Cheat day???

kpendleton19

Ok...for those who have lost some significant weight, did you have a cheat day (eat anything all day) or just have a cheat meal or cheat snacks?? What did ur cheat meal or day consist of? Were u still on track with weightloss even having the cheat day/meal???

tirowow12385

I just eat what I craved within my calorie limit when I felt like it.

h1udd

“Cheat” day ... that grew into cheat weekend totally ruined my weight loss for months until I started logging my food and realising that I could easily undo a weeks work in a weekend.

Once I learnt this I stopped the “cheat” and have progressively lost since

Calorie restriction though sucks at the weekend, so I now eat under my calories all week long by 200-300 kcal a day ... then stick the extra calories on the weekend so I can have treats

malibu927

Neither. I'm not cheating on anything. If I want a particular food, I work it into my weekly calories.

Falklang

I have a 'non tracking day' at the end of each month and a day each week where i reach my maintenance calories or just under. the majority of the time though I'm always under my calories and enjoy the food that I like but as smaller portions.

elisa123gal

i've lost 22 pounds since Jan 1...yet i quit counting calories... yay... i have gone out to dinner once a week.. ... it has worked for me. Tonight i went out for Valentine's day...drank champagne had dessert..and will jump right on back to my healthy eating plan tomorrow, and work out to burn some of the calories. i bet i'm down another three pounds by my next weigh in...

sugarlemonpie

I don't believe in cheat days, I just eat what I want within my calories since I don't want to sabotage my progress. However, it's a different case when I have planned for a vacation, as I would rather enjoy my time. But that being said, don't turn it into a bingefest!

sc487

I’m traveling for business and I know there is a local burger joint that I absolutely love down in south TX. I simply accepted that my calories would be high yesterday so I ate less the previous 2 days.

Vicham76

Another MFP user once said, A treat is not a cheat. Just let it fit in with your goals.

Angieve1

I eat what I want when I want as long as I stay within my calorie goal

chelliz88

I don't have "cheat days." If I want something, I will just eat the serving size. Also, if my husband and I go out to eat on the weekend, I don't mind going over that day because I want to enjoy what I'm eating and not worry about it.

pinuplove

Another who doesn't do chest days. I could easily out-eat my weekly deficit in one free for all day. What I do have are treats that fit my macro and calorie goals whenever I want them, and planned maintenance (or over maintenance) days to usually coincide with holidays and social events.

beerfoamy

I have had a couple of days where I have just eaten what I wanted and not cared. I have still logged everything to refer back to but it
Usually it is a slab of belly pork with crackling, couple of big bags of crisps (Chicken and Thyme sensations and cheesey doritos usually), a fair amount of vodka and diet coke, cake bars and biscuits.
Have only had twice in the past year where I did not meet my weekly goal due to it, but I needed the 'day off' mentally. Logging it helped to see the actual impact vs the perceived impact and I did not have any guilt in eating all the things. it also helped me to get back to eating at goal the very next day.

aeloine

Read this: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

I have taken a couple of diet breaks. When I'd have "cheat days" during the diet phase, I'd eat to maintenance.

Unknown

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jc1961AA

What is disheartening is that it takes approx. 20mins t burn ~200 calories, and you can eat it back in about 15 seconds ;0)

cwolfman13

Maintenance days...

Going off the rails for a day could be a very bad thing and just leave you spinning your wheels...

I'd need to eat around 6,300-6,500 calories to completely unwind my weekly deficit...I could do that pretty easy just eating whatever all day...

raindawg

Not while trying to lose weight. I've done MFP a few times over the years and am usually on the 1 pound per week goal. If I have a cheat day the scale doesn't move that week and I have to wait another week to see a loss. So I feel like it costs me two weeks mentally.

This time around I'm going to try a re-feed week or two once I'm within 10 pounds of goal.

melissa6771

I call it free day not cheat day. I know lots of people here are very against it but I do it every Sunday. I don't eat my exercise calories during the week and have a high day on Sunday. I still log my food. Hasn't hurt my progress at all. I'm averaging 1.25 pounds a week. I eat 13-1400 daily and under 3000 on Sunday, averages out to 15-1600/day for the week. I work out an hour and a half most days, sometimes 45-60 min if it's just a cardio day. You have to find what works for you.

whosshe

I didn't start having cheat days until I lost a significant amount of weight. Not for any reason other than I'm more confident in my ability to get back on track now. I still log the approximate amount of calories consumed for the day.

When I started losing weight I definitely had "cheat" meals. Except they weren't necessarily cheat meals because I would always fit them into my calories for the day. Usually by skipping lunch to have a big greasy supper.

Wcarpenter81

tirowow12385 wrote: »

I just eat what I craved within my calorie limit when I felt like it.

This is what i do as well.

Spliner1969

The only thing you're cheating when having a cheat day or cheat meal is your goals. If your goal is to lose weight on a regular basis, then don't do the cheat day/meal. All it does is negate your calorie deficit and stop you from losing the expected weight. I lost over 125 lbs in a little over a year. Never had a cheat day or meal. I did occasionally go over my calories, especially on holidays, but I logged everything and stayed in my calorie goals as much as possible. On holidays when I went over I'd either add in extra exercise or increase my deficit before/after the holiday to make up for it. Doing that allowed me to relax and have fun on those days with food, yet it didn't derail my efforts later.

santje00

kpendleton19 wrote: »

Ok...for those who have lost some significant weight, did you have a cheat day (eat anything all day) or just have a cheat meal or cheat snacks?? What did ur cheat meal or day consist of? Were u still on track with weightloss even having the cheat day/meal???

I have cheat days, but I do stick within my calorie range. For example, I can have a pizza, but a small one with reduced fat cheese or a gluten-free option. One thing I will say, and I'm speaking from experience, denying yourself everything you like will cause you to shoot back up in weight. I lost four stone in the past, denied myself everything, only to put it back on. I'm nearly back to a 2 stone loss, and I still have the things I like, I just make them a little healthier. Now, I don't even crave takeaways. I did before...

bbell1985

That's the most I've seen the word cheat in 4 sentences ever.

I had high calorie days. I look at my weekly average.