca0224 Posts: 810 Member
    SusanMFindlay wrote: »
    I hate the phrases "cheat meal" and "cheat day". I have a life and I'm going to live it - and not every single day will put me at a deficit. I only need to be at a deficit on average.

    I regularly have "maintenance days" though - about one a week. And I certainly have days with bigger and smaller deficits. All I care about is the average.

    Today is my birthday. We had pancakes for breakfast. We're having Japanese food followed by birthday cake for dinner. I baked the cake, so I know exactly what's in it (chocolate cake + salted caramel sauce + caramel frosting; recipe builder knows how many calories per slice; cake has been pre-logged). The odds of me having a deficit today are slim. But it's not a "cheat" and I won't be blowing a week's deficit in one day. At most, I'll counteract one day's deficit.

    Happy birthday! Your cake sounds so good I want a peice lol.
  • leejoyce31
    leejoyce31 Posts: 794 Member
    edited February 2017
    Sometimes I blow my weekly deficit. I look at my overall maintenance calories over a 4 week period. If I blow it for a week, as long as the other 3 weeks are at a slight deficit it all evens out. I'm not sure why there's so much feedback about terminology. I no longer use cheat either because it was important for me to understand that I am incorporating these once a month indulgences into my lifestyle. However if the terminology cheat works for you, by all means use it. I just say I'm not cheating. I'm eating. :)
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    leejoyce31 wrote: »
    I'm not sure why there's so much feedback about terminology. I no longer use cheat either because it was important for me to understand that I am incorporating these once a month indulgences into my lifestyle. However if the terminology cheat works for you, by all means use it. I just say I'm not cheating. I'm eating. :)

    It's more what the term "cheat" implies. If somebody's just using the term flippantly or puts no stock in it, no big deal; keep calling it that. The replies are more to the person who really believes they're doing something bad by eating yummy foods (with the OP did refer to as "naughty"). They need to know that they're not - and that it's possible to include those yummy foods on a regular (or semi-regular) basis if that's what they want to do.

  • leejoyce31
    leejoyce31 Posts: 794 Member
    SusanMFindlay wrote: »
    leejoyce31 wrote: »
    I'm not sure why there's so much feedback about terminology. I no longer use cheat either because it was important for me to understand that I am incorporating these once a month indulgences into my lifestyle. However if the terminology cheat works for you, by all means use it. I just say I'm not cheating. I'm eating. :)

    It's more what the term "cheat" implies. If somebody's just using the term flippantly or puts no stock in it, no big deal; keep calling it that. The replies are more to the person who really believes they're doing something bad by eating yummy foods (with the OP did refer to as "naughty"). They need to know that they're not - and that it's possible to include those yummy foods on a regular (or semi-regular) basis if that's what they want to do.

    Yes I understand that but thanks for replying.
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
    I usually have a meal that's outside my calorie limit, but it's a meal, not a day. A day for me will likely turn into days and then we spiral down the rabbit hole once more.
    I used to call it a cheat meal, or a cheat day, but I stopped saying that as I just tend to dislike the notion that I'm cheating. I'm not in a relationship with my calorie goal, we just have a friendly agreement that I'll continue to meet up with it as often as possible.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,171 Member
    I don't consider any foods "naughty". I work treats in everyday and don't feel a need to cheat. There are some special occasions where I go over my calories, but those are exceptions. I don't have a problem with cravings because I know if I want something I can have it. I just have to decide if those calories are worth it or not. Sometimes they are and sometimes they aren't.
  • aneedforchange
    aneedforchange Posts: 75 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    Unnecessary...what are you cheating on?

    I don't classify foods as "good" or "bad"...I just fit them into my goals as I can

    That said some people have a hard time with certain foods. Pizza might not be a "bad" food but if pizza is my trigger and I eat the entire thing in one evening or into the next day then it sure isn't a good thing. Unless it's once and month and it's "cheat" day. With me it's cheezies, I can't have those things in the house or it's literally Cheetos for dinner lol.
  • red99ryder
    red99ryder Posts: 399 Member
    no , ii cheat enough without planning them LOL
  • happysherri
    happysherri Posts: 1,360 Member
    I'm Right There With ya! I eat healthy all week and exercise 5-6 days a week. I allow myself 1 "splurge" meal a week (usually on the weekend). Like you, I find that it's something to look forward to and prevents me from binge eating. This past weekend I had wings and cheesy potato wedges dipped in ranch, it was delicious! As others have mentioned -I like to call it a "Splurge" meal :wink:
  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
    I eat "bad" foods when I want them and just fit them into my day.

    Last week I ate: Burger & fries, M&Ms, pizza (twice), wings, Taco Bell, chocolate chip cookies, and a donut.

    I only went over my daily goal once on a day I wasn't expecting pizza that evening. My average calories for the week were 1423. My daily goal is 1510, so I ate all of that and stayed within my usual week's deficit.

    Bad foods are yummy!
  • happyauntie2015
    happyauntie2015 Posts: 282 Member
    I can't do a cheat day simply because it turns into days and months. I simply allow myself whatever I may want as long as it is within my calorie range. This journey is different for everyone so if a cheat day is something you feel will make this successful for you by all means do it :)
  • cross2bear
    cross2bear Posts: 1,106 Member
    No. Its counterproductive to what I want to do, which is lose weight, correct some unhealthy eating habits, and generally eat to improve my health. If I want something, I have it within my calorie budget, or I even it out with a weekly average. Its not a cheat - its life.
  • mbanks123
    mbanks123 Posts: 117 Member
    Whenever I meet a goal, I treat myself to something which I usually wouldn't have as it is calorie suicide.

    However, day to day I let myself enjoy small amounts of the things I like. You don't have to eat perfectly and can indulge a little each day as long as you stay under your calorie goal :)
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    I love them. I call them weekends and have them every week. I'll gladly eat low calories throughout the work week if I can overeat on the weekends on still control my weight. I eat a deficit during the week even in maintenance just so I can 'cheat' (overeat) on the weekends. This method makes me happy and consistent.
  • shandy82165
    shandy82165 Posts: 184 Member
    If it works for you, then work it. I was not able to have "cheat days" because cheat days became cheat weekends, which completely wasted my deficit. I now stick to an "eat what I want" method, just keeping reasonable portions.
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
    I've always had an insatiable appetite, so a "cheat day" sets me back quite a bit. I MUST have a cheat day every once in awhile in order to be able to withstand feeling like I'm starving every other day.

    There are scheduled / planned cheat days and unplanned "over-eating days". I find that, if I schedule a cheat day, I go much further over calories but it is more satisfying to do so. If I started out the day just fine and then lost the hunger battle around dinner time, I might not have as many calories but it will happen more and more often until I actually have a scheduled cheat day.

    When I first started, I made cheat days based on weight milestones. For example, when I got to 190 lbs., I was going to schedule a cheat day. I knew that I would likely gain several lbs., but then I wouldn't do another until I got to the next milestone (otherwise I would be stuck in a loop going to 190 lbs., then over again, then back down to 190, and so on...). At first, my daily deficits were just lower quantities of the same foods as many would suggest here. Cheat days would just be larger quantities to where I would eat as much as 20K+ calories (highest cheat day was just over 27K IIRC). I would still track food, but not restrict. I also did them on a weekend when I could just stay home, eat, cook, and order pizzas and such... I did them when I had nothing else I needed to do and nowhere else to go.

    Now that I've been low carb since last Mar., my cheat days are less frequent and include foods that I don't normally eat. It's difficult to make it to a scheduled cheat day, so I have ended up with more "over-eating days" as an unfortunate result. When I have a scheduled cheat day with high carb foods and no restrictions on quantity, they result in very challenging BG's (I have type 1 diabetes) and significant electrolyte imbalances. This is because I'm now fat adapted and very carb sensitive; and the electrolyte imbalance lasts for 1-2 weeks. Then I have to become fat adapted again. This is why a scheduled cheat day happens so much less often now (about 2 times per year at this point). Because I do them so much less frequently, I have started to do "cheat weekends" rather than a single day. This helps improve satisfaction by prolonging the amount of eating time.

    My next "cheat weekend" will be at the end of April... I'm really looking forward to it! In the meantime, I've had a lot more unplanned "over-eating days" where I just didn't have the willpower to stay within calories. For example, Sat. I was a 6K calorie day. It was still low-er carb (about 7% carbs for the day, but the actual quantity of carbs was obviously higher with higher calories), and I was still hungry for most of the day. But during part of the day, I lost willpower and ate a jar of peanut butter and 1 lb. of hamburger with cheese slices (i.e. large bun-less cheeseburger). I could have eaten more, but got enough willpower to distract myself. So that was an unplanned "over-eating day" that is different than a "cheat day" where I would have planned ahead and made no attempt to restrict calories.
  • c50blvdbabe
    c50blvdbabe Posts: 213 Member
    I quit saying cheat meals/days for one. I have 3/4 treat meals each week. I like this as opposed to a day set in stone because life happens and I may have social events on different days during the week. These treats also give me something to look forward to each week. I am able to fit them in and keep moving. I haven't felt deprived or binged since I started viewing these moments as treats. The word cheat just made me feel bad, which ultimately led me to overeat.
  • PrincessPoquilaPie
    PrincessPoquilaPie Posts: 16 Member
    I prefer the "rare and appropriate" way of thinking.
    Birthday party? Eat that pizza.
    Thanksgiving? Mmm all the carbs
    Work event? Have a ball with whatever they're having.
    Go on a date? Get what you want from the menu.
    Going out as a family and all the kids want to go somewhere that it's difficult to log or eat within your means? Just do what you can and enjoy yourself. Don't stress over it.

    Otherwise, stick to healthy habits.
  • YalithKBK
    YalithKBK Posts: 317 Member
    I used to do "cheat days" until I realized I was eating so much that day that I was cancelling out all my weight loss for the week. Now, once a month, I give myself a "fun meal" where I can eat as much as I want, but I have to track it all. I'm fine with the idea of giving yourself a break from the deficit, especially if it's enjoying some food you love. However, I recommend making these sparse and ALWAYS still track your food.
  • ccsernica
    ccsernica Posts: 1,040 Member
    I guess I've had cheat days where I've been at a party or something and haven't tracked all my food. In such cases I just add 2000 cal to the food I do record and have done with it.

    Otherwise, since I only limit how much I eat and not what I eat, I generally don't feel the need.
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