Has anyone been able to lose having one cheat day per week?

KM0692

Just curious if anyone here has been able to lose successfully (each week) while allowing themselves one cheat day per week?

Mr_Knight

Define "cheat day".

neil_machen

I tend to have a big cheat day on a Saturday where I do go on a bit of a wild one. I exercise five days a week so I think that the burn from those negates the extra Saturday calories. I have been consistently losing 2lbs a week

CarlaNB

I don't think I have cheat "days" per say, but if I want cake, or wine, or whatever, and it fits in my allowance, I eat it. That being said, there are always a few days here and there that I am over, and I've been consistent at a pound a week!
I hope this helps!

stephanieluvspb

Do you mean cheat day or gorge day, there is a difference.

DR2501

Cheat meals for me not cheat days.

As above, gorge days wouldn't work

runningagainstmyself

I lost 85lb. that way.

diannethegeek

I could for a while, when I was heavier and running a much larger deficit. I can't anymore. Now I log my "cheat days" and keep them at or around maintenance so that I don't wipe out the deficit I've created the rest of the week.

giggitygoo

Cheat meal? yes

Cheat DAY..no

ShellyBell999

Lost a BF to cheat days once :sad:
Probably shouldn't cheat

Oh, you mean food?
No such thing as a cheat day, just stay within your calorie goals.
If you go over, then tomorrow is a new day :flowerforyou:

endermako

I dont cheat. I eat whatever I want and keep to my daily calorie goal.

1911JR

Just curious if anyone here has been able to lose successfully (each week) while allowing themselves one cheat day per week?

I don`t do the cheat day, that has never made sense to me.

BUT.... I eat what I want and make it fit. Always have, always will. And if I go over on calories or something on an individual day, I could care less. If I want pizza, I eat it..... And yes, I lost about 60 pounds eating this way. But I also burn a lot of calories and eat "right" the majority of the time........

So my advise is this, don`t worry about when or how you can cheat yourself, worry about what you can do good for yourself.

rsclause

No cheat day, over on calories is over. Planning for it only guarantees it is going to happen. Plus you tend to over do it on a cheat day versus a day you go slightly over.

jescamp9481

I "cheat" sometimes more than others, it depends on what is going on in my life but I make sure to allow one overage day a week and never more then by TDEE.

spoiledpuppies

I didn't do this. Everyone's different, but to me that would seem to negate hard work I put in during the week. I guess I never found any food/treats to be worth it.

Now, for maintenance (which I did for years with a past 50-pound loss, prior to my recent 40-pound loss on top of it), I found that I naturally would enjoy my weekends, and then make up for it during the week. It was never to the point of feeling deprived during the week, but I knew I was balancing things out and still eating pretty much whatever I wanted. For now, in maintenance, my trainer advises keeping a consistent calorie intake across days to make the most of muscle building. So for as long as I'm seeking particular goals with him, my days will be pretty level.

ravenmiss

Lost a BF to cheat days once :sad:
Probably shouldn't cheat

Oh, you mean food?
No such thing as a cheat day, just stay within your calorie goals.
If you go over, then tomorrow is a new day :flowerforyou:

This.

AllOutof_Bubblegum

Make it a cheat MEAL instead of a whole DAY, and you should still lose weight. Though is is entirely possible (hell, even easy!) to blow an entire week's deficit on one meal, so be careful with what foods you choose to cheat.

thingofstuff

I agree, "cheat days" can manifest themselves very differently depending on how much you choose to eat. I consider friday or saturday a cheat day because that's when I tend to party and drink an alcoholic bev or 2, have a small fries or some $1 menu thing on the way home late at night, but otherwise eat well all day every day.

I think allotting the calories/exercise to eat a small treat more regularly is better than saving cheating for one day. Then you don't need to feel like you're missing out or restricting yourself. From personal experience, having a set cheat day in mind tends to lead to almost binge eating, or the "what the hell effect" where I justify one more thing or finishing something even if I'm no longer hungry because I don't want to wait another week for it. For lasting dietary changes, 80/20 (healthy, fresh, non-processed/treaty, carby, delicious) has worked best for me. If you know you'll be going to an event, party, or dining out, use that as a cheat day and write it off as a big treat to yourself, but otherwise don't budget a cheat day if there's not something awesome and social going on.

becs3578

I have 2 or 3 mini cheats a week. I eat at my folks on Thursday nights and Sunday for lunch. They cook things I normally don't eat at home so I use that as the place I have those little cheats. But not an entire day.

KM0692

Thanks all.

Mykaelous

My question for you is: do you want to go through all the effort of dieting and exercising only to end up wondering if that 1 cheat day a week has completely screwed up your goals and has caused you not to loose any weight 4 weeks down the line?