Do you have a cheat day or cheat meal every week?

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  • KittyKitty1991
    KittyKitty1991 Posts: 14 Member
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    I have one of two meals a week ^_^ It's the best and keeps me sane, I budget for it by not eating back some of my exercise calories so I have an extra 500-700 to spend on my cheat meals
  • Mceastes
    Mceastes Posts: 303 Member
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    I've said it before, I'll say it again - it's not cheating if you log it. Eat it, log it and live your life.

    Yep!
  • dianesheart88
    dianesheart88 Posts: 111 Member
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    I use to have a cheat meal each week on Sundays. That did help to know on Sunday I could have something I really enjoy. I've changed that now that I can have that burger or tacos as long as it fits in my intake that day. Obviously you don't want to use all your calories in one meal so you learn moderation, you learn to plan and you'll soon realize that you can be happy with that. I have one chosen food that I stay away from which is any fried foods. I really try not to have them. One thing I realized it that saying those things were completely off limits did not work for me. I felt deprived all the time. Good luck!
  • faithdanyell
    faithdanyell Posts: 30 Member
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    I've said it before, I'll say it again - it's not cheating if you log it. Eat it, log it and live your life.
  • thesophierose
    thesophierose Posts: 754 Member
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    No I only do 3 a month, :) strategically placed.
  • schonkreuz
    schonkreuz Posts: 493 Member
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    Every Saturday my friends and I go out to eat, mind you I try my best to fit it into my calories for the day (maybe skipping lunch and some snacks along the way). I purposely go over calories maybe once a month.
  • anlu37
    anlu37 Posts: 100 Member
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    My dietitian recommended a 90-10 ratio. Eat within my target 90% of the time and don't stress if you have 10% that is not right on. She actually suggested I not even log in that 10%. Instead of a whole "cheat" day, i just have one meal out of every 10 that I don't stress about. It makes those nights that I get pizza for the family not a big deal. Friend's going to dinner for a celebration? Not a big deal! Birthday cake? Not a big deal! I have a hard time not logging, so I log it anyways. I try to reduce my calories the next day by eating lots of veggies, but not going hungry. It calms my anxiety around the 90-10 rule. I am a bit of an all-or-nothing thinker, which when it comes to diet and exercise, can be really damaging. I have definitely benefited by following the 90-10 rule.
  • ailbheoconnell
    ailbheoconnell Posts: 48 Member
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    I've said it before, I'll say it again - it's not cheating if you log it.

    this!!^^ i have meals that break my cal limit for the day but they are not planned 'cheat' days or 'cheat' meals. I have on occasion gone over my daily cals by up to 1000, but that's been about twice in 2 months. I don't think you should plan to 'cheat'. Who are you really cheating, only yourself. If you go over your cals log it all - ALL - and move on. Don't try to exercise it off, or reduce your cals the next day to balance it out. That is just frustrating and will only make you annoyed at yourself. But I personally don't agree with planning a cheat.
  • garber6th
    garber6th Posts: 1,894 Member
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    Make it fit your macros and you can 'cheat' whenever you want.
    This

    Cheat days and cheat meals are utterly retarded. Food is food and you can't cheat on it.

    This. I don't use the words "cheat" or "good food" or "bad food". Food doesn't have behavior, I do, and I get to make choices as to what I will eat. Different choices might have different consequences but it is never the fault of the food.
  • mbeuchert24
    mbeuchert24 Posts: 204 Member
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    I don't have "cheat" days, I eat what I want and don't deprive myself of my favorite foods. I do try to find alternatives and just eat less, I try to hit my daily goal, but I don't stress if I don't. I plan on this being a long journey. So I just log everything in (if I remember) and try to keep myself in check.
  • 4daluvof_candice
    4daluvof_candice Posts: 483 Member
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    I dont do "cheat" days.:grumble: I eat whatever in the H. E. dbl hockey sticks I want.:drinker: ..I stay above my BMR and workout 6 days a week 45-60 minutes. I love this way. :heart: :heart: Last night I had a chili cheese hot dog chips and 1/2 c of blue bell peanut butter chocolate icecream. Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm! :blushing:

    Now do I do that ALL the time? no..:flowerforyou:
  • xLoveLikeWinterx
    xLoveLikeWinterx Posts: 408 Member
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    I've said it before, I'll say it again - it's not cheating if you log it. Eat it, log it and live your life.

    Yep, I totally agree. I'm a fan of IIFYM.
  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
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    I eat what I want when I want as long as it fits into my cals/macros *shrugs*
    I'm not for cheat meals personally
  • bethannien
    bethannien Posts: 556 Member
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    What works for me is having a cheat day every so often. But it isn't every week and it isn't a no holds barred, hit a buffet and get dessert type of thing. I just eat within my maintenance calories instead of my deficit calories.

    I save the no holds barred cheat day for once every few months (ex: I plan on eating more or less what I want on my birthday at the end of the month and then on Christmas as well).

    I also save calories for treats sometimes during a regular week.
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,065 Member
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    I have a cheat meal a week.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    define cheat meal or cheat day...in all this time on MFP, nobody has really been able to tell me what the hell this is. Just eat...it's food...it's fuel...there is not "good" or "bad". yes, you should be trying to get your maximum nutrition with your food, but having some junk now and then means nothing...it is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things when you are overwhelmingly getting your nutrition on and you fitness on. There is no such thing as "cheat meal" or "cheat day."
  • feelin_gr_8
    feelin_gr_8 Posts: 308 Member
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    I don't like the label "cheat" because then I feel like I have something to be guilty about. I decided though to not log my foods on Sundays....it's my day of rest spiritually and physically. I still try not to go hog wild but if there are some desserts and non-diet sodas involved now and then...I survive :) Honestly, I have a huge sweet tooth and the only reason I feel I've made it as long as I have (started 7/25/13) and feel like I can indefinitely continue is because I allow myself a treat almost every day. Be it a candy bar or tootsie roll, I fit it into my calories/work out enough and feel like I'm not deprived. I have too much stress in life to feel like I'm dieing of starvation or lack of sweets :P
  • nedtoloseme
    nedtoloseme Posts: 98 Member
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    To answer the question, I do cheat meals every other Sunday. I think most of us are trying to make a lifestyle change, so if we flip what we were doing to get us to the point we're at it works. That doesn't mean cutting out all foods. I loved fast foods and almost any kind of fried food and once in a while ate something healthy. Since I have made a lifestyle change most of the foods I eat are healthy, but every once in a while I eat something fried (haven't got back into eating fast foods - I feel like they're out of my system so I don't try to push them back in). I want to enjoy life, so if I go out with friends or family or just want something good to eat I go for it! Make up for it the next day, but don't worry. None of us gained the weight in one day and one or two meals won't hurt you!
  • SHHitsKaty
    SHHitsKaty Posts: 301
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    I work out 5-6 times a week and probably have perhaps 2-3 cheat meals a week.

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