cheat meal ideas

GainsAddict

I'm curious what people do for cheat meals. is it just a meal, a day, a weekend. any body completely against , or advocate, and why?

mikegerber1

I've always been an advocate of eating what you crave.... now don't go crazy! the point is to satisfy a craving, not pig out. for example Tasting a single donut a couple times a month will probably keep you from binging on a dozen because you've deprived yourself of something you may like. It's a marathon not a sprint and one small slip won't keep you from finishing, but a catastrophic fall might cause you to quit.

KimberlyinMN

I think a meal here or there of what you really want to eat is good for you. The goal of losing weight isn't deprivation. I have pizza pretty much every week, sometimes more than once, but I only need a slice or two - not the whole pizza. Or an egg salad sandwich. YUM! I still eat Cheetos with a sandwich or hot dog, but I weigh out a serving. For ME, a whole day of food that isn't the healthiest would just make me feel yucky. If I start the day out with my high protein shake (43 grams), chances are I will make better choices throughout the day. If I have toast or cereal for breakfast, it seems I gravitate towards carby foods all day. (Makes it hard to reach my daily minimum 85 grams of protein.)

One of my favorite meals out is fettuccine alfredo from a great pizzeria. There is NOTHING healthy about that. The good news is that the restaurant is out of our way. We work about 24 miles to the west of where we live and the restaurant is 24 miles away in the opposite direction of our home. (Interstate driving.) The leftover fettuccine is enough for three meals for me or lunch for the hubs and myself.

Hugemateria

Hi,

I have a Treat Day - it's not cheating, I planned for it!

I use it to have a little bit more of what I fancy but to make sure I don't go too wild it also has a goal attached to it and I eat a little less during the week to allow it without undoing my hard work.

Rather than having a daily goal I have a weekly goal, my weekly goal is 9000 calories at the moment so rather than eating around 1286 a day I eat 1200 6 days a week and one day a week I eat 1800. That usually keeps me on track and gives me something to looks forward to when the week seems tricky and I just want something indulgent or to just eat more of the things! Also I can skip my treat day if I don't feel the need for it or I've just overdone it a little too many times during the week.

It's not a set day, I just decide when I want it/feel the need for it or it's just more convenient, like when I'm going out for a meal. I also exercise more and then eat the extra calories I've burned if I just want a something really indulgent.

sidney7305

That sounds interesting

pipsqueak12

Bump.

Jennybenny16

In my previous weight loss, I did one cheat meal a week. It gave me something to work towards and it felt like a reward. I just tried to cut down the size of the meal then what I would normally eat. It worked great for me because without them, I feel deprived.

BEVERLYSTEEN

I eat whatever I want as long as it fits into my daily calories so I don't call it a cheat and I don't berate myself. For instance, a couple days ago I was having cravings in the evening so I had a Wholly Guacamole and 10 pretzel crackers and that satisfied the cravings. Keep in mind that I am a Newbie so hopefully this will carry me through my Journey.

I also agree with the person that mentioned weekly calories for those times when you fall off the wagon and are lucky enough to pull yourself back up the next day, the only addition I would make is to add some additional exercise in to help combat the extra calories.