Do you have cheat days?

awairimu

Hi,

I am on a 1200 calories a day, so you can imagine a cheat day seems just too hard, but it's not, I still manage to fit in a cheat meal once a week which means of course I go over my calorie count with about 300 or 400 calories on the day, but the next day I'll up my exercise so that compensates for the cheat.

And I am still managing to loss a few grams every week.

mcpostelle

No, I simply factor a treat into my daily allotted calories if I so desire one. There are many days that go by that I don't have treats, but that's ok. Im not really a fan of the terminology "cheat" because it implies doing something bad or wrong. There is nothing wrong with enjoying and relishing food that you really like, but you can fit it into your daily/weekly calorie allotment with a little planning. What might be more feasible is having a meal that you enjoy that fits into your daily/weekly calories (ie, pizza with ice cream). If you know that your'e at xxxx deficit for the week, and you can afford it, by all means have it--and make sure you log it.
Having an entire DAY where you just go wild and eat everything (and don't log) can:
1. Prevent you from seeing reason(s) why you are not losing weight
2. Prevent you from losing weight AT ALL if an entire day of overindulgence wipes out any deficit for the week--esp with only thirty pounds to lose
3. Prevent you from holding yourself accountable--esp if you are not logging.
The choice is really yours. Instead of doing an entire day, again, I would keep it to a nice meal, and fit it into your weekly deficit--AND LOG IT. It counts.
The only person who can sabotage you is you, and by not logging it--(thus pretending in a sense it never happened) you really are only kidding yourself, and blocking your own progress.

^^^ This. I don't have cheat days either, but if I want something I will fit it into my calories and macros. I'm on keto so honestly everyday is like a "cheat" day with how good the food is!!! :bigsmile:

voraciouszest

In my previous weight-loss attempts, cheat days were almost always my undoing. I believe that you need to carefully consider whether or not you're ready for a cheat day, or if you need to hold off until you're comfortable in the fact that you'll happily resume your healthy eating habits. Maybe instead of a cheat day you could consider starting with a cheat meal?

mikegerber1

Generally I DO NOT have cheat days... I haven't since I started MFP... until yesterday! I must say it was liberating to let go for one day since march. I have not really cut out anything that I've liked, I just keep it under control and have done pretty well so far. I had it planned for a while because I knew the first weekend of football would be hard to begin with so I decided not to fight it. I don't feel guilty, I did it, got it out of my system, and now I'm refreshed and ready to continue. My advice is this: it's a lifestyle now. Am I never going to eat cookies and such again?! that would be completely unrealistic, so pick your day, make it special, then forget about it!

previous posters are correct, even if it is a cheat meal/day LOG IT! it is about owning up to what you have eaten. It is better to know than to not know, and you can go back to graphs and actually see how it affects your fitness goals. If you are comfortable with the amounts you loose, who is anyone to tell you what you can and can't do!

zoeysasha37

Not really, cuz I don't want to completely undo my hard work. I just give myself treats in moderation that fit into my daily goals, so I don't feel deprived. And will have an occasional treat meal. But never a whole day.

El_Cunado

Everyday.:bigsmile:

thefirstdayofmylife

I don't have a "cheat" day. I might have a "cheat" meal every once in awhile but I don't dedicate a whole day to it. I had a small portion of biscuits and gravy yesterday with a fried egg. It was nice to enjoy the same meal as everyone else in the house but I would have been fine without it. To be honest, if this is your first couple of weeks then I would suggest to skip the "cheat" day for awhile. The longer you go without it, the longer you will go without wanting it. I mean, if you really want to have a cookie then go for it but just because you ate a cookie doesn't mean your whole day is shot.

serindipte

I found that I do better with a bit of calorie cycling. I'm not as hungry some days as others and I'd rather have two light days, then have a day that I can eat the chicken finger plate from Zaxby's (I usually don't eat the toast) or go to the Chinese buffet and enjoy myself (though I do avoid rice/noodles even then). It balances out over the week but I allow myself one or two days per week that I eat nearer to maintenance, then other days that I eat 1300-1400 calories instead of my allotted 1575. This, to me, is an easily sustainable lifestyle where I am not feeling deprived and can eat whatever I want. I don't eat it every day or for every meal but, if I want it, I have it and I'm not prone to binging because I'm not missing out on anything.

CindyMarcuzAdams

I really try not to cheat. To me cheating is doing something wrong. I try to pre plan treats every now and then but to have a whole cheat day...no...

hearthwood

I think when most people refer to a cheat day, they're talking about eating a slice if pizza, or something else they've been craving, a piece of cake, whatever, and it's not an all day all you can eat festival.

After all in one single day you could easily be eating back all the calorie deficit you did during the rest of the week.

CherryChan81

when i cheat, i will lose all control and bye bye eating healthy for the whole day or maybe weeks - until I re-committing myself..

rachelesmfp

I certainly treat myself to things because a life without wine, chocolate, cake and ice cream is no life at all.....I just try and fit them into my day within my calorie allowance or I try and find healthier ways of making these things. The only day I will not be logging is Christmas but now that I have reigned in my hunger issues I cant see that being a problem... and seeing as I cook for everyone I will just make sure there is a lot of healthy options as well as the usual

clbostian

No, cheat days are an easy way to fall back into bad habits. There are enough healthy alternatives to get you past your cravings. I love ice cream, I bought an ice cream maker and mix 2 cups of skim milk with 2 scoops of whey protein powder and wow its better than any ice cream I've eaten before. Look up Quest bars they are very good at curbing cravings and remember it takes years to make a lifestyle change and a minute with 1 candy bar to lose it all.

curvy_gamer_loses

I don't have cheat days. But every once in a while I will have "cheat meals", which is something I normally wouldn't have. Today for dinner, my family ordered a pizza and I had two slices. But I do work in my cheat meals into my calorie intake so I don't fall into my old habits.

CandySugar500

I call it an eat up day it just one day out of the week when I go 500 calories over my calorie count But I do this because I heard it prevents your body from going into survival mode which is when your body start to store and keep fat rather than lose it. So I just choose one day out of the week or once every two week to go over my usual calorie count.

Jemellc

Whats a cheat day?

Since you have a goal that you really wish to achieve... I would stay focus and eat clean.

Zerodette

I plan a treat every few days. I pre-log every day so I can have an idea of how things will fit. I have usually been able to stay under my calories, even with the treat.

mahobday

Instead of "cheating" I change my weight loss goal to maintenance one day per week. That way I know that I am not working so hard just to gain.

curiousgemfit

Thanks for all the replies. I now realize that I am only setting myself up for failure if I continue going about "cheat days" the way I have been doing so far. Like y'all said, instead of undoing all that hardwork with an entire cheat day, it makes more sense to splurge once in a while on a well deserved cheat meal.
Thanks again for taking the time to reply. Appreciate it

itsbasschick

something i find is that finding a way to fit that extra treat or bigger than average meal into your daily calories is part of learning how to eat differently, and learning to eat differently can make the difference between keeping the weight off and gaining it all back.