How often do you take cheat meals?

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  • nerual13
    nerual13 Posts: 39 Member
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    After reading so many of the "cheat meal" threads, I'm going to chime in with a different perspective on this. I don't think of it as "cheat" anything! This is all about lifestyle change for me. NOTHING is a cheat, it just has to be balanced. I had chocolate cheesecake earlier this week. Not cheating, just counted it and enjoyed as something I wanted to eat. I feel like categorizing a food as "cheating" seems to negate the whole change of mindset that lets me keep going with being healthier....

    Just something to think about, for me, nothing is a cheat. Its just a meal that has to be counted and balanced with good choices.

    Right, this! The idea of a "cheat" to me is so restricting and weird, like I'm doing something wrong. Most of the time I eat good stuff, once in a while I eat bad stuff, I note the calories, make sure I'm not going over my sodium (weird inner-ear condition,) and move on with my life. I feel like if I sit around planning "well, I can have one meal at the end of the week but hey if I do without it I'll be here instead of here-" like, that would make me crazy, and it would never become a lifestyle for me.

    I log my food, I make good choices, sometimes I go out with friends and then I shrug and hit the gym. It's not worth worrying about, to be honest.

    I understand, and I also agree with that point of view. It is a change in lifestyle, I am also trying to learn to stop thinking in terms of "Whenever I get down with weight loss I can eat all of this!". What I mean with cheat meal is some meal that *clearly* goes over your calories for the day. For example, I am actively trying to lose weight by eating healthier and exercising. Even with my best efforts, I only lose a pound every 2-3 weeks, if at all. And this is eating 1500 cals and exercising 6x/week, I'm just in that spot where it's the last 10 pounds and it's very slow. So that Friday that I just crave Cold Stone's ice cream, there is *no way* to make those 1,000+ calories fit in my daily goal. So that's what I'm referring to. Those meals/desserts that pretty much you go over your calories regardless.

    In that case, TODAY! :p I definitely ate a whole box of Kraft Mac n Cheese. Then I logged it. Then I did a half hour on the treadmill and now its nothing. I had my favorite food, handled it and moved on. No shame here!!! :D
  • Kenazwa
    Kenazwa Posts: 278 Member
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    Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too many, obviously.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,583 Member
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    I eat what I want, all of the time... as long as I hit my macro goals and stay at a deficit.. I lose. Why schedule it?
  • sonia2777
    sonia2777 Posts: 6 Member
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    once in a week
  • nespinosa3
    nespinosa3 Posts: 116
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    I eat what I want, all of the time... as long as I hit my macro goals and stay at a deficit.. I lose. Why schedule it?

    Yes, that works for some people...but in my case, I eat 1500 calories a day and work my butt off. So I definitely can't eat whatever I want, because a good bowl of pasta with bread and meat will pretty much be half of my calories for the entire day.

    I'm also interested...how much do you actually work out during the week in order to get a cheat meal on the weekend? I am *barely* losing weight, so my deficit must not be that high, but I don't want to go back to 1200 calories. It sucks because as much as I burn during 6 days, as soon as I eat an ice cream, I pretty much lost all my progress :(
  • DiamondDustInAnHourglass
    DiamondDustInAnHourglass Posts: 5
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    Basically I only consider my food intake cheat meals/days, if it wasn't necessary for me to consume something that isn't a part of my diet but this winter was unpredictable and I wasn't prepared enough. I have to rely on the bus/taxi to take me to the grocery store and with all of the snow, I couldn't risk being stranded somewhere; if the weather became so intense, that both of those forms of transportation were ceased, so I had to order pizza. However I did have a choice about how much, I took advantage of my predicament. My pizza didn't have sauce/meat, it had spinach, tomato garlic and cheese. It was extra large, if I don't know how many Calories are in something and I didn't, I assume each piece was approximately 400 Calories; since it was healthier than one with sauce and meat. If I had sauce and meat, I would've considered the slices to be 800 Calories each. I cut each piece 4 times and ate one about every three hours. If it is a choice, I then do consider it cheating because denial is our worst enemy. If I'm not dieting, then it isn't cheating to eat something unhealthy because then it's a part of your permanent lifestyle, instead of a temporary phase; such as dieting is suppose to be because once you reach your weight loss goal, the diet is obsolete.
  • paigebeverly
    paigebeverly Posts: 46 Member
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    Twice a week...but even then I only go over maybe 200 calories.
  • benlambrou
    benlambrou Posts: 42 Member
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    I eat some kind of choc treat everyday really unless i go for the greek yogurt. I do sugar free/low fat fudge bars and they are only 80cals so its easy to fit in. I also eat back half my cals back from exercise to be able to eat alittle more on exercise days unless I am not hungry.
  • FindingAmy77
    FindingAmy77 Posts: 1,266 Member
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    nope I never cheat. I log everything and preplan as much as I can. I don't see how binging all crazy is a smart way to lose weight. but hey that is me. now I must say that I eat whatever I feel like eating most days. I just make healthier choices. but you do what makes you feel good. :drinker:

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