Do you find cheat days to have a positive or negative impact
ilovefood9998
Posts: 24 Member
I have currently been dieting since June and I have gone from 196 pounds to 182 pounds in the last 3 months. I still have 25 pounds to go. My diet consists of completely removing all snacks from my diet and I stick to one meal a day which generally consists of around 1200 calories. I always associate relaxing with having a movie day and binge eating and since I have not been able to eat any snacks in a long time I thought It would be fine to treat myself to candy and have a movie day. I ended up going overboard and bought 3000 calories worth of candy. The snacks have not yet been eaten and I can't find the ability to just eat them without a care. I keep thinking about the calories. If i want I can eat the candy but only up to my allowance of 1200 calories but then as a result of doing that I would not be able to have my proper meal. Its as if snacks have become a deterrent as I wont be able to have my evening meal. Cheat days are now horrible to me. I get rewarded with the snacks yet will end up hungrier and will miss out on a proper meal. All the candy is still in my drawer and I just want to throw it all away. I feel like I have 3 options. I can 'simply' throw it all away and feel guilty about my waste of money. I could eat it all in one go so it is then gone but then feel extra guilty and possibly gain a pound in the process. Or I could eat up to my calorie allowance of candy gain no weight but feel hungry and unhealthy. What is everyone elses opinion on cheat days. I just find them much more problematic and stressful.
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Replies
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First of all, congrats on the weight loss!
I just had a cheat weekend of sorts. I went to a wedding, and didn't want to limit myself for the whole weekend. I'm still waiting to see if it's had a positive or negative impact long term (I've put on a kilo, but that's almost definitely mainly water weight) so I'm not stressing over it. I had an amazing time, and will happily take the kilo in exchange for the memories.
I worry that by limiting yourself like this, and associating the candy with guilt, you'll end up binging the whole lot in one sitting when you're feeling particularly hungry.
You could think about setting your calories to maintenance for the day, have your 1200 calorie meal, and then eat as much candy as you feel comfortable with up to maintenance. You'll probably find that you end up self-limiting anyway, as you don't want to undo the hard work, but it will be (mainly) guilt-free experience.
Eating up to maintenance means you shouldn't put on any weight (except for maybe water weight and the usual fluctuations), it just means you won't lose as quickly that week. And that's not a bad thing. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Don't completely cut out all the food that makes you happy just to lose weight, as that's a surefire way to binge and put it all back on in the long term.5 -
I personally think cheat days is a bad idea, but what you're describing here isn't cheating in the generally accepted meaning of the term - you are accounting for the calories, but cheating your body of nutrition.
Maybe 1200 calories is too low? At 182 pounds you can still lose considerably each week on, say, 1500 calories. Maybe you'll feel more relaxed if you become less strict? Maybe you don't have to be so strict on treats?
I like the 80/20 rule - or 90/10 when dieting - let the bulk of your intake be wholesome, nutritious food, but allow some treats. But I prefer to eat nothing but delicious meals, and I think I'm reserving only around 5% of my calories every day for a small weekly splurge. The variance isn't much, but that's exactly how I like to eat, similarly, calorie-wise, from day to day.6 -
I don't have regular cheat days, but I have had days like a wedding last week where I allow myself to just indulge in the fun.
In the short run, I felt bloated and tired for about three days after and had a terrible low at the gym.
In the little longer run, I gained all my strength in the gym back and some after five days and today got really nice results on the scale (taking them with a grain of salt, but as I am stressed at work I take every reason for a smile I can get currently).2 -
I try to avoid a "cheat day" that involves just eating with abandon, but I do have maintenance days, particularly around my TOM when a maintenance day saves me from going all out carb crazy. I have had a couple of days where I have gone above maintenance, but over the week that they have happened I've still been in a deficit.
I have had one *kitten*-it day in 9 months where I gave no thought whatsoever to calorie control (it was just this Sunday) but when I look back at it now I realise I still made much better choices than I would have a year ago - My *kitten* it day basically was Cereal, a veggie packed Sunday Roast, some cake and an Irish delicacy - the crisp sandwich.
I do tend to agree with @kommodevaran about reviewing your calorie allowance, it could be too low for sustainability, if you have yourself set to a 2lb per week loss in MFP, consider dropping it down to 1lb per week.
With the candy that you have, I personally would take the majority of it into work or drop it into a food bank but keep a few bits to factor a treat in now and again.
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You only eat once a day all the time? Is that in the morning mid day or night? In any case I dropped a hundred pounds with a "cheat meal" once a week, I found it kept me motivated to do well through out the week. My cheat meal would come early in the day, like 10 to 11 o-clock and would consist of 1500 or 2000 calories, and I wouldn't be hungry for the rest of the day. I question using candy for such a thing, as i'm not sure how filling it would be and would be concerned about the massive tummy ache I would incur...not to mention the cavities. My mercury filled teeth quiver and chatter in horror at the the thought of 3000 calories worth of candy!4
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I prefer cheat meal, rather than a whole day. It just feels better to only have 1 "decadent" meal, rather than a whole day
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It did not work for me. A greasy hamburger should not be a reward. Keeps the mindset that dieting is "yucky".4
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Completely depends on how many weekly calories you're eating. If your cheat day makes you go over = you won't lose. If you're starving yourself all week to eat more on week ends, but stay within your calories, you'll still lose.
IMO your diet is way too restrictive and if you have to ask yourself how to make it work so much, you'd be better off rethinking the whole thing. Have a more reasonable goal and you'll be able to fit a piece of candy in your days.6 -
I think what matters most is that you find something that is sustainable for you. If you're completely depriving yourself of the things you enjoy, then you'll never be able to maintain. I enjoy my weekends and go over my calories quite often, but then am diligent throughout the week. If I turned down social events and drinking/eating out with my friends because it didn't stick within my calorie goal, I would never be able to stick to any type of plan. So whether you want to call it a cheat day or enjoying your life, you need to find what works for you! Good luck!3
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ilovefood9998 wrote: »I have currently been dieting since June and I have gone from 196 pounds to 182 pounds in the last 3 months. I still have 25 pounds to go. My diet consists of completely removing all snacks from my diet and I stick to one meal a day which generally consists of around 1200 calories. I always associate relaxing with having a movie day and binge eating and since I have not been able to eat any snacks in a long time I thought It would be fine to treat myself to candy and have a movie day. I ended up going overboard and bought 3000 calories worth of candy. The snacks have not yet been eaten and I can't find the ability to just eat them without a care. I keep thinking about the calories. If i want I can eat the candy but only up to my allowance of 1200 calories but then as a result of doing that I would not be able to have my proper meal. Its as if snacks have become a deterrent as I wont be able to have my evening meal. Cheat days are now horrible to me. I get rewarded with the snacks yet will end up hungrier and will miss out on a proper meal. All the candy is still in my drawer and I just want to throw it all away. I feel like I have 3 options. I can 'simply' throw it all away and feel guilty about my waste of money. I could eat it all in one go so it is then gone but then feel extra guilty and possibly gain a pound in the process. Or I could eat up to my calorie allowance of candy gain no weight but feel hungry and unhealthy. What is everyone elses opinion on cheat days. I just find them much more problematic and stressful.
Why would you want to cheat yourself?
Cheat days are just an excuse to overeat. Never understood why people do this if they are serious about losing weight.3 -
I am new here but have come down from 349 to 282. I you dieted for years restricting myself like you seem to be doing. I do not believe in not eating a candy or burger or piece of pizza. I just have come to know that I feel good and not deprived by having a piece or burger every once in awhile.
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No more cheat days (or even cheat meals) for me! As a former binge eater, my cheat meal tended to total between 5000 - 10000 calories and even having just one of those per week would really mess up my weight loss progress. Now that my Binge Eating Disorder is cured, I really don't miss those cheat meals these days and my weight loss progress is continuing to go well at about 2 lbs/week with 82 lbs lost since New Year's.2
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If I cheat I don't lose weight. I am too short and old to get away with that. If I slip up then I know I won't lose another pound for a long time. Candy, ice cream etc don't cross my threshold. If I don't buy them I can't eat them. Plus, spiking my blood sugar is bad news, and the doctor got onto me for not checking my sugar often enough.2
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If I cheat, I can easily let it get outta hand and therefore I just avoid it. If I want something now I just have a smaller portion or account for the calories and move on for the day.
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Why don't you ration the treats out? For example, try having a small portion and watching a movie after your meal each Friday (just a loose example) until the treats are gone? If you can't ration the candy, take it to work for public consumption or give it to a friend.4
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Completely depends on how many weekly calories you're eating. If your cheat day makes you go over = you won't lose. If you're starving yourself all week to eat more on week ends, but stay within your calories, you'll still lose.
IMO your diet is way too restrictive and if you have to ask yourself how to make it work so much, you'd be better off rethinking the whole thing. Have a more reasonable goal and you'll be able to fit a piece of candy in your days.
@ilovefood9998 count me as another vote for rethinking the whole thing.
Plus with only 25 pounds to lose, set your weekly weight loss goal to a half pound per week. Those extra calories should help suppress the urge to binge.0 -
1 cheat day easily turns into more. I dont like to let my mind wander into cheat day territory. My focus is much beter used on fitting things i like in daily and making my diet as well rounded and satisfying as i can. "Cheating" doesnt exist, your body still takes in everything you put into it. Calling it a cheat doesnt stop that, And you only "cheat" yourself thinking that way
That said, Were only human. For my birthday i wrote down 5 things i REALLY wanted to eat in a bigger portion, And over the week i had those 5 things 1 at a time. To me it was beter thn giving self permission for 1 day only to eat whatever i wanted, Because whatever i happened to find during that day likely wouldnt have been as worth it
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What is cheating?
What is a cheat day?0 -
I think it's much more sustainable to work little treats into your every day diet than to "go all out" with cheat meals/days.
When I did keto, I would allow myself a cheat meal a few times a month where I would binge on thousands of calories of the carbs I so desperately missed. I would feel awful after - my stomach would be painful and bloated and I'd just lie on the couch for hours, groaning.
It was a vicious cycle of restriction and cheat days, and it didn't feel good nor help my weight loss.
Now I'm just focusing on calories. If I want a chocolate bar, I will log and it fit it into my calorie goal. That might mean skipping breakfast or working out longer. But if I really want that chocolate bar, I will fit it in.4 -
I tend to have a few meals out at the weekend rather than what you would call a cheat day. I never call them that anyway. They are simply days where I am a bit more relaxed about the foods I will eat. I cannot say they are always a positive experience as sometimes the meals, especially anything bread based, leave me very bloated.
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I think you need to go to google and find a calorie calculator because I don't think 1200 calories is enough to cover your basal metabolic rate.
A lot will depend on how your will power works...can you allow yourself to have 1 piece of candy at the end of your meal or will you eat it all? Cheat days for me are a no go...and by what your last sentence says seems like they might be a bad idea for you also.
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I love cheat day, does wonders for my morale. I don't take it very extreme though, usually I have about 800 cal of taco bell for dinner or something. I almost always eat at a deficit or at least maintenance on cheat day. I find in a controlled setting, limited cheating once a week helps me not cheat daily. I find myself craving something during the week and I can easily tell myself "I can have that on Friday" and go on with my day. I don't want any food to be a drug I must abstain from my whole life; I want to have a "normal" relationship with food. And I've lost 61lbs not having to give up those things so far, so I'm cool to continue that.1
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I don't call it a "cheat" anything because you're only cheating on yourself. I call it a "treat" and not a whole day, but a treat meal. Like Friday night date night with the hubby.. I am in competition prep right now so I am supposed to have a treat meal once per week. There is bro-science behind it but re-sets my metabolism/body before heading into another week of prep. Anyway... I say do whatever keeps you on track. If a cheat or a treat throws off your whole routine than it's not worth it. If you can do it once a week and get back on track? then go for it. I can tell you that after clean eating and proper nutritional balance for a while those "treats" aren't even treats anymore... these days my idea of a treat is some butter on my bread 0
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I bank my calories so I can indulge and eat more on weekends (especially more carbs). It has definitely helped me get through this beast of a cut... I find I need that extra energy once a week and it pumps my gym performance. That being said.. I am not overly restrictive during the week otherwise I would have a tendency to go all out and overdo it on the weekends.
With your candy scenario, rather than eat it all at once you could try to eat a little bit during the week and fit it in your calories, maybe leave it somewhere not in direct access so you won't eat the whole thing. I love candy and I only eat a little bit before/during my workout and only if I am lifting. If you can't just eat a little bit and moderate it, you may have to give it away or get rid of it.0 -
I stick to my calorie goal Monday through Friday, and do what ever the f*#$ I want on the weekends. All those cravings I had during the week that I said I could eat on the weekend add up... but I can't possibly eat them all in two days. It works out that I don't overindulge too extravagantly.0
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Yes, a cheat day or meal can affect your weight loss. That being said, if you are in this for the long haul, you can't be perfect all the time. If you really want the candy, and you feel like you are in control enough to eat a little and then forget about it, go for it. The important thing is that you stay in control of it. I had a rough week a couple of weeks ago - I ate at maintenance for a couple of days. I was ok with that because I stayed in control. 3
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I'm no expert but surely you're massively undereating? 1200 calories for that bodyweight seems pretty low and on top of this you are only eating one meal a day, surely this means you're fasting for most of the day everyday? In my mind it makes so much sense that you're craving sugars and sweets and wanting to binge.2
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My "cheat days" (ie. days I don't bother to track or log what I eat) are very far and few between, so it doesn't make a huge difference overall.
I incorporate indulgent foods and restaurant meals into my calorie goals, so I don't feel the need to have cheat days as often.0 -
If I choose to buy something snacky that I tend to eat several servings of (chips, jelly beans, etc.), I just split the calories over a week on the day I buy it. For example, if it were a 700 calorie snack, I'd just log 100 into each day of the week. I could spread out the eating of it or eat it all as I watch a movie -- in the end, it doesn't matter; I've logged it, and I don't have to think about it.
I don't get snacky things all the time, but this works for me when I do. 3 -
I look at the calorie budget in the same way I do a financial budget.
Can you imagine the response if I said I'm going on a cheat day and spending whatever I want?
Go see a movie - eat candy, but make sure you budget for this.2
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