Do you have cheat days?

heartofviolet

I've learned the hard way that cheat DAYS are bad news, because I slip back into my old "oh it doesn't matter so I'll just eat EVERYTHING!" All good things in moderation; so now I have one (sometimes two) cheat meals per week, usually on Saturday or Friday.

JeffInJax

Im a firm believer in cheat meals being the wrong mindset altogether because that is a diet and not a lifestyle. I used to do the cheat days and they set me back too far while trying to push forward. Now i just tend to eat what i want once in a while and just keep my daily calories under still through exercise If i go over. Maybe im wrong but when you think of a day as a cheat day, you almost make yourself feel obligated to stuff your face with anything and everything and thats just bad.

jSampada

Oh yes! Cheat days are fun but that is if you don't overdo your self during the week. Treating yourself every once in a while even during the workout days keeps you motivated.
Here's what I do,
I try not to treat myself a lot during the week. My Sundays are usually free from high intensity workouts, its just Pilates for an hour so I eat what I want to on that day and burn it off the following week.
Keep a day aside to eat what you want...but make sure you don't overdue yourself with junk food to the point that you start feeling guilty!

laurie04427

I don't plan a cheat day. Some days you may just feel like overeating or being lazy or whatnot. It's natural. It happens. I don't need to plan those days in for myself because they occur naturally lol. I log it as accurately as I can. I move on.

For me it's not a straightforward thing to lose weight. Some people on my friends list consistently walk, eat under their calories, behave. My days flutuate more. I'll go through phases where I behave, then don't. I just don't beat myself up for it. It takes longer but that's the way it is.

rocky55frodo

I have greatly benefited from this app! In the beginning I was in the same boat as you, wanting a cheat day every now and then. My first cheat day I went to Golden corral and gorged myself til I felt sick. It was from that point on that I realized that the body isn't meant to tak in that much at a time and my body had become accustomed to the diet I was doing by counting calories. Ultimately what worked for me and kept me motivated for the 3 months in which I lost almost 50lbs btw, was planning a cheat MEAL, once a month. My rules were no buffets and I could only have my cheat meal if I was completely disciplined the rest of the month. It was a great motivator and it all hinges on being honest with yourself as all diets and weight loss programs do. You're only cheating yourself if you're not honest. Anyways, so that's what worked for me. Good Luck!

Early_Riser

I have a once a month cheat day. I don't count anything, and eat whatever looks good. After some time, I've naturaly started cutting back on the junk. Just don't really want it anymore..Anyway, I found it actually really helped me stay on with my goals, becuase after the cheat day I would feel like crap and it would give me motivation for another month. Looking back, one day did not do that much damage in the long run.

By cheat day, I don't mean going all out crazy though. I might have had a couple hot dogs and a couple good deserts.

babsfit14

First of all, I don't use the word "cheat" because that implies you're doing something wrong and you will ultimately feel guilty about it and have to pay a price (weight gain?). I don't deny myself anything specifically (except for artificial sweeteners and chemical additives that I can't pronounce), but I factor into my daily allowance a small treat if I want one (that would be something like a Dove dark chocolate promise candy or one cookie or one scoop of pure ice cream (without the chemical stabilizers and such) - NOT a whole bag of candy or carton of ice cream and I certainly don't do it all day! Not any more. I remember how crappy my body felt afterwards. It feels much better, and your weight loss will be more successful, if you simply factor into your food "budget" a small treat now and then without making yourself sick or guilty. Good luck!

ksnegirl

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 was awesome. Thank you for sharing - very helpful.

mzco14

Yes I have a cheat day. I take this as a day to enjoy a special meal or dessert but not all day long. I picked 1 day and 1 set time that I will have something. Once that time has passed its back to business as usual. Don't beat yourself up. 1 day shouldn't kill all your success. Now you know how to plan better.

colors_fade

I approach it as such: I do not go seek a cheat day. I will, however, have non tracking days here and there for special occassions. This weekend, we went away for a wedding and I just let myself enjoy it. But I do not do that every week.

This is the sign of someone with a healthy relationship with food. Good for you!

I do not do cheat days. I eat foods I enjoy all day long, in calorie amounts that fit within my caloric budget. Thus, I never feel deprived of foods I enjoy, and I never feel the urge for a "cheat day".

anapestic

I'm figuring that I'll take a cheat day on Thanksgiving. I've tried to set up my eating habits so that it's really easy for me to log everything I eat, but T-day is usually really busy for me with lots of cooking, etc., and if I have to measure exactly how much cream and butter I put in the mashed potatoes (the way I do for everything I'm cooking now), I'll make myself unnecessarily stressed.

I think that the ability to return to plan after a bad day is an important factor in long-term weight control, but I can only bounce back so many times, so planning to eat badly on a weekly basis has never worked for me. OTOH, for people who can do that and not lose control the rest of the week, it must be awesome.

DymonNdaRgh40

I don't do cheat days. I simply eat what I want as long as it fits within my allotted calories for the day.

tslinker1

Don't call cheating... that's like your doing something wrong.
Call it a free meal. And yes I said meal, not a whole day.
do the 90/10 plan. This is where you eat really good 90% of your meals. And 10% of the meals you allow yourself to have a free meal.
So say pick one day out of the week. And allow yourself to have one free meal of something you want. That does not mean a whole pizza and a 6 pack.
That meal one or two slices of pizza and one beer etc...
Also on the rest of the days? What are you eating?
Lean meats and veggies? Or fatty foods?
Try this if your not already. With every meal... eat a lean protein with a starchy carb (not fried in any form) and a fibrous carb (green leafy veggie steamed or raw). All 3 combined work together to help you build muscle and burn the fat.
And make sure that you get cardio and weights in every day. At least 5 days a week. And build up your strength and endurance as time goes by.
And make sure to take in less calories that you burn.

curiousgemfit

Wow. Thanks so much everyone.
I read each and every single reply - and there is one message that resonates through it all - Cheat days do not work. Instead, have a cheat meal as an occasional treat. And be accountable for it.
Thanks for helping out a newbie like me. I really appreciate it

bigboar

I don't have cheat days but I have days here and there where I go way over my calorie goal. When I do, I try to make up for it by exercising and being under my calorie goal daily until I get back to my weekly goal...