Cheat Day

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livesinpjs
livesinpjs Posts: 27 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Do you have a cheat day or meal? How long into being healthy did you have a cheat meal? I am 4 days in and already dream of a cheat meal. >:)

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  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    I realized it would be too easy for me to wipe out any deficit I created with a cheat meal, so I just fit in what I like within my calorie goal. Makes it easier for me.

    I do sometimes have days when I go over my goal, but I balance it out within the week.
  • PrincessMel72
    PrincessMel72 Posts: 1,094 Member
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    I don't really consider any foods "cheating" because I work whatever I want into my calorie deficit and don't restrict any particular foods. My calorie goals are super low too, since I'm so short (only 1200 per day) but on days where I know we're going out to eat I usually make sure I workout a bit longer. I also bank some calories during the week so I can eat out on weekends. If you're only on day 4 and you're already thinking of cheat meals, you may have your calorie goal set too low?
  • cahubbard6421
    cahubbard6421 Posts: 769 Member
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    livesinpjs wrote: »
    Do you have a cheat day or meal? How long into being healthy did you have a cheat meal? I am 4 days in and already dream of a cheat meal. >:)

    Have a cheat meal whenever you want. Just account for the calories so you can see what it does to your goals.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Nope, I follow IIFYM
  • c_ward1983
    c_ward1983 Posts: 22 Member
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    I don't really get what people mean by wipe out a deficit with a cheat meal... What kind of crazy meals are people eating that they wipe out an entire week with one meal.

    I don't log on the weekends, but I still try to eat like a rational person. If you have a cheat day one a month while doing crazy training, then by all means eat until you explode. If you have a cheat day on a Saturday every week, then just eat what you want but don't be a glutton. Have 2 pieces of bacon not 10. Have a hamburger, but 1 not 3. Have some chips, but 1 bowl, not the whole bag. If you eat like this then you'll probably just end up eating a little over maintenance and it will help with your cravings but not kill your week of work.

    Also I work out way more on weekends, so that is also a factor.


  • livesinpjs
    livesinpjs Posts: 27 Member
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    What do you mean by a deficit? Thanks for the comments, really helpful and so true. If I crave a chip have a couple, but don't wipe out the entire bag while conquering my dvr list. lol
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    c_ward1983 wrote: »
    I don't really get what people mean by wipe out a deficit with a cheat meal... What kind of crazy meals are people eating that they wipe out an entire week with one meal.

    I don't log on the weekends, but I still try to eat like a rational person. If you have a cheat day one a month while doing crazy training, then by all means eat until you explode. If you have a cheat day on a Saturday every week, then just eat what you want but don't be a glutton. Have 2 pieces of bacon not 10. Have a hamburger, but 1 not 3. Have some chips, but 1 bowl, not the whole bag. If you eat like this then you'll probably just end up eating a little over maintenance and it will help with your cravings but not kill your week of work.

    Also I work out way more on weekends, so that is also a factor.


    For me to lose weight, I have a deficit of 250 calories a day. That's 1,750 calories per week. Not that hard to do with a meal, especially if one is eating out. I frequently see posters here who are wiping out their deficit with a cheat day/cheat meal and their eating isn't particularly "crazy."

    If by a "cheat meal," you mean two pieces of bacon, a hamburger, or a bowl of chips, I can easily fit that number of calories/macros into my regular calorie goals, no "cheating" required.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    I don't have cheat meals, I just eat food. Food happens to be the high calorie kind sometimes, and in that case I do something to manage that, like eating smaller portions or smaller other meals or exercising more, or maybe even having a maintenance day. I judge if something is worth eating on the spot and what I plan to do about the extra calories and eat based on that judgement.

    Some people do well the concept of cheat meals, I'm not one of them. If I think of my food as cheating I would keep thinking about it and obsessing, waiting impatiently to break free from my "diet prison" to finally have that one meal. It's tiring.
  • livesinpjs
    livesinpjs Posts: 27 Member
    edited May 2017
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    indigoblue9572 wrote: »
    I don't really consider any foods "cheating" because I work whatever I want into my calorie deficit and don't restrict any particular foods. My calorie goals are super low too, since I'm so short (only 1200 per day) but on days where I know we're going out to eat I usually make sure I workout a bit longer. I also bank some calories during the week so I can eat out on weekends. If you're only on day 4 and you're already thinking of cheat meals, you may have your calorie goal set too low?

    I am on 1,300 calories which is what the app recommended based on everything I entered regarding weight and goal.
  • midlomel1971
    midlomel1971 Posts: 1,283 Member
    edited May 2017
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    For me cheat meals always lead to me falling off the wagon and slipping back into old habits. It' s been a vicious cycle with me for the past 20 years. Eat great for a few weeks, have a cheat meal, which turns into a cheat day, which turns into a cheat week. I'm determined to break that cycle this time around. So, like previous posters said, I build those treats into my daily allowances. And I look ahead to see what the week has in store so I can plan for those indulgences. For example, I know Sunday I'm going to brunch for Mother's Day. I know there will be dessert there which I will eat (because dang it...I'm a mom...I deserve it!) and so I'm going to save some of my deficits for that.

    By deficit it means that if I exercise today and "earn" 300 calories from that, I'm not going to eat those 300 calories today. I'm going to "save" them for Sunday and eat them then.
  • c_ward1983
    c_ward1983 Posts: 22 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    c_ward1983 wrote: »
    I don't really get what people mean by wipe out a deficit with a cheat meal... What kind of crazy meals are people eating that they wipe out an entire week with one meal.

    I don't log on the weekends, but I still try to eat like a rational person. If you have a cheat day one a month while doing crazy training, then by all means eat until you explode. If you have a cheat day on a Saturday every week, then just eat what you want but don't be a glutton. Have 2 pieces of bacon not 10. Have a hamburger, but 1 not 3. Have some chips, but 1 bowl, not the whole bag. If you eat like this then you'll probably just end up eating a little over maintenance and it will help with your cravings but not kill your week of work.

    Also I work out way more on weekends, so that is also a factor.


    For me to lose weight, I have a deficit of 250 calories a day. That's 1,750 calories per week. Not that hard to do with a meal, especially if one is eating out. I frequently see posters here who are wiping out their deficit with a cheat day/cheat meal and their eating isn't particularly "crazy."

    If by a "cheat meal," you mean two pieces of bacon, a hamburger, or a bowl of chips, I can easily fit that number of calories/macros into my regular calorie goals, no "cheating" required.

    It was a light hearted "crazy" :)
    I think if you're at a not super aggressive deficit then do you really need cheat days? 250 calorie deficit is pretty tight so yes I can see that one meal could wipe that out.
  • c_ward1983
    c_ward1983 Posts: 22 Member
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    livesinpjs wrote: »
    What do you mean by a deficit? Thanks for the comments, really helpful and so true. If I crave a chip have a couple, but don't wipe out the entire bag while conquering my dvr list. lol

    Deficit refers to the difference between your maintenance calorie intake (amount of calories to maintain current weight) and diet calorie intake. Lets say your maintenance is 2000 and your diet is 1300, then your deficit is 700 a day
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    c_ward1983 wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    c_ward1983 wrote: »
    I don't really get what people mean by wipe out a deficit with a cheat meal... What kind of crazy meals are people eating that they wipe out an entire week with one meal.

    I don't log on the weekends, but I still try to eat like a rational person. If you have a cheat day one a month while doing crazy training, then by all means eat until you explode. If you have a cheat day on a Saturday every week, then just eat what you want but don't be a glutton. Have 2 pieces of bacon not 10. Have a hamburger, but 1 not 3. Have some chips, but 1 bowl, not the whole bag. If you eat like this then you'll probably just end up eating a little over maintenance and it will help with your cravings but not kill your week of work.

    Also I work out way more on weekends, so that is also a factor.


    For me to lose weight, I have a deficit of 250 calories a day. That's 1,750 calories per week. Not that hard to do with a meal, especially if one is eating out. I frequently see posters here who are wiping out their deficit with a cheat day/cheat meal and their eating isn't particularly "crazy."

    If by a "cheat meal," you mean two pieces of bacon, a hamburger, or a bowl of chips, I can easily fit that number of calories/macros into my regular calorie goals, no "cheating" required.

    It was a light hearted "crazy" :)
    I think if you're at a not super aggressive deficit then do you really need cheat days? 250 calorie deficit is pretty tight so yes I can see that one meal could wipe that out.

    Yes, it's one of those things where individual context is very important. Generally, I think the people who struggle most with "cheat meals" are people who are lighter and trying to lose smaller amounts of weight. Because our deficits are smaller, one meal can sometimes make a difference.

    For someone with a daily deficit of, say, 1,000 calories, it's going to be much harder to come up with a meal that will wipe it out.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
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    c_ward1983 wrote: »
    I don't really get what people mean by wipe out a deficit with a cheat meal... What kind of crazy meals are people eating that they wipe out an entire week with one meal.

    I don't log on the weekends, but I still try to eat like a rational person. If you have a cheat day one a month while doing crazy training, then by all means eat until you explode. If you have a cheat day on a Saturday every week, then just eat what you want but don't be a glutton. Have 2 pieces of bacon not 10. Have a hamburger, but 1 not 3. Have some chips, but 1 bowl, not the whole bag. If you eat like this then you'll probably just end up eating a little over maintenance and it will help with your cravings but not kill your week of work.

    Also I work out way more on weekends, so that is also a factor.


    I can wipe out a week's deficit with 1 chinese buffet sooooo

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