Verdict on cheat days?
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DevilsFan1 wrote: »
Well, it's around 570 calories. The guy making your burrito isn't weighing the ingredients, so you don't really know what you're getting. I'd definitely consider Chipotle a cheat meal because you have no idea what you're putting into your body.
Even if you rounded up to 600, maybe 625, that's something that most people can carve out. By the, "you have no idea what you're putting into your body" standard, people who aren't exclusively eating food that they've cooked from scratch are eating cheat meals every day. Likely multiple times per day. Right now I'm out of town attending a conference. Everything I'm eating has been/will be prepared by someone else. I guess I'm having a cheat 4 and a half days.8 -
If it fits into your caloric goal then no, I wouldn't see that as "cheating". I also think that the word "cheat" is really poorly used, but that's a slightly different conversation.DevilsFan1 wrote: »
Good point. It depends on your goals. Most people don't track macros, so for the majority I don't think that qualifies. My personal definition is eating over maintenance or eating something you want to eat without regard for caloric intake. I said above that I would qualify eating a Chipotle burrito as cheating because you don't really know the calorie count for it, just a very rough estimate. A couple of people disagreed, but I wonder if they would say that eating a Western Bacon Cheeseburger from Carl's Jr. would be also not be a cheat meal even though you can find the estimated calories for it online as well. If you're trying to lose weight, "cheating", IMO, is eating something you want to eat without accounting for or caring about caloric intake, but I know many wouldn't adhere to that definition.3 -
Cheat days are great. Once/week. They give you a little bit of guilt to get you motivated for the next week's calorie counts. Also I've found that if I was very constant hitting my calorie deficit that I would plateau. And then I started going -100 extra for say six days then +600 for the 7th day and that seemed to kick start some losses. (all for the same weekly calorie goal)
IMO, guilt is optional. Food is not sin, and requires no expiation. Allowing emotion (like guilt) to enter the situation can be a slippery slope to a worse psychological state; IMO we should be trying to take the emotion out of it (other than enjoyment/celebration/joy, sometimes, tempered of course by sensible intake).
Beyond that, guilt makes me feel bad, however briefly. I'd rather feel good.
Eating sensibly, and making that good-sense eating as much as possible tasty things, is a something good I give to myself: Tasty for current self, sensible for future self, in balance. Eating that way makes me feel good, in diverse ways.
Some people like guilt, I guess. I'm not one.6 -
Cheat days are great. Once/week. They give you a little bit of guilt to get you motivated for the next week's calorie counts. Also I've found that if I was very constant hitting my calorie deficit that I would plateau. And then I started going -100 extra for say six days then +600 for the 7th day and that seemed to kick start some losses. (all for the same weekly calorie goal)
You can't plateau if you are in a calorie deficit. You can have water weight and food waste mask your fat losses for a period of time but that is completely different. I never plateau but I will very often only see a new low weight every third week.
Guilt was a stumbling block for me in previous weight loss attempts so I don't do that anymore. I give myself permission to do everything I do related to eating. Even if I screw up I have my permission not to be perfect. I need to remain objective so I can correct any problems that need addressing.1 -
DevilsFan1 wrote: »
I love (and by love, I mean hate) how the truth you stated here is flagged as woo.
Yes I saw that but there are naysayers everywhere.
For me, one cheat meal a week wipes out my entire week's deficit so that doesn't work for me. I have known many people who have done the same, had cheat meals, worked hard all week otherwise, and got frustrated when they didnt lose weight.
For people that have a higher daily calorie budget, maybe cheating can work for them. I do feel that the whole concept of cheating and good/bad foods is not good though1 -
I've stopped having "cheat" meals, but rather maintenance meal. This occurs on Saturday night - and I still log the meal. I usually go 400 above my 1600 net, sometimes a little more.
Why maintenance meal? It "maintains"
- my sanity
- my calorie deficit for the week
- my healthy relationship with food - this is the most import one IMHO
- my need to try out new recipes (love this one!)
I used to not log the meal and this is a big mistake. If you cannot come to terms logging your cheat meal, then figure out/work on those reasons first. Then you will realise your cheat meal isn't really a cheat meal after all 😊6 -
I like cheat days once in awhile1
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