Feeling guilty after "cheat day"!

lprincess1970

So yesterday was my cheat day. I never used to cheat as a mattter of fact I had an eating disorder and ate too little for almost a year. After seeing a Naturalapath he advised a cheat day once a week. Everytime I do it I feel sick the next day and feel like a ruined all the hard work I've done! Im also hypothyroid so weight loss is next to impossible lately. Does anyone else feel like this? Will it ruin the whole week? Advice..

Unknown

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Love4fitnesslove4food2

If you feel guilty then I don't think this is a mentally healthy approach for you to take. Why not have a serving of a treat daily instead? Whether you could ruin a weeks worth of work depends on what your week is like and what this one day is like but the odds are no, it won't ruin a week's worth of hard work.

MystikPixie

I think a cheat day is something that everyone should have. That way you can reward yourself for not cheating the rest of the week. If you cheat during the week, you don't get your reward.

ars1300

How about a cheat meal or 2? I can say I can do alot of damage( I have a healthy apetite) in one day and totally erase and entire week of clean eating! And your probably feelign sick from overeating or eating things your not normally having. I feel I deal better mentally having a meal or to and just feel better in gerneral.

Rocky_ZG

How about a cheat meal or 2? I can say I can do alot of damage( I have a healthy apetite) in one day and totally erase and entire week of clean eating! And your probably feelign sick from overeating or eating things your not normally having. I feel I deal better mentally having a meal or to and just feel better in gerneral.

Right.
Cheat day of careless eating is silly and can erase much of good stuff done during the week.
1, max 2 cheat meals per week are enough. And don't go completely overboard during those meals.

melodywoodward

Well, I think you should read Tim Ferris's book The 4 hr body.. he says 1 cheat day is vital it keeps your metabolism from going in to starvation mode!

MelissaPhippsFeagins

How about using the word treat or the word free instead of the word cheat. You don't have to feel guilty about treating yourself OR about things that are free. You aren't breaking the rules; therefore, you aren't cheating; therefore you have nothing to feel guilty about.

beachlover317

How about just setting your calories to a healthy amount and work on your issues with food? A lot of people need to learn what food is for and how to eat in moderation. Feeling guilty after eating and feeling like it has undone all your hard work is very disordered thinking. Food is also not a reward for eating healthy all week. This is the cycle that will be your undoing.

Focus on health. Focus on eating foods you like within your calories for the day. When food has all this power, we are powerless to make changes. I wish you the best of luck.

charlisobel

I have a treat meal once a week, but have a portion that I think the maintenance me in the future would have! I think if you are feeling so guilty about a whole day, you might feel better with one meal. Having said this, I do believe in everything in moderation, so if you aren't denying yourself anything then you don't need to 'cheat'.

ZestyItalian2

Agree with the poster who said that a cheat "meal" rather than an entire day might be more advisable. Enjoy your indulgence, but maintain control. I've always likened calculated cheating (which is sometimes a necessity- holidays, dinner parties, etc.) to a plane going into a nose dive. The longer you're plummeting, the more effort it takes to pull out of it. For me, a cheat day can turn into half a week or more, which can really reverse progress. A meal is less likely to gain its own negative momentum.

I'm not a nutritionist, but I'm pretty sure there's no actual scientific benefit to cheating vis a vis weight loss. It may slightly jumpstart your metabolism, but that benefit is surely outweighed by the excess calories and havoc wreaked on an unprepared digestive system.

So therefore the benefit of a cheat day or cheat meal is psychological, and therefore subjective. If it brings you shame and regret disproportionate to the pleasure it brings, it may not be worth it. If you're dealing with recovery from an eating disorder, anything that continues the cycle of feast and famine, shame and overcorrection, is probably a bad thing. Maybe keep it to a meal- plan around something, a brunch with friends, a reservation at one of your favorite restaurants, and give yourself no restrictions while you're in that building. When you leave, the regular rules re-apply. Maximize the enjoyment of your cheating, so it feels "worth it" and not empty nullification of your hard work. Also, psychologically prep yourself for the fact that you'll be taking a minor step back- be okay with it- and assure yourself that you'll quickly make that ground back up in the week ahead.

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ebayaddict0127

Maybe lessen your cheating. I like the cheat "meal" option rather than a whole day. Or maybe do every other week. I know when I'd been doing really well for four weeks or so I ate a super greasy Mexican lunch and felt awful. Physically and mentally. I still allow myself crap once in awhile, but am trying to keep it to every other week or so.

fy0904

If you're craving something, why not incorporate whatever it is you're craving into your daily calories, possibly toward the end of the day? I could understand if your TDEE is low, however. If you go over a bit with whatever it was I wouldn't worry about it and move on. Your body will thank you for the extra glycogen that day.

lprincess1970

First I would like to thank all of you for your advice! It is alot of information to take in and I like parts of everyone's posts honestly. However. .I do know myself and how hard I work all week. I work out 5 days a week for an hour a day. I mix it up witj cardio and weights. .also HIIT. As for my diet..I eat organic 1300 calories a day protein, vegetables, fruit one grain and no dairy. My cheat day consisted of lasagna, a piece of cake and ice cream. I agree with the fact that it is hard for me emotionally so im going to try one cheat meal on one day. Thanks again everyone!

MeanderingMammal

After seeing a Naturalapath he advised a cheat day once a week.

There seem to be two schools of thought on "cheat", for some it's an excuse to blow their budget, for others it's a more mature look at their calorie consumption and to tailor their intake to keep the weekly target but by going under on a few days and going over on others.

Notwithstanding the use of the word "cheat" which I find semantic nonsense, I tend to eat in the latter way. It's about informed choices, rather than absolving oneself of responsibility. I note the point upthread about "treat", although I wouldn't even look at it like this. The reason that I wouldn't advocate the term "cheat" is that nobody is being cheated, the only person that will actually experience the result is oneself.

Notwithstanding all of that it doesn't seem all that sensible to plan to eat to the extent that you feel bad about it. It strikes me as counterproductive, particularly if you have history of ED.

kmtbeaulieu

Cheat day not so much. I feel guilty the days after and it makes me feel sick even thinking about it the next time. I think I only did it twice before(birthday and snow day) I changed it to one meal once in awhile. I usually have a treat on girls night... which is about 1-2 times a month. It's fun to indulge in something everyone loves my friends usually involve something chocolate or cheesecake:happy: I guess it also helps that 2/5 friends are going through the same body images as me.

lprincess1970

Not to sound rude but after reading some of these..I actually feel worse! If this makes sense. .I almost feel like I am being punished for eating food I dont eat everyday.:(

healthieryear

Well...if you don't feel you need it, I wouldn't do it. If you're craving something, I think its healthy to allow yourself to indulge a little once in a while.

I personally don't do cheat days based on the day of the week or anything. I wait for special events, or random days when I feel I really need it, or for whatever reason something awesome comes up and I want it.

For instance, yesterday was my husbands birthday, so we were out for the day and such and ended up eating out. I wanted a burger and fries, my favorite meal that I haven't had in almost 3 months, and I had it. I had a delish cookie for breakfast, while being at a market event full of baked goods, cheeses, breads, kettle corn....totally brutal to be honest haha. But I left with my 1 (sizeable) cookie. Went out for dinner too, wanted another burger and fries, went for the steak sandwich and fries instead that was really only steak and garlic bread. Not the healthiest of choices but was better than the burger.

In the end I went over and I knew I was going to. But heres the thing, I went over by about 400 cal or so. The day before by 68...but it was "hot lunch," at work and I felt I deserved it, the rest was relatively healthy to eat that day. So basically, I look at my report and yeah it sucks because I hate going over!! I do feel slightly guilty about it and wish to a minor extent that I didn't. At the same time, I didn't go over to a huge extent, in fact both days I would still have technically lost weight in 5 weeks according to MFP just not very much yesterday for sure.

Long story short, I think allowing yourself to go over when you need to as long as it isn't happening a lot is okay. But I think how much you go over is important. Some people say have a cheat meal, some a day, but whichever works best for you is good I think. For me I prefer the day and don't necessarily go insanely over, but just allow myself a little more of what I want while still being reasonable to some extent.

In the end do what works for you and makes you feel good as long as its healthy.

MeanderingMammal

Well, I think you should read Tim Ferris's book The 4 hr body.. he says 1 cheat day is vital it keeps your metabolism from going in to starvation mode!

Did you finish reading it before throwing it in the bin?

There is no physiological reason to suggest that having one day of significantly higher intake makes any real difference to weight loss.

From a personal perspective I generally eat about 100cals below goal midweek, which banks 500-800 cals extra at the weekend, although that's compounded by doing my long runs at the weekend which generally bank another 1000 cals each day. It does mean that I end up under goal at the end of the week as I physically can't consume that volume of food.

CharzieGirl

Not to sound rude but after reading some of these..I actually feel worse! If this makes sense. .I almost feel like I am being punished for eating food I dont eat everyday.:(

You shouldn't feel guilty or like you are being punished. But, in my experience, cheat DAYS don't work. When I used to allow myself a cheat day, I would fall off the wagon completely.

I do believe one cheat meal (everyday, or every other day) is a lot more effective if you want to lose weight. For example, if you know you're going to be craving chocolate, then make some room for some chocolate during dessert. If you have to, exercise a little bit more so that you have room for the dessert.

LKArgh

I would forget the cheat day and start including favourite but not so healthy things in your diet, in small amounts throughout the week. Or let yourself have a couple of treats, twice a week, instead of a cheat idea. It might be the same in the end, but easier to deal with emotionally and more easy to control.

beachlover317

Not to sound rude but after reading some of these..I actually feel worse! If this makes sense. .I almost feel like I am being punished for eating food I dont eat everyday.:(

That's exactly the mindset I was talking about. Why would you do something that makes you feel guilty or like you're being punished? Why not work on those issues by eating at a calorie deficit, but include the foods that you enjoy? You could even look at your weekly calorie totals instead of day to day. I do that and some days I might go over a little, some days I'm under. Using food as a reward for a good week or a punishment because of a bad day is only doing to lead to problems. Work to learn moderation.

dzorra123

Remember, everything in moderation! If you feel like having a "cheat" food, have one! Just not everyday. There is no reason to eat badly on a entire specified cheat day if you don't want to. Instead of having a whole day, maybe just promise to treat yourself to something you really love once a week.

If you don't want to eat junky foods, don't do it! He probably only recommended this so that you can diet without feeling the pressure to be perfect.

There is no reason to devote an entire day to eating badly, so long as you aren't completely depriving yourself throughout the week.

Good luck and anyone can feel free to friend me!
xx

gregpack

instead of calling it a "cheat day" , call it a " day off" You're not cheating anyone on a day off. Just east at a level of caloric maintenance that one day a week. If done properly you could have a treat or two without doing three days of damage to your week of dieting.

Mav3rick54

How about a cheat meal or 2? I can say I can do alot of damage( I have a healthy apetite) in one day and totally erase and entire week of clean eating! And your probably feelign sick from overeating or eating things your not normally having. I feel I deal better mentally having a meal or to and just feel better in gerneral.

Right.
Cheat day of careless eating is silly and can erase much of good stuff done during the week.
1, max 2 cheat meals per week are enough. And don't go completely overboard during those meals.

Sorry… I have to disagree that a cheat day is silly.... I routinely have a cheat day every Saturday. It works for me as the ticker below shows. That being said, I recognize that they may not work for everyone. Everyone is different and need to figure out what works best for them. One day will not destroy all of your hard work. Yes you may go up a pound or two the day after but that is typically water weight not 2 pounds of fat. If you are feeling guilty and sick then perhaps it is not the best thing for you today.... But there are many people on here that frequently have cheat meals or cheat days. Keep up the good work and don't give up.

MelsAuntie

I'm one of those people who NEVER does a cheat day. Why would I? Where's the profit in that? I hate that term, by the way. If you eat within your calorie goal you can eat anything you want to.

MeanderingMammal

I routinely have a cheat day every Saturday.

Given that you seem to be consistently coming in significantly below your goal you seem to be banking quite a lot of calories, offsetting any excess.

Similar to how I'm generally eating

lprincess1970

Thank you! I really needed that tonight. I do feel guilty but I think its the previous eating disorder issues. I agree..I cant see how one day will mess up the entire week. Thanks for the inspiration.

lprincess1970

I disagree. I can't eat whatever I want to. Im hypothyroid snd im on an organic clean eating plan. So yes..I have to have a treat day..cheat food..or day off, whatever you want to call it so I dont feel deprived.

GertrudeHorse

If you have a medical reason to eat clean and organic food, how does the "cheat day" affect your hypothyroid? I'm genuinely asking here - I don't have much/any knowledge about hypothyroid.