Do you cheat meal while on your weight loss journey?

sandyy0605

Hello everyone,
I would like your thoughts when it comes to cheat meals, not so much day. I lost a significant amount a weight a long time ago without having a cheat day. But the first day I had a cheat meal which was pizza I about had a panic attack (not literally) . This time around trying to get back , I’m a month in but idk how I feel about cheat meal. Such as a burger but no fries or soda. What are your thoughts

bpetrosky

Cheat meals are a feature of many highly restrictive or complicated diet plans, with the idea that giving a person a periodic break helps improve overall compliance.

I prefer a flexible approach where I eat what I enjoy within my calorie target, therefore there is no need for 'cheats' as there are no forbidden foods. If there's a social event, holiday, or vacation, I can take a break or select foods I can work within maintenance and go right back to the routine afterward.

leanjogreen18

I don’t restrict any food so I don’t really need a cheat meal.

I do however cycle or bank my calories so I have a higher calorie day.

Poisonedpawn78

Food restriction is not necessary. Have what you enjoy within your daily or weekly goals.

There is nothing wrong with a hamburger or fries or pizza.

AnvilHead

Since, like the posters above me, I don't restrict any food from my diet, I wouldn't even consider pizza or a burger with no fries or soda as a cheat meal. I could (and do) easily fit either of those into my calorie goals.

I'm in maintenance now, but I have occasional days where I throw it all to the wind and eat well above maintenance calories without caring one bit - because life is like that, and I know it's nothing more than a momentary setback (I did the exact same thing throughout my weight loss also). I didn't lose all the weight in one day and I'm not going to gain it all back in one day. Having that knowledge is enormously freeing, as long as I keep in mind that those days have to be the occasional exception and not the rule. Then the next day I get right back to my normal routine and soldier onward.

apullum

To me, the panic is more concerning than the calories.

Going over your calories shouldn’t be a cause for panic. It’s something we all do occasionally, whether it’s intentional or not. That isn’t “cheating”; that’s life. Pizza happens. The worst thing that would happen from eating a moderate amount of pizza is a temporary water weight gain or slowdown in weight loss.

If you want your lifestyle change to be sustainable long term, then you have to figure out how to fit in the foods you want without feeling panicked when you eat them.

sandyy0605

Thank you to all the fellow posters, your feedback has helped me tremendously and now I have a clear mind that I can eat things that I want within my goal.

Lolinloggen

I would not call it a cheat meal as it is not. On my journey I regularly had an overdayAbout once every 2-3 months or so
I looked forward to it. It was a celebration and it was a sanity day. I logged it savoured it and moved on.
It is about balance and that means learning how to deal with food and occasions too

TavistockToad

sandyy0605 wrote: »

Hello everyone,
I would like your thoughts when it comes to cheat meals, not so much day. I lost a significant amount a weight a long time ago without having a cheat day. But the first day I had a cheat meal which was pizza I about had a panic attack (not literally) . This time around trying to get back , I’m a month in but idk how I feel about cheat meal. Such as a burger but no fries or soda. What are your thoughts

Nope, i fit food i like into my weekly calorie goal.

takemetosingapore2019

I never need to cheat because I let myself always have what I want. Luckily for me I usually want healthy foods. The only time I go without foods I want is when I’m on a cut and I do 1200 calories for two weeks and only eat vegetables, egg whites, and fish. I haven’t done one of those in a while and if I do one in the near future I will do a modified version since that is very hard to stick to.

MeganReid1991

I do. I tend to eat lower calories during the week to leave room for a extra glass of wine or a poutine on the weekend.
I try and think of it as balance though out the week instead of balance though out the day.

witchaywoman81

I’m still relatively new at this, but I’ve learned a couple things that changed my mindset compared with previous “diets”:

- nothing is off-limits
- You don’t need to starve yourself
- Set reasonable goals

That said, I agree with others in this thread. I don’t need to have a “cheat” meal because I eat what I want, within my calorie goal, every day. Good luck to you!

debrakgoogins

I don't call it a cheat meal. I realized a long time ago that if my eating plan requires me to make drastic changes that I won't be able to sustain for a lifetime, it's not a diet plan worth following. I will fail and fail miserably. I eat the things I like but less of it and make room in my calories for all the foods I like.

rheddmobile

I don't cheat. But I can't fathom why a burger with no fries would count as "cheating" anyway. If you like burgers, find a way to fit them into your calories. Same for pizza, you may find the amount that fits into your calories is disappointing and not worth doing very often, but the pizza police will not arrest you for breaking your diet.

If you need a break once in a while in order to fit in your favorite foods, eating at your maintenance calories once a week is a useful tactic. That way you know you are not setting yourself back, just slowing down your rate of loss by a day.

DawnOfTheDead_Lift

I got rid of the concept of a cheat meal. The only non negotiable factor is that if I eat it, no matter how much I may not want to know, I log it honestly.

Running2Fit

Not really. I don’t have any off-limit foods. I just count calories. Sometimes I’ll plan for a higher calorie day but it’s not really a cheat, I just do a couple lower-calorie days before or after a day I’m planning to go over my norm.

ShayCarver89

I used to but I don't anymore. I would find that I would wake up a pound or 2 heavier and it would take me days to get rid of it and having a cheat meal just isn't worth the set back. I will save the cheat meals for maintenance.

nicsflyingcircus

I generally eat low-carb, with 100+ gram protein daily and rounded out with fat, as it makes me feel full and helps my compliance. But I am also flexible; I want glorious hand-cut fries? I share a good sized order with my daughter alongside my bunless burger. I want pizza? Thin crust is the choice (my preference anyway) and I just moderate how much of it I eat. I want beer? I look at my day/week and decide if it's worth it. Date night? I can have a drink or two if I want. I want that 90 calorie pack of Swiss Miss hot cocoa? I think I will!

My point is, it's not cheatin', it's just eatin'! Something you do (hopefully) daily.

I ate close to maintenance for two days over Thanksgiving, with more carbs than normal for me. Had a temporary blip on the scale and am now back to my losing ways.

Blythmag

Poisonedpawn78 wrote: »

Food restriction is not necessary. Have what you enjoy within your daily or weekly goals.

There is nothing wrong with a hamburger or fries or pizza.

Ermm this.eat whatever you like in the calorie target ,;its not cheating

smantha32

No, I have what I want but make sure it fits my calories. "Cheat" days can undo a week's worth of work.

neugebauer52

A try to plan ahead and prepare my daily meal plan accordingly. Yesterday evening we went to our favourite pizza place - and enjoyed the best pizza in town. That was about 1.000 calories - my allocation for the day (MFP) is 1.740 calories, by the end of the day I ended up just on 2.000 calories in total. Still feel full this morning, so a light breakfast will do. But that pizza was worth it!

paepaesayob

Every Sunday it's a cheat meal for me....

krael65

nicsflyingcircus wrote: »

My point is, it's not cheatin', it's just eatin'! Something you do (hopefully) daily.

I love this!

It's not cheating, it's a choice. You can choose to eat at a deficit, at maintenance, or above maintenance. Whatever you choose, accept it and move on. It's the overall trend over time that determines if you lose, maintain or gain.

LiLee2018

I've had 2 cheat days during these 5 months I've been losing weight. One was spontaneous (it took the place of a planned cheat) and one was planned (thanksgiving). First time, it took 2 weeks for my body to get back to normal. This last time, it's taking over a week to feel like my body is back to where it was.
Some folks are ok to cheat, I'm not.
I have an unhealthy relationship with food (I overeat and I'm insulin resistant too so the foods I crave aren't tolerated by my body) and if I allowed myself to cheat regularly, I'd spiral right back to eating junk food all the time like I used to do in the past. I'm just over doing that crap now so... no cheating regularly for myself. Other than for Thanksgiving, I really haven't had that urge to want to cheat, BUT when Thanksgiving was getting closer, I still found myself trying to come up with excuses to cheat sooner. "Already gonna be cheating for Thanksgiving, might as well start Wednesday. What would it hurt if I ate all of these carby leftovers Friday? One more day won't hurt anything." It's the same crap I said to myself before that I always gave in to that always had me right back to eating crap.
I'm finally, FINALLY in the right place mentally to stick with a healthier diet and I'm done sabotaging myself b/c I want some junk food.
The junk food or foods I can't have right now aren't going anywhere and will be there once I'm in maintenance. I'll be able to have them again eventually when I don't have to be so strict.