Do you have cheat meals/weeks?

jbean1990

I've religiously stuck to 1660 calories for months now, exercise every day and lost a considerable amount of weight. Me and my partner have had no cheat meals/days at all and we're both starting to crave now! Does it have a huge negative effect having a 'bad' day? Or bad meal? Or is it s good idea to have one, get a fox and then go a while again without? I think I'll feel bad for eating out and going over!

KANGOOJUMPS

sure, all the time! just work it off/

Chef_Barbell

No. I fit what I want into my day/week.

You can't cheat on food... it's just food.

inertiastrength

I stick to 1550-1650 daily but some days on the weekends I'll go up to 2500 if I want to have a nice dinner out, a nice pizza in, or an event etc. My TDEE is 2300 so my deficit is pretty aggressive. Aggressive enough that if I do have a 2500 calorie Saturday, mathematically, I will have lost 1lb of fat that week anyway. On even more rare an occasion, like upcoming Ribfest where I plan to smash 5K, the numbers mean I will set myself back 1 week of not losing weight because that day will wipe out my weekly deficit. It's a math formula, you decide how much it sets you back or doesn't

That all being said, macros swinging in such a way will make your glycogen and water go crazy so trust the numbers; you've been at this long enough that you know them. It may look like you set yourself back 7lb after a Ribfest but you actually broke even, or gained very little actual fat.

TavistockToad

Chef_Barbell wrote: »

No. I fit what I want into my day/week.

You can't cheat on food... it's just food.

This

cgrout78

If I really have a craving for something I have some of it. For me usually a few bites of something is enough for me to be fulfilled that I don't need to go overboard. I'll steal a couple of my kids' french fries or have a couple bites of my husbands pizza and I'm satisfied. However, only you know what works best for you. I know that i'm ok with a few bites of something. For some people it might trigger a week long binge. It's really a matter of you knowing you and what you can handle and what works best with your lifestyle.

vnb_208

No. If i want it I log it and work my day around it.

quiksylver296

jbean1990 wrote: »

I've religiously stuck to 1660 calories for months now, exercise every day and lost a considerable amount of weight. Me and my partner have had no cheat meals/days at all and we're both starting to crave now!

Does it have a huge negative effect having a 'bad' day? NO
Or bad meal? NO
Or is it s good idea to have one, get a fox and then go a while again without? YES, if that will help keep you on track for the long term.

I think I'll feel bad for eating out and going over!

I fit the food I love into my current calorie allowance. I may eat at maintenance one day to fit in a cheeseburger, or save up calories through the week to afford it on the weekend.

I would freak out, binge, and give up forever if I couldn't ever have chocolate, ice cream or cheeseburgers ever again.

JeromeBarry1

I don't call it cheating. Sometimes I fall off the program and eat too much. When that happens I get back on the program the next day. I suspect that it keeps my NEAT from exhibiting adaptive thermogenesis. This weekend I'm having an annual picnic event with extended family and it won't be an accident.

prattiger65

Since weight loss isn't linear and your body doesn't reset at midnight, perhaps take a longer look at your intake. Perhaps if instead of 1660 per day you looked at it as 11620 per week, that may help. That is kinda what I do. I log my food but I don't agonize over every calorie every day. I look at it every few days and if I am trending high I will dial it back for a few days. Conversely, if I know I have a function/gathering/meal coming up I will trim a little ahead of, and after to make it up. Like all things, balance is the key word. Balance life, health. diet, exercise etc. Good luck to you!

shelbykerin

You should be able to have a "cheat meal" once a week! or if youre on vacation - treat yourself! 1 meal or even 1 day will not ruin your progress! depriving yourself is a recipe for disaster and binging. Just know that the next meal or next day is a brand new start!

Penthesilea514

Nope, I just log it and work my day/week around it. And if it is off the deep end calorically, I log it and get back to my normal eating the next day. That stuff just happens from time to time.

MsHarryWinston

Nooooope. I work it into my day. I may have a very special occasion and for those I just try to cap myself at maintenance.

MommyMeggo

I dont blow the whole week's deficit, but I will eat at maintenance or a little above one day for an event or just because I can.
But then I make sure the next day(s) I work a little harder and smarter.
The daily 12am-12pm is great... but I also look at my intake/output for the week or at the least over several days.

cgrout78

prattiger65 wrote: »

Since weight loss isn't linear and your body doesn't reset at midnight, perhaps take a longer look at your intake. Perhaps if instead of 1660 per day you looked at it as 11620 per week, that may help. That is kinda what I do. I log my food but I don't agonize over every calorie every day. I look at it every few days and if I am trending high I will dial it back for a few days. Conversely, if I know I have a function/gathering/meal coming up I will trim a little ahead of, and after to make it up. Like all things, balance is the key word. Balance life, health. diet, exercise etc. Good luck to you!

I like that idea, I have some days where I'm a couple hundred higher, but if over the week i'm under a couple days I figure it all evens out in the end. Life's too short for me to overly stress.

ManBehindTheMask

I had a cheat 30 years

JeromeBarry1

ManBehindTheMask wrote: »

I had a cheat 30 years

I cheated 54.

Bry_Fitness70

I'm in maintenance and I'm only trying to eat in a disciplined manner 70-80% of the time. That allows for several "cheat" meals per week.

haroldrios1692

When you start properly following a meal plan especially on a cut or fat loss program...yes a cheat meal (only one) is nice not because you need it but because mentally it gives you a break from being strict. When I had my cheat meals it was on Saturdays after I did my weigh-in. It consisted of a four hour window I could eat as much as I wanted of anything..pizza, wings, Chinese food you name it I ate it...lol It worked for me as my body fat kept dropping week after week. Hope this helps..

estherdragonbat

I've had a maintenance break, but still tracking food and hitting a calorie target, just a larger target. (I went back to my parents for Passover. Passover means no grains except quinoa and no legumes. I'm a vegetarian. My protein sources were down to eggs, dairy, and quinoa; my starches were potatoes and matzo. I knew satiety was going to be a problem, and I'm a stress eater, so I figured that giving myself more calories would alleviate some of the stress of sticking to a plan when there were going to be large holiday meals. It worked!)

Noreenmarie1234

never

malibu927

Cheat days, no. But I do take a week or two a few times a year to eat at maintenance and give my mind a break from dieting.

InkAndApples

Today I have eaten exclusively fried chicken, bacon, cupcakes, mini eggs and red wine. Technically it fits into my calories but it sure as hell feels like a cheat day!

bee_bee8

Short answer - Don't deprive yourself. If you get cravings, eat what you're craving. If you can work it into your daily/weekly calories, great, but don't beat yourself up if you go over occasionally. As long as you maintain good habits on a regular basis, it won't hurt you.

Long answer - I went about 4 months without a cheat day, sticking to 1300 calories and doing cardio at least 45 mins a day. I lost 35 lbs, but I fell off the wagon almost exactly 120 days after I started. I ate the worst food possible for days and got so down on myself because of it. Eventually I got back on track (and was even stricter with myself than before), but only went a few weeks before I 'relapsed' again. I quickly realized I needed to go easier on myself, both in my day-to-day routine and when I have inevitable slip-ups. I upped my calorie goal a bit (even though it means I'll only lose .5 lbs a week at most) and stopped beating myself up for occasional indulgences. By allowing myself treats now and then, I can avoid going on days-long binges.
Of course, the best thing to do is to work your "cheat day" into your weekly calorie total so you're not actually over-consuming, but it's not the end of the world if you go over. I always remind myself it's not a "diet", it's a lifestyle change. One day won't make a difference, as long as you pick it back up the next day.

WendyLeigh1119

I just keep my settings on 2lbs per week and follow it Monday through Friday when I exercise and then mostly ignore it on weekends because if I have to think about/count every calorie... I'll spend my life thinking about food. Hence developing an unhealthy habit I didn't have previously. And eating 1200 calories on weekends is too restrictive with Summer activities with the family. I still log... but I don't worry about the calories because weekdays mean I'll still lose *something* on a regular basis. I still eat fairly healthy... but I don't restrict calories enough to make dieting bothersome.

nowine4me

You're only cheating on yourself. There are 3 simple options..... 1) work what you want into your daily goal 2) find a suitable alternative for what you want that fits you goal OR 3) eat whatever the heck you want and then get right back on track. In the grand scheme, it's doesn't really matter as long as it's a treat and not a daily occurrence.

Muana1005

I rely on a weekly deficit/weekly average numbers, and so some days I'll eat more than others. It broadly balances out in the end.

BWA468

If some foods are cheat meals then I have them pretty much everyday lol. “If it fits， I eats”. Losing steadily by eating pizza， pasta， cheese. Would go insane if I didnt eat ‘bad food’. Have mostly stuck to my daily allowance but if I go over i’ll cut the following days of that week down a little bit to even it out

AnnPT77

I don't believe in cheating - the whole concept. On the way to losing a third of my body weight, around 60 pounds, in just under a year, I had a very few way-over-calorie-goal days (birthday, Christmas, Thanksgiving), when I ate and drank freely; and a few slightly-over-maintenance-calorie days (big meal with out of town friends, vacation, parties).

For predictable events, I would bank a modest number of calories (like 100) daily for the few days beforehand, eat lightly at other meals the day of an event, or fit in some additional fun active thing (bike ride, say) on top of normal activities. After an over day, planned or otherwise, I'd just go back to my regular healthy deficit routine.

I'd also log all of it, estimating if necessary, so I knew the impact. Usually, it just delayed my ultimate goal by a day or three (1500 over goal when losing a pound a week is 2 more days delay). Not really a big deal, as long as it was infrequent. Sometimes, looking back, I'd decide it hadn't been worth it, and decide to handle future circumstances differently. Much of the time, it was OK.

Like others have said, I didn't cut out any foods I love or crave, I just ate the higher-calorie things in smaller portions, or less often, or compensated by reducing other foods I liked less. I'm not saying I didn't change how I ate. There were certain foods that I'd been eating that didn't give me sufficient tastiness, nutrition or satiation for their calorie "cost", so I now eat them less, or not at all.

Personally, I think of weight loss as practice for permanently maintaining a healthy weight. If it's not something I could imagine doing forever, I didn't do it during weight loss (other than the moderate calorie deficit). This extended to occasional indulgent (over goal) days: I wouldn't plan to live without them forever.

Why white-knuckle it through a "diet", only to arrive at goal with no practiced strategy for maintaining the loss forever? Take the stress or emotion out of it: They burn no calories.

Now in my second year of maintenance, that strategy's worked pretty well for me.

lynn_glenmont

To me, one of the huge benefits of tracking my intake on MFP has been that if I want a treat, I can easily see whether it will just cut a little into my deficit for the day, put me at maintenance for the day, put me at maintenance for the week, or even put me at a surplus for the week. Knowledge is a powerful asset in decision-making.

jpoehls9025

Depends on where I am in the "Cut". In the beginning I have a cheat day, mid cut, cheat meal and near the end, none at all lol