Cheat/treat days?
Replies
-
KrissDotCom wrote: »LockdownLoser23 wrote: »KrissDotCom wrote: »LockdownLoser23 wrote: »The Rock loves them and what is good enough for Dwayne...is good enough for me! Love a cheat day
He also probably has a BMR/RMR high enough to handle a cheat DAY. Most normal people not covered in 10 layers of muscle dont.
I've lost weight having a cheat day each week and I'm not built like the Rock (sadly). P.s. wasn't being too serious
Again.. most people cannot just have an entire DAY of cheating and somehow not wipe out their entire deficit.
I love how i say most people and youre still talking about just you.
Im happy for you and the rock, maybe you both can go on a cheeseburger crawl for a day and high five each other cause you didnt gain.
However, to keep this post realistic for people reading this, and considering doing it because a famous person also does, its not feasible for most people.
People can wipe out their entire deficit with one cheat meal, let alone a cheat day.
And honestly, if youre just gonna plan something that potentially doesnt do that, and youre just eating a cheeseburger within calories or only putting you over a little and eating a chocolate bar, then your going about the whole idea of this all wrong, youre categorizing foods and labeling them as naughty or once a week foods like its some kind of reward system.
The rock is famous and he is where he is because of his physical appearance, same as a lot of celebrities or influencers, that likely require them to maintain a certain appearance for their job. I dont think the rock would have the same effect he has in movies if he was 400lbs morbidly obese or one of those no muscle tone lanky people who might break if a breeze blew hard enough. He probably had quite a diet regimine to follow to keep up with his work and his workouts and him maintaining his body. One day a week with all his bmr really isnt going to make a bit of difference to him.
You do you. You have your own bmr and your own choices, but again, for most people, who are dealing with a minimal deficit for their weight loss, the idea of a cheat day just doesnt work and its better for them to learn that food is food, you should be just learning to eat those foods within your calories and managing those decisions.
Most people? What percentage of people ruin their week with a cheat meal? I don't see the big deal about going a bit over one day a week. You are putting words in my mouth and demonising food which you shouldn't do. I didn't label any food naughty - just saying going over calories. You make a lot of assumptions.
Maybe people see cheat days as different things. I see it as a meal and few beers - you assume it is something different. A Cheat should be adapted per person. For me 'my personal outlook, sorry' - the mild guilt makes me knuckle down for the week0 -
LockdownLoser23 wrote: »The Rock loves them and what is good enough for Dwayne...is good enough for me! Love a cheat day
Disclaimer - This was a joke and not direct advice - please don't take me seriously - I am not a nutritionalist - don't take advice from anyone in an internet forum - do your own research
2 -
Im demonizing food by saying eat whatever within your calories and not treat it like a reward..?
And your saying you feel guilt enough to buckle down.
If you feel guilt, then youre the one demonizing food.
I dont feel guilty when i eat a meal.
Again.. people with minimal deficits, can wipe it out with a cheat day or meal. Do you really need a percentage for that?3 -
KrissDotCom wrote: »LockdownLoser23 wrote: »KrissDotCom wrote: »LockdownLoser23 wrote: »The Rock loves them and what is good enough for Dwayne...is good enough for me! Love a cheat day
He also probably has a BMR/RMR high enough to handle a cheat DAY. Most normal people not covered in 10 layers of muscle dont.
I've lost weight having a cheat day each week and I'm not built like the Rock (sadly). P.s. wasn't being too serious
Again.. most people cannot just have an entire DAY of cheating and somehow not wipe out their entire deficit.
I love how i say most people and youre still talking about just you.
Im happy for you and the rock, maybe you both can go on a cheeseburger crawl for a day and high five each other cause you didnt gain.
However, to keep this post realistic for people reading this, and considering doing it because a famous person also does, its not feasible for most people.
People can wipe out their entire deficit with one cheat meal, let alone a cheat day.
And honestly, if youre just gonna plan something that potentially doesnt do that, and youre just eating a cheeseburger within calories or only putting you over a little and eating a chocolate bar, then your going about the whole idea of this all wrong, youre categorizing foods and labeling them as naughty or once a week foods like its some kind of reward system.
The rock is famous and he is where he is because of his physical appearance, same as a lot of celebrities or influencers, that likely require them to maintain a certain appearance for their job. I dont think the rock would have the same effect he has in movies if he was 400lbs morbidly obese or one of those no muscle tone lanky people who might break if a breeze blew hard enough. He probably had quite a diet regimine to follow to keep up with his work and his workouts and him maintaining his body. One day a week with all his bmr really isnt going to make a bit of difference to him.
You do you. You have your own bmr and your own choices, but again, for most people, who are dealing with a minimal deficit for their weight loss, the idea of a cheat day just doesnt work and its better for them to learn that food is food, you should be just learning to eat those foods within your calories and managing those decisions.
The thing is the OP asked for our experiences and if we found them beneficial. I love keeping my food intake smaller during the week, sticking to certain foods and having larger increases on weekends to eat whatever I want (including foods I wouldn't eat during the week). That doesn't mean I don't know what food is or how to fit certain foods in my calories. It's a different way of eating. I don't wipe out my deficit with it, why aren't we who are able to do it and benefit from it discuss it?
Some people call it cheat, treat, refeed etc.
Does it work for everyone? Nope. But it works for some of us and we are free to share our experiences too.4 -
.. lol okie dokie
Obviously its me who doesnt know what im saying
1 -
LockdownLoser23 wrote: »KrissDotCom wrote: »LockdownLoser23 wrote: »KrissDotCom wrote: »LockdownLoser23 wrote: »The Rock loves them and what is good enough for Dwayne...is good enough for me! Love a cheat day
He also probably has a BMR/RMR high enough to handle a cheat DAY. Most normal people not covered in 10 layers of muscle dont.
I've lost weight having a cheat day each week and I'm not built like the Rock (sadly). P.s. wasn't being too serious
Again.. most people cannot just have an entire DAY of cheating and somehow not wipe out their entire deficit.
I love how i say most people and youre still talking about just you.
Im happy for you and the rock, maybe you both can go on a cheeseburger crawl for a day and high five each other cause you didnt gain.
However, to keep this post realistic for people reading this, and considering doing it because a famous person also does, its not feasible for most people.
People can wipe out their entire deficit with one cheat meal, let alone a cheat day.
And honestly, if youre just gonna plan something that potentially doesnt do that, and youre just eating a cheeseburger within calories or only putting you over a little and eating a chocolate bar, then your going about the whole idea of this all wrong, youre categorizing foods and labeling them as naughty or once a week foods like its some kind of reward system.
The rock is famous and he is where he is because of his physical appearance, same as a lot of celebrities or influencers, that likely require them to maintain a certain appearance for their job. I dont think the rock would have the same effect he has in movies if he was 400lbs morbidly obese or one of those no muscle tone lanky people who might break if a breeze blew hard enough. He probably had quite a diet regimine to follow to keep up with his work and his workouts and him maintaining his body. One day a week with all his bmr really isnt going to make a bit of difference to him.
You do you. You have your own bmr and your own choices, but again, for most people, who are dealing with a minimal deficit for their weight loss, the idea of a cheat day just doesnt work and its better for them to learn that food is food, you should be just learning to eat those foods within your calories and managing those decisions.
Most people? What percentage of people ruin their week with a cheat meal? I don't see the big deal about going a bit over one day a week. You are putting words in my mouth and demonising food which you shouldn't do. I didn't label any food naughty - just saying going over calories. You make a lot of assumptions.
Maybe people see cheat days as different things. I see it as a meal and few beers - you assume it is something different. A Cheat should be adapted per person. For me 'my personal outlook, sorry' - the mild guilt makes me knuckle down for the week
Lots of post here show that people aren't using a cheat day as a way to go "a bit over" (which, I agree, probably isn't a big deal). There are people who are eating enough on their "cheat day" to cancel out the deficit they're creating the rest of the week.
That's why people here are typically cautious about them.
Let's say someone is working with a smallish deficit, say 250 calories a day. You only need 1,750 extra calories to cancel that out and that wouldn't be at all hard to do with an entire day of eating what one wants (especially if one is approaching the day hungry and with a sense of "Well, I earned it because I dieted really hard all week").
I can think of plenty of scenarios where "a meal and a few beers" could cause trouble for someone who is otherwise on plan (of course, there are also scenarios where it could fit). A 16 ounces IPA will have about 350 calories. Let's say I do two of those and a entree at a popular restaurant along with half an appetizer and half a dessert. Let's say it's Chili's. I have half an order of wings (about 500-600 calories), spicy shrimp tacos (1,000 calories), and then half a piece of chocolate cake (500ish). I'm not even going all out. I'm doing a cheat MEAL not the cheat DAY that you're saying is no big deal. I'm splitting my appetizer and dessert. And I chose something that sounds kinda reasonable for my entree, shrimp tacos.
My calories for that meal are over 2,500. If I'm doing this every week, I'm going to quickly be showing up here asking why I'm not having progress despite being on plan all week, you know, except for "a meal and few beers," and everyone knows that going a "bit over" is okay, right?4 -
Yes, I do find them beneficial. Not a cheat day, but a large cheat meal with a large dessert. Saturday is my designated cheat meal. I’ve found that establishing the cheat meal ahead of time gives me motivation to stay on track the rest of the week while also giving me something to look forward to.
IIFM just doesn’t work for me personally. If I allow myself special treat just because I have enough calories left over , I will have cravings all week and ultimately fail. I try to use leftover calories for nutrient dense, healthy foods, and save junk calories for day of my cheat meal.
I look forward to my cheat meal Saturday’s so much that I usually do a fasted double workout right before cheat meal so that I enjoy meal even more due to being extra hungry. (Side note: I’m adapted to fasted workouts since I’ve been IF for several years, only difference is I double up on worksouts, two in a roll instead of one, on cheat meal Saturday-I don’t recommend this if your not adapted)
1 -
I had this problem where I used to label foods as Cheats 'Bad Foods'.
It is a battle of changing your mindset, and yes it is hard when everyone you know through chocolate etc all your way. Meaning, I was binging in the end due to stress. However, during a few weeks into lockdown. I managed to get myself on track and now pretty much utilise the IIFYM or 80-20 rules.
But I make sure I always hit my Protein, and go over on my Fibre for sure. I also, save calories for later in the evening just in case I really crave something sugary.
Another way to curb your sugar cravings. Well in my opinion. I find making my own Protein Pancakes everyday really helps as it is a lot healthier in general and filling. Served with fruit and Greek Yogurt! Using Oats and Bananas as the ingredients with Whey & and a Egg. Yummy! It's mostly my post workout meal, if not definately make it fit into my macros each day!1 -
*peeks in*
Why am I now thinking about what kind of deficit you'd have if you cheated on your spouse by having sex with the Rock?2 -
janejellyroll wrote: »LockdownLoser23 wrote: »KrissDotCom wrote: »LockdownLoser23 wrote: »KrissDotCom wrote: »LockdownLoser23 wrote: »The Rock loves them and what is good enough for Dwayne...is good enough for me! Love a cheat day
He also probably has a BMR/RMR high enough to handle a cheat DAY. Most normal people not covered in 10 layers of muscle dont.
I've lost weight having a cheat day each week and I'm not built like the Rock (sadly). P.s. wasn't being too serious
Again.. most people cannot just have an entire DAY of cheating and somehow not wipe out their entire deficit.
I love how i say most people and youre still talking about just you.
Im happy for you and the rock, maybe you both can go on a cheeseburger crawl for a day and high five each other cause you didnt gain.
However, to keep this post realistic for people reading this, and considering doing it because a famous person also does, its not feasible for most people.
People can wipe out their entire deficit with one cheat meal, let alone a cheat day.
And honestly, if youre just gonna plan something that potentially doesnt do that, and youre just eating a cheeseburger within calories or only putting you over a little and eating a chocolate bar, then your going about the whole idea of this all wrong, youre categorizing foods and labeling them as naughty or once a week foods like its some kind of reward system.
The rock is famous and he is where he is because of his physical appearance, same as a lot of celebrities or influencers, that likely require them to maintain a certain appearance for their job. I dont think the rock would have the same effect he has in movies if he was 400lbs morbidly obese or one of those no muscle tone lanky people who might break if a breeze blew hard enough. He probably had quite a diet regimine to follow to keep up with his work and his workouts and him maintaining his body. One day a week with all his bmr really isnt going to make a bit of difference to him.
You do you. You have your own bmr and your own choices, but again, for most people, who are dealing with a minimal deficit for their weight loss, the idea of a cheat day just doesnt work and its better for them to learn that food is food, you should be just learning to eat those foods within your calories and managing those decisions.
Most people? What percentage of people ruin their week with a cheat meal? I don't see the big deal about going a bit over one day a week. You are putting words in my mouth and demonising food which you shouldn't do. I didn't label any food naughty - just saying going over calories. You make a lot of assumptions.
Maybe people see cheat days as different things. I see it as a meal and few beers - you assume it is something different. A Cheat should be adapted per person. For me 'my personal outlook, sorry' - the mild guilt makes me knuckle down for the week
Lots of post here show that people aren't using a cheat day as a way to go "a bit over" (which, I agree, probably isn't a big deal). There are people who are eating enough on their "cheat day" to cancel out the deficit they're creating the rest of the week.
That's why people here are typically cautious about them.
Let's say someone is working with a smallish deficit, say 250 calories a day. You only need 1,750 extra calories to cancel that out and that wouldn't be at all hard to do with an entire day of eating what one wants (especially if one is approaching the day hungry and with a sense of "Well, I earned it because I dieted really hard all week").
I can think of plenty of scenarios where "a meal and a few beers" could cause trouble for someone who is otherwise on plan (of course, there are also scenarios where it could fit). A 16 ounces IPA will have about 350 calories. Let's say I do two of those and a entree at a popular restaurant along with half an appetizer and half a dessert. Let's say it's Chili's. I have half an order of wings (about 500-600 calories), spicy shrimp tacos (1,000 calories), and then half a piece of chocolate cake (500ish). I'm not even going all out. I'm doing a cheat MEAL not the cheat DAY that you're saying is no big deal. I'm splitting my appetizer and dessert. And I chose something that sounds kinda reasonable for my entree, shrimp tacos.
My calories for that meal are over 2,500. If I'm doing this every week, I'm going to quickly be showing up here asking why I'm not having progress despite being on plan all week, you know, except for "a meal and few beers," and everyone knows that going a "bit over" is okay, right?
Exactly this. A "cheat meal" or "cheat day" can be fine, or a completely deficit-destroying thing, depending on exactly what people actually are doing when they call their behavior that. A nuanced discussion of what people actually do & what works, with some context, can be helpful. Just saying "cheat meal, it's fine, great, helpful" or "cheat meal ruins your progress", without defining the terms . . . not all that helpful.
I don't like the term, personally, partly because it is so imprecisely used (fails to communicate meaningful information), partly because I don't like the psychological implications ( implies that some food behaviors or choices are improper, so it's "cheating" something to do/eat them - really, it's food, not sin).
To put a spin on it, once in weight maintenance, most definitions of "cheat day" - any definitions where one materially exceeds calorie goal regularly, eating at weight-maintenance calorie goal on most other days - is going to be a problem, i.e., result in weight gain. The calories need to balance out to maintenance calories on average over a period of time, or weight regain will happen.
Since I thought of weight loss is maintenance practice - because staying at a healthy weight long term is my true goal - I needed to figure out, during loss, what would work for me in maintenance. So, I did (and do) calorie bank sometimes (now, eat under maintenance calories by a little) in order to eat more indulgently once in a while.
I don't think of that in any way as "cheating", I think of it as "having a workable plan". (And I'm in year 4+ of maintaining a healthy weight, so it isn't going too badly, IMO.)2 -
I was also confused as to why... going over a little in calories or eating less and banking for weekends etc is being included in "cheat days" or "cheat meals"..
None of that is anywhere near the mindset of most peoples posts here, wondering why they arent losing weight, where the cheat meal is just a day of *kitten* it and eating what you wanna eat during the day or a specific meal with no real regard of a plan or concept that its wiping out their deficit.
I also didnt say not to discuss methods, however, it is important to point out that there is reasons why the rock can have a cheat day and why a typical person with a small deficit can not do the same without knowledge and planning.
There is also reasons why someone can have a meal and a couple beers and have it be somewhat doable, as apposed to someone who has less calories to work with daily and barely a deficit to lose the weight they wanna lose without some kind of plan or knowledge.
Those reasons need to be pointed out, and also, it needs to be said that you dont need a reward system to make it through a weight loss journey, you dont need to view that cake as a treat for working hard all week to stick to the foods allowed in the rest of your week.
Food is food. Cake (as an example of a typical "cheat" food) is still cake no matter if its a tuesday or a saturday, if you WANT a reward system, thats fine, however, cake needs to stop being viewed as a cheat food, for the people on here who might do better knowing their choices arent bad or good, its just their choices, and if they want the cake, then have the cake, log it, enjoy it, youre not cheating, youre just eating.
People need to know that someone elses method, such as the rock, has the caloric allowance to handle his cheat day choices, because he is male and has a ton of muscle, and has more body mass, he is burning significantly more calories then a 5 foot 3, 130lbs female, trying to lose her last 10lbs.
Things like "if its good enough for the rock, its good enough for me" and "i lose weight having a cheat meal once a week" offer the person no context as to why its working for them or the rock so that they can compare it to themselves and make a decision on if this method is worth it, or if maybe just eating food as food within the calorie goals they have would be better.
And if it turns out they do have a tiny deficit that could be wiped out with just having a *kitten* it day, they need to know that those foods people are throwing into the cheat day category are not cheats, they can still eat them regularly, as normal food.3 -
KrissDotCom wrote: »I was also confused as to why... going over a little in calories or eating less and banking for weekends etc is being included in "cheat days" or "cheat meals"..
None of that is anywhere near the mindset of most peoples posts here, wondering why they arent losing weight, where the cheat meal is just a day of *kitten* it and eating what you wanna eat during the day or a specific meal with no real regard of a plan or concept that its wiping out their deficit.
I also didnt say not to discuss methods, however, it is important to point out that there is reasons why the rock can have a cheat day and why a typical person with a small deficit can not do the same without knowledge and planning.
There is also reasons why someone can have a meal and a couple beers and have it be somewhat doable, as apposed to someone who has less calories to work with daily and barely a deficit to lose the weight they wanna lose without some kind of plan or knowledge.
Those reasons need to be pointed out, and also, it needs to be said that you dont need a reward system to make it through a weight loss journey, you dont need to view that cake as a treat for working hard all week to stick to the foods allowed in the rest of your week.
Food is food. Cake (as an example of a typical "cheat" food) is still cake no matter if its a tuesday or a saturday, if you WANT a reward system, thats fine, however, cake needs to stop being viewed as a cheat food, for the people on here who might do better knowing their choices arent bad or good, its just their choices, and if they want the cake, then have the cake, log it, enjoy it, youre not cheating, youre just eating.
People need to know that someone elses method, such as the rock, has the caloric allowance to handle his cheat day choices, because he is male and has a ton of muscle, and has more body mass, he is burning significantly more calories then a 5 foot 3, 130lbs female, trying to lose her last 10lbs.
Things like "if its good enough for the rock, its good enough for me" and "i lose weight having a cheat meal once a week" offer the person no context as to why its working for them or the rock so that they can compare it to themselves and make a decision on if this method is worth it, or if maybe just eating food as food within the calorie goals they have would be better.
And if it turns out they do have a tiny deficit that could be wiped out with just having a *kitten* it day, they need to know that those foods people are throwing into the cheat day category are not cheats, they can still eat them regularly, as normal food.
You are still going over my point. I was asked my experience and I made a jokey remark. I am not a nutritionalist and don't recommend that people follow my comment. My personal opinion is 'give it a go and see if it works for you' - There is no perfect way like you keep saying, there is only your way. Everyone is different and what works for one person might not work for another. You keep bunching people as a group and saying 'most people'. A plan that works for me may not work for you. I like to have friends on here, it works for me but not for you and that is fine.
Hope you have a good day2 -
Doesn't work for me and don't like it. It feels unnatural, like being in diet prison then being let out only to be locked up again. I like eating whatever I want whenever I want in whatever quantities I want, but only when it feels worth it. The caveat is that it isn't always worth it because fitting in a high calorie meal takes planning and effort, but when I'm willing to put in the effort I certainly don't deprive myself. It feels more like normal eating this way instead of pre-planned temporary freedom.
If you mean foods one wouldn't normally associate with dieting, then I eat those whenever I want and most times it doesn't take much to fit them in. I've always eaten a single serving of ice cream, for example, so fitting that in even daily is a breeze if I felt like it. Sometimes I feel like it daily, sometimes I go weeks without because something else feels more appealing.4
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 424 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions