What do all of you feel about a cheating day?
saundts
Posts: 51 Member
recently, my friends say that I should have a cheating day so that I do not feel deprived. What do you all say? and to what limits, maximum or minimum. right now I keep an under 1800 cal. per day, I am 258 pounds 43 male 5'9". Starting weight 20 days ago was 267 pounds.
0
Replies
-
I think it's smart to eat well (enough of everything you need, but not too much, of food you like) every day, so you don't feel deprived and feel the need to cheat.13
-
I feel that attaching negative connotations (like "cheating") to food is unhealthy.
Don't make foods off limits (unless they make you sick) and know that you can fit foods in and still achieve your goals. How much and how often will depend on various factors, but it's up to you to decide whether it's "worth it".
Perhaps consider seeing your calorie goal as a weekly target rather than a daily one. Saving calories to enjoy higher calorie items is fine and makes it possible to stick to your goal but still enjoy all kinds of food.12 -
Never took a cheat day. When I was actively losing weight, I ate the food I liked and stayed within my calorie limit. When I reached my first goal, I took a planned 1-month diet break. Then I resumed the diet to reach my second goal.
Oh and exercise helped ... I'd put in a good day of cycling, then I'd go out for pizza or something.
0 -
You have to think of this as a way of life not a diet vs normal eating. If there are foods you like then work them into your week. If I'm going out for pizza or beer on a Saturday I'll do more cardio weds-fri or I'll have a fasting day earlier in the week to compensate. Don't think of them as daily limits but instead a weekly average - that way you'll have more flexibility to live a normal life and make healthy eating (on balance) your life6
-
I don’t do cheat meals/days. For me it implies that my regular diet is so miserable I have to plan an escape from it.
I track all my food and try very hard to hit my calorie goal everyday. But every once in a while life happens and you go over. I think it’s fine as long as it’s not habit.7 -
Avoiding deprivation is important. The strict eating austerity program will fail in the end. Call it a high calorie day. Or burger day. Or whatever. But it isn’t cheating to try find a way to be satisfied with your program.
How we talk to ourselves has an impact on how this works out. Since I’m all about process and the food diary, I think the only available cheat is to eat something and not log it. But since our bodies count everything even if we don’t, there’s no way to cheat the count.
When I started weight loss, I decided I wanted to include a daily treat, usually ice cream. Planned and counted. Have I cheated my way to 100+ lb loss? Not how I look at it. It was problem solving.7 -
Personally I never have a "Cheat Day". I enjoy the foods I like, while the majority of what I eat is highly healthy, I still enjoy pizza, tacos, etc... a "cheat meal" if you will, but dont think of it as a cheat. Work it into you calories / macros / lifestyle. Nothing is off limits as long as you don't lose control.2
-
I don't cheat on my lifestyle. My lifestyle allows for indulgences and treats.8
-
Exactly! I have no desire to have a “cheat” meal or day.kommodevaran wrote: »I think it's smart to eat well (enough of everything you need, but not too much, of food you like) every day, so you don't feel deprived and feel the need to cheat.
0 -
Every program I have ever been on didn’t allow a cheat DAY. They simply stated that if you did indulge in one meal then just go back your plan after. However, caution they did state only once a week or you won’t see much progress. I have followed this and had lost 85lbs in the past. It works. I am just getting started back on it after having my baby and being on bed rest.1
-
I'm not a big fan of the whole idea of a cheat day. Even though it takes a while, calories in and calories out makes the most sense to me. I don't feel deprived at all because I know that I can have that candy bar if I am willing to do the extra work to burn the massive amount of calories it has.
To me, the whole "cheat day" premise is just shooting oneself in the foot. It's not like we can take one day and eat whatever we want and then expect our body to say "ya, I won't hold onto those extra calories because today is a cheat day"
Knowhattamean?1 -
You are cheating yourself, why would you do that? Why don't you plan your diet that day to allow the food you want? If you want a bowl of ice cream at dinner, eat wisely the rest of the day.2
-
I always allow myself a cheat. Maybe not a full on day, though. For instance, last week I knew i was going to my friend's on Saturday for swimming/snacks/drinks. I made sure I didn't go over my cals all week so I knew I had the wiggle room to indulge within reason. It's all bout planning3
-
I eat healthy/log M thru F. Sa/SU no logging but, I am careful with my choices for the most part. I drink alcohol 1 day on the weekend usually 4-5 light beers. I just have to live my life. This works for me. I am able to maintain. I wear a size 10 which is just perfect for me. I do go to Cyclefit class 3x weekly which is a combo spin/weight training/cardio class for 1 hr. Love it. PS I quit smoking 5/4/18 cold turkey.0
-
I used to enjoy a cheat day during my previous weight loss attempts. After some time they changed from a cheat day to a a cheat day and a breakfast, then another lunch, eventually I did 2 cheat days. Finally I was cheating every single day of the week...Now I incorporate on a daily basis if there is something I really would like to eat or drink. At the same time I make sure to adjust my meal plan on the very same day. I also make sure that my daily macros stay in line as much as I can. After about 100 days - so far, so good.0
-
* Excitedly jumps around yelling "me too! me too!" *Never took a cheat day. When I was actively losing weight, I ate the food I liked and stayed within my calorie limit. When I reached my first goal, I took a planned 1-month diet break. Then I resumed the diet to reach my second goal.
Oh and exercise helped ... I'd put in a good day of cycling, then I'd go out for pizza or something.
It's pretty simple. Eat what you like, but stay within your calorie limits. If you think you'll be going over, get in a little exercise to offset the difference. If you're still over, don't fret ... either plan to make it up the next day, or just don't worry about it. As long as your overall trend is caloric deficit, you'll be fine.1 -
Not a cheat, a treat. You get treats, just stay in your calorie budget.2
-
So people have already pointed out that it should be a lifestyle so thinking of it as a cheat day means that you're thinking of it as a more temporary situation. One thing that has really helped my husband and I is sticking to our weight loss calorie goal each day with the potential for what we call "gap days" and looking at our total calories for the week
Theoretically, if you want a higher calorie food to fit into your daily calories, you either have to portion control your food so it fits, or move more to create a calorie excess so it fits. Sometimes those options just suck. Maybe you're having an extra hungry day or you just can't get motivated to move more. Since I'm shooting for two pounds and he's shooting for one pound loss per week, there is a 1000 or 500 calorie gap between what we burn and what we eat each day. If we are having one of those days where we just can't do it, we allow ourselves to eat some, not all, of that gap back.
Even if we do eat all of our gap, we are technically eating for maintenance. Then, we can look at our well and despite having a maintenance day, overall we are on track to still lose weight because we were at a deficit for the week. We try to limit those days and have been pretty good about and have only done that 2-3 times in the last month because overall we don't feel deprived. We eat healthy things that are super yummy and area generally able to fit foods we love into our healthy eating lifestyle even if they maybe aren't the best.
Also, foods aren't inherently good or bad. They just are. If a food isn't getting you towards your goals, is it worth the calories you're spending on it? Maybe, maybe not. I know that for me, popcorn and the occasional custard from the local custard place are totally worth it. Most other salty foods or ice creams aren't.0 -
If you feel like you have to cheat, its because something isnt right--is the plan you are on too restrictive maybe? Did you set your calories too low and are not able to enjoy eating the foods you like to eat now because of it? Did you decide to be on a diet, and therefore swap the foods your normally eat with diety foods that you are not fond of at all, thereby not learning how to eat your favorite foods with good portion control? All things to consider!
I did another plan a while ago and failed numerous times to record certain foods I was eating. That plan, unlike this one, was VERY restrictive, and I struggled with eating every day. I was miserable, not losing weight, paying for a weight loss plan, and ending up with less than 1200 calories on any given day. I woke up one morning and realized it just wasnt the right plan for me to be on! It wasnt who I was for weight loss. I stopped doing that plan all together, started doing MFP, and am no longer miserable, or feel like the foods I eat dont need to be recorded.
Sometimes it takes trying out a few weight loss plans before you find the one that suits who YOU are, suits what you enjoy eating, and suits YOUR needs.0 -
recently, my friends say that I should have a cheating day so that I do not feel deprived. What do you all say? and to what limits, maximum or minimum. right now I keep an under 1800 cal. per day, I am 258 pounds 43 male 5'9". Starting weight 20 days ago was 267 pounds.
What does that mean to you?
My overall diet is very sound nutritionally speaking...but I make room for things like pizza night with my kids, some pub grub now and then, nice dinners with my wife, etc. I would say somewhere between 80-90% of my diet is nutritional awesomeness (and delicious) and 10-20% not quite so nutritious.
0 -
I have a cheat meal once a week (still estimate calories and log)...the rest of the day I eat normally and usually only end the day 200 or 300 calories over goal.
A cheat day would put me well over the ectra 200-300 calories probably.0 -
I don't like the term "cheat day". I am a very fussy eater and really enjoy high calorie food. For me I log faithfully and try to keep a 150 Calorie deficit each day. I allow myself to go into maintenance calories every Sunday. This is a family day in our house where there is always a big breakfast and a big dinner. I felt like I was "failing" every Sunday until I changed this in my mind. I also have one day each month where I allow myself a maintenance day. I just changed this last week after stalling at a 17 pound loss for almost a month. Today I am down another 1.5 pounds.1
-
I give myself treats not cheats. I work WAY too hard at weight management to cheat myself.1
-
I don't have cheat days or meals. I do have days that are higher in calories which are balanced by lower calorie days or additional exercise.
Everything gets logged, even the extra half glass of wine on Tuesday night. I would be concerned that not tracking one day would gradually transition to more frequent days without that accountability.0 -
I have occasional cheat meals, like if I get a date night with DH (unlikely, with 3 littles and no one physically capable of keeping all 3 of them in the family and no money for dates or sitters) or in the case of today, where the in laws treated the kids to a kid movie and lunch (and us to go with them) I chose something sensible, but I knew it'd put me over for the day, at least in macros if not in calories.
Basically for special occasions. There is still a place in my life for big slices of birthday cake (even if it would be "sensible" to eat a smaller piece and stay under), or special recipe holiday desserts. I don't find calling it a "cheat meal" or a "cheat day" negative to me. Call it a vacation day if you want, or a holiday. OR call it like 80/20 or something. I don't see a lifestyle where I can't enjoy a day of indulgence every now and then.0 -
Cheating day? Sounds like a diet to me. I'm going for lifestyle. After dieting off and on for 50 years, my PW was 390 lbs (I'm 6' 2"). It was killing me.
I started at 375 lbs 214 days ago. I weigh 259 lbs today, and I've retained LBM by weightlifting and walking.
No cheating days.
Cheating is just practice for the day you get off your diet. It's a temporary change, and will eventually end with even more weight than at the start. Go for permanent lifestyle change.1 -
Okay, I didn't log my birthday last February. But I still didn't just eat whatever I would have eaten a lifetime ago.0
-
I do meal prep all week so I have all of my meals ready to go and I just have to pop them in the microwave so on Saturday or Sunday I usually have one meal that's whatever I want and some form of sweet. I fast from dinner the night before to that meal and still try to not go over my daily maintenance calories.0
-
Losing weight is hard and you have to accept feeling deprived sometimes for the larger goal. We could yak about lifestyle VS dieting but any way you slice it, eating what you desire rather than require sets you back.
Some tips:
- One indulgent meal > cheat day. Personally I can tuck in 3500 extra calories (1 lb) in a day no problem if I'm not being mindful. Before you know it, there goes a week of effort and returning to your good habits will feel more daunting.
- The less you're eating indulgent foods, the less you feel deprived not having them. It just becomes a new normal to eat healthier options and smaller portions.
- Find ways to feel indulgent which aren't food. Same goes for other ways people use food: to cope, process big feelings, celebeate, socialize, etc.0 -
recently, my friends say that I should have a cheating day so that I do not feel deprived. What do you all say? and to what limits, maximum or minimum. right now I keep an under 1800 cal. per day, I am 258 pounds 43 male 5'9". Starting weight 20 days ago was 267 pounds.
I find it unhelpful to set aside special days to “cheat,” but i occasionally indulge in not-so-healthy foods if I feel like it and have the calories in my budget.0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.3K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.6K Fitness and Exercise
- 431 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.8K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions