How do you feel about the "cheat" day/meal?

firelight4321

So, I know that many people when on a diet give themselves a cheat meal or a cheat day once a week or so. What do you think about this practice?

I bring this up because I went out last night and splurged some extra calories on a Valentine's meal with my partner. We've both lost 10+ pounds now, and wanted to celebrate the holiday. We're not worried about the slight gain it might bring. We've been really good about sticking to our diets, and are back on it today like normal. We talked about maybe doing this once a month.

GhostriderMav

I think it's a good thing. You can't be militant about food, you have to enjoy yourself too or you will end up going overboard. One day is fine just don't make it two then three.
As I was told 1 burger does not make you fat and 1 salad does not make you skinny

ldula88

Cheat days are a great way to give yourself a break every once in a while, and they can be great for breaking out of a plateau. You get a chance to satisfy any cravings you've had, and it can definitely help "reset" your mental state so you don't get tired of eating healthy and give up (not everyone has this experience, but many do). However, once a week is far too often IMHO. I usually plan only one or two a month, usually for a holiday or major event so I don't feel deprived during events like holiday meals. I would hate to miss out on Easter Dinner with the family :P

Wtn_Gurl

I cant go with that mindset.. It would - for me. I would instead try to fill up my daily eating with enjoyable food that will not set me back.

17Delts

1 meal ain't gonna kill ya. you need to enjoy life and can't eat like a robot year round.

nwrainyday

I've thought a lot about this, and I think the idea of cheating isn't a good way to look at it. I think it reinforces the dangerous idea that food which is unhealthy is a treat - is special - and very desirable. In terms of making a real lifestyle change, I think we need to start thinking of rewarding and relaxing with indulgences other than food. For instance, if you've been living really healthily, or you did great on your finals or whatever, maybe treat yourself to show, or a vacation day from work, but don't trash your body with excessive sugar and fat. I mean, I'm not suggesting don't enjoy all foods, and I do think being flexible about your daily calorie intake is important, but I don't really think it's good practice to essentially binge every now and then as some sort of reward. Today is a holiday, so I know that I'm going to be eating modest portions of richer food than I normally do. So fine, that's being flexible and enjoying variety. I am not however, going to eat a whole box of chocolates or an absurdly large dinner. I've worked really hard to change my beliefs and thoughts about food, and I don't want to always feel like I'm counting the days until I'm "allowed" to binge eat. I just don't do that anymore. So, I'm not saying you shouldn't go out and enjoy a special meal. I just wanted to throw out some things I've been thinking about with regards to "cheating".

nedtoloseme

OP, if you're changing your eating habits fof life, occasionally your will eat somdthing rich or high in calories. As long as you are tracking your calories & plan to go back to eatng healthy you will be fine. I disagree with the person who talked about overeating. There are some rich foods out there that you don't have to eat a lot of to eat extra calories. I remember eating a small bread pudding at a restaurant. It wasn't so much the bread pudding as much as the sauce. I didn't even pour all the sauce on, but when I got the calorie count off of mfp, it said 875 calories. You can eat a normal serving of somdthing & it can put you over by alot. OP as someone else said one meal didn't make overweight. Enjoy life! Just go back to doing what you & your partner were doing to lose your 10 pounds. Congratulations on youf loss!

redambition

I don't really see the need to schedule in a cheat day or meal regularly. I save 'cheats' for social and special occasions - so when I go out with friends or family for a big event, I'm not stressing over how it fits in with everything. For smaller events I do my best to make good choices and try to make the meal fit my day, but don't stress if I go a little over. It's always straight back into normal mode afterwards too.

At the end of all this, I want my lifestyle to be fun and enjoyable, and I don't want to miss events just because there'll be food there and I'm 'on a diet'. I figure if I watch everything most of the time, a piece of cake or a decadent meal every few weeks won't hurt

astronomicals

daily average over a week's span... hit protein goal.... over one day under on another... **** it

oh yea


i dont like the idea of cheat days... my method is far simpler... youd probably think I cheat every day... i had chipotle today and went out to dinner last night and i still kept my deficit. I have a "cheta" meal like evry day if youd like to call it that.

ndj1979

i am more of the mindset that if you want to eat something - pizza, ice cream, cookies, whatever - make room for it in your diary and have it and a stay in deficit or eat up to maintenance….but that is just my opinion...

astronomicals

cheat days arent right or wrong... if it works for you then do it.. i think it lends to over thinking and obsessing which will ultimately lead to failure from anxiety and stress... then there the issue of people who grab their trigger food and eat like 10K calories of it on a cheat day. thats obviously not going to fly.

craftywitch_63

If you go over your calorie allowance every now and then (I don't like to call it "cheat" days, either. Then it sounds fun, dangerous and a little exotic) I don't see a problem. It wouldn't work for me, though, because that day would turn into months which would turn into another 20 lbs I would eventually need to lose. If it works for you, though, go for it!

Pintado

I've thought a lot about this, and I think the idea of cheating isn't a good way to look at it. I think it reinforces the dangerous idea that food which is unhealthy is a treat - is special - and very desirable. In terms of making a real lifestyle change, I think we need to start thinking of rewarding and relaxing with indulgences other than food. For instance, if you've been living really healthily, or you did great on your finals or whatever, maybe treat yourself to show, or a vacation day from work, but don't trash your body with excessive sugar and fat. I mean, I'm not suggesting don't enjoy all foods, and I do think being flexible about your daily calorie intake is important, but I don't really think it's good practice to essentially binge every now and then as some sort of reward. Today is a holiday, so I know that I'm going to be eating modest portions of richer food than I normally do. So fine, that's being flexible and enjoying variety. I am not however, going to eat a whole box of chocolates or an absurdly large dinner. I've worked really hard to change my beliefs and thoughts about food, and I don't want to always feel like I'm counting the days until I'm "allowed" to binge eat. I just don't do that anymore. So, I'm not saying you shouldn't go out and enjoy a special meal. I just wanted to throw out some things I've been thinking about with regards to "cheating".

I was so glad to read this. I completely agree. 'Cheating' has really terrible connotations for me around food – I'd rather focus on eating the food my body was designed for, most of the time, with a bit of room allowed for treats.

pixietoes

What I needed to learn was that cheating didn't mean eating everything. I CAN eat 3 french fries and not 30. I CAN have a few bites of a cake. If I decided to order an entree that is not "on my diet" well, okay. I may be up a pound or two the next day but usually it's because of water retention and not a real gain.

I had friends in town a few weeks ago. I ate a really good burger and fries at dinner and biscuits and gravy and breakfast and pulled pork for dinner and went to a very nice brunch and had dessert. I was up four pounds the day they left town. I don't want to gain that much weight in a 3 day weekend, but the truth is I don't want to EAT like that every day, either. I enjoyed it while it was going on and I enjoyed coming back to something normal and I'm really enjoying that two weeks later I am weighing 7 lbs less from that high weight I hit.

My strongest wish in this journey is that I learn to have all kinds of food in my life and enjoy them with WISDOM. LOL

Wtn_Gurl

I do not do cheat days, but yesterday on valentines day they had all these treats spread out in the kitchen. so what i did so i did not feel deprived - i choose a yogurt parfait (yogurt with fruit and granola on top). so that way i felt like i enjoyed the treats but it was a healthy choice. and tasted good. it was within my mfp totals too.

RadioactivePirate

It's totally healthy to eat something higher in calories or eat more than you usually do on occasion. Food is a major part of life and is tied to many things in modern society, celebrations and such. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you have to eat in the manner you're eating now for the rest of your life. If you can't EVER go over and have a big holiday meal or go to a restaurant or have pizza AND cake AND ice cream at a birthday party, well, it's not very realistic to think you can eat that way forever without feeling deprived and giving up on your "diet."

As you may infer from that, I do take issue with the idea of it being "cheating." I consider it the normal way I eat now. I eat tons of fruit and vegetables, my diet is well balanced, I stay within my calorie goals almost all the time, and once in a while I splurge because I'm a normal human being. I don't do it all the time, but I don't let it bug me either. It's not "cheating" on my diet, because it's not a diet, this is just how I eat.

That said, you do have to be reasonable. If the "cheat" mindset leads you to pack in an extra thousand calories or two (surprisingly easy to do) then you CAN actually negate your deficit for that week and stall out your weight loss.

bluetuesday5

Since I hit a plateau a couple of weeks back I've been eating TDEE every training day, doing day on, 2 days off, day on, 1 day off. Seems to have helped both my weight loss and weight training performance, and I also feel less deprived. So my take would be to allow them, keep them reasonable, and if possible fit them on training days.

dasfit130

I, too, did the Valentine's Day splurge with a big fat burrito last night. Since I had breakfast and skipped lunch and logged a lot of fit bit miles, I had plenty of calories left for the day. This morning I woke up 0.8 pounds lighter so it's not bad every now and then!