Define what a "cheat" meal is?

fit4family12

Hi everyone,

I see alot of ppl allow themselves a "cheat meal" or "cheat day" once a week or every 2 wks..... those of you that do this, what do you mean ? do you just eat whatever you want? Do you not track that day or for a specific meal , or count the calories?

Just curious how you define "cheat Meal" or "cheat day"

Iknowsaur

To me, it's something that I wouldn't eat on a normal day.
Something that is higher in calorie than I would normally eat in one sitting, or that doesn't fit very well into my macros.
I always log it, though, and I usually try to plan my day so that it still fits into my calories, or is at least pretty close.

ShannonMpls

I don't do a cheat meal. Cheating implies that I'm doing something wrong.

"Days off from logging" are part of my program. They were part while I lost, and they're a big part of my maintenance plan.

For me, it means what it says: I don't log my food for a day. Or I don't log ALL my food for a day. Sometimes I log breakfast and lunch but then stop logging for the day. I might have a "day off" because I have a wedding to go to, or a get together with friends, it's a special celebration and I want to go out to eat without logging, or just because I feel like it. I sometimes eat mindlessly, sometimes mindfully. I drink more beer, eat a little more than I would if I was logging, and generally enjoy myself.

I never log a day off. Part of the reason I just had my 1,015th consecutive log-in here and have been successful is because I take days off. If I logged every single day I'd lose my mind.

That's just me though. YMMV.

Eric_DeCastro

if you have to ask, then it's probably a cheat meal.

Francl27

For me it means going over my calories. Which I still do... a lot. But I like calling it 'cheating' so it's clear it's not something that should happen too much, or I will regain.

techgal128

I also take days off logging (usually weekends). I don't go crazy but I do eat more calories than I do during the week. Usually it's one big meal that would cause my diary to go deep in the red.

persaud87

A cheat day is when you go over your caloric intake. If all you ate was mcdonalds but hit your macro totals for the day, its not a cheat day. If all you ate was heaps of lettuce but went over your caloric goals, it would be considered a cheat day, sadly.

A cheat meal is a treat. Something you normally do not eat or that you consider unhealthy for your diet. This can be done on a cheat day or a normal day.

All in all you want to limit both. But if you can't, your best option is a cheat meal on a normal (non-cheat) day.

elbaldwin0525

A cheat meal is anything high in calories and macro nutrients. usually not very filling

GertrudeHorse

I wonder this too. Also who or what exactly are you cheating? Self-imposed rules are arbitrary decisions and can't really be "cheated". Besides, it's not like your body is being tricked or somehow ignoring the calories you consume. The whole concept confuses me a lot. Perhaps it is people who don't like freedom and so invent a convoluted game inside their head. I dunno. Mysterious!

SezxyStef

I wonder this too. Also who or what exactly are you cheating? Self-imposed rules are arbitrary decisions and can't really be "cheated". Besides, it's not like your body is being tricked or somehow ignoring the calories you consume. The whole concept confuses me a lot. Perhaps it is people who don't like freedom and so invent a convoluted game inside their head. I dunno. Mysterious!

x2...

frankmochrie

To me a cheat day is going out to eat and ordering something I know I shouldn't, but do anyways. I always end up feeling really stuffed when I leave. But I would like to add that I have not yet gone over my calories. Just the other day I went out and had a "All You Can Eat" Spaghetti/meatball dinner. I did pretty good but did have around 1200 calories.:devil:


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