How do you feel about cheat days?

ErickaK26

I'm trying to lose about 30 pounds but I am so addicted to unhealthy eating. I was trying to eat junk in moderation, but the that usually turns into a slippery slope where I end up back into my old habits. I heard of people having a cheat day once a week and decided to try it out. I went all week eating healthy and then "cheated" on Saturday. I lost 3 pounds that week (last week). But, this week, I am continuing to follow that same diet strategy and my scale is not changing. I'm wondering if my "cheating" ruined my spree. Right now, I'm eating 1200 cals a day and not exercising.

Thanks!

AJ_G

Are you still counting calories on your "cheat" day?

gypsy_spirit

Losing weight is about maintaining a calorie deficit. If you look at your weekly totals, as long as you still in a deficit - you should lose. Weight loss, however, is not linear. Sometimes we retain water and there are numerous other situations that could cause your weight to fluctuate. Look for the downward trend over several weeks.

This link has tons of information to answer any questions you may have:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants


ETA: I don't do cheat days. I am working hard to overcome the habit of overeating. I eat the foods I love but work on moderation and learning correct portions.

sllm1

You may want to consider eating "to maintenance" one day a week. I would still log so that you don't undo all that you did the last six days.

ErickaK26

Yes, I tried to keep it under 2400.

ErickaK26

Are you still counting calories on your "cheat" day?

Yes, I tried to keep it under 2400.

yungibear

I don't really have "cheat days." I certainly have days where I eat more than I usually do, or meals that are way more calories than what I normally take in. I just log them, no matter how much I am over my calorie goal. It's uncomfortable to get really far into the red zone, but I do it because I know I'll get back to eating and exercising like I did before. It's nice to look back on those calorie-heavy days and know I'll be fine.

shmerek

I don't really do cheat days in the sense of setting aside a day when I purposefully eat whatever. There have been a few days in my 160 odd days of tracking that I have gone over but no premeditated cheat days. I think they just have too much potential to undo the work already done. If I were to take one I would only do it one every month or two. A weekly cheat is a recipe for disaster in my opinion. I have seen friends take cheat days during the very first week of counting, not a good way to start.

MBrothers22

You may want to consider eating "to maintenance" one day a week. I would still log so that you don't undo all that you did the last six days.

Yes.

larrodarro

I'm at my goal weight now, but when I was trying hard to lose, I would eat anything I wanted. I just always did enough exercise to make the red go away before I went to bed. There were a few nights I was walking at midnight. But I learned how much easier it is to lose by eating less than to exercise more.

PinkyFett

Cheat days aren't for me, but they work for many.

KylaDenay

Why not just exercise, eat more and eat your favorite foods in moderation?!

sun_fish

Losing weight is about maintaining a calorie deficit. If you look at your weekly totals, as long as you still in a deficit - you should lose. Weight loss, however, is not linear. Sometimes we retain water and there are numerous other situations that could cause your weight to fluctuate. Look for the downward trend over several weeks.

This link has tons of information to answer any questions you may have:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants


ETA: I don't do cheat days. I am working hard to overcome the habit of overeating. I eat the foods I love but work on moderation and learning correct portions.

Have to agree with everything in this post. Read the link, it is great. And like gypsy, I don't do cheat days, but I don't deprive myself of something I want. I just ate some dark chocolate. Not the whole bar like I used to, just a small piece that I savored and enjoyed.

CarlydogsMom

I guess I don't understand the rationale for "cheat days." To me, the ultimate goal of weightloss should be to assume a lifestyle where you are comfortable in the diet, exercise pattern, and, well, lifestyle that you choose, and don't have this dichotomy in your brain of "cheat day" and "other days." Which, to me, would set me up for thinking "cheat days are GREAT!" and non-cheat days are the hell you must endure until you can have your cheat day.

I decided I'd rather set myself up for long-term success by establishing a lifestyle where every day is a day you're happy to be in because you have a system you can live with and enjoy all the time--and be proud of, and confident in. Rather than this day where I give myself the latitude to overeat, and then feel like I'm restricting myself the other days. I don't consider any of my days restrictive--or indulgent (which makes me feel guilty and self-loathing knocks on my door)--they are just how I've set up my life. If I stick to it 90% of the time, barring vacations and special occasions, I'm ok with that.

So if you must do a cheat day, have at it, but I hope that the other days in your week you're just as happy!

K_Train450

6000-7000 cheat day once every 2 weeks for me. Still losing 5 lbs a week.

MiniMarc

you have to be realistic about how much your cheating by??

Also a good tip is if your gona cheat , do it earlier in the day. Its better to have a cheat breakfast and end up at dinner time with a low / no carb light dinner. You will burn off more cals through the day than if you have a monster dinner

Kisame29

I have a cheat day once a month where I'll eat 2000-3700 calories (I eat 1200-1500 calories normally). You will probably have more water weight for a couple days after a cheat day if you've consumed a lot of sodium (which can easily happen based on the foods most people cheat with). I always avoid weighing myself for about 3-4 days after a cheat day for that reason so then I basically do not notice any changes.

Cheat days may slow down weight loss (since you may not have a deficit that week), but they should not hurt if it they are infrequent. Personally I think once a week is too much, but once every two weeks or once a month seems fine to me. Although I know some people think any cheat days in general are bad, but I crave some foods that easily put me over 1200-1500 calories for the day. When I have a craving, I just write down those foods and save them for my next cheat day. I'd rather have slower weight loss while still getting to get some of my guilty pleasure foods every now and then. If you want to have faster weight loss though, then you may want to avoid having cheat days.

nixxthirteen

I've kinda become a pro at fitting anything I want into my deficit, so for me personally, cheat days (where I purposely go over my deficit) are reserved for very special occasions like my birthday. Usually only because of alcohol.

Also, if I'm under my deficit a few times a week I have extra calories in the "bank" that I can use up without slowing down my results, so I work with those a lot. So far I've been super successful at not going over maintenance.

nixxthirteen

Not gonna lie though, when I hit my goal I am eating an entire box of mac n cheese like the old days. Or a bag of Doritos.

klogetsfit_

I don't have a complete cheat day as oppose to a cheat meal. I exercise well that day and make sure to burn enough calories to feel confident that I didn't overdo it on my eating.

systemlayers

It's pretty simple, if you're going to cheat portion it out. Every once and a while I'll crave pizza, buy a smaller size (medium) and literally have one slice with fresh veggies and such on the side. Satisfies my craving and still fits in my calorie deficit. That said I haven't had a real honest cheat (eaten out) in several weeks.
I think routine is important, as much as possible avoid the bad, if you can't and MUST have something portion it as small as possible.

SingRunTing

I don't have a problem with cheat days (as in paying no attention to calories whatsoever) as long as they are few and far between. I'm thinking a few days a year like your birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Other than that, I don't feel the need to cheat since I eat what I want anyway. I just work it into my calorie budget. It might not be the healthiest day ever, but I'm maintaining my deficit.

melsinct

I guess I don't understand the rationale for "cheat days." To me, the ultimate goal of weightloss should be to assume a lifestyle where you are comfortable in the diet, exercise pattern, and, well, lifestyle that you choose, and don't have this dichotomy in your brain of "cheat day" and "other days." Which, to me, would set me up for thinking "cheat days are GREAT!" and non-cheat days are the hell you must endure until you can have your cheat day.

Well stated, I agree with all of this.

Slacker16

While losing I had a weekly cheat day when I would eat 3-4k calories in junk food, takeout and booze.
Kept me sane. I logged it so as not to break habit and not go too far.

I'm at goal now so don't have cheat days anymore, but when I go over my calories I log the excess for the next day (or next two days if too much for one day) and it seems to work fine.

StraubreyR

I guess I don't understand the rationale for "cheat days." To me, the ultimate goal of weightloss should be to assume a lifestyle where you are comfortable in the diet, exercise pattern, and, well, lifestyle that you choose, and don't have this dichotomy in your brain of "cheat day" and "other days." Which, to me, would set me up for thinking "cheat days are GREAT!" and non-cheat days are the hell you must endure until you can have your cheat day.

I decided I'd rather set myself up for long-term success by establishing a lifestyle where every day is a day you're happy to be in because you have a system you can live with and enjoy all the time--and be proud of, and confident in. Rather than this day where I give myself the latitude to overeat, and then feel like I'm restricting myself the other days. I don't consider any of my days restrictive--or indulgent (which makes me feel guilty and self-loathing knocks on my door)--they are just how I've set up my life. If I stick to it 90% of the time, barring vacations and special occasions, I'm ok with that.

So if you must do a cheat day, have at it, but I hope that the other days in your week you're just as happy!

This.

I am trying to establish something I can maintain indefinitely. I fit my favorite foods into my plan, so no need for cheat days. My attitude is that if I'm not going to give something up forever, I'd better figure out how to make it fit into my goals.

JeffInJax

If you do have a cheat day i think the number one thing to concentrate on is portion control. A lot of people hear cheat day and binge hardcore on every junk food they can find. Or be like oh, i want pizza, so they have an entire large one to themselves. I see no real damage, at least not for me in having a slice of pizza, or a small piece of something sweet every once in a while like once or twice a month.

jdhoward_101

I'm a terrible binger and i have a love of all things unhealthy! It has ruined my diet efforts so many times in the past!

Now, i accept the fact that i will probably have a few biscuits at work during the day, just because i love them and i am the one in charge of keeping the biscuit tin filled (lol), so i count them into my daily calorie allowance.

Weekends are always the hardest for me as the lack of routine means that it is all too easy to give in to my cravings, especially because i'm more likely to be surrounded by food at these times. Because i know this, i'm a bit more relaxed over the weekend, but i try and make sure i'm out of the house and as active as possible. Usually i can still be controleld and not consume a damaging amount, but then i get those days (usually a hungover Sunday) where i'll lie around the house all day, eating crap and ordering a huge takeaway in the evening.

I tried having a once a week treat day, but i find that my binge cravings are so unpredictable that i would much rather wait until they hit and decide then whether i'm going to indulge rather than have a set day. Yes, i do usually gain, but usually just a little which drops off if i'm straight back onto restrictive eating the next day.

Anyway, i'm rambling; my advice is to listen to your body and see if you can recognize for any patterns or anything that may trigger you off and work around those. When you feel a binge coming on, drink plenty of water (although, i prefer caffeine-not as healthy, but i'm a bit of an addict). Or do some exercise, even if it's just some crunches, as it can release chemicals which surpress your appetite, (and i'm afraid i have no scientific evidence to back that up, but it's something i've heard and i know that for me personally, exercise always helps eliminate the cravings. If i still want to eat after that, then i'm genuinely hungry). Also, planning your meals for the day ahead, but leave a couple of hundred calories free just in case a craving catches you by surprise!

I know how difficult, and depressing it can be to get stuck in that cycle-i'm determined i'm going to break it, and i'm sure you can too

pope66682

I don't do cheat days. I might do a cheat meal here or there, but I don't predetermine my day and meal. That is kind of a recipe for disaster. If I know I'm going out to a restaurant or cookout etc... I'll make sure to compensate for that in my other meals for the day. And I always count my cheat meal, even if its ridiculous. That way I can make up for it later. I also stick to my rule, no fried food and no candy. That may be impossible for some, but its a good thing to stick by. Those 2 foods are just empty calories.

BlueBombers

I enjoy what I like in moderation....just fit it into my day.

TavistockToad

Are you still counting calories on your "cheat" day?

Yes, I tried to keep it under 2400.

with about 30lb to lose you dont need to only eat 1200 cals... even with a cheat day at maintenance!

Stopin_da_yoyo

THANK YOU!! I agree whole heartedly. I've tried so many things in my life to lose weight. I was even power lifting for several years going to the gym but I never emphasized cardio enough and not even that worked because of not having a set lifestyle and more importantly not eating right/consistently. Im only doing light stuff now like stretching dumbells abs and im on my feet cooking during the day. For me, my daily caloric expenditure is 2300kcal....so I set my daily intake to be 1800 cal/ day. I hit it or below most of the time(99 percent of the time) but some days that I dont I log EVERYTHING all the time, it only takes a few minutes. I recommend reading sugarbusters. Ive cut almost all my unneccessary simple carbs out completely. I dont eat refined sugars white flours or white rice. I do eat alot of egg whites ( if I feel like eating whole egg I eat it) and fish like salmon tuna or tilapia. In another month I think I will be up to slowly reintroducing myself back into the gym. If you havent already try getting rid of sodas. For me I cutit out by half then in about a month I did it again and by three months it was gone. I dont drink them anymore. I do have a gatorade every once in a while but water is best for me ( I jazz it up a little with lemon wedges too).

Basically find a routine stick to it and log it. Repeat repeat repeat. Noone is perfect just get back on it. Ive found that by logging I hold myself more accountable and I can see whats going on. Thanks MFP!