How often do you have cheat meals?
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Villypierr wrote: »I don't cheat with fat food. If you have to lose weight you have to have food with quality. Try to stay focused. Cheat only with healthy snacks. Its only you my friend on this journey, and all the hard work you do, goes backwards if you do that. Loose the weight first and then do that on the maintenance.
That is not true. I've lost 60lbs while still enjoying Burger King, chicken fingers and mudslides.
and i lost 100 eating whatever the heck i wanted, too. No, i dont have much fast food (i simply dont like it), but i do eat out with some regularity (and order what i WANT, not whatever has fewest calories), and do love me some alcohol, and baked goods and all kinds of yummies and have chocolate near every day.
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First all thanks to everyone who left a comment. Starting off I will eliminate the word (cheat) because I don’t eat over my daily calories which is 1800 cal at the moment and it goes down every week as I lose weight. I honestly didn’t know another word. I have been seeing the gains and progress I wanted to, Every week since I started. Some weeks are better than other but and all I have consistently lost a few pounds every week. I’m really on this journey by myself I goto the gym 4-5 times out the week. But learning that long as you eat a calorie deficit you can lose weight I want feel bad no more about it. I thought it was eating all the right food at a calorie deficit. One again thanks for all the knowledge and Btw if you don’t mind I need friends on this app of ppl who are active on the app and can help motivate and vise versa so if don’t mind adding me or sending me a request that would be great.9
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By cheat meal, I assume that you are far exceeding your calorie intake for the day? Because that's what a cheat meal is defined by. If you're staying within your macros and deficit, then it really isn't a cheat at all. I do If It Fits Your Macros and basically eat what I'm craving...just gauge the amounts as per what fits in my allowed range for the day.1
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I guess "cheat meal" is kind of a subjective term, but last night I went a bit off my normal meal pattern and ate out at BWW. Had a snack size wings (5), a side salad and a lite beer and it was over 900 calories, which for me is a lot for dinner. Went for a quick walk when I got home to burn an extra few calories and ended up right on my goal for the day so it all worked out. I mean, at the end of the day, even a few 100 calories over one day isn't going to totally derail someone, am-I-right?2
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I would say, like, once a month. Like this Sunday when I'm going to take myself and only myself to the movies and have an enormous bucket of buttery popcorn. Calories be damned!
Happy Mothers Day to me!5 -
I don't necessarily have cheat day, but there are days that I just eat at maintenance instead of a deficit. Like tonight, for example. I'm going out to dinner with a friend to TGIFridays. I already know that I'm going to tear up some Sesame Jack chicken tenders. So instead of starving myself all day to fit the meal into my deficit, I've altered my normal eating habits slightly so that I can fit that meal into my day and still eat at my maintenance level.1
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Villypierr wrote: »I don't cheat with fat food. If you have to lose weight you have to have food with quality.
I attribute my 220lb loss to eating only quality chocolate and cake.8 -
I usually have one per week. When I was heavier I'd have a cheat DAY, and eat whatever and log it, but now it's more like one day when I have an excess of maximum 500 calories, which is essentially eating at maintenance now. It didn't affect me at all when I first started since I had a 1000 calorie deficit per day. I may change it to 2x per month, and really eat something I wouldn't normally. It kind of keeps me on track when I do it properly. When was normal weight I would always have one day per week when I could eat candy and cake (essentially a cheat day, and I only ate one small piece of cake from a bakery and a few chocolates, but that's all I wanted) and the other 6 days I did not eat treats. It worked very well--I was not counting calories then.0
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lewiswinston22 wrote: »First all thanks to everyone who left a comment. Starting off I will eliminate the word (cheat) because I don’t eat over my daily calories which is 1800 cal at the moment and it goes down every week as I lose weight. I honestly didn’t know another word. I have been seeing the gains and progress I wanted to, Every week since I started. Some weeks are better than other but and all I have consistently lost a few pounds every week. I’m really on this journey by myself I goto the gym 4-5 times out the week. But learning that long as you eat a calorie deficit you can lose weight I want feel bad no more about it. I thought it was eating all the right food at a calorie deficit. One again thanks for all the knowledge and Btw if you don’t mind I need friends on this app of ppl who are active on the app and can help motivate and vise versa so if don’t mind adding me or sending me a request that would be great.
You might want to call them 'fun' meals. I don't think many people would have a problem with that.2 -
I never have cheat meals.
When I was actively losing weight, I never ever, not even once went over my calorie limit.
Then when I hit a certain goal, 16 weeks later, I took a 1-month diet break. Then I returned to actively losing weight where I never ever, not even once went over my calorie limit for another 16 weeks. And reached my end goal.
Now I stick to my calorie limit for a while when I figure I need to drop a bit ... and take diet breaks when dropping weight isn't particularly important or necessary.1 -
lewiswinston22 wrote: »First all thanks to everyone who left a comment. Starting off I will eliminate the word (cheat) because I don’t eat over my daily calories which is 1800 cal at the moment and it goes down every week as I lose weight. I honestly didn’t know another word. I have been seeing the gains and progress I wanted to, Every week since I started. Some weeks are better than other but and all I have consistently lost a few pounds every week. I’m really on this journey by myself I goto the gym 4-5 times out the week. But learning that long as you eat a calorie deficit you can lose weight I want feel bad no more about it. I thought it was eating all the right food at a calorie deficit. One again thanks for all the knowledge and Btw if you don’t mind I need friends on this app of ppl who are active on the app and can help motivate and vise versa so if don’t mind adding me or sending me a request that would be great.
You might want to call them 'fun' meals. I don't think many people would have a problem with that.
Yes - fun meals, treat foods ,special meals, celebrations - any other description of higher calorie, usually less nutritious but enjoyable foods/meals
Things you can incorporate into your weekly calorie allowance without having the emotional negative loading of 'cheating'
Better way to approach it IMO.
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paperpudding wrote: »lewiswinston22 wrote: »First all thanks to everyone who left a comment. Starting off I will eliminate the word (cheat) because I don’t eat over my daily calories which is 1800 cal at the moment and it goes down every week as I lose weight. I honestly didn’t know another word. I have been seeing the gains and progress I wanted to, Every week since I started. Some weeks are better than other but and all I have consistently lost a few pounds every week. I’m really on this journey by myself I goto the gym 4-5 times out the week. But learning that long as you eat a calorie deficit you can lose weight I want feel bad no more about it. I thought it was eating all the right food at a calorie deficit. One again thanks for all the knowledge and Btw if you don’t mind I need friends on this app of ppl who are active on the app and can help motivate and vise versa so if don’t mind adding me or sending me a request that would be great.
You might want to call them 'fun' meals. I don't think many people would have a problem with that.
Yes - fun meals, treat foods ,special meals, celebrations - any other description of higher calorie, usually less nutritious but enjoyable foods/meals
Things you can incorporate into your weekly calorie allowance without having the emotional negative loading of 'cheating'
Better way to approach it IMO.
Absolutely!!
I ate a whole pizza about once a month while I was actively losing weight, without going over my calories. I just fit it into my calorie limit.
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I've had 'cheat' meals once a week and sometimes more, the entire time i've lost weight since january. What i do is balance things out with exercise and eating lighter or eliminating carbs for a few meals during the week. It has worked well for me. i don't count calories btw. i have lost 35 pounds..maybe more.. i have to weigh in next week. i am almost at goal.2
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The only one I cheat is me and I don't like to.3
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Way too often recently
Having a very hard time turning away from excessively caloric meals and treats lately. 2 -
I do not think the idea of a cheat meal is good psychologically. Who are am I cheating in this...myself? Why would I want to do that? Some days I might choose to eat something denser in calories than I would normally choose, but as everyone else on this discussion is saying, I count it in my calories for the day. It might mean I go over my limit for that day, but longer term I know I am doing OK as I am losing weight. It is also really amazing to discover the calories in something I might previously have eaten without any thought at all. Overall, I want to get balance in my eating and the idea of cheating does not fit in that for me.1
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Villypierr wrote: »I don't cheat with fat food. If you have to lose weight you have to have food with quality. Try to stay focused. Cheat only with healthy snacks. Its only you my friend on this journey, and all the hard work you do, goes backwards if you do that. Loose the weight first and then do that on the maintenance.
What is “fat food”?
Food with fat. Sorry if my English aren't that good..1 -
Villypierr wrote: »I don't cheat with fat food. If you have to lose weight you have to have food with quality. Try to stay focused. Cheat only with healthy snacks. Its only you my friend on this journey, and all the hard work you do, goes backwards if you do that. Loose the weight first and then do that on the maintenance.
That is not true. I've lost 60lbs while still enjoying Burger King, chicken fingers and mudslides.
well, last Saturday i enjoyed a burger and fries an then i didnt enjoyed that one week i had to practice to lose one-kilo and a half o took... i don't think that this is the proper way... we need consistency...3 -
Villypierr wrote: »I don't cheat with fat food. If you have to lose weight you have to have food with quality. Try to stay focused. Cheat only with healthy snacks. Its only you my friend on this journey, and all the hard work you do, goes backwards if you do that. Loose the weight first and then do that on the maintenance.
It really depends on the person and how long they are remaining in a deficit. If that works for you, great, but it doesn't work for everyone.
Personally I find if I cut everything out I am less successful and more likely to blow out when I am faced with those foods.
well for me the only way to see results is consistency and trust me if you eat 6 times a day you don't need to cheat cause you are so high that u are feeling strong inside , your endorphins form gym are 100% your blood sugar is stable and you don't need sweets, so the point is consistency, one cheat meal will destroy all your inside clock, that s why i say yes to cheats but with healthy snacks... don't have to eat a burger...11 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Villypierr wrote: »I don't cheat with fat food. If you have to lose weight you have to have food with quality. Try to stay focused. Cheat only with healthy snacks. Its only you my friend on this journey, and all the hard work you do, goes backwards if you do that. Loose the weight first and then do that on the maintenance.
I grow vegetables organically and am all for "quality" foods, which for me means no artificial flavors or colors, and a very long additional list that I won't go into as it is not germane.
Quality foods are needed for optimal nutrition. But all you need to lose weight is a calorie deficit.
Now, for me it would be hard to maintain a calorie deficit on low quality foods, as they tend to not satiate me. But if I were locked in a lab and could only eat 1200 calories of low quality food per day, there is no question that I'd lose weight.
You've already gotten some pushback on your claim, and you may get more. I want to point out that nobody is advocating a diet of all, mainly, or mostly low quality foods. We are just disagreeing that "bad" foods make you fat. It's excess calories that make you fat.
Bad food is the food that is bad for your health right? Why then eat a bad food that has the same calories with a healthy food and harms your self? the point is to STOP eating bad food and learn our brain to make choices that are better... if we educate our minds then you will never need a bad food again... (btw bad food for me plastic food not a homemade one)10 -
Villypierr wrote: »I don't cheat with fat food. If you have to lose weight you have to have food with quality.
I attribute my 220lb loss to eating only quality chocolate and cake.
The point of a diet is to STOP eating bad food and learn our brain to make choices that are better... if we educate our minds then you will never need a bad food again... (btw bad food for me plastic food not a homemade one) a diet isn't to look thin is to be healthy. That's my philosophy, and btw did i say chocolate and cake are bad? No.
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JanetBiard wrote: »I do not think the idea of a cheat meal is good psychologically. Who are am I cheating in this...myself? Why would I want to do that? Some days I might choose to eat something denser in calories than I would normally choose, but as everyone else on this discussion is saying, I count it in my calories for the day. It might mean I go over my limit for that day, but longer term I know I am doing OK as I am losing weight. It is also really amazing to discover the calories in something I might previously have eaten without any thought at all. Overall, I want to get balance in my eating and the idea of cheating does not fit in that for me.
Agree!3 -
I wouldn't say it's a "cheat" as I plan for it, but once a week I eat to maintenance and include some kind of indulgence in my day - it varies from week to week though, may be a meal out, or couple glasses of wine, or a piece of pie after dinner.0
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I used to have a cheat meal once a week. Then I would have a cheat meal twice a week. Then I would have a cheat meal 3 times a week. Then I thought I'd better knock it on the head. So I would have one cheat day a week. Then I had cheat days 2 days a week. Then every day was a cheat day. But I wasn't winning.
Now I have treat meals once a month and I make sure that what I'm choosing is nourishing. Last week was a wfpb buffet just to try something different. The month before that I splashed out on seafood and made a platter of oysters, scallops, crayfish, prawns and raw fish. At this stage I think I'll go to a mexican restaurant next month but I'll see what I'm craving when the time nears. As my treat meals are only once a month, I consider them to be a reward and treat them as such. I no longer consider nutritionally poor choices to be a reward. But that's my perception.1 -
I too prefer not to eat bad food and so today I threw out all the mushy moldy stuff in my fridge. I'm pretty sure eating that would have made me sick.11
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Villypierr wrote: »Villypierr wrote: »I don't cheat with fat food. If you have to lose weight you have to have food with quality. Try to stay focused. Cheat only with healthy snacks. Its only you my friend on this journey, and all the hard work you do, goes backwards if you do that. Loose the weight first and then do that on the maintenance.
What is “fat food”?
Food with fat. Sorry if my English aren't that good..
You are keeping away from any food with fat??
That doesn't sound realistic to me.
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Villypierr wrote: »Villypierr wrote: »I don't cheat with fat food. If you have to lose weight you have to have food with quality.
I attribute my 220lb loss to eating only quality chocolate and cake.
The point of a diet is to STOP eating bad food and learn our brain to make choices that are better... if we educate our minds then you will never need a bad food again... (btw bad food for me plastic food not a homemade one) a diet isn't to look thin is to be healthy. That's my philosophy, and btw did i say chocolate and cake are bad? No.
Well, not for me it wasn't. The point of my diet was to lose weight, then to maintain weight, whilst eating a reasonably balanced nutritional intake.
I don't see any foods as bad - some I like, some I don't, some are higher in calories, some provide different nutrients.
But I have no intention of re educating my mind or of avoiding all non home made food or all enjoyable treat foods.
Just eat them in moderation - ie within calorie allowance and within context of an overall balanced diet.
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Villypierr wrote: »Villypierr wrote: »I don't cheat with fat food. If you have to lose weight you have to have food with quality.
I attribute my 220lb loss to eating only quality chocolate and cake.
The point of a diet is to STOP eating bad food and learn our brain to make choices that are better... if we educate our minds then you will never need a bad food again... (btw bad food for me plastic food not a homemade one) a diet isn't to look thin is to be healthy. That's my philosophy, and btw did i say chocolate and cake are bad? No.
If you don’t think that chocolate and cake are ‘bad’, then why did you go on a rant about ‘bad food’ the moment I mentioned them?
I’m not going to take dietary advice from someone who contradicts themselves within the space of a single post.
The truth is that there are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods. There are foods that fit your nutritional requirements and calorie count and ones that don’t. A diet of only burgers will harm your body; but so will a diet of only vegetables.
And your idea that you have to have ‘food with quality’ (whatever that means) to lose weight is just wrong.5 -
Villypierr wrote: »Villypierr wrote: »I don't cheat with fat food. If you have to lose weight you have to have food with quality.
I attribute my 220lb loss to eating only quality chocolate and cake.
The point of a diet is to STOP eating bad food and learn our brain to make choices that are better... if we educate our minds then you will never need a bad food again... (btw bad food for me plastic food not a homemade one) a diet isn't to look thin is to be healthy. That's my philosophy, and btw did i say chocolate and cake are bad? No.
The point of a diet to me is to eat food I enjoy in quantities that help me achieve my goals. There is more to health than just what we put in our mouth, and negative food associations contribute to poor mental health IMO.
I prefer real hamburgers and fries to plastic ones out of my friends kids play set too....8 -
Villypierr wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »Villypierr wrote: »I don't cheat with fat food. If you have to lose weight you have to have food with quality. Try to stay focused. Cheat only with healthy snacks. Its only you my friend on this journey, and all the hard work you do, goes backwards if you do that. Loose the weight first and then do that on the maintenance.
I grow vegetables organically and am all for "quality" foods, which for me means no artificial flavors or colors, and a very long additional list that I won't go into as it is not germane.
Quality foods are needed for optimal nutrition. But all you need to lose weight is a calorie deficit.
Now, for me it would be hard to maintain a calorie deficit on low quality foods, as they tend to not satiate me. But if I were locked in a lab and could only eat 1200 calories of low quality food per day, there is no question that I'd lose weight.
You've already gotten some pushback on your claim, and you may get more. I want to point out that nobody is advocating a diet of all, mainly, or mostly low quality foods. We are just disagreeing that "bad" foods make you fat. It's excess calories that make you fat.
Bad food is the food that is bad for your health right? Why then eat a bad food that has the same calories with a healthy food and harms your self? the point is to STOP eating bad food and learn our brain to make choices that are better... if we educate our minds then you will never need a bad food again... (btw bad food for me plastic food not a homemade one)
I think you mentioned English isn’t your first language so I’m hoping you can help me understand what you mean by plastic food? I don’t think anyone eats plastic food, did you mean processed food?
Also, it would be hard to find a food that is objectively bad for your health or is harmful to consume. Trans fats are one thing that comes to mind but those have mostly been removed from foods that are commercially available. In a separate comment you mentioned burgers, why do you think burgers are bad? Beef, a bun, maybe some cheese, maybe some vegetables - what’s bad about all that?
The important thing to remember is context and dosage matter. You can fit almost any food into an overall healthy diet, and that takes away the idea of good and bad foods.6
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