Cheat meal/day???

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cdegler1
cdegler1 Posts: 3 Member
in Getting Started
Hi, I wanted to know what people think of cheat meals/days? What about only one cheat day per month max? Will this derail my progress?

I want to eat 1200 cal per day to lose weight, but I also want to enjoy certain holidays, like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Will having one cheat day per month max to accommodate those holidays derail my progress? Thanks
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  • NoHookUpZone
    NoHookUpZone Posts: 1,531 Member
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    I don't count/track for 1 day a week. Usually Saturday or Sunday is my freeday. I do allow myself junk I may not eat normally on that day, but never in excess. I'll eat my usual breakfast and lunch but come dinner time that's my freebie. I don't gain, and I honestly believe it's kicked my plateau issues to the curb. My weight has been dropping like crazy doing it this way. Saturday my dinner was a cheeseburger with traditional deep fried garlic fries, and still dropped almost 3 lbs this week and that was starting Sunday. That amount of weightloss isn't A-typical but I'm still fairly large so it's still dropping fast.

    Nothing wrong with a day off as long as you don't over do it.
  • dianahajen1
    dianahajen1 Posts: 19 Member
    edited September 2019
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    I have a "cheat day" once a week. Usually on a sunday. I don't binge but I do watch. I keep track of my calorie intake every day even on Sunday. I do consider it like a normal day... I know we are not suppose to call it a "diet" but who are we kidding.This is my lifestyle...watch everyday but indulge a little once in a while.I found doing it this way I don't have cravings..I reward myself on Sunday. I have been losing an average of 2 lbs. a week..
  • yelliezx
    yelliezx Posts: 633 Member
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    I don't have cheat days but I do allow myself to have maintenance days on the weekend if I want them. I always log everything though.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,467 Member
    edited September 2019
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    I have a cheat or treat meal occasionally when I need it. I started with one planned once a week. I could never fit fried chicken, biscuits and gravy into my “diet”, so in the beginning, that was often my treat meal. I didn’t go crazy. Had a salad/no dressing first. One piece of chicken, maybe 1/2 or 1 biscuit. Probably went 200 to 300 calories over that day. I don’t think it hurt one single bit. I think it made it better. I didn’t know how to have a reasonable amount of fried chicken. Now I do. I didn’t know how to say to myself, I can’t have everything I want every day, but I can have some of what I want someday, without going crazy. That’s a very important lesson.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
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    I don't eat the same calories each day. Weekdays I usually eat lower calories, usually under goal. I kind of bank these calories for the weekend when I spend more time with family and am more likely to eat out.
  • peachvine29
    peachvine29 Posts: 400 Member
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    BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »
    I don’t believe in ‘cheat days’ at all, I don’t actually see the point of them, as I think the whole mindset around the concept is counterproductive.

    The concept of cheating, or treating, suggests deprivation the rest of the time, otherwise there’d be nothing to ‘cheat’, right?

    Losing weight is not just a short term project that once accomplished can be figuratively put in a cupboard and forgotten. If I’m to be successful then I need to change my understanding and expectations around food and portion size etc, otherwise I’m just going to put it all back on again. It’s about long term sustainable habits and if you feel deprived whilst making those habits it’s by definition not sustainable.

    If there are foods you’re denying yourself that you feel you have to ‘cheat’ in order to eat them, then I say you’re doing it wrong! Budget to include them if you simply must have them or accept that whatever it is isn’t actually worth the calories it contains and just don’t eat it.

    This 1000%!!!
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
    edited September 2019
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    I don't have a cheat meal ever. That's not to say that I never indulge or treat myself, only that I refuse to classify enjoying my life occasional as 'cheating' like I'm doing something wrong or breaking some rule. Forget that self judging, moralising nonsense.

    So I stick to my calorie target the majority of the time and if an occasional situation arises that I think is worth taking a minor dent to my progress I'll enjoy myself fully and entirely guilt free. Weight is lost and gained because of what you do every day, not because of what you do once in a while.
  • elfin168
    elfin168 Posts: 202 Member
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    I dont think it will do any harm as long as you are eating 'normally' on that day and not binge eating. You would therefore be effectively dieting on 6 days out of 7 and maintaining on the 7th, I would be concerned about your calorie goal tho as 1200 is pretty low. Mine is around 1400 and to be honest i probably eat around 1500-1600 some days. if i get tired or sore i might have the occassional day off tracking. weight loss should be sustainable so the occassional day off wont hurt. but if you binge it will. if you are eating enough during your 'dieting' days then you should be okay. to anyone who doesnt believe in days off and mentions deprivation...dieting is deprevation to a degree. we reduce our calorie intake to below the bodys requirements in order to make the body use its fat and some muscle stores for energy. it can get tiring over time and taking an occassional day off is sometimes necessary or healthy
  • BlancheandSmooshyface
    BlancheandSmooshyface Posts: 67 Member
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    (sigh) I know about cheat days. After 6 months of eating low carb, and avoiding breads of all kinds, I woke with the need for pizza. Being Italian, pasta and pizza were probably my first solid foods after being weaned. Needless to say, I made a personal pan pizza this morning and ate half of it, going waaaay over my carbs. Fortunately, now that my need has been sated, it's back to counting carbs and calories again.
  • moonangel12
    moonangel12 Posts: 971 Member
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    Realizing that tracking foods is a lot like the financial budgeting we (hubby and I) have been doing for over a decade, I feel the freedom! I can have whatever I want, within reason, I just need to plan for it, account for it, and not lie to myself about it.

    My husband’s cute new habit? At night after supper he will come up and ask me “how many do you want?” - I smile, hold out my hand, and he counts up by 10 as he drops each peanut M&M in my hand (roughly 10 calories each) - they are from his personal stash <3:) A nice, sweet treat from my sweet, guilt free.

    Last night? I had a LOT of calories left, like 800. Not sure how that happened... so while I planned out a sewing project I had a creamsicle. And some almonds. And part of a bagel with butter. I was hungry :blush:

    It truly is freeing if you have the right mindset, like a financial budget - you can focus on all the things you can’t have on a day to day basis and pout about it, or you can make the conscious decision to say hey, this is what I need to do to make changes! I am going to cinch it up, make a conscious effort, and at the end of the week I will have a brownie... one... not a whole pan.

    Halloween? Instead of gorging on candy, enjoy the mini size and space them out for the next 6 months.
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
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    Or keep a bag of candy in your freezer. You'll have to wait to eat most frozen candies. By the time it's thawed, you'll be satisfied with a small amount.

    I keep a small bag of Hershey dark chocolate kisses in the fridge. I've had the bag for months. 😉
  • denjan333
    denjan333 Posts: 158 Member
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    Meh - I really hate the idea of "cheat" meals. That implies you're doing something WRONG, or you've FAILED some kind of test.

    If you want to enjoy a higher calorie day once in a while, that should not derail anything. My husband's birthday is coming up this weekend. I'm going to make a good healthy dinner, and I'll eat my usual amount, but will probably have a very small piece of cheesecake (that's what he wants). No big deal.

    Think of it this way - or in this scenario: Personally, I'm looking to lose 2 lbs per week. I am 5'3" and weigh 252, and my maintenance calories would be around 2,300 per day. To lose 2 lbs per week, I must 1,000 calories per day, so eat an average of 1,300 calories per day all week. Woo! But, say on Sunday I want a whole piece of cheesecake, say, for an extra 500 calories. In a week. Is that going to derail anything? NOPE! I might only lose 1.8 lbs. Not a huge setback. Even if I decided to eat at maintenance that day, the whole 2,300 calories. Still not going to make any noticeable difference. Might I gain a tiny bit of water weight from the extra carbs? Sure. But that will be gone in a couple of days.

    The MAIN thing to remember is that you are working on life changing, long term eating habits. You can't never eat over calories again. It's going to happen. We just have to remind ourselves that it doesn't mean we are cheating, or bad. It's life. And most times, the extra calories we ingest are going to get us somewhere around our maintenance calories. For one day.

    I would even highly suggest that everyone take a break at least every 6 months and do two weeks at maintenance just so you don't go nuts with all this. Keep logging. Make sure it's planned. But look at the long term. If you never allow yourself some leeway, that's the real recipe for failure.
  • Emmapatterson1729
    Emmapatterson1729 Posts: 1,296 Member
    edited September 2019
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    This is my second time losing weight, this time weight gained with illness, and first was after injury that made me immobile for over a year. I never did cheat days or felt the need, because I never denied myself anything I wanted or craved.

    I did exercise portion control. If I craved sweets, I would allow myself to go to bakery and buy one or two doughnuts or cupcakes (never a dozen, but one for today, maybe one for tomorrow). If I craved a burger, I would allow myself to get a double patty cheeseburger-all the way-from Five Guys (usually one burger would last me two days). Same with Chipotle burritos (3 meals off one). If I wanted pizza made low calorie homemade pizza with lavash crust, canned sauce, cheese and veggies... And reward myself with one of these treats after a 30-40 minute cardio workout.

    As long as I don't deprive myself, I don't need a cheat day. I lost almost 100 lbs eating what I wanted and what I loved. Just watched portion sizes and timing (for me always after workout for high calorie, high protein, and/or high carb treats/meals).

    Good luck to all.

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