Are cheat meals necessary?
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hdf315
Posts: 4 Member
Are cheat meals necessary in your opinion? I'm starting over and considering not doing a weekend cheat meal. Is that being too strict? I just don't want to slow my progress. And sometimes it's hard for me to stop once I start eating anything unhealthy.
Do you have a weekly cheat meal?
Do you have a weekly cheat meal?
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Replies
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I try not to go with the whole idea of a "cheat" meal. I just work stuff in my day and go from there. I eat something "cheat" worthy every day. If I have the calories for it - I eat it.17
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No they're not necessary at all.
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You have to listen to your body. Many people just "save up" their calories for the weekend, so they're not going over calories when you look at the weekly total.
My cheat meals only put me up to maintenance, so it's not going to have a detrimental effect on my diet.
If you find that you don't need it, don't have one.5 -
I can't do weekly cheat meals - I ALWAYS go overboard, and cheat meals turn into cheat days, which turn into cheat weeks. If I'm craving something, I try to allow myself a small portion, then carry on with my day. That way I'm not depriving myself, which makes me less inclined to break the unhealthy eating cycle. I definitely can't deprive myself of all my favorite things, like peanut butter, ice cream, bacon, and pasta... but I can limit my intake to a reasonable portion. It's taking time, but I'm learning how to be satisfied with smaller portions of my favorite foods, and healthy foods are starting to be more appealing. Not that cheat meals NEVER work, just my personal experience with them! 17
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I don't have cheat days. I have "well there went THAT day!" days. I don't consider it a cheat. I try harder the next day and just count it as a learning curve. I'm working my way towards less of those days. I'm reverse engineering my diet!12
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i never understood the cheat meal thing. Who am I cheating? If losing weight is about burning off more calories than you take in, then I can eat what i want within reason, exercise and still lose weight. Cheat meals mean you give up something , but when you want it then its cheating if you eat it? Eat what you want within reason, if you go overboard there's always tomorrow.10
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Cheat meals are for the weak.... it's one thing to go over, it's another to plan to fail.
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A good way to enjoy a treat and not go overboard is to eat a fibre rich meal before having the treat. You'll be too full to go overboard and will enjoy the small treat plus stay within your calorie count. Or have a healthy treat? Cold press bars and some dark chocolate instead of processed treats. If you crave mac cheese fill it out with cauliflower and edamame and put less pasta in, high fibre with plenty of protein, fats and nutrition.5
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For going over calories, no. I'll exercise more or eat less during the day to make room for something out-of-the-ordinary. But once a week, I have a day where I don't care about hitting my macro targets and just eat whatever the heck I want (generally more starchy carbs and fat, less protein) within my calories. FWIW, I'm not that 'strawman' who says "Eat 100% nutrient-poor food within your calories and lose weight". More like making room for potato kugel, a frosted shortbread, 4 ounces of bread with lunch, Muenster on a bagel for supper... and plenty of salads, and fresh fruit along the way.6
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Who are you cheating? If you are cheating the "diet," then you still consider this new way of eating to be separate from your norm.
Overeating had become my normal. It was not a wise thing to do in that it left me weighing twice what a healthy weight would be. Therefore, I need to reform my eating habits, break with old behaviors and eat what is now my new, healthy, normal food consumption.
I can't cheat the "diet" because my diet, that is to say the whole of what I eat, is now more attuned to that which would result in a healthy weight. It isn't a temporary way of eating. It's still high calorie for maintenance at goal but it is a reasonable way to eat for a person of my size trying to lose a pound or so a week.
On occasion, I fall back into old habits; I overeat as was previously "normal" for me. I remind myself that my previous behavior represented the abnormal eating of the morbidly obese. I resume my new normal ASAP.
I've overeaten since puberty or earlier and therefore have been overeating for well over half a century. I cannot expect to have a perfect break from old habits. As they say, old habits die hard. This is work but it is work with a fine reward. I am down 28 pounds.11 -
Are cheat meals necessary in your opinion? I'm starting over and considering not doing a weekend cheat meal. Is that being too strict? I just don't want to slow my progress. And sometimes it's hard for me to stop once I start eating anything unhealthy.
Do you have a weekly cheat meal?
No, I don't have what I consider "cheat meals."
Are you being too strict? Are you eating all foods in moderation or have you eliminated certain things?
Do you consider a restaurant meal a cheat meal? What if that meal is still within your calorie goals?
I make room for a treat everyday. I eat a restaurant meal at least once a week. These things fit my calorie goal.
I allow myself to go over one day, and then cut back a bit the next.
It's not about being "perfect" it's about making improvements.4 -
Recent study has indicated that eating up at maintenance is useful for several reasons.
If cheat meal allows that then fine, though they tested for 2 week period, not just one meal or day.
But if calling it a "cheat meal" because your "normal" diet meals are so terrible - then adhering to a maintenance level eating after you have lost the weight could hit the norm of gaining the weight back.
Better to make the mind over that this is not cheating, you are only going to eat so much extra and not merely pig all out, and you will plan it well.3 -
When I was losing weight I typically ate maintenance on Saturdays...I didn't consider it cheating. I knew it was going to be a long road and I wanted to be able to enjoy pool side BBQs with my friends or evenings out with my wife, etc. I pretty much lost 1-1.5 Lbs per week on average over time.5
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Thank you for all your replies!! 3
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JasonOnceAgain wrote: »Cheat meals are for the weak.... it's one thing to go over, it's another to plan to fail.
I bank my calories for the weekend to specifically go over on weekends. Guess I am one huge fail ! ha.
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I don't do cheat meals. When I started MFP, I was going over my calories with meals occasionally, but it just set me back for a few days, so I stopped doing that. It was too frustrating and not worth it. I stay within my calories now and I'm much happier and am steadily losing.4
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JasonOnceAgain wrote: »Cheat meals are for the weak.... it's one thing to go over, it's another to plan to fail.
I bank my calories for the weekend to specifically go over on weekends. Guess I am one huge fail ! ha.
Yes but that isn't "cheating" though is it since you haven't gone outside your calorie plan.
I don't get the concept of the "cheat meal/day". Why spend all that effort trying to change your life only to "cheat" yourself?3 -
charlieandcarol wrote: »JasonOnceAgain wrote: »Cheat meals are for the weak.... it's one thing to go over, it's another to plan to fail.
I bank my calories for the weekend to specifically go over on weekends. Guess I am one huge fail ! ha.
Yes but that isn't "cheating" though is it since you haven't gone outside your calorie plan.
I don't get the concept of the "cheat meal/day". Why spend all that effort trying to change your life only to "cheat" yourself?
To be honest I don't even track so who knows what I'm doing .. haha0 -
JasonOnceAgain wrote: »Cheat meals are for the weak.... it's one thing to go over, it's another to plan to fail.
first part of the statement is bull kitten btw...the rest perhaps.
Don't plan a "cheat"...it makes it appear that the food you are eating is bad and you should be ashamed and you shouldn't be.
if makes it seem like this is a short term thing when it should be viewed as a lifetime way of eating.
Look at it this way...if you can't eat the way you are eating now for the rest of your life...change something.
I don't do "cheats"...I do however have treats.
I follow the 80/20 rule...80% of my food is nutrient dense then 20% are well...treats like chips or ice cream or chocolate or vodka *insert big smiley face*
and I do that everyday not just on Fridays or weekends etc.
50+ lbs down and maintaining for over 2 years now.4 -
Are cheat meals necessary in your opinion? I'm starting over and considering not doing a weekend cheat meal. Is that being too strict? I just don't want to slow my progress. And sometimes it's hard for me to stop once I start eating anything unhealthy.
Do you have a weekly cheat meal?
Cheat meals are not necessary. I have higher calorie days sometimes, I have high calorie foods within my regular calories other times, but neither I consider a cheat.
The bolded may present some of a problem for you in the future, so may be start there instead of thinking cheat meals. If thinking of foods in terms of "healthy" and "unhealthy" causes you to lose control you need to address that, and maybe work on thinking of food as "food" without classifying it. Just normalize it all. If you don't address this issue now how do expect to maintain the weight you are planning to lose? Or are you planning to never ever eat anything "unhealthy"? It would be disheartening to lose the weight only to regain it shortly after because you haven't learned to deal with normal life and all the kinds of foods and food situations it brings.2
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