The Limits to a cheat meal?

whalenmich7295

Alright we all know what define a cheat meal. But what are the regulations you have. In other words, i don't have a cheat "Day", but rather a cheat "Meal". This is one plate of food a week that caloric limits, fat intake, protein and carb levels go out the window.

Do you think there should be a limit to what you eat (EG don't go over so many calories in a day).?
Do you think this meal should be tracked in my journal, or disregarded because it is a "Cheat".?

Loseittoo

I log everything I eat. No matter if I go over or not.

I don't have cheat days or meals. See no purpose in it. Doesn't mean I don't indulge, I have a bbq at my house every week, It means I fit it into my goals.

We had smoked spare ribs the other week. I worked out extra hard and ate light in preparation to pigging out on some ribs. I did not go over my goals.

This past Monday we went to pizza hut. Kids had a book it coupon. I ate lighter in the day and had some good pizza and wings. Stayed with in my goals.

I changed my life. I am not on a diet so I don't need a cheat meal or day. These are tools I intend to live by the rest of my life. If I need to comfort eat I have learned nothing. Thats what a cheat meal or cheat day sounds like to me. This is about learning to eat better and being accountable.

denitraross

personally, I add my cheat meals to my diary...1. So I can still see how many calories I ate 2. It shows me I did not meet my goals that day 3. So I don't do it that often....and pretty soon, I found I even started picking "better" cheat meals like Grilled Chicken and baked potatoe from Wendy's instead of a Baconator and fries.......my two cents

ZacFields

I log everything I eat. No matter if I go over or not.

I don't have cheat days or meals. See no purpose in it. Doesn't mean I don't indulge, I have a bbq at my house every week, It means I fit it into my goals.

We had smoked spare ribs the other week. I worked out extra hard and ate light in preparation to pigging out on some ribs. I did not go over my goals.

This past Monday we went to pizza hut. Kids had a book it coupon. I ate lighter in the day and had some good pizza and wings. Stayed with in my goals.

I changed my life. I am not on a diet so I don't need a cheat meal or day. These are tools I intend to live by the rest of my life. If I need to comfort eat I have learned nothing. Thats what a cheat meal or cheat day sounds like to me. This is about learning to eat better and being accountable.

I like this philosophy, and coming from a guy who has lost 178 pounds, how could I argue?

I agree though - the idea for me is to change my lifestyle. Right now I'm probably eating better than I need to be, but every day I learn more about the things I can and can't eat, and the things I can do to allow myself to eat a little more.

Tonight we are going to a Mexican restaurant. So I ate about 250 calories for breakfast, 400 for lunch, and I might have myself an apple or a banana in a few hours. I also plan to go for a 1-hour jog here when I'm done eating the rest of my vegetables I made with lunch. All in all, we should arrive to the restaurant this evening and I will have about 1,100 calories left (minus another 150-250 for my jog). Still, I will probably try to get out of there without eating any more than about 700-800 calories because I want to be able to have a snack or a beer later before bed.

That said, if you're successful even while having a cheat meal or a cheat day - hey good for you. I'm just beginning on this journey so I'm not bold enough to try it. lol.

Loseittoo

I like this philosophy, and coming from a guy who has lost 178 pounds, how could I argue?

I agree though - the idea for me is to change my lifestyle. Right now I'm probably eating better than I need to be, but every day I learn more about the things I can and can't eat, and the things I can do to allow myself to eat a little more.

Tonight we are going to a Mexican restaurant. So I ate about 250 calories for breakfast, 400 for lunch, and I might have myself an apple or a banana in a few hours. I also plan to go for a 1-hour jog here when I'm done eating the rest of my vegetables I made with lunch. All in all, we should arrive to the restaurant this evening and I will have about 1,100 calories left (minus another 150-250 for my jog). Still, I will probably try to get out of there without eating any more than about 700-800 calories because I want to be able to have a snack or a beer later before bed.

That said, if you're successful even while having a cheat meal or a cheat day - hey good for you. I'm just beginning on this journey so I'm not bold enough to try it. lol.

Good stuff. Sounds like you have the right idea.

My reasons against a cheat meal are that we want this to be permanent. We wont lasting success. We don't want to do all this work, get our lives back and be right back her in a year or 2 starting over.

So this journey should teach us how to live the right way. That means flipping how we look at food and how we treat food. What is a cheat day? What are we cheating? Ourselves?

It's the mentality that we need to get away from. Its one thing to splurge cause it happens like a holiday or birthday etc. It's another to plan out a splurge as a regular part of our journey.

whalenmich7295

***UPDATE****

Alright, I have to agree. It is easier to ignore the calories and guess that you hit x amount for the day, than it is to add up the calories and look at the raw number, "I went over my caloric intake by X amount".

So I plugged and chugged the numbers, and as it turns out, it wasnt nearly as bad as I thought. When I thought about what I instinctively 86'ed (fries, mayo, 1/2 the bread), it was like having a 4th meal... just not at Taco Bell.

At any rate once you factor in the workout, and the running that day; I truly am still on track.

Thanks Everyone!

Loseittoo

***UPDATE****

Alright, I have to agree. It is easier to ignore the calories and guess that you hit x amount for the day, than it is to add up the calories and look at the raw number, "I went over my caloric intake by X amount".

So I plugged and chugged the numbers, and as it turns out, it wasnt nearly as bad as I thought. When I thought about what I instinctively 86'ed (fries, mayo, 1/2 the bread), it was like having a 4th meal... just not at Taco Bell.

At any rate once you factor in the workout, and the running that day; I truly am still on track.

Thanks Everyone!

Good stuff!!!

jen0619

I log everything I eat. No matter if I go over or not.

I don't have cheat days or meals. See no purpose in it. Doesn't mean I don't indulge, I have a bbq at my house every week, It means I fit it into my goals.

We had smoked spare ribs the other week. I worked out extra hard and ate light in preparation to pigging out on some ribs. I did not go over my goals.

This past Monday we went to pizza hut. Kids had a book it coupon. I ate lighter in the day and had some good pizza and wings. Stayed with in my goals.

I changed my life. I am not on a diet so I don't need a cheat meal or day. These are tools I intend to live by the rest of my life. If I need to comfort eat I have learned nothing. Thats what a cheat meal or cheat day sounds like to me. This is about learning to eat better and being accountable.

I love this! Congratulations! I log everything I eat as well whether I know its good or bad. I am happy


As for cheat days I used to do them then I just realized everything in moderation will not harm me

CarrieAbbey

:bigsmile:

I log everything I eat. No matter if I go over or not.

I don't have cheat days or meals. See no purpose in it. Doesn't mean I don't indulge, I have a bbq at my house every week, It means I fit it into my goals.

We had smoked spare ribs the other week. I worked out extra hard and ate light in preparation to pigging out on some ribs. I did not go over my goals.

This past Monday we went to pizza hut. Kids had a book it coupon. I ate lighter in the day and had some good pizza and wings. Stayed with in my goals.

I changed my life. I am not on a diet so I don't need a cheat meal or day. These are tools I intend to live by the rest of my life. If I need to comfort eat I have learned nothing. Thats what a cheat meal or cheat day sounds like to me. This is about learning to eat better and being accountable.

You're right. This is not a diet, it's a life style change. Make yourself accountable for what you put in your body. Congratulations on your weight loss.

kwardklinck

Your weight loss will determine this. I was doing one cheat meal per week that I didn't record at all. I still lost my 1-2 pounds a week so this worked for me. I just can't do a whole day. It takes way too long to recover.

Loseittoo

Thanks guys. MFP and my Iphone changed my life lol.

virginiagomes

up

Mamoonie

A cheat meal without logging it is what it's called: a "cheat" meal!
You cheat yourself, not your body or other people... just yourself.
It's kind of not admitting that you ate it if you don't log it.
It's lying to yourself.

I don't have cheat meals or cheat days planned like others do (1 per week or so).
If it happens, I let it happen, forgive myself and walk on the next day.

If you really need to plan so much in advance for every time you go out, or have a party, or have a holiday, birthday or whatever, your social life will suffer from it! Being scared about going over your calories intake, or counting calories while eating out, just isn't funny and might ruin the whole thing.

Well, that's my point of view, and I lost some 15lbs since August with it. I know I could have done better, but I still want to "live"!

MM

Rowann

I log everything, be it good or bad, and the vast majority of the time I keep to within my calorie limit. However, every so often I will have a 'cheat day'. That is a day when I have what I fancy having. I still record it in my diary so that I can keep track of what I've had, but I don't worry if the numbers are in red in the evening, or even by how much.

At the end of the day, just remember that if you do allow yourself to 'cheat' it may be nice for that day, but it *will* slow down your loss for that week. If you can live with that, and you enjoy the cheat (there's no point doing so if it's ruined because you end up feeling too guilty) then go for it. Just don't do it all the time.

I think for a lot of people if they 'deprive' themselves too much they risk going off the rails. Allowing themselves to have something in moderation can make the difference to them giving up on everything they've worked for, or continuing to make good choices the rest of the time.

What works for one person will not necessarily work for another.

SusanRN2b

I log everything, be it good or bad, and the vast majority of the time I keep to within my calorie limit. However, every so often I will have a 'cheat day'. That is a day when I have what I fancy having. I still record it in my diary so that I can keep track of what I've had, but I don't worry if the numbers are in red in the evening, or even by how much.

At the end of the day, just remember that if you do allow yourself to 'cheat' it may be nice for that day, but it *will* slow down your loss for that week. If you can live with that, and you enjoy the cheat (there's no point doing so if it's ruined because you end up feeling too guilty) then go for it. Just don't do it all the time.

I think for a lot of people if they 'deprive' themselves too much they risk going off the rails. Allowing themselves to have something in moderation can make the difference to them giving up on everything they've worked for, or continuing to make good choices the rest of the time.

What works for one person will not necessarily work for another.

Could not agree more. I allow myself an occasional "cheat" so that I don't feel completely deprived. and I do log everything no matter what because it makes one aware about how off the rails one can get - on a cheat day went to the movies - The buttered popcorn alone at 1500+ exceeds my entire day's worth of calories.

Puts it in GLARING perspective!

ItsCasey

I think there are phases with the concept of "cheating." If you're new to weight loss, you need structure, and you need to develop good habits. Eating clean for all but 1 meal a week will help you establish great habits and still allow you to have a treat every once in a while so that you don't go completely insane. I would definitely advise you to still log those "cheat meal" calories because you need to stay acquainted with what it feels like to see red numbers at the bottom of your log. You certainly don't need to give yourself an excuse to avoid your food log any time you eat something bad.

Once you've established the kind of discipline it takes to eat "real" food in moderation any time you want it, then you can ditch the "cheat meal" or "cheat day" and just eat normally. Clearly you've figured out what works for you and what doesn't.

I just think you have to be very honest with yourself about which category you're in. Some people are amazing about eating what they want in limited portions, and other people THINK they can handle it, but after a month or two, they've gained weight back and have lost their motivation without even realizing it. Everyone is different. There's no one-size-fits-all approach to this.

superwmn

I don't track my free meals or free days. They're free

My only limits are that I listen to my body, eat only what I truly want (skip the bread basket because what I really want is the steak) and stop when I've had enough. No need to be uncomfortable.

Charmagne