Do you log cheat meals/days?
Replies
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I log everything and eat what I want within my goals. I do follow a weekly calorie goal though so some days are over and some under. It balances out in the end and I can fit larger calorie meals into my life easily.2
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Totally try to log them accurately Mostly guesstimates then but logging always0
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I don't do cheat days but try to accommodate food which I haven't pre - planned on my daily meal plan. I also try to do some extra exercise or go for a walk. On rare occasions I have eaten something after I have closed my meals day on MFP - which will be added / recorded first thing the next morning making sure, that those extra calories will fit into my day's allotment.2
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I did at first and I'm really glad I did... it was a reeeeeeal eye opener.
In two senses:
1. When you shyly eat a few unexpected goodies, logging helps you see that the damage is not that bad! You can totally keep that day at a deficit or at maintenance and feel pretty good about that.
2. When you go all out (very little shyness), you can see the real, hard truth. See how easy it is to put yourself in a huge surpluss, how easy it is to sweep a week's deficit, etc.
So yeah, I found logging those days to be very educational.
However, nowadays, when I have the occaaaasional loosey-goosey day, I don't log, because I'm not really in the logging mind zone, you know?2 -
I also don't cheat, but I do log and whenever possible weigh or measure everything I eat.1
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I did at first and I'm really glad I did... it was a reeeeeeal eye opener.
In two senses:
1. When you shyly eat a few unexpected goodies, logging helps you see that the damage is not that bad! You can totally keep that day at a deficit or at maintenance and feel pretty good about that.
2. When you go all out (very little shyness), you can see the real, hard truth. See how easy it is to put yourself in a huge surpluss, how easy it is to sweep a week's deficit, etc.
So yeah, I found logging those days to be very educational.
However, nowadays, when I have the occaaaasional loosey-goosey day, I don't log, because I'm not really in the logging mind zone, you know?
Maybe that will deter me from future falls off the wagon.0 -
Selectively logging your diet seems to defeat the purpose- hopefully you don't manage your finances according to the same philosophy
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Bry_Fitness70 wrote: »Selectively logging your diet seems to defeat the purpose- hopefully you don't manage your finances according to the same philosophy
I log everything, even the bad stuff. It was just hard to track on vacation. I really wanted a consensus on if it’s helpful/necessary.1 -
I also don't consider it cheating if I decide to go over my calorie goal, so I log it all no matter how bad it looks. I weigh & measure when possible (not when g'kids are here or when eating out) but it is logged. (except on cruise last summer--no internet!) I must be doing OK because I have been maintaining for years (or v-e-r-y slowly losing) even though I would like to lose another 10-15 pounds.
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Eating enough calories to maintain your current weight.2 -
Yes, always0
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cheating wastes the waist2
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I don’t consider them cheat days but Saturdays I do tend to eat more calories then normal but everyday my calories are different.
I do track everything because honestly for me it keeps me accountable.
That being said I don’t think you always have to track and I actually think not tracking is a good way to practice maintaining but maybe mid way though your journey and not right at first!1 -
I log everything. Sometimes I can incorporate my cheat meal into my regular calorie intake... other times I can't. It helps me when I can keep track of every day.1
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I bank some calories and carbs for the weekends. So monday through friday each day I go under about 75 calories on average. So that split between Saturday and Sunday. I can have a bit more, plus I increase the amount of walking on those days. So each day I can have on average 250 more calories than rest of week. It is working great for me. But I log everything I eat.1
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I didn't used to because of how embarrassed I was. I realized that wasn't right because like someone said before, your body is still counting even if you're not.
Also, sometimes it's not as bad as you think when you look at your weekly average. You still could be under maintenence. So, don't be afraid. Information is power.1 -
So I guess your question is because of a recent vacation?
When I'm away on vacation, I don't keep track. When I'm at home I log all the food I eat no matter how much, because knowledge is power.
Most vacations have me eating more but also being much more active, so any couple of pounds that show on the scale drop back off within a week. I'm not about to stress out over calories when on vacay.2 -
I log everything. Days I’m right on track, days I’m under, days I’m over - it all gets logged. Not logging doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, your body logs it all whether you put it into MFP or not.2
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Running2Fit wrote: »I log everything. Days I’m right on track, days I’m under, days I’m over - it all gets logged. Not logging doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, your body logs it all whether you put it into MFP or not.
Strangely, for this same reason I don't log those days when I "kind of" let go.
Because I figure, the surplus is happening logging or no logging; the water weight gain & the real fat gain is happenin' no matter what... why would I bother logging on days I'm chilling? I use logging as a meticulous tool to stay in deficit, maintenance, track my macros, etc. It's work, but I use it as a precious means to an end. Days when I have fun and let lose... I don't bother. It's of little use, because I'm not concerned with goals on those days.
On a side note, I only have these loosey-goosey days like once every 6 weeks.
On another side note, I always make sure they're only that: one day.
On yet another side note, of course I track any goodies on a regular day (chocolate, wine, ice-cream, cookies, whatever).
On a final note, I did log these "cheat days" (or whatever anyone likes to call them) in the past, and it was very educational, useful, eye-opener, helpful, etc. It made me see just what could go on on a day when I didn't eat mindfully (and goodness gracious a lot could go on!). However, I've learned what I needed and that's why on just those few days in the year: I don't track. I'm not in that mindset those days... not logging into MFP is part of the fun, to be honest, hehe. But I have the discipline to go back on track right away, which is also somehing I learned with time.1
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