What do all of you feel about a cheating day?

saundts

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.

kommodevaran

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.

livingleanlivingclean

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.

Machka9

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.

bufger

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 life

ChelleTrell

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.

88olds

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.

mnalsa83

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.

Sabine_Stroehm

I don't cheat on my lifestyle. My lifestyle allows for indulgences and treats.

workinonit1956

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.

Exactly! I have no desire to have a “cheat” meal or day.

clelwood04

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.

mamasara2

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?

DoubleUbea

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.

JDubIsShrinking

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 planning

kbmnurse1

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.

neugebauer52

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.

AwesomeOpossum74

Machka9 wrote: »

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.

* Excitedly jumps around yelling "me too! me too!" *
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.

mulecanter

Not a cheat, a treat. You get treats, just stay in your calorie budget.

thisPGHlife

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.

luv2walk84

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.

cwolfman13

saundts wrote: »

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.