Cheat meals with a lot to lose

MegaMooseEsq

I love to eat out, so I set my goals to average out by week: five days I keep at my lowest comfortable deficit (usually around 1300-1500 kcal), one day I eat around maintenance (about 2400 kcal), and one day I splurge, although I do try and keep it around 500 over maintenance. I've lost 17 lbs of a goal 70 so far this year. It's taken some experimentation to get comfortable and I'm still working at it (last nights splurge was about 500 kcal more than I'd budgeted, oops), but I get to keep doing what I enjoy, I'm losing weight, and it feels sustainable.

jemhh

I ate out 3-5 times a week while losing over 50 lbs. However, I did not treat meals eaten out as if they were my last meals on earth. They were just normal meals. Eat at maintenance one day a week if necessary but IMO if you have 70 lbs to lose you need to get out of the cheat meal/blow out meal mindset. Splurge on your birthday or special holidays but don't do it on a weekly basis. That's a recipe for stalling and frustration.

allyphoe

I eat what I want, but the same way I buy what I want - keeping in mind the consequences. Sometimes when I go to the grocery store, I eyeball the Ben and Jerry's, then decide I'd rather spend my 1,200 calories on three more giant bowls of oatmeal with fruit, or six chocolate nut bars, which really means I'd rather have a caloric deficit, because I'm not physically capable of eating that much oatmeal. And sometimes I'd rather spend it on ice cream, which I'm entirely capable of eating.

You have to be patient and in it for the long haul if you want to go that route. I lost 35 pounds the first year, 5 the second, and 12 the third. I've got another 5? 25? somewhere in between? to go, and then maintenance is forever, so patience and a long-term outlook are useful.

MeemawCanDoIt

I NEVER have a cheat meal because I fear that getting off track may make it too hard for me to get back on track. It's not worth the risk for me.

edlanglais5

I feel like, for me, it's just better not to "cheat." It keeps me more disciplined. I believe that in most cases, MFP has you set on a 500 cal deficit by default. Anyone, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. So, if you feel you need to cheat, turn that day into a maintenance day, go over your limit by 500 but no more. That way, you lose no progress made.

estherdragonbat

If you told MFP you want to lose 1lb/week, it puts you on a 500-cal deficit, unless that would put you below 1200 calories for a woman, 1500 for a man. Then it will give you 1200/1500.