What do you consider as a cheat meal?

PippiNe

I can't say I call pizza a cheat meal either. A splurge maybe, as I can easily fit 2 small slices of veggie or hamburger pizza in my days' calories.

This past week I celebrated my birthday and our wedding anniversary. We went to dinner at our favorite restaurant. I had a shrimp linguini pasta dish. Now THAT is a cheat meal. Soaked in a "white sauce" (read: BUTTER) it was sooo tasty. I have no way of calculating the calories I ate in that dish alone (not including the Caesar salad and dinner roll and dessert). Pretty sure I ate three days worth of calories in one meal. Definitely not the way a want to eat everyday, but Once in a great while, it just feels good to eat whatever you want without regret.

Fullsterkur_woman

candies, icecream, chips kinda stuff. Anything that isn't worth the calories it consumes (that being, not filling and likely raises your macros a lot)

Those things would probably not raise your protein a lot, just carbs, fat, and calories.

Mad_Dog_Muscle

NOTHING!!! I eat anything I want, in moderation. As long as I don't go over my base calories + my exercise calories per day I'm A-OK with it.

^^This^^

runlilyrun

Over eating by 300 calories or more at the end of the day is a cheat day. Eat a slice of pizza is not. Just yesterday I had TWO slices and was still under. Oh bad me!

This is my philosophy - and since MFP builds in a 500 calorie deficit I try to just not go over maintenance calories on a 'cheat day' - I look at it as keeping my metabolism high and therefore a necessary part of the process!

Fullsterkur_woman

I don't believe in "cheat" meals. I usually fit my macros and stay at my calorie goal for the day and I get 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. If I do that, and then occasionally choose to eat something that goes way over my calorie goal, that's fine. I'll still average a deficit overall. And by occasionally, I mean about once every two weeks. Keeping my daily calorie goal pretty high seems to mean that every other week is enough to keep me from having burnout and giving up. That works for me. Find what works for you.

PippiNe

pretty cool! Is Thanksgiving dinner a cheat meal? just need some clarification!

Thanksgiving could go either way depending upon your willpower. Turkey breast (w/o gravy), peas & carrots, fruit salad or jello salad are all very healthy, low fat choices. You can easily eat your fill of those items and not destroy your diet for the day. You could even manage a small piece of dessert if you stick with just those meal items on your plate. However, throw in mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, and multiple desserts - then it becomes a cheat meal. It's up to you to decide.

kuroi19

Anything not recorded is for me a cheat meal unless it's insignificant 1-10 calories from a tea or something that I usually don't bother with.

Last time I had a cheat meal was at a party, ate in moderation but so many various things and so many things I wouldn't guess the name and quantity of I just gave up on counting for a day =p

eloisenetball

I ate a chocolate souffle, with chocolate sauce, raspberry sorbet and vanilla salt the other day in a restaurant it went over my base and exercise goals, it was DEFINITELY a cheat meal I adored it, and logged it, so I do not feel bad for it!

runlilyrun

pretty cool! Is Thanksgiving dinner a cheat meal? just need some clarification!

I would plan ahead to have a 'cheat day' on the day I'm celebrating Thanksgiving (or in my case Christmas - I'm in the UK) with my family - trying to keep the mince pies, chocolate etc in moderation for the rest of the holiday season. What this means for me is that for that day I just don't stress how much I'm eating - I still try to make *relatively* healthy choices, like loading up on yummy yummy veg, but I don't log and I don't feel bad.

And then the next day I go back to normal without feeling guilty. Cassey Ho from Blogilates calls these YOLO days

besaro

lol, i ate a small cheese pizza last night, had a couple gin and tonics and a chocolate chip cookie. went over, yes. but cheating? no. just a great friday!

MrsDestanyRodriguez

For me it would be something that could possibly put you over your reccomended calories Usually a night out to dinner at a resturant or something that you have been craving and dont normally eat on your diet.
If i have enough calories for pizza and i want pizza then i will eat some i dont consider that a cheat but thats just me.

runlilyrun

I still have days where I feel like I goofed when I see that I'm over on protein or sodium or whatever, but I know I'm still learning and the weight is coming off, so I'm doing something right.

Isn't being over on protein a good thing? I'm nearly always under and I know I ought to get more protein into my diet!

newsuzq

Love it! That's why so many people are overweight! GUILT!!! Self imposed or from a family member. It's so completely mental!

sweet_blasphemy

I haven't completely banned myself from any foods, although there are some that I am temporarily avoiding until I can 100% trust myself that I won't allow them to trigger a binge.

For me, a "cheat" would be considered deliberately making the choice to eat or drink things that would put me over my limit for the day. Like my birthday - I made the conscious decision to have a big dinner, drink a pint+ of rum and have some vegan cake. I knew it would set me over my goal for the day, but I did it anyway. I don't feel bad about it because I planned for it in advance with extra exercise and cutting down on calories the rest of the week. So I guess it's not really cheating if I don't feel guilty? That sounds horrible if taken out of context, haha!

I would however, feel guilty if, during a moment of weakness I succumbed to a trigger food that would lead to an all out binge - in which case, when I start binging the logical portion of my brain checks out for a short vacation and returns the next day and has to deal with the damage. THEN I would feel bad because I would've let myself down for giving in when all it would take to get me out of that situation is to take step back and have a moment to think about my choices. This hasn't happened yet...

But like others have said, it is completely mental (for me, anyway) and I guess guilt and other negative emotions wouldn't come into the equation for someone with a healthy relationship with food. But that's the difference for people who already have a solid relationship with food and those who are coming from a background of dysfunctional/emotional eating... It certainly CAN be overcome though if you put your mind to it.

saraann4

a slice of pizza? really?

A cheat meal for me would be a half of a pizza along with some cheese bread. It's usually a day where I don't worry about calories.

reddaddie

pretty cool! Is Thanksgiving dinner a cheat meal? just need some clarification!

I have changed my life style and that includes the whole life. Feasts at the big holidays are part of that lifestyle, and are not cheat days but are part of life that needs to be taken into account. I don't feel bad for these feasts.

We do make some dishes differently and switch out some of the old dishes for new healthier dishes (no more Jello salad YAY!).

septembergrrl

If I go over my calories on purpose eating food I enjoy, it's a cheat meal. (If I go over my calories by accident, like if I don't check the app and guess wrong about how many calories something has, that's what we call a learning experience.) My last cheat meal was my birthday -- wine, salad with blue cheese, mussels, fries, chocolate layer cake.

But I have pizza/ice cream/cookies when I want them, as long as they fit into my calories. Just, y'know, not as much as I used to.

Francl27

Cheat meal would be something over 1000 calories, basically anything that makes it hard to stay under my goal once I count it.

Nikoruo

candies, icecream, chips kinda stuff. Anything that isn't worth the calories it consumes (that being, not filling and likely raises your macros a lot)

Those things would probably not raise your protein a lot, just carbs, fat, and calories.

mhm! that's the point, they raise all the 'bad stuff' way more and because they take up sooo many calories you dont have many calories around them to raise your daily protein enough lol

mohdghosh

Example:

Maintenance: 2500 calories
For Fat loss: 2000 (take out 500 calories)

Cheat meal: 2500, ONE day per week... Is a cheat meal and will not kill you as long as you get back to your diet strictly !!!

Conclusion,

Eat what ever you want but don't go over 2500 calories (If your maintenance level is 2500 calories)

Stephanie198907

deep fat fried foods and high sugar foods are considered cheats for me. I don't care if they fit into my daily calorie range or not. Fried foods wreak havoc on my body (bloating and gas for days after) but they taste so good! Also, my skin because dry and blotchy for a few days after eating high sugar foods.

vanguardfitness

I would say to me, a cheat meal is where I simply over indulge and end up with lopsided macro nutrients for the day. Something like eating a pint of Ben N' Jerry's would tip my carb intake over a cliff.

I would like to consider pizza a cheat meal. But if I get chicken pizza then I don't think it's actually that bad. And the pizza place near me never lets their pizza get really oily.

So generally any processed sugary crap is my cheat meal. Metrx 100g bars, fruit candies, poptarts, cookies (especially italian with powder)

RawFoodBelle

Eating something that you don't eat (for health reasons) on a regular basis. If you allow yourself anything (in moderation), a cheat meal would be eating anything with no moderation.

If your lifestyle is low carb, a cheat meal would be high carb.

My lifestyle is high raw pescetarian, a cheat meal would be a cooked steak.

MysteriousMerlin

I don't do cheat meals or cheat days. I have found that by using MFP I am able to enjoy foods that I like, just not as much of it as I was eating. So instead of half the pie, I eat 2 pieces of pizza and skip the wings. If I tried to cut it all out, I'd be miserable. Right now I'm not in the mindset that I can just give it up. My emotional attachment to various foods is too strong. I'm working on it, but it will take some time.

I hope to be able to disassociate certain foods with boredom, excitement, parties, celebrations, etc...Eat to live, not live to eat.

MaryJane_8810002

I don't believe in cheat meals, when you moderate yourself you do not have to worry.

mmm_drop

I don't consider any type of food a cheat. What am I cheating on? I eat ALL the food in moderation.

suzend

NOTHING!!! I eat anything I want, in moderation. As long as I don't go over my base calories + my exercise calories per day I'm A-OK with it.

^^^^This for sure! However, I've also learned that going over my calories one day or even two days is not a deal breaker. I just make up for it during the rest of the week. But, I didn't get that "relaxed" about my eating until I was over halfway through my journey. As you progress, you will figure out what works and DOESN"T work for you. I've never been a fan of the term "cheat" in reference to living a healthier life. I think putting certain things off limits completely, makes me(and I'm sure a lot of people) just want that forbidden item more. But you have to know your triggers and you have to be honest with yourself about your ability to have just one or two servings of something "not so healthy."

EXACTLY THIS!!! ^^^^^

walkinthedogs

What's your definition of a cheat meal?

Anything you pretend you didn't eat.

Yep, this.

climbing_trees

My cheat meals usually revolve around high amounts of alcohol. I love to party!
Once or twice a month I'll let myself just go totally nuts and have a ton of fun and not care about counting/tracking/limits/macros.

The last time was a disaster though... I was blacked out so I couldn't even remember how delicious all the peanut butter oreos were that I ate at four in the morning >___< haha oops

Ang108

I think eating a slice of pizza is considered as a cheat meal.

What's your definition of a cheat meal?

A cheat meal or cheat day is part of the group of words ( " hangry " and " eating clean " belong to that group among others ) I can't even understand and are absolutely meaningless to me.