Has anyone else has a cheat week?

lionessNV

I hope I'm not alone in this predicament: I didn't log yesterday (potluck), but when I logged both Tuesday and today I've been closer to 2,000 calories than my 1500ish. Has anyone else just had a cheat WEEK, not just a cheat day? I feel like I'm throwing all my hard exercise work away.

Alatariel75

I've had weeks where I've eaten closer to maintenance, or even over, if that's what you mean. I usually calling "getting off track", because I don't cheat.

annacole94

Yup, as pp said, some weeks you just admit that you're not eating to lose. That's ok, just don't eat to gain and then be surprised if you gain.

lionessNV

@Alaterial - I'm not really "cheating" either. Just eating more than I've gotten used to.

TPetey55

I'm on a low-carb, high-fat diet, trying to burn fat instead of carbs. It keeps me in ketosis almost all the time. My doctor thinks it's a good idea to spike my insulin and to reload my muscle glycogen every now and then, so I give myself a cheat meal once every week. It's a good system; I get the best of both worlds - I recharge my muscle glycogen, which helps my workouts, I stay in ketosis most of the time, so I'm burning fat, and I get to eat one fun meal of forbidden stuff every week. This week: pizza and ice cream!

Machka9

I do take strategically planned diet breaks now and then ... usually surrounding a heavy exercise long weekend or a holiday.

trigden1991

If you haven't eaten over maintenance, it's not a "cheat" week. Look at it as a diet break and go back to a deficit when you feel ready.

evileen99

My last 6 weeks have been cheat weeks!

inertiastrength

I have had entire winters where I don't log or even take a couple months of training break. If my clothes get tight I come back to log. Just decide how much damage control you want to do... 5lbs... 10lbs... 15?

tinkerbellang83

I take a diet break now and again, usually when I'm travelling a lot or around holidays but I try and keep my calories around maintenance. Around 10 days has been my longest stint of not deliberately aiming for a deficit. I also eat close to maintenance calories some months around my period. I wouldn't eat everything in total abandon though without logging because I'd only be cheating myself and I don't want to end up back where I started.

animatorswearbras

Every time I go on holiday (vacation) I don't log and probably eat/drink well above maintenance, worse case scenario is I put on a pound or 2, but 2000 cals sounds close to maintenance for most so just dust yourself off and get back on it. Its only a disaster if you throw in the towel just because you had maintenance cals for a week. Life happens and it will probably happen again, no biggy.

Rocknut53

This is why I have to be diligent and not get off track, my life for the past 30+ years:

twistedingenue

I'm technically on a diet break right now. It's a high-stress week, so I ordered Hello Fresh and the dinners are so much larger than I usually eat, and I may forget to track say, a handful of goldfish (and not the sundae I picked up at culvers last night)

But somehow, I've been losing weight this week anyways, so who knows.

GottaBurnEmAll

Machka9 wrote: »

I do take strategically planned diet breaks now and then ... usually surrounding a heavy exercise long weekend or a holiday.

This past year, I didn't log and really didn't care during vacation and during the week between Christmas and New Years.

I, too, compensated during those times with lots of activity. I really suffered no ill affects on the scale from those times either.

I plan to do the same moving forward into the future.

lemurcat12

lionessNV wrote: »

I hope I'm not alone in this predicament: I didn't log yesterday (potluck), but when I logged both Tuesday and today I've been closer to 2,000 calories than my 1500ish. Has anyone else just had a cheat WEEK, not just a cheat day? I feel like I'm throwing all my hard exercise work away.

I think that sounds like a maintenance break, and can be healthy and help practice what maintenance will feel like. Just stay at maintenance and it does no harm and could help exercise if you have goals like improving endurance/speed or getting stronger.

Marcel182

Usually, when I'm away on vacation, and want to eat all the delicious local foods I will often end up over my daily cal goal. But I'll still log as accurately as possible. Not reason to break my streak!

Francl27

Vacations. Always hard to find low calorie/filling breakfasts, restaurants that have lighter menus, and I can never be as active as I'd like (too much driving, or kids whine horribly every time we walk longer than 10 minutes). So I always end up gaining two pounds or something (and that's trying to make better choices most of the time!).

Thankfully (I guess?) we haven't gone in vacations for a couple years now (and can't imagine going again at this rate!).

Otherwise, yeah, PMS week, and I typically gain a couple pounds too (but part of that is bloating). But yes, if I go over for a week, it always sets me back (my fitbit has proved pretty accurate and I weigh 95% of what I eat).

7lenny7

trigden1991 wrote: »

If you haven't eaten over maintenance, it's not a "cheat" week. Look at it as a diet break and go back to a deficit when you feel ready.

@trigden1991 I like this mindset.

cwolfman13

Sounds like maintenance...I don't really see how that is "cheating"...