Is it necessary to have a cheat day?

Meg_Shirley_86

I don't like having one. When I have a cheat day I seem to really want one the next day, and then the next day...
I simply plan around events where I may go out to eat or something, but it's not cheating, it's sticking to my plan.
To me Cheating=screwing up.
Yeah I get over it fast, but I know I'm not cheating some abstract system, I'm just cheating myself.

chargrove1990

I think if you really want to stick to your change of lifestyle (avoid the word diet!) you need to have a day where you indulge for ONE meal. Don't pig out and act like a chipmunk stuffing its cheeks for winter. Since I started using MFP again (also a three times user on here) and sticking to it, I have allowed myself one meal where I cheat but I don't stuff my face all day long and eat cookies or chips and I avoid soda completely. Only water. I've lost 9lbs in two weeks. If continually feed your body the same amount of calories every single day, it will become used to it and stop burning the fat The cheat meal confuses your body and tells it to keep burning. At least from my experience.

But I'm not a health care professional or a weight loss guru so I can't say for sure what works. Everyone is different, chemistry-wise and more.

Hm, that does make sense though. I know for a fact I need to start exercising more, which is why I am starting P90x today

chargrove1990

1.dont think of it as a cheat day.
2. just because it's a day different from your normal eating plan, doesn't mean it's a license to go and gorge. Have some ice-cream, just no the whole tub. Have a bag of chips (crisps or fries), but a sensible bag, not a family size pack. Have a bar of chocolate, but make it Dark Chocolate, nothing stopping you from saving half for the following week.

That's a good take on it! Usually, if I am completely craving something, I'll dive into chips or swiss rolls or fudge brownies or whatever is available. I used to have ice cream almost every night and douse it in chocolate syrup. But, I think I have mainly learned my lesson from doing that and what the end result of it is going to be, haha.

chargrove1990

I personally do not do a cheat day because then the one cheat day turns into 2 cheat days which then turns into a week +. I try to allow myself "cheats" throughout my daily eating. With me I am really focusing on portion control as this as been a very bad problem with me.

Same with me! I can eat an entire box of macaroni and cheese to myself if I wanted to. I am getting much better with portion control and I am trying to eat a lot slower than I normally would.

webdevsoup

It really depends on you, and your self control. Personally, what I've done since day 1 of my reboot (January this year) is I eat what fits in to my caloric intake. Yes, there is a difference of quality food vs. quantity of food, so if I ate all McDonald's for my 1800 calories, I'd be overweight, because it's not good quality. However, a cheat "day" or a cheat "snack" is not a bad thing to have. Don't set yourself up to fail before you even begin, because you'll never do anything.

For me, 2300 calories is my normal intake. I want to lose a pound or 2 a week, so my daily intake is 1800. However, I drink a lot of beer. It offsets. Sometimes I drink beer, sometimes I don't. If you KNOW your'e going to have a snack in 2 days, eat 2 light days (1200 calories or 1100 calories), and then eat your 1500-1600 calories. It's all about balance. And remember, one day is not going to kill your efforts. If that were the case, I'd still be at 240 lbs instead of 204.

Learn to balance your meals, and learn to keep yourself accountable and exercising self-control. If you know you can't eat a chip because if you do, you'll consume a whole bag, don't eat the chip! Be smart about it.

Also, you said pop is your weakness (soda). I did something about 6 months ago. I gave up certain aspects of my daily eating and drinking habits. Started with soda. I didn't drink much, as I wasn't addicted, but it was more of a "convenience" drink for me. I gave that up, and have had 1 in the past 6 months, and I only drank half the can, cause it tasted funny. Then I gave up coffee, then sweets, then fast food. Now, I still eat fast food every now and again, but I try and make smart choices about it.

Self control, and you CAN do this. Good luck to you!

chargrove1990

I was willing to do whatever it took to cut my weight, same foods didn't stop me, results were so worth it........ I didn't have a cheat day thru my cut or maintenance,(250+ days) now I am on bulk and I will have one cheat day every two weeks, but with in reason.

I wish I had your motivation! Hopefully P90x will change my attitude about everything

webdevsoup

I wish I had your motivation! Hopefully P90x will change my attitude about everything

An exercise program is not going to change your attitude about everything, only YOU can change your attitude about everything. You have to want to do it, not make someone want to do it for you, you know what I mean? I've been there "If I start this exercise program, I'll get skinny and eat better". It was a bold-faced lie to myself. Not until I decided I wanted to do it for myself, and do it right, did I actually do it.

Don't start doing an exercise expecting to FIND motivation... Use your CURRENT motivation to FIND the exercise program.

Cisco12791

Refeeds are very beneficial for dieting down to lower body fat percentages for both men and women. Forget cheat days and do refeeds.

chargrove1990

It really depends on you, and your self control. Personally, what I've done since day 1 of my reboot (January this year) is I eat what fits in to my caloric intake. Yes, there is a difference of quality food vs. quantity of food, so if I ate all McDonald's for my 1800 calories, I'd be overweight, because it's not good quality. However, a cheat "day" or a cheat "snack" is not a bad thing to have. Don't set yourself up to fail before you even begin, because you'll never do anything.

For me, 2300 calories is my normal intake. I want to lose a pound or 2 a week, so my daily intake is 1800. However, I drink a lot of beer. It offsets. Sometimes I drink beer, sometimes I don't. If you KNOW your'e going to have a snack in 2 days, eat 2 light days (1200 calories or 1100 calories), and then eat your 1500-1600 calories. It's all about balance. And remember, one day is not going to kill your efforts. If that were the case, I'd still be at 240 lbs instead of 204.

Learn to balance your meals, and learn to keep yourself accountable and exercising self-control. If you know you can't eat a chip because if you do, you'll consume a whole bag, don't eat the chip! Be smart about it.

Also, you said pop is your weakness (soda). I did something about 6 months ago. I gave up certain aspects of my daily eating and drinking habits. Started with soda. I didn't drink much, as I wasn't addicted, but it was more of a "convenience" drink for me. I gave that up, and have had 1 in the past 6 months, and I only drank half the can, cause it tasted funny. Then I gave up coffee, then sweets, then fast food. Now, I still eat fast food every now and again, but I try and make smart choices about it.

Self control, and you CAN do this. Good luck to you!

As far as fast food goes, Taco Bell is my absolute weakness. Every time I go, I get the same exact thing and when I logged it, and found out how many calories were in a 5 layer burrito, I was in shock and so disgusted. I never really get fast food as often as I used to {mainly because we're BROKE}, so I just have to utilize what's in the house.

chargrove1990

I wish I had your motivation! Hopefully P90x will change my attitude about everything

An exercise program is not going to change your attitude about everything, only YOU can change your attitude about everything. You have to want to do it, not make someone want to do it for you, you know what I mean? I've been there "If I start this exercise program, I'll get skinny and eat better". It was a bold-faced lie to myself. Not until I decided I wanted to do it for myself, and do it right, did I actually do it.

Don't start doing an exercise expecting to FIND motivation... Use your CURRENT motivation to FIND the exercise program.

Good point! Usually if I actually do some sort of exercise with my life instead of sitting around which is what I have been doing, I start to get a little motivation and then I don't want to quit. However, the last time I "tried" P90x, I lasted 4 days, but now I have the help of 4 people. I am so pumped to get this weight OFF!

webdevsoup

... but now I have the help of 4 people. I am so pumped to get this weight OFF!

That's GREAT that you have friends to help you!!! Having other people to keep you accountable to your workouts is another great way to keep on the straight and narrow! Good for you!

bwogilvie

I don't have cheat days per se, but I think of my calorie goal in terms of the week, not the day. Some days I eat less than goal, especially if I've exercised a lot or if I'm not that hungry; other days I eat more. As long as I'm under my goal (or not too far over; I set my goal ambitiously) by the end of the week, I'm content.

Thinking of a weekly target allows indulgence (dinner out, or a cheese course) from time to time, while not thinking of it as cheating.

_HeartsOnFire_

No. I do not deprive myself of anything. It's about moderation not deprivation.

emjaycazz

I haven't taken one--It's an option depending on how comfortable I am over the longer term with maintaining my current body shape/profile. However, if a couple of slices of pizza fit into my overall weekly calorie or macro maximum, I go for it. My diary is open--I drink plenty of wine and eat plenty of chocolate and then some. It's just my current approach--I focus on the taste and experience rather than quantity.

wamydia

You'll hear lots of advice on both sides of this, but I think the answer to your question is that no, it isn't necessary to have a cheat day. It really depends on the individual -- you have to figure out what works for you.

I personally don't have a cheat day for two reasons. First, because I have worked very hard to create a sustainable lifestyle change. If I feel the need to take a day off from that lifestyle once a week or once a month or whatever, it's clear to me that I haven't succeeded in making a sustainable change. This is how I plan to live the rest of my life, so if I feel like I have to take regular breaks from it then I need to make some changes so that I no longer feel like I need to find an escape route from how I'm eating. Second, because it is shockingly easy to blow an entire week's deficit on just one day of bad eating. If you run a week's deficit to lose 1lb, that's 3500 calories. You can drink that back (and then some) in some of the Coldstone Creamery milkshakes. Or eat it back on a big meal at a steak house or an Olive Garden. If you eat the chocolate cake at Chili's for dessert, that's over 1000 calories just by itself. Point being that giving myself a license to eat whatever I want without counting could add up extremely fast and ruin all of my progress for the week. It's just not worth it. If I really want chocolate lava cake for dessert, I will make room in my calorie budget without wrecking everything else I've done and I'll be happy twice -- once for the cake and once for not breaking my eating plan.

triniechu

I'm on a very low carb diet and I do a lot of powerlifting. So a cheat day is a necessity for me! I eat so healthy for 6-7 days, that having a cheat day really isn't bad for me. With the diet I'm on, the carbs and sweets on my cheat days help me burn fat! It all depends on your goals.

stacyhaddenham

We use "cheat days" as our date nights so that we can try new places and not freak out if we find it impossible to stay under goal or figure out calorie count in something. That way our 2 nights a month when we set aside work, homework and all other concerns and focus strictly on us as a couple are remain stress free and fun.

That being said the rest of the time and even on those days we eat as healthy and balanced as possible. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies, lean proteins and whole grain carbs.

Looking at your diary, I would suggest something similar. Try eating healthy every day and then make taco bell and a soda a "cheat day". My wife is a huge soda addict so we bought a soda stream which allows us to control the amount of syrup and therefore the calories when she has soda. Now she is down to carbonated water and a squeeze of lemon or lime in it. Making it one of the best investments I have ever made. lol

MarioLozano16

You should at least have a refeed day

zacharydeveaux

It depends on your own perception. Everyone seems to approach their own weight loss with a varying amount of willpower, anxiety, self-control, etc. I had a lot of weight to lose - started at 296lbs. I'm still pretty much in a 'bulk weight loss' mentality and have been for the last 7 months or so. I can probably count on one hand the amount of times I've gone over my recommended calories for a day. So for me, a cheat day would have been a bad thing I think. The constant routine of watching my calories no matter what I think helped train my brain better to help keep this weight loss permanent. I don't make excuses as to why I "don't have time" to eat properly or to go to the gym. If I were to define a cheat day, I could see it devolving into a routine of 'this is the day I can be bad so I'm going to make it worth it'...and slowly I can see that turning into "well this week I'll have two cheat days but I'm sure it'll be fine because most days are better"....leading to " well this week is shot - I'll pick it up next week"....and so on. What I don't need to happen to me is a downward spiral, so I'll keep my routine as close to perfect as possible for as long as it takes to get my brain fully trained (though I think I've got it down now).

TheEffort

If you don't feel that a "cheat" day is necessary then it isn't necessary.

It's all about you at the end of the day.