binge cheat days ---> your experience

edwardkim85

So far so good for me. As much as I need to lose weight, I don't want to be miserable.

I find myself miserable if I eat sub 2kcal / day since I exercise and lift heavy(crossfit + extra lifting) 1-2 hours/day , 6 times/week.

Even at 2kcal/day, I find my body wearing down anywhere after 7 - 10 days of eating healthy.

So usually on the 10th day, I've been adding a 'binge cheat day', pre planning chips, pizza, bread, noodles etc etc. High fat + carbs.

It ends up being 5kcal - 6kcal. If I go out drinking, I add that in as my 'binge' day.

I've lost 3-4kg / month steadily so far with this method for the last 4 months.

I find BINGE cheat days get rid of my urge to eat junk food and or crash for about a week.

Also, looking forward to a planned cheat day gives me the motivation to push through for the week.

So far so good, seems to work well for me with fat loss/muscle gain.

What's your experience & point of view on cheat days in general?

MinimalistShoeAddict

Congratulations on your steady weight loss so far!

I see nothing wrong with eating a lot on occasion. Both when I was losing weight and when I was maintaining weight I occasionally consumed 5 or 6 thousand calories in a day. I use weekly calorie/macro targets so I was still able to fit such days into my weekly targets. Now that I am bulking I find it even easier to fit such days into my weekly goals.

If its working for you I see no reason to change

padams2359

Agree with them, but you may find many people don't like them being called Cheat Days.

DR2501

I have cheat nights, rather than days - Fridays and Saturday nights I eat pizza, or an Indian/Chinese takeaway with beer, with dark chocolate or ice cream afterwards. I too find this keeps me from craving things through the week. I say if its working, do it.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

Francl27

My experience has varied so far. It depends a lot on when I am in my cycle though (which obviously isn't the same with men, lol). A couple times I lost weight 2 days later, once I gained and didn't lose anything for 3 weeks, last time my weight didn't move. But it's not huge binges for me, just maybe 20% over my TDEE.

mccindy72

I like to have a day now and then where I just eat something I really enjoy and have a craving for, without worrying about the calories. I find this works best about every 2 weeks for me, and it doesn't affect my weight. The exception being if what I eat is high in sodium, then I tend to retain water and my weight will be up about 1-2 lbs the next day. It all comes out eventually within a day or two, so the overall effect is nil.
It's better to eat something as a "treat" now and then rather than chronically deprive yourself - people can have the potential to binge eat if they continue to avoid all foods they enjoy. Plus I find that I enjoy treat foods much more when I only have them occasionally.