How Often Do You Cheat?

chayjean

For those who are trying to lose weight,
So, I am wondering how often everyone lets themselves cheat and just pig out, indulge in the fattiest foods possible just to keep your sanity? I am thinking that once every weekend for me and I should be fine, but I am also finding myself craving a big juicy burger and a mountain of ice cream quite often.

On a side note... I live in South Korea and foreign food is expensive and kind of hard to come by at times (hence the serious cravings). However, ther liquor is cheap, the food is fantastic, and rice is served at every meal... other temptations.

How often do YOU cheat?

Edie05

I would never spend a whole day cheating/binging but I have had a cheat meal every now and then. If I go and eat a cheeseburger and fries for lunch then I'll eat a very light meal at dinner (salad or grilled chicken) and vice versa.

cwolfman13

You can work these things into your diet without it being "cheating"....having a juicy burger isn't inherently a bad thing...I grill up a burger at least once per week. I also eat ice cream a couple of nights per week. I have reasonable servings of these things and hit my calorie goals.

It sounds to me like you're just being way too restrictive. You need to be able to look at your diet as a whole rather than getting wrapped up in the minutia of individual food items and erroneous perceptions that certain foods are inherently "bad". A burger is just some dietary fat (essential to proper nutrition by the way) and protein...what's so "bad" about that?

yopeeps025

If is fits in your day for calories its not cheating.

If you are trying to build muscle on a day you must eat then its not cheating.

We have completely different means of cheating. I would saying cheating would be drinking alcohol which I have done twice in the past three months

kk_140

My family has get-togethers, BBQ's, and reunions at least once a month. So I don't worry about what eat those days. My fiance and I normally go out to eat at least once every weekend and I don't worry about what I eat on those dates.

Just about every single Saturday I eat whatever I want. All I do is try to control portion size, but I don't really count the calories those days or I make a rough estimate like "between 2000 and 3000 calories"

I normally just eat at a larger deficit during the week to make up for it. I'm still consistently losing a pound a week, so I guess it is working lol.

_Zardoz_

I don't cheat because to cheat implies I'm doing wrong. If I want some pizza I'll have some normally within my calorie goals if though on occasion I do go over it doesn't worry me. I don't restrict types of foods I eat because food isn't bad nor evil it's just food. I eat balanced diet which contains these foods. if you class foods as naughty or special in a lot of cases it will make you want them more. it will also make you feel bad for eating them. I refuse to punish myself for eating something that is tasty

mamaleftwich

I don't have cheat days...I eat pretty much what I want as long as I have room for it in my day. You have to look at this journey as a "life style change" and something that you'll be doing the rest of your life. (At least that's how I feel about it) and I like pizza, ice cream, cake and other things that I'm not going to say that I'm never going to eat again so if I want them, I'm going to find a way to work it into my calorie count. I believe that everything in moderation and portion control. I just think you have to find what works for you but I don't think you should look at it as cheating.

AJOjr

I try to eat less during the week, eating 200-500 calories less then my goal, then on Friday and Saturday dinner I eat and drink what I want. I do exercise a lot, burning between 600-1000 calories a day from exercise, so I typically eat around 1800 calories a day. This worked for me to loose over 30 lbs. I hit my goal weight last July and have gained some weight since (hubby and I started eating out too much) so am working myself back into that structure.

He1loKitty

I don't have a set cheat day, although weekends tend to be more naturally indulgent. Which is why I try to behave and work out on Saturdays and Sundays. I also try not to do a cheat day, but rather, a cheat meal. But these days, it feels like even the slightest variation from my diet contributes to a stall in my losses. So I try not to cheat too much!

Seabee74

For those who are trying to lose weight ??? I'm guessing you wrote this first sentence because you posted this at lots of different locations because although I may be wrong but to my knowledge everyone comes to mfp to lose weight !
Other than that I think the answer was covered very well by all posters before me !! Me, I eat whatever I want, no restrictions so I can lose and not lose my sanity. I hope you can figure out how to Eat Everything that you want and do so in a way that will help you continue to lose weight and create that healthy lifestyle that we all desire !!

itsbasschick

i must be weird. as i don't do cheat days or meals, and i eat the same 1200 net calories 7 days a week. the main reason is that i'm trying to set new eating habits since the old habits are what got me here in the first place. when i want a couple extra hundred calories, i walk it off - sometimes in advance.

Cerakoala

I don't plan cheat days. IF I happen to go over one day I try to exercise it off. If I don't have that option I just move on and forward. I know myself and if I plan a day I will go overload lol.

Red_sparkling_Titania

Never

Imadorkable

I try not to have cheat days. If I know we are going to be having something that will put me over my calories I try to work out to make up for the calories.

cincysweetheart

I agree that if it's within your calorie goal… it's not cheating. I have managed to enjoy restaurants, desserts, juicy hamburgers, chocolate truffles, potlucks, etc all without going over my calorie goal. So, with that definition, I've had 2 cheat days in 2 months. The two days I was out of town for a wedding. And even then, it was still below maintenance level. It was interesting to me though that I felt LOUSY afterward. I couldn't wait to get back into my routine of healthier eating and working out.

Jkj95

I don't have cheat days, but I always have a little bit of foods that some would consider "cheat" foods. If you have a little bit and cut back on something else later, I don't see the harm. A whole weekend off, though, that might throw off your whole week if you eat too much.

fredgiblet

Every week or so I end up with something that doesn't go in the log for one reason or another, but it's usually just more than 200-300 calories. Since January I've probably 3-4 days where I said "**** it." and ate what I wanted.

Every 10 pounds I'm taking a week at +500 calories as well.

Goliath1357

For those who are trying to lose weight,
So, I am wondering how often everyone lets themselves cheat and just pig out, indulge in the fattiest foods possible just to keep your sanity? I am thinking that once every weekend for me and I should be fine, but I am also finding myself craving a big juicy burger and a mountain of ice cream quite often.

On a side note... I live in South Korea and foreign food is expensive and kind of hard to come by at times (hence the serious cravings). However, ther liquor is cheap, the food is fantastic, and rice is served at every meal... other temptations.

How often do YOU cheat?

First of all, extremely jealous that you live in South Korea because I want to go very badly as it has become an obsession of mine over the past couple of years (love the food, culture, movies, tv shows, music, etc). I allow myself a cheat day every other week but I try not to go too crazy and stick near my caloric goal.

mamadon

While I was losing weight, I had a cheat day once a month. and yes, I called it a cheat day lol.

akbp77

My cheat days are more like cheat meals, and I don't really plan for them. I continue to eat healthy and exercise during the day, but if there's something I want, then about once every 2 weeks I'll allow myself to have it. Over the weekend it was ordering pizza when I visited with family.

torichantel2005

I really don't do "cheat" days. I eat the things I want within my caloric goals, like everyone else has mentioned. I have a max of 1400-1500 calories, and I try not to really EVER go over that (sometimes that includes subtracting calories for exercise), but I try most days not to go over 1200 calories.

There are, of course, exceptions. There have been a couple days that I have gone WAY over, but they are few and far between. And I still ALWAYS count calories (specifically if I can, although sometimes I just estimate). There hasn't been a week yet (after 6 months) that I went over, even though there have been days.

Like others have said, it's all about moderation. If you want a hamburger, then I have one, but have a small one, or eat it with a small bun or no bun. There are ways to have what you want, and you HAVE to eat the things you crave at least sometimes, or will you end up REALLY cheating or being miserable (or both).

Good luck!

Tania181988

I normally cheat on weekends. During a week I consume 1200 calories a day however Fridays and Saturdays are really bad days for me. I'm surrounded by my friends on weekends therefore if I don't drink or share take away with them - they call me boring slimming weirdo. Last Friday I consumed around 3000 calories and on Saturday around 5000 calories- mostly calories come from alcohol and snacking. I always feel really bad and guilty after weekends but i can't help it :-( should I leave all my friends and never go out again?! :-(

Velum_cado

Every weekend. But I try to eat light enough during the week that I can do it without derailing my progress. It's worked really well for me and has probably been the biggest factor in my success, to be honest.

chayjean

I normally cheat on weekends. During a week I consume 1200 calories a day however Fridays and Saturdays are really bad days for me. I'm surrounded by my friends on weekends therefore if I don't drink or share take away with them - they call me boring slimming weirdo. Last Friday I consumed around 3000 calories and on Saturday around 5000 calories- mostly calories come from alcohol and snacking. I always feel really bad and guilty after weekends but i can't help it :-( should I leave all my friends and never go out again?! :-(

I can relate to this SO much! There is a huge drinking culture here where I live and when I do drink I am not very productive the next day. I also am consuming 1200 calories a day and to me that is just enough to survive, I would have to work my butt off working out to have a "cheat" meal or even a side of fries. At least that is how I feel.

followzyzz

I'm currently on keto so I do a carb-refeed every Saturday or Sunday(sugar is also included).

sarahslosingit2014

I have them every now and then. Just depends on what is going on. If I know we are going out to dinner at night, which I don't shy away from, I try to eat lighter during the day and just not order the triple bacon cheese mayo burger or whatever is super high cal, KWIM? I don't always order grilled chicken and veggies though.

I am on a 1 lb weight loss/wk goal which means theoretically I have 500 extra calories a day to maintain, if that makes sense. I really like to not go over my goal by more than 500 calories. But very rarely I do. And it's always okay. 1 meal is not going to derail you. A week of eating bad meals may, but not 1 meal - at least it never has for me. I may gain a little for like a day (esp if it's a high sodium meal = water retention) but over time I still lose consistently whether I have cheat meals or not.

I know there are people who never go over cals or for whom it is a slippery slope - once they start, they can't stop. I get that. You have to do what works for you and your body.

VeryKatie

If you're planning to go ALL OUT (alcohol and lots of high calorie food) then I would recommend a max of once per month. Once a week and you could really blow your efforts the rest of the week. Even once every two weeks would be a lot. Maybe try to time it with monthly holidays.

sarahslosingit2014

Oh, and I regularly make burgers and have ice cream at home. Very easy to fit that into my calories. A 1/4 lb burger with lean ground beef, leave off the cheese if I am short on calories, and low calorie/slow churned or no sugar added ice cream which is usually around 100 calories for 1/2 cup. If you always deny yourself what you are really wanting, you'll end up bitter and maybe start bingeing. I would anyway! There is a lower calorie and healthier alternative to so much of the traditionally "unhealthy" foods we all love.

gamagem

I suppose I don't do it often. Most of the year I'm at my calorie and exercise goals. A couple of times a year for about a week I tend to not log or really care what I eat, I may exercise depending on the location, but am not strict about it. The rest of the time I'm pretty good at keeping with my healthy eating and exercise habits. We tend not to eat out much but if we do, I just cut back on other days.

Timshel_

For those who are trying to lose weight,
So, I am wondering how often everyone lets themselves cheat and just pig out, indulge in the fattiest foods possible just to keep your sanity?

Probably too often, but I don't worry too much about it. I am in for better health over my lifetime and don't see it as a short term destination, so I enjoy life while making good choices most of the time.

vkdarling

I dont think I would be able to "pig out and indulge" and then go back to eatting healthy. Not at this point anyway- i know if i started that I wouldnt be able to stop. So for now, never. If I want to eat something that isn't healthy then maybe I would but i would still stay in my calories for the day.... Thats just me I have no willpower lol