Cheat days - do you or don't you?

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kayleighfurfie
kayleighfurfie Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
I've heard from countless people who are in fantastic shape that they will treat themselves to a treat day. The only thing that seems to vary is how much and how often.

For example, one of my male friends who is in extremely good shape, says chocolate tastes better if he only has it once a month. He has maintained his physique for approximately 6 years and is still going strong.

But one of my female friends, who is also in very good shape and has maintained her weight loss for years, has a cheat day every Sunday and eats whatever she fancies. She says it is easier for her to resist the 6 days of the week when she knows on the 7th she can indulge.

I figured if I'm going to have a cheat day, it should be Sunday. I'm always off on a Sunday, which means I can choose what I buy and what is in front of me. (I work in a call centre, so if my cheat day was mid-week in a place where there is always temptation, I would eat more than I wanted to). I tried it yesterday and I decided on a cheat meal instead (bananas with low fat custard, not exactly crazy, but it was tasty!)

So what do you do?

Do you have a cheat day? When is it? How much do you allow yourself?

Or do you avoid it?
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Replies

  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    I eat what want, when I want: but I track everything. Meaning things need to fit into my calorie goals OR I need to move more to still have my deficit. I do occasionally (1-2 times a month) allow myself to eat at maintenance, which amounts to an extra 500 calories without 500 extra calories burnt.

    I can't cheat because I'm not taking a test, or doing anything wrong. Life, in my opinion, is a sum of the decisions we make. And I don't see food as good or bad. If your overall goal is to lose weight, be more healthy: find what works for you to accomplish those goals.
  • elsinora
    elsinora Posts: 398 Member
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    I eat what want, when I want: but I track everything. Meaning things need to fit into my calorie goals OR I need to move more to still have my deficit. I do occasionally (1-2 times a month) allow myself to eat at maintenance, which amounts to an extra 500 calories without 500 extra calories burnt.

    I can't cheat because I'm not taking a test, or doing anything wrong. Life, in my opinion, is a sum of the decisions we make. And I don't see food as good or bad. If your overall goal is to lose weight, be more healthy: find what works for you to accomplish those goals.

    This. Also I don't need to reward myself with food, I'm not a dog.
  • Censor76
    Censor76 Posts: 48 Member
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    When I was in better shape I allowed myself a cheat meal...it keeps me sane. A cheat day is too much for me and would tempt me to carry it into the next day.

    Since I have more weight to lose I allow a cheat snack. This weekend it was a piece of cake.


    I am not a dog but I do support rewarding myself with food. I don't really care what people think about that. It makes me happy. I've found other ways for happiness but I'm not gonna lie...that cake was what I wanted. If that's once a week I'm okay with that.
  • 1911JR
    1911JR Posts: 276
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    I eat what want, when I want: but I track everything. Meaning things need to fit into my calorie goals OR I need to move more to still have my deficit. I do occasionally (1-2 times a month) allow myself to eat at maintenance, which amounts to an extra 500 calories without 500 extra calories burnt.

    I can't cheat because I'm not taking a test, or doing anything wrong. Life, in my opinion, is a sum of the decisions we make. And I don't see food as good or bad. If your overall goal is to lose weight, be more healthy: find what works for you to accomplish those goals.

    This. Also I don't need to reward myself with food, I'm not a dog.

    EXACTLY!
  • Veil5577
    Veil5577 Posts: 868 Member
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    I don't have a 'cheat' day in terms of what I eat, because I eat what I want worked into my allotted calories for the day. But one day a week I will allow myself to go over in calories by 200 maximum. That still only puts me at 1400 calories so I'm still in a deficit.
  • AlliSteff
    AlliSteff Posts: 211 Member
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    I let myself enjoy special occasions- some more than others. I may allow myself a few drinks at a birthday party, but I decided to have fun at my sister's Bachelorette and did not track- which I will also do at her wedding. But, this amounted to 1 full day and 3 'kind of' cheats in almost 90 days. I went to a birthday party this past weekend and stayed within my goals (went over a bit in my fat macro, but stayed in my calories).

    I don't let myself do it just to do it....if I want some dark chocolate, I log it and fit it in.
  • starsybyll
    starsybyll Posts: 32
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    I don't get cravings really and I hate sweets and fatty or fried foods so if I wanted to "cheat" it would be like going out for some vegetarian green curry. But I don't do it, no. I personally think "cheating" is a sign of weakness in myself so I won't allow myself to do it. My friends don't really like being around me right now because I'll go out with them but I won't order anything usually, or if I do it will just be a small salad or something. They'll say "oh it's just one meal" but first its one meal, then what? Another and another? I won't do that.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    I strive very hard to eat the boring food I'm supposed to eat. I don't always do it. Sometimes I just get sick of it and indulge a little.

    As time goes on, I do less of it. But I still do it. I don't lie to the doctors about it, either, so I don't consider it cheating. It's more like I'm saying, "Screw it!" than that I just can't resist. Maybe a mini-rebellion, lol. Not sure if that makes sense to anyone else.

    I don't plan it, of course.

    If you can eat whatever you want and you feel like doing it, why not? Whatever works for you. :)
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    I define "cheat day" as eating with wild abandon and not logging it or caring AT ALL about macros and going way over on calories if you do log.

    By that definition, I don't ever have a cheat day.

    What I do, though, is indulge in a lot more stuff on Saturdays when I get extra exercise. It would not be normal for me to eat 3 restaurant meals in a day or have ice cream AND pie or pizza AND a chicken sandwich in the same day...except on Saturdays. But I ALWAYS log and usually come within about 100 cal of my goal (after adding in exercise calories).

    I do let the macros slide a bit on Sat. For example on a Tuesday if I was craving an ice cream bar and had the calories but was already over on sugar & fat by a little, I'd just have a string cheese and go to bed. But if that happened on a Saturday I'd enjoy the ice cream bar. It's just a "cheat day attitude" in some ways.
  • Goliath1357
    Goliath1357 Posts: 65 Member
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    Yes, I allow myself a cheat day once every 2 weeks to eat/drink things that I normally avoid (pizza, pasta, soda) I still log it whether or not it goes over my caloric daily goal. I don't look at it as a reward but just a treat since I don't indulge regularly.
  • chilly1470
    chilly1470 Posts: 178 Member
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    How about just a cheat meal to treat yourself. Then you can adjust the rest of your meals to allow for it. Remember, it's not a diet, it's a way of eating the rest of your life and you should not go without eating what you like or love. I love ice cream, cheesecake, pizza, brownies, chili dogs, subs, etc and I will be danged if I am NEVER going to eat them again. All things in moderation. You do not have to eliminate any one food; just moderate how you eat the sinful things. Right now, I am sticking to the good and healthy that will help me get to an acceptable weight, then I will indulge now and then with the "bad and fattening". You get what I mean?
  • Tikibar72
    Tikibar72 Posts: 93 Member
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    I definitely do. Saturday's I give myself the opportunity to eat what I like, and I still track what I eat on those days. It serves two purposes for me;

    1 - the psychological side that gets to eat / drink what I want without feeling bitter about completely excluding things from my life
    2 - the realization of all of those calories and how quickly they add up when they get tracked

    That one day a week helps me stay committed to the changes I'm making and the journey I'm on.
  • Artionis
    Artionis Posts: 105 Member
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    I eat what want, when I want: but I track everything. Meaning things need to fit into my calorie goals OR I need to move more to still have my deficit. I do occasionally (1-2 times a month) allow myself to eat at maintenance, which amounts to an extra 500 calories without 500 extra calories burnt.

    I can't cheat because I'm not taking a test, or doing anything wrong. Life, in my opinion, is a sum of the decisions we make. And I don't see food as good or bad. If your overall goal is to lose weight, be more healthy: find what works for you to accomplish those goals.

    Yes. Yes. Yes.
  • ruthejp13
    ruthejp13 Posts: 213 Member
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    I only have cheat days after the fact. I call them going over my calorie goals. This usually occurs on date nights or special occasions which unfortunately are too rare. I'm good with this concept because it means I'm not beating myself up for going over.

    To avoid cheat days I try to record before I eat. I also consider what I am eating when I record it. Is this a treat? Is it worth the calories and nutrition? I love not feeling guilty for making a conscious choice to have a treat.
  • DecemberPsalm
    DecemberPsalm Posts: 96 Member
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    Since I'm just starting out (again, lol) I do not allow cheat days. I do try to leave extra calories for ice cream a few days a week though!

    If I were to have a cheat day I'd want it to involve lots of pasta and french bread with olive oil and cheese. Since that is my binge trigger meal there is no way I can do that right now. I'm like a skid row addict with that stuff, haha.
  • willrun4bagels
    willrun4bagels Posts: 838 Member
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    I don't. I fit what I want to eat in my daily calories. When people "cheat" and eat 3k+ calories and then don't lose any weight, it would be because they may have totally erased their deficit for that week. It seems counterproductive to me.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    I'm a random eater, meaning: my diet is just like my pre-weight loss diet, just more controlled (days vary in calories based on my appetite or occasions). I eat whatever I want whenever I want in whatever quantity I want and I don't consider it cheating. I don't keep to a certain daily calories budget, I actually keep a weekly calorie spreadsheet. I often ask myself two questions before eating something that has high calories:

    1. Is it worth it? Do I want it badly enough to warrant eating less or exercising more?
    2. Do I have enough calories "in the bank", or can produce enough calorie deficit to make up for it this week?

    If the answer to both questions is yes, I eat and log whatever high calorie food I want. This has been an eye opener for me, as I find myself saying no sometimes and losing interest without that festering feeling of hate and envy you get when you deprive yourself. If my answer is yes, I find myself enjoying my food choice without that feeling of guilt and regret. If the answer is yes to the first but not the second, I downsie the quantity to something I can handle and eat it.

    Here's an example of how this week looks like for me with the goal of losing 1/2 a kg (about a pound) this week, so you could get an idea of what it's like:

    293isms.png

    As you can see, I went over my goal twice this week but I'm still well within my weekly goal with a few calories still left in my "bank" to spend later if I feel like it. Chocolate mousse cake today was totally worth it even if I did not have enough extra calories available. I would have happily worked out double in the next two days to make up for it!
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    Thanksgiving will be a cheat day. The week of Christmas will probably be at maintenance.
  • LoupGarouTFTs
    LoupGarouTFTs Posts: 916 Member
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    I try not to have cheat days, but I probably will when I go to the dog show in August unless I scope out the area well enough to plan and pre-log meals. I do have occasional cheat meals, like the hamburger and tater tots I had last week or the IHOP breakfast I had on Sunday. Generally, though, I manage to come in under my calorie ceiling even when I do. I don't see anything wrong with having cheat days, if you can just log your food and get back on track the next day, but personally I find it hard to go completely off the wagon and then expect to climb right back on. I plan to make exceptions for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but by then maybe I'll be able to schedule sufficient exercise to make enough of a deficit for the week for me to still lose or maintain my weight.
  • mikejholmes
    mikejholmes Posts: 291 Member
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    I tried a cheat day once a month.
    I figured, if I was at or under budget 30 days a month, 1 day couldn't be THAT bad, right?
    So one day a month, I'd just spend whatever I felt like, and not track it.

    The bank didn't think this was such a good idea.

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