The idea of Cheat Days doesn't make sense...

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funchords
funchords Posts: 413 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
OK, we're not just here to lose weight, we want to keep it off, right? This is a lifestyle change, right?

Then how does the idea of a "Cheat Day" fit in?

Don't all my days eventually show up on or off my thighs?
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Replies

  • ghosthackexe
    ghosthackexe Posts: 181 Member
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    cheat day (for me) is typically a day where at the end of the day I get a treat for myself that i normally wouldn't get. I think people get the wrong idea because they here cheat DAY and thing the whole day your at McD's stuffing your face when its really a day thats still in your calories limits but your might get something that on an otherwise normal day you wouldnt get because it would mess up your macros
  • tracitheaggie
    tracitheaggie Posts: 11 Member
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    I think the idea of a cheat day is just there so you don't feel as bad if you fall off the wagon one day. I always tell myself, "one day of crappy eating will hurt me as much as one day of healthy eating will help me."

    I try to focus on my overall caloric intake and end every week with a deficit. When I was first starting out (January of this year) I needed that cheat day to keep going, but as I am losing and feeling better every day I don't think about it as much. I also realize how bad I feel the day after a cheat day and it makes me not need it as much.

    Weight loss is such a mind game!
  • AmrOnTop
    AmrOnTop Posts: 52 Member
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    A cheat meal or refeeds make more sense.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    i would like some of my days to show up in my Happiness Quotient
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
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    OK, we're not just here to lose weight, we want to keep it off, right? This is a lifestyle change, right?

    Then how does the idea of a "Cheat Day" fit in?

    Don't all my days eventually show up on or off my thighs?

    So are you saying you're going to eat perfectly for the rest of your life? Pretty much everyone has special occasions that come up where we would like to eat more calories than usual. It's good to learn how to handle those occasions without going crazy. And no, one day off will not show up on your thighs. It's what you do the majority of the time that matters.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    Most people are not making lifestyle changes. They're counting calories and adjusting portions. If you would eat 1200 a day and you decide to do six of 1000 and one of 2400, the calories work out the same.

    I routinely eat more one day and less another. It's a hunger-based thing.

    Everyone has to find the way that works for them.

    There is no cheating, though. It's overeating.
  • fcmonkey50
    fcmonkey50 Posts: 8
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    Some good comments on this one. A cheat meal is much more desirable to a entire cheat day, and life happens.

    For me, I'll have a cheat meal, typically an event, and plan ahead with some extra exercise and/or greater deficit. Then I enjoy, largely guilt free. That said achieving and then maintaining your goal is a lifestyle change, which trips up a lot of folks.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
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    This is a lifestyle change, right?

    No, I just want women to get moist when I take my shirt off
  • skullshank
    skullshank Posts: 4,323 Member
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    i hear ya OP!
    if i dont restrict anything, then cheat days are totally unnecessary.

    #IIFYM4LYFE
  • kaseyr1505
    kaseyr1505 Posts: 624 Member
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    I don't have cheat days. I try to make my diet 80% "healthy" food, and 20% foods that I just enjoy. I have days where I go over my calories, but I balance it out with days I go under.

    If I know I'm going to go to Buffalo Wild Wings one day, I will try and make up for it on other days.

    Balance is key, however you find it.
  • JenD1066
    JenD1066 Posts: 298 Member
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    Think of it as the valve on a pressure cooker- if you don't let some of the steam out, the thing will blow sky high.
    Human beings do not deal well with the idea of giving up something they enjoy "forever." If they allow themselves a day to have fried chicken and waffles, and it keeps them from a three month binge, more power to 'em.
  • LaReinaDeCorazones
    LaReinaDeCorazones Posts: 274 Member
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    This is a lifestyle change, right?

    No, I just want women to get moist when I take my shirt off
    Lmfao
  • LaReinaDeCorazones
    LaReinaDeCorazones Posts: 274 Member
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    i hear ya OP!
    if i dont restrict anything, then cheat days are totally unnecessary.

    #IIFYM4LYFE
    +1
  • zericaaaaa
    zericaaaaa Posts: 313 Member
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    I usually have one day a week that I don't log everything. I don't go overboard by any means, but I think its been crucial to my success so far. for me, the whole 'eating whatever I want every day, just smaller portions' will not work for me, because If I ate whatever I wanted on some days it would just be one greasy meal and that's it. i wouldn't have enough calories in my day to eat foods like that without being hungry. I can't eat like how I used to (and trust me, my body thanks me) so for me personally its not realistic to just eat 'all the same things, just less.' that's why I devote one day weekly to having that greasy meal plus a few extras without getting too worked up about it. it hasn't stalled my weight loss but as another poster said, its just about finding your balance.
  • threnjen
    threnjen Posts: 687 Member
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    I don't really cheat. There usually just HAPPENS to be a day or two in the week where I can't weigh my entire meal (because it's made by someone else) and I have to estimate, but I always do my best to fit it into my calories. For me at best a "cheat" day is me eating at maintenance instead of a deficit, so I am 300-500 calories over my plan for the day which is a lot for me.
    Like you said I am trying to learn a lifestyle change so I try not to go crazy and I really never feel the urge to go crazy. I just fit the treats that I want into my diet and by diet I mean "way of eating" not "weight loss plan". Once I hit my protein macro for the day I pretty much use my remaining calories on whatever I feel like having. Last week our friends brought over donuts and that really hit the spot, and I still didn't go over (and as a short person my calories are really restricted)

    I love data and it helps me to stick to it. I think if I had deliberate cheat days that I would begin to sabotage myself. There will surely be times where I decide it's ok to EAT ALL THE THINGS but I have yet to come across a time yet that feels worth it, know what I mean? I'm really surprised at how much self control I have when I ask myself "would I rather be healthy, or eat that cake?"
  • violasmith85
    violasmith85 Posts: 274 Member
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    I don't consider it cheat day, it's treat day! lol and what I do is i go under my calorie goals for a few days (not by much, maybe 100 cals?) then on treat day I have what I want and go over by that amount of calories. It evens out and it keeps me eating healthy all week because I know I can have whatever my heart desires on treat day (within reason) im not sure about the whole it boosts your metabolism argument, no clue. But I'm still eating at a deficit and it's something I could do the rest of my life happily.
  • Bearbo27
    Bearbo27 Posts: 339 Member
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    Cheat meals every once in a while for me are helpful in sustaining this lifestyle. I lost 30 lbs last year all while having a cheat days here and there. If I didn't let myself have a slice of cake every so often I would go nuts.
  • mrsmammahunter
    mrsmammahunter Posts: 221 Member
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    OK, we're not just here to lose weight, we want to keep it off, right? This is a lifestyle change, right?

    Then how does the idea of a "Cheat Day" fit in?

    Don't all my days eventually show up on or off my thighs?

    I don't have cheat days because i don't limit myself to not eat the foods i enjoy if i have a whole day of cheating i am going off the wagon but if i eat out randomly, or have a pudding, or a chocolate, or a cheese burger. If i want it i HAVE it log the calories and work my butt off to burn the extra calories. That tends to make me not want to eat the foods i used to like cuz i dont want to run for 1.5 hours vs my normal 30-45 mins. Also it doesn't make me feel tied down or emotionally distressed that i can never eat the foods i want. It works for me.
  • northbanu
    northbanu Posts: 366 Member
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    Meh. I don't call them cheat days. I usually call them birthdays, football night, guys night out, etc.

    While I am determined to lose the weight, I also have a social life. This life is often planned around food and drink with folks I enjoy being around. I'm not going to worry about my calories in those times. And you're right if you guessed I might have a few drinks, and maybe two too many. We'll prolly hit the 24hr diner for some late night bar's closed food. And honestly, I'm not going to worry too much about it.

    But it is also important to remember that that's me. I have enough self control and willpower that these days don't become habits. I got fat over the course of 15 years, not because I didn't have self control, but because I just didn't care.

    If having a "cheat" day would completely throw you off the wagon, then don't cheat.
  • thefirstdayofmylife
    thefirstdayofmylife Posts: 14
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    I don't really understand having days set aside to eat whatever you want and however much you want. It just seems strange to me. But I understand having a cheat meal or allowing yourself to enjoy yourself during a barbecue or special event without worrying about counting each calorie. I don't think you should deny yourself a piece of cake if you really want it but I don't really get eating the whole cake...

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