Are Cheat Days A Myth?

AJL_Daddy

I need someone to correct me if I am wrong.

But I once heard said that CHEAT DAYS are one the the worst things for a diet. IE, 6 2000 calorie days and 1 6000 calorie day dows you know good. Instead have 7 2500 calorie days. That's the path to success.

I'm sure there are people on each side of this coin. Just throwing it out for debate, as this popped up in my head today.

My opinion is that I don't think it matters. THAT SAID, I have no idea of nutrition or what it takes to properly experience long term weight loss.

Holly_Roman_Empire

My definition of a cheat day: a day in which there is no logging and you completely throw caution to the wind and eat whatever pleases you.

What I described can absolutely prevent weight loss. How do you know you didn't just sabotage your whole week during that one day of splurge? People like me with a very slight deficit can sabotage their weightloss having a no logging cheat day. You can have a cheat day as long as you log it accurately and ensure that you are still within your calorie goals for the WEEK.

For example, I stick to 1500 net calories. If I want to eat 1300 for 6 days so I can splurge and eat 2700 calories on Saturday, that's fine. It all evens out over the week, and that's what matters.

JesterMFP

I'm not sure how cheat days can be a myth, since lots of people have cheat days.

Whether or not they're a good idea depends on the situation. If it completely wipes out your deficit, not a good idea. If it causes you to binge or generally gives you a worse relationship with food, not a good idea. If it helps you to adhere to a calorie restricted diet, while still allowing you to lose weight, then I don't see the problem. Some people find them helpful. A cheat day does not necessarily mean consuming 6000 calories.

KTyler84

I think you need 1 cheat day a week to throw your body off so it can work more to burn. I normally cheat one day and then get back on track the rest of the week. Cheat days are not a myth to me. And a cheat day doesn't have to be a bad thing.

MayaSPapaya

I think this depends entirely on what your cheat day would consist of. If you gorged yourself on everything all day, it might be detrimental. However, if your cheat day consists of a cheat meal, and more snacks than you normally eat, it's fine. I have a cheat day every Friday where I eat lightly for breakfast and lunch, and then go out to dinner and have whatever I want. If you look at my ticker, you will see that it has not hindered my progress at all. :drinker:

stefaniemazz

It really depends.

I purposely only eat 1100 NET a week so I can have my cheat/re-feed day of like 4000 calories on Saturday which equals out to about 1600 calories a day.

But if I were to actually eat 1600 calories a day and then ate 4000 calories on Saturday then I would gain not lose.

It depends how you want to do it.

My cheat day works for me and keeps me on track and its the way I like to do things but I make sure I am in a big deficit for the week.

DavPul

But I once heard said that CHEAT DAYS are one the the worst things for a diet. IE, 6 2000 calorie days and 1 6000 calorie day dows you know good. Instead have 7 2500 calorie days. That's the path to success.

well, yeah, if you want to frame it in these terms, it won't help, but the reality is that a cheat day for most people is five 1900 calorie days and one 3000 calorie day. 6000 cals is a fairly high target for most people to hit on a regular basis.

in the end, it makes no difference. instead of thinking about your daily deficit you can think of your weekly deficit and make that your target. a day or two at 1500 or a day or two at 2500 will make have no impact over the long term

bluetuesday5

They are good as long as you keep them reasonable. A meal is better than a whole day I think. They keep me sane and I do notice sometimes they help bust through plateaus a few days after. Also it is definitely a good idea to have a refeed if you are doing low carb.

EmilyLock

I think it's better to cheat only when not sticking to your diet would be annoying for you and everyone around you - for example, on Christmas Day, or at a family wedding, you don't want to be working out how many calories in the food. But if you cheat once a week by eating everything that isn't nailed down, you will just find it harder to restrict your calories on the other days. Make it once a month, if you feel that a cheat day will be an encouragement to look forward to.

AJL_Daddy

Obviously my numbers are inflated. I was just curious about opinions. Nothing more, nothing less.

Will210

What I described can absolutely prevent weight loss. How do you know you didn't just sabotage your whole week during that one day of splurge? People like me with a very slight deficit can sabotage their weightloss having a no logging cheat day. You can have a cheat day as long as you log it accurately and ensure that you are still within your calorie goals for the WEEK.

I agree. There has to be some form of regulation and logging. I would especially not recommend the first 2 or 3 months of a diet change. Maybe a cheat meal or two is the better way to go.

DrMAvDPhD

Um yeah a 6000 calorie cheat day will slow you down. That can easily wipe out an entire week's calorie deficit.

Most people have cheat days more along the lines of 3000 calories, which is a bit more reasonable.

Mav3rick54

Saturday's are my "cheat" day. Although I prefer to call them "free days". I typically do not log...although occassionally I will log just out of curiosity.. I eat what I want and how much I want. It works for me....I have averaged about two pounds per week in wt loss.It may not work for everyone....and I get that, everyone is different. But as far as I am concerned, no...cheat days are not a myth.

Athijade

I don't have cheat days.... but then again, I don't eat at a stupid low amount and I fit in all my favorite foods with no issues when I want them. I am making a pizza tonight for example. I had fried rice for lunch. I have a burger when I feel like it... or cake. The key for me is that I don't have them all on the same day and I make sure they still "fit". It really is not all that hard.

stefaniemazz

Saturday's are my "cheat" day. Although I prefer to call them "free days". I typically do not log...although occassionally I will log just out of curiosity.. I eat what I want and how much I want. It works for me....I have averaged about two pounds per week in wt loss.It may not work for everyone....and I get that, everyone is different. But as far as I am concerned, no...cheat days are not a myth.

I didn't log cheat days at first either, I actually feel like I lost more because I wasn't stressing about it logging. I was just enjoying my day, eating whatever I wanted.

I log now just to see the damage, but I notice no matter what I don't even hit 4000 calories.

brad2021hk

To me, the weekly calorie goal is more important than each daily calorie goal. I shoot for an average of 2100 per day with a weekly goal of 14700 calories. I don't have cheat days per say. I do know that my Friday and often Saturday has a bit higher calorie intake because of my lifestyle. My wife and I like to go out for dinner on Friday evening. My team likes to go out for lunch on Friday. Denying these things would make the whole process harder. I can't not go out to lunch with my team for 40 to 70 weeks in a row. Nor will I tell my wife we aren't going out to dinner for 40-70 weeks. For me, it's not about a "cheat day", it's about living a normal life, which means going over goal sometimes.

What do I do? I account for this in the other days. I try to shoot a bit under target on Mon through Thur. Basically, I do this by not eating back exercise calories, which tend to be a nominal 200 to 250 per day. Put a few calories in the bank for Friday night. I try to make somewhat better choices than I used to, but not obnoxiously better choices. I'm going to have a glass of wine at the winery. I'm going to have a craft beer at the place that has 100 craft beers. I'm going to have a couple buffalo wings if we get an appetizer. I'm going to have birthday cake at a birthday party. This allows me to live life. I'll be able to do this for 70 weeks and for 700 weeks. I'm not doing something special or short term.

In practice, this means I net 1900 on most days and hit 3000 one day and maybe 2500 another. Effectively average 2100. I lose 1 pound per week. The only difference between now and maintenance is 500 calories per day on average. If you're going to eat something again in maintenance, learn to eat it now. If you're going to go out to eat and going to go to parties, do it now. If you are going to get together with the guys to watch the game, do that now.

Francl27

Saturday's are my "cheat" day. Although I prefer to call them "free days". I typically do not log...although occassionally I will log just out of curiosity.. I eat what I want and how much I want. It works for me....I have averaged about two pounds per week in wt loss.It may not work for everyone....and I get that, everyone is different. But as far as I am concerned, no...cheat days are not a myth.

I didn't log cheat days at first either, I actually feel like I lost more because I wasn't stressing about it logging. I was just enjoying my day, eating whatever I wanted.

I log now just to see the damage, but I notice no matter what I don't even hit 4000 calories.

Yeah my worst was 3200ish calories, and so far they haven't seem to derail my weight loss much. But I have one a month where I actually eat over my TDEE, if that.

WhiteRabbit1313

I need someone to correct me if I am wrong.

But I once heard said that CHEAT DAYS are one the the worst things for a diet. IE, 6 2000 calorie days and 1 6000 calorie day dows you know good. Instead have 7 2500 calorie days. That's the path to success.

I'm sure there are people on each side of this coin. Just throwing it out for debate, as this popped up in my head today.

My opinion is that I don't think it matters. THAT SAID, I have no idea of nutrition or what it takes to properly experience long term weight loss.

Cheat Days a Myth? No. They DO exist.

Lol!

I believe that your overall average is what signifies that you're staying on target. You can be on target 6 days, then go over by several hundred calories on the 7th day, and completely blow your deficit. Every.Day.Counts., imo, and mathematically-speaking.

MeanderingMammal

But I once heard said that CHEAT DAYS are one the the worst things for a diet. IE, 6 2000 calorie days and 1 6000 calorie day dows you know good. Instead have 7 2500 calorie days. That's the path to success.

I wouldn't describe that as a cheat day, its merely profiling your net intake over a period.

Notwithstanding that I do find the term ridiculous. Who is one cheating anyway? Utterly nonsensical self deception.

bcattoes

Like so many things in the world of diets, the problem with 'cheat days' is there is no one single definition.

Personally, it seems absurdly unnatural to eat exactly the same calories every day to me. High days and low days are normal (to me). It’s not cheating, it’s just life.

norcalskater

I considered a 3000 calorie day cheating., 6000 though?! Yeah I would say that can throw your progress off.

MostlyWater

I assume that every body is just a little bit different. The Cheat Day is to avoid binging, right? Some people can handle eating their trigger foods within reason but others cannot.

In addition, I've heard that the science behind "just a treat" as compared to a full-on cheat day is that the body won't be satisfied with just the treat; it needs more than that, as in a full day.

I guess you have to do what works for you.

I like candy and make it myself but limit it to an ounce a day, of the healthy stuff. I like soda with rum and have one when I crave it. But I don't fry foods, eat mayonnaise-heavy foods, or bake fattening cakes. I don't even like that stuff.

wailinwonder747

I think you have to define what cheat day means.
If you want to look at a weekly total and have a daily average which is lower to give you some 'ceiling' on the weekends, that's one version.
I ran into the cheat day concept in the 'slow carb' diet advocated by Tim Ferriss in 'The 4-Hour Body'. I've done really well on that, before ever finding www.myfitnesspal.com. To summarize several hundred pages in one sentence: the point of cheat days on that diet is that there are NO sweets or starches, among other things, on 'regular' days, so, on cheat days, you eat those things to 'reset' your metabolism. (Remember, that was a very brief summary.) One of the best suggestions in that book is to plan your cheats by writing down your cravings, and sort of allaying that craving by promising yourself to have it on cheat day.
I find that by the time I have one 'cheat meal' and maybe a snack, mid afternoon, I'm already feeling a little 'gross' with the change in diet, and I sometimes have to force myself to consume meals/snacks/beer later on--ok, I don't have to force myself too much, but it's easy to go back on the wagon the next day.
I really haven't been tempted that much between cheat days.
Of course, everyone is different, and I think this program suits the combination of my metabolism and exercise preferences. Chacune a sa cuisine prefere.