Cheat Days: Necessary or Inappropriate

workout_ninja

"Cheating" a bit maybe once a week is really necessary for me. I think of it as rewarding myself for coming this far in my journey. However, I make it a "cheat meal" instead of a day. My biggest problem with this is I have to be careful not to tell myself "well, you've already eaten one junk item, there's no turning back now so you might as well eat another" because basically I love food, and afterward I would not be able to forgive myself

This^^^ If I want to "cheat" by having something really quite high in calories, I will try and plan for it by eating a little less throughout the day and exercising to try and cover it. If I dont manage to cover it, I have the cheat meal and leave it there, I eat properly the rest the of the day - it is a bad habit to think "well ive ruined my diet with that meal, i may aswell stuff my face for the rest of the day" That doesnt do well for your mental attitude- oh and I definitely wouldnt do it every single week. maybe once or twice a month

Sailatsorf

I definitely have always had to fit one in. When I first started losing, I had cheat weekends because it was hard for me to keep up the good habits when I went home from college on weekends. When I was home for long stretches of time, I'd hide in my room, away from the dining room area because Mom was always munching on chips, and my dad would always buy boxes of doughnuts and eat 4 of them in one sitting.

I got to a point where I would just stay at college for as long as I could and maybe have a cheat day once a month with my friends. Now that I'm married and 800 miles away, I thought it would be even easier since my friends and family won't be there to tempt me.

Nope. My husband and I go out to eat with his grandmother every week, and it's basically impossible to stay within my deficit when we go to Applebee's every Tuesday.

naechai40416

My wife and I tried a day of eating whatever we want, and not caring how much we went over our goals...we told ourselves no matter how 'ugly' it looked when we logged, we were going to log it and go right back on our diet the next day...at the time we felt it was something we needed to get out of our system, and while we didn't feel guilty (all we had was Whataburger and Baskin Robbins)...we did feel sick haha...horribly sick actually! That was an extreme cheat day I guess, but there are times where we go over without planning to, and those are unscheduled 'cheat days' haha (who would turn down a free dinner after all)...but we decided that no matter what happens today, we are going to log tomorrow, and we are going stick with this until we reach our goals...

That night I told my wife that we would eat like that regularly before we joined MFP...so what is a cheat day for us now, used to be called Tuesday...and that is what I like to call progress

lcorrea

I do try to reward myself occasionally but what I have noticed since I'm over 40 now, cheat days have a tenancy to really mess me up and get me off track. Anyway, in the early stages of dieting and counting my calories, I try to be as strict as possible so I can start seeing progress right away which makes me really thinking about if I want to cheat or not.

parkscs

I don't think they are necessary or inappropriate - all comes down to personal preference.

Agreed. For me personally, I don't schedule a day on which I go out and gorge on food and deviate from my plan/goals - I'd feel worse if I did, rather than better for being able to binge eat on a particular day. Personally, I'm content with my diet throughout the week and so I don't feel pressure to go out "cheat." I eat foods I like, I eat big meals and frequently feel full if not stuffed afterwards, and so there's really not a lot of temptation for me to cheat and deviate from my plan. That said, do I occasionally have a beer at the pub when it goes over a particular macro or some sorbet after a nice dinner even though it's definitely putting me over my carb macro? Sure, and I don't feel guilty over it because we're talking once every few months. But weekly? Definitely not.

That said, if having a maintenance day once/week helps you, go for it. There's no one-size-fits-all solution to weight loss.

12bfree

I read about it often but I still don’t understand the concept of a cheat day. I can’t imagine the emotional challenge it must create to have self imposed restrictions. One thing I like about a caloric deficit program is that no restrictions are placed on food, only limits on calories. So, I don’t need to fight any temptation because I can eat anything.

If by cheating a person means exceeding their daily caloric requirement, I think that defeats the purpose of a caloric deficit program.

If a person defines cheating by using food as a reward for achieving a goal, then I’ve also cheated. For example, when I lost the first 25 pounds, I treated myself to dinner at my favorite restaurant.

If exceeding daily-caloric intake on special occasions is considered cheating then I’ve done that as well. However, I knew those occasions were coming weeks in advance so I prepared for them with a slight reduction in my caloric requirements and a slight increase in exercise. So basically my monthly caloric numbers remained the same.

Maybe it’s just the term “cheating” that I have a problem with. Loosing weight can be challenging enough without adding unnecessary emotional elements to the equation.

TheMannon

As others have said it's a personal question of whether it's in appropriate. For me, 'cheat' days are very necessary and they help me stay focused and disciplined the other 13 days (i generally do one every other saturday or sunday). You can also use MFP to plan these days in a way that don't crush your diet. For example, on my Pizza Sundays I eat a whole dominos medium hand-tossed pizza - the entire thing is about 1800 cals, so I still end up at a deficit for the day. Same thing with my fried chicken Sundays. Of course, it helps that my cravings are for foods like pizza, chicken, and cheeseburgers instead of a 1500 calorie milkshake.

OTOH, I know people whose minds work differently and 'cheating' makes them feel ****ty about themselves which starts them on a vicious cycle of shame and eating and more shame. Its important to be aware of your food issues like that.

weird_me2

In the past, I've always had "cheat" meals or "treat" meals or whatever you want to call them. You know what's also always happened in the past? I've always "fallen off the wagon" and regained whatever I've lost. For me, being so strict that I feel the need to allow myself to not care for one meal or one day or whatever means that I'm not going to succeed long term.

While I really don't like the whole "this isn't a diet, this is a lifestyle change" mantra, that is my goal. For this to really be a lifestyle change, then I need to eat like I want to eat for the rest of my life. For me, if I log everything I've eaten for the day, it's a good day, whether my calories are in the green or the red or whether I've had pizza and cookies or salad all day. If I'm at or under my calorie goal, great, if not, oh well. Life happens and as long as my averages over the course of a week or so are at maintenance or lower, I'm happy. Sure, my weight loss is much slower than it could be and much slower than it has been in the past, but I'm not feeling the need to quit this time around.

If I shared my diary, some people would probably think I have "cheats" every day or at least 4 times a week because I regularly have chocolate (and not just 100 calories worth) or pizza or Oreos or ice cream or a big fat burger or a combination of those things. I eat plenty of fruits and veggies, lean protein and dairy products and then fill my day with whatever I'm in the mood for. On Monday I had a 1200 calorie bacon cheeseburger from Five Guys and didn't feel one iota of guilt about it. I've set my weight loss goal very conservatively and I exercise so that I can still eat 2200+ calories per day and never feel the need to "cheat" and for the first time in over 15 years I'm really feeling like this is doable for forever.

Kari121869

I follow IIFYM, no need to 'cheat', you can fit a bit of pizza or a doughnut in your cals and macros if you plan a little.

^^^^ this - I just switched to IIFYM, but I've always 'incorporated' my 'bad' foods into my macros...

nsala86

I think sustainable weight loss is really about what works best for you as an individual. For me, I don't believe in having designated "cheat days." I also think that treats can be fit into your day most of the time. My son just had a birthday and I fit in a small piece of cake without going over my daily calorie goal. It's doable. I also like to think I'm realistic about it...there are special occasions, holidays, vacations etc where I'm going to indulge, and I don't beat myself up about it. Eating healthfully is a lifestyle, and it's never going to be long-term if there's an unhealthy relationship with food.

enterdanger

It's impossible not to "cheat" every once in a while...I don't look at it as "cheating" because that implies I've done something that I should feel guilty about. Can't stop your whole life because your on a diet.

Francl27

A slice of pizza is normal food. I don't see how it's cheat food, considering it's easy to fit in a day's calories.

For me cheating is eating a 2000 calories meal or something. And I do it once in a while, just because I don't want to stop living when I go to a restaurant that doesn't seem to have much in term of lighter options and I don't want yet another salad with dressing on the side.

Samstan101

I'm not on a diet, I'm eating at a calorie deficit 95+% of the time as part of a lifestyle change. The other 5-% is still part of my lifestyle, be that a beer or few at a wekend with OH, a Birthday, oliday or Christmas celebration. I don't go out of my way to gorge on those occasions and now often make a more sensible choice than I would have in the past food wise. Living my life without ever going over my calories for the day would be miserable for me and also those around me! What I don't do now is turn a day 'off plan' into 2 days, a week etc when its hsould only have been 1 day or a week's holiday (even then I will exercise etc - last holiday I took I actually lost 1lb that week without logging or restricting myself, it suprised me as much as anyone else LOL).

This works for me, however I know other people who really struggle to get back on track after a day off so prefer to not go off track at all. Personally the idea of living like that forever I would find soul destroying - but for me learning moderation has been key. So do what works best for you be that a planned 'eat at maintenance day' or just the occasional splurge during the year for special events.

kirili3

I don't think it's that clearcut - either eat only things you hate or go over your calorie limit to prove you're alive. You can fit treats into your calorie limit. It's honestly more fun doing it that way. Yesterday, I had 2/3 of a peanut butter kitkat after salad for dinner, and a later sugary ginger milk after exercise. Right now, I'm having vanilla ice cream. You can fit in that slice of delicious pizza, just do more exercise that day and eat more bulky vegetables for other meals.

There's nothing wrong with cheat days if they help. For me, they are a binge trigger! I would never, ever have thought I'd be able to fit in treats in small quantities, but I'm eating more treats now than before I started sticking to my calorie goals - before it was deprivation then binge.

Another thing is to make low cal versions of nice food. Then you can have more than one slice of pizza - if it's made on a tortilla with your favourite pasta sauce, some topping and a measured amount of grated cheese.

spara0038

It depends. I think they're sometimes necessary to keep our sanity and our social lives (imagine not having a cheat day at your own birthday celebration! Or on a holiday!). -BUT- There are certain "cheat foods" I deem inappropriate for me because I just can't stop eating them. I have other cheat meals (pizza, fried chicken, cake, ice cream, etc), but I avoid anything where I feel like I can't control myself.

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gingers72

I have decided to do a cheat meal once a week rather than a full day.

greeneyes972

I haven't read the other replies, so this might be redundant!

I think if you're in this for the long haul, "cheats" are mandatory. Otherwise, binging is apt to ensue. When you feel restricted or like you CAN'T ever have something, the desire to devour anything "unhealthy" in sight seems to increase!

Plus, like you mentioned, it's a lifestyle change, not a diet! You can't go the rest of your life without eating another "unhealthy" thing; I mean I guess it's possible, but highly unlikely. So pick one meal a week where you have a "treat." I wouldn't call it a "cheat," though. To call it a cheat makes it feel bad, or wrong, which it's not!

Personally, I've found that I look and feel noticeably leaner the day after a cheat meal. I haven't been weighing myself though, so I can't speak on that aspect. I've read studies that suggest a high carb, high fat meal/treat on a [normally] high protein based diet can increase your leptin levels, resetting your metabolism to burn more efficiently. Or as some say, it "shocks the body", resetting your metabolism. Of course there are opposing views/studies on basically anything and everything, especially in health and wellness.

Moral of the story: Do yo thang, girl! Do what feels right for your body! Everyone is different. Experiment, learn, fail, succeed – The great “trial and error” method. It's what this thang called life is all about, right?


Good luck, OP! :flowerforyou:

bcattoes

I don't think it's that clearcut - either eat only things you hate or go over your calorie limit to prove you're alive.

This sentence bothers me. Why would you eat things you hate?

magerum

I think they are necessary. When you eat in deficit for so long it kills your metabolism. One day of eating more restores it not fully but still increases it a little.

Eating at a deficit does not kill your metabolism.

OP, I don't cheat because I'm not in a relationship with food. I eat what I want, I just make it fit.

^

brower47

They are neither necessary nor inappropriate. It's just a method that will suit some individuals and not others.

Note: For what little it's worth, I don't' like the terminology of "cheat days" as a descriptor. I prefer refeeds, periodic surplus eating or, my favorite, a night on the town.

caitconquersweight

Cheat days are necessary *for me*. Other people may do totally fine never ever having a cheat day.

I stay on track when I know I have a day coming up where I don't count and can eat what I want. It's taking longer to lose weight, but I'm happier and I've stuck with this for longer than I ever have.

bowlerae

I agree with others that I don't have "cheat days" but instead "cheat meals" and perhaps maybe more than once a week such as order Chinese for dinner Saturday and eat the left overs on Sunday. I never have more than 2 in a week however. I try to keep my portions low depending on the food (the Chinese food has a lot of veggies but also a lot of sauce so if I'm already having a high sodium day I make sure to keep the plate small and finish eating it over another day. For something like a burger and fries, there is a lot of fat and I don't like to save that type of food for another day so I eat it all and then another day I just have a lower fat day). I think as long as you PLAN AHEAD for your cheat meals and you keep them under control it is ok. I track everything before I eat it (despite what my diary says because I just started using MFP, used Livestrong MyPlate previously). If I'm going to cheat I try to stay within my macros and calories for the day. "Cheating" definitely helps me stay sane and stay on track (for the most part other than my cheats) because I don't feel completely deprived. Also allows me to go out with friends and not feel guilty about what I order as long as I know I'm balancing it.

MelsAuntie

NO cheat days here. I don't have any problem staying within 1700 calories a day, plus on heavy work days I can burn twice that ( according to this site, which is suspect is over by a third).

lizziebeth1028

Good morning everyone. My name is Chelsea and I have been struggling with weightloss all my life. This past year I have made big strides to get to my goal weight and am well on my way. Whenever I speak to other people who are dieting or trying to lose weight, I always get mixed reviews about cheat days.

I feel that Cheat Days are a must. I feel like some people when they are dieting are so determined and dedicated that they make food the enemy. I commend these people on their effort, will and determination, however, depriving yourself of your favorite foods seems mentally unhealthy and impossible (you will eat pizza again someday lol). Of course I am not saying go on all out binges but I do believe that once a week you should have that greasy slice of pizza with stuffed crust. Is it good for the waistline no, but its a reminder that you are human and that food is not the enemy, infact more an ally in your weightloss journey. I love food and I feel like once a week you need to have a cheat day so that you can enjoy the foods you love and remind yourself that you can enjoy food in a healthy way and in moderation. Food doesnt have to become a calculation for the rest of your life because this once a week you are allowed to enjoy and not worry. Some people are super against them and call them a crutch, whereas other feel they are very important to include when trying to lose weight. What do you guys think?

Totally agree with you!! On Sundays I don't track my food and I eat whatever I like. My only stipulation is that I stop once I'm full. This has always worked for me!

BreederUK

Don't have cheat days but if I achieve my month end target I reward myself with a meal at Wagamama. I normally choose a ramen so I'm still in calorific deficit.

kirili3

I don't think it's that clearcut - either eat only things you hate or go over your calorie limit to prove you're alive.

This sentence bothers me. Why would you eat things you hate?

Hint: sarcasm.

aeb09

I don't do cheat days or meals, but I understand why someone might. For me, it's just easier to not indulge. At some point, yes, I'll probably have pizza again, but for now I'm content doing it the way I'm doing it.

vmclach

Lol I don't have any "rules" for my diet that are really strict, so I don't consider anything "cheating"..

kaaaaylee

I take a cheat meal if there's a special occasion, but I slip up on my diet enough in little ways that if I had one cheat meal I'd have another and another.