Cheat day

bandandn

I lost 20 pounds is it okay to have 1 cheat day a week

goal06082021

You're an adult, you can decide how much you eat in a day.

EyeOTS

If that works for you, awesome!
I've had a moderate amount of fast food or dessert while fitting it in my daily (or weekly) calories. And I've lost 111

wunderkindking

I basically make it fit in over my week. When losing weight trying to get it to still fit within my deficit and spreading my logging of that meal out across the week, or by eating at maintenance for one day. My goal was primarily not to GAIN on the weekly day off.

I'm basically maintaining now/right now, so I just use a small deficit most days to compensate for days like yesterday where I had a... lot of food.

futuresylph

Whose permission are you seeking? (That's not meant to be snarky; it's a serious question.)

coblujay

I have an indulgence meal once a week. It makes it easier for me to put off my cravings when I know if I still want it in a few days, I can have it. My weight loss continues just fine after a bounce for a day or two. It's only a meal, not a day. That works for me.

springlering62

You give permission to yourself. Don’t foist the responsibility-and ultimately the blame- on others. I say that not to be mean, but as a Master Foister and Shifter of Responsibity. I know the symptoms.

I think you have to sit down and ask yourself a number of questions.

*Have you reached goal?
*if so, are you in danger of reverting to old habits?
*If not at goal, why the sudden need?
*Maybe you’re cutting too low, losing too fast, pushing too too hard and need to give yourself the grace of more food- daily.
*What about a different strategy? Could you cut a couple hundred a day or two during the week, and bank them for the weekend?
*Why? Is it a certain food you crave? Could you choose a smaller portion or a less calorie laden alternative? Taste it. Does it still taste crave worthy, or has it lost its charm for reelz? That’s happened to me with a lot of foods and I didn’t even notice the shift. Brain says gimme gimmee, taste buds now say meh.
* Is it the social aspect? Can you check menus beforehand and go with a plan? Instead of that glass of wine could you have something lighter and refreshing?
* *could you add in a daily walk to help offset some of the weekend damage?
* Spouse or significant other pressure? Discuss it with them. My husband insists on steak every Sunday evening. I have a smaller piece of steak, and supplement it with grilled chicken.
* Biggest question though, if not at goal, why do you feel your drive to get there crumbling? How can you shore it back up? You’ve done so well so far!

MsCzar

Depending on how far you've yet to go, adding a once a week all out calorie-fest could easily completely stall or derail your forward progress. I know that I could easily 'cheat' my way to an extra 7000+ calories in a single day. Done weekly, at best that would bring my weight loss to an screeching standstill and likely frustrate me to the point of giving up.

If you feel you need a mental break and want to add some indulgences to your deficit eating, maybe figure out your current maintenance calories and eat at that level when you truly feel the need - not at an automatic scheduled interval. Planning and budgeting for a once-in-a-while single higher calorie meal, cocktail or calorie laden dessert will probably serve you better than a weekly free for all.

AnnPT77

springlering62 wrote: »

You give permission to yourself. Don’t foist the responsibility-and ultimately the blame- on others. I say that not to be mean, but as a Master Foister and Shifter of Responsibity. I know the symptoms.

I think you have to sit down and ask yourself a number of questions.

*Have you reached goal?
*if so, are you in danger of reverting to old habits?
*If not at goal, why the sudden need?
*Maybe you’re cutting too low, losing too fast, pushing too too hard and need to give yourself the grace of more food- daily.
*What about a different strategy? Could you cut a couple hundred a day or two during the week, and bank them for the weekend?
*Why? Is it a certain food you crave? Could you choose a smaller portion or a less calorie laden alternative? Taste it. Does it still taste crave worthy, or has it lost its charm for reelz? That’s happened to me with a lot of foods and I didn’t even notice the shift. Brain says gimme gimmee, taste buds now say meh.
* Is it the social aspect? Can you check menus beforehand and go with a plan? Instead of that glass of wine could you have something lighter and refreshing?
* *could you add in a daily walk to help offset some of the weekend damage?
* Spouse or significant other pressure? Discuss it with them. My husband insists on steak every Sunday evening. I have a smaller piece of steak, and supplement it with grilled chicken.
* Biggest question though, if not at goal, why do you feel your drive to get there crumbling? How can you shore it back up? You’ve done so well so far!

I think this ^^ is brilliant. OP, if you are feeling a strong desire for a cheat day, consider thinking about it as a self-learning opportunity.

Do/don't have a "cheat meal/day" is a simplistic question, and *maybe* makes sense in a context where someone doesn't have a large total amount to lose, and is treating weight loss as a project with an end date when goal weight is reached, after which things go back to normal.

Someone who has a meaningful total amount of weight to lose would be well-served by thinking about @springlering62's questions. Why?

Because losing a meaningful amount of weight is inherently a process that takes weeks, months, maybe even years if there's lots to lose. Success, i.e., reaching goal weight, is more likely if the weight loss process is sustainable, even through the stresses/challenges that inevitably come up in a person's life over many-month periods.

It's very difficult, maybe impossible, to stick with a white-knuckle-difficult diet through storms in other parts of life. Heck, even diet fatigue easily happens, once the "motivation" of the honeymoon period is over.

Someone who wants to keep excess weight off, stay at a healthy weight permanently, would also be well-served by thinking about @springlering62's questions. Why?

Because maintaining healthy weight long term, requires profound habit changes for those of us (like me) whose default behavior leads to excess bodyweight. They aren't necessarily big changes, they aren't necessarily hard changes (it's better if the new habits are easy/happy, actually) . . . but they need to stick, so sustainability comes into it again.

Those are great questions to help find the sustainable approach to weight loss, and the habits that will lead to staying at a healthy weight after loss.

I'm in year 5+ of maintaining healthy weight, after about three previous *decades* of overweight/obesity. Those questions resonate with me as things I've benefitted from considering, most of that thought process during the year of weight loss, but also within the 5+ years since.

Luv2eatSweets

Everyone has their own views, and sometimes asking for guidance can be difficult. From personal experience, I found that one cheat meal versus a cheat day was better. That way it was easier to get back on track the next day. There was less "remorse".

swtsunshine6700

A cheat meal is the easiest way I know to tell myself when I'm having a craving, to just wait till my cheat meal....I feel like it helps with platues also🙂

saintor1

I did one every two weeks and succeeded to lose a lot of weight. I think one a week is too much, considering that you need a few days to recover each time.