Saturday is my cheat day

Simonscat
Simonscat Posts: 249
edited September 23 in Food and Nutrition
Hey
On Saturday it shall be my cheat day. I decided to treat myself because I plan on giving blood. Or attempt to, they may decline me because my veins are too small. Even so, I would have tried.

I really really want to go to a place called "Illegal Jacks" which is in Edinburgh, Scotland because i have never been. I have them on twitter and asked if they have any nutritional information and sadly they don't. They sell things like burrito's, taco's...so like a fast foody place.
Should I go to it even though I really wanna go but don't know the calories?! Or should I stick to something else like a subway?!

Help would be appreciated thankyou :)

Replies

  • Alita2011
    Alita2011 Posts: 265 Member
    Saturdays are my cheat day also. I don't log my food but I don't go overboard. I would say go. Just keep in mind not to go crazy! Control is the name of the game
  • melissa1977
    melissa1977 Posts: 129 Member
    If you're having a cheat meal, you could try to pick it apart and add things up manually, like approximately how much beef you ate, or rice, or taco shells. But I know that when my cheat meal comes around, I'm not even going to bother. That's going to be my break from counting so much! :)
  • bethvandenberg
    bethvandenberg Posts: 1,496 Member
    Just go and have a good time! :)
  • themommie
    themommie Posts: 5,033 Member
    Its up to you, but I only go to places that I can find their nutritional info and can look it up before I go so I can see the cals and the choices and I try to decide what I will have before I go. That way I dont get tempted by something else once I get there, and I know for sure how many cals I am having. Enjoy
  • DancingDreamer
    DancingDreamer Posts: 520
    totally go. and have fun, its a cheat day, you arent supposed to over worry about cheat days. and you can always enter the ingredients that are in the tacos/burritos and figure out around how much will be in the food you're eating. sounds fun! enjoy your cheat day!
  • Simonscat
    Simonscat Posts: 249
    Okay. I won't go OTT.
    I really do wanna go. But I also love Subway...and a 12" sub sounds good..I usually get 6"!
  • LadyBarb
    LadyBarb Posts: 116
    I perferred to have a cheat meal... a whole is not good for me to do.. yet! :wink:
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I'm having a cheat day on Saturday because my brother and his wife are having their 10th anniversary party, and there's no way I'm going to count calories! :tongue:

    But when I go out to eat, if the place doesn't have nutritional information readily available, I pick something similar at another restaurant that's probably a little worse for me and use that as a guide. A locally owned Mexican restaurant doesn't have their info online, but Chili's does. Chili's also has bigger portions, and is greasier, so I use that as a "worst case scenario." I'd rather log too many than not enough.
  • smuehlbauer
    smuehlbauer Posts: 1,041 Member
    I don't think that cheat meals/days are a good option. Espically if you're just starting out.
    I think that it's a bad habit to get into.
    IMO.
    I'm eating out tonight but I know that I'll make a healthy option when I order.
    Dressing on the side, grilled not fried, no cheese, what ever it may be....
  • Spikeyangel
    Spikeyangel Posts: 8
    Ooooh.... Saturday is my weigh day!
    I'm doing it wrong! lol
  • Simonscat
    Simonscat Posts: 249
    hahaha :)
    I don't have a weigh day. My weigh day is when i get to a scale :P!
  • gr8grl68
    gr8grl68 Posts: 417 Member
    I have a cheat day--the same day I weigh in (Fridays). Weigh in first thing in the morning and then eat a little more "freely" if you will for the day. However, I do log it all because it's truly an eye-opener to see how many calories it has (I haven't gone over YET, I guess because I know I'm logging it in)! I firmly believe you need to enjoy what you eat or you're not going to make this journey permanent and you'll have to start over and over and over again--who wants to do that?

    Go and enjoy--pick things apart if you must and do an honest estimate of what you ate--consciously doing that will keep you in check AND you get to eat some yummy food!
  • Suzy12
    Suzy12 Posts: 284
    I perferred to have a cheat meal... a whole is not good for me to do.. yet! :wink:


    Yep- ditto
  • shirley_1984
    shirley_1984 Posts: 31
    I think one "cheat" meal would be ok, however, I don't really like the term "cheat day"... I think one meal that is outside of your goals per week is fine, but going overboard is what makes us overweight... Good Luck and enjoy yourself!!!
  • Simonscat
    Simonscat Posts: 249
    Oh when I meant cheat day. It actually means cheat meal. :D!
    I will try keep it in my calorie allowance.

    I think I'll stick to a subway. Me being greedy, I'm going to get a 12" one! :) 6" never satisfies me.
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
    It's okay to go places without nutritional information - realistically you're not ALWAYS going to be able to avoid them. When that happens, I do my best to find a realistic estimate based on other items in the food database. If I can pick out individual ingredients in what I ate (ex. a Kaiser roll plus an angus burger with a slice of cheddar cheese and a little bit of mayo) I'll try to log the ingredients separately. But if it's something that has a bunch of stuff mixed (ex. the warm german potato salad I had yesterday with the burger) I'll look at different items in the food database and pick something that seems realistic.

    If you think you can go to this place and not pig out/go crazy, then give it a shot - you can likely find something that's not too horrible for you on the menu. Make good choices when you go with your health in mind, and log it the best you can. But, if you're not going to be able to control yourself, then stick to a place that has nutrition info like Subway (which you mentioned).
  • HerbieSue
    HerbieSue Posts: 288
    I don't understand "cheat days". Why would you log daily, exercise and eat healthy and then one day a week throw it all out the window and eat whatever you want? Doesn't that just negate everything you worked so hard on that week? I can understand a piece of cake at a wedding or a slice of pizza at a football party, but an entire day? Do you weigh the day after a "cheat day" ?
  • Simonscat
    Simonscat Posts: 249
    It's not to eat what you want.
    It's to eat 1 thing, that will keep you under your calorie allowance but isn't healthy...=\ Like a bar of chocolate.

    Without one of these cheat foods, most people end up failing and going straight back to binge eating rubbish
  • sophiajackson99
    sophiajackson99 Posts: 90
    I don't understand the idea of a "cheat day" either. The very idea of "cheating" means that you are on a diet program that you don't like and makes you feel deprived. Why else would you need to cheat away from it? Why set yourself up that way?

    I think you should eat what you want, when you want, at all times and in reasonable amounts. Every day. For the rest of your life. :D

    Peace. Sophia
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Re: my version of "cheat days"

    I enjoy all the foods I eat, and don't consider what I'm doing "dieting." I'm logging what I eat so I make smarter choices.

    However, I HATE logging what I eat, and hope to not have to do it forever. My cheat days aren't so much about eating whatever's in sight as about not having to remember to log each and every cracker or slice of cheese, or wondering if my margarita was 8oz or 12. That sort of thing. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were my last "cheat days," and I still kept losing.
  • Teemo
    Teemo Posts: 338
    Depending on what you get at Subway a burrito might be healthier? Make your cheat meal day your toughest workout day too and have your meal right after you workout.

    Win-win. :bigsmile:
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    I don't understand the idea of a "cheat day" either. The very idea of "cheating" means that you are on a diet program that you don't like and makes you feel deprived. Why else would you need to cheat away from it? Why set yourself up that way?

    I think you should eat what you want, when you want, at all times and in reasonable amounts. Every day. For the rest of your life. :D

    Peace. Sophia
    I agree, I've never understood the 'cheat meal, cheat day, cheat week, cheat year'..:laugh: and on and on it can go if we think of it as cheating. Least that's what the word brings to my mind... 'dieting'. I'm not on a diet so I have no reason to even use the word cheat. If I'd like to have something different I figure it in my day and enjoy it but always work it in and find out the nutritional content so I don't free fall.

    Sometimes I think ppl use the word 'cheat' to simply do that! cheat!!:laugh: Then convince themselves it's a cheat meal and then decide not to log it because it's 2 days worth of food and no longer a meal any longer.

    Dunno...the whole cheating concept is like nails on a chalk board to me. If you wanna eat something work it in your day and enjoy it, no need to sneak food from yourself, right?:noway: :wink:
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    It's not to eat what you want.
    It's to eat 1 thing, that will keep you under your calorie allowance but isn't healthy...=\ Like a bar of chocolate.

    Without one of these cheat foods, most people end up failing and going straight back to binge eating rubbish
    For you it does sounds like it's one food but for many that use the 'cheat' concept on here they speak of 'cheat weekends', 'cheat vacations'.:laugh: :noway: It can make your head spin seeing the word brought up so much.

    If you'd like to have chocolate why would you need to cheat to eat it? You can have chocolate plan ahead with your meals/cals and figure it in, no cheating involved.:wink::tongue:

    I think the word 'cheat' keeps many back in the 'diet' phase mentality and seems some have a hard time getting past it seeing others on here using the old 'dieting' phrases....

    :ohwell: :flowerforyou:
  • chinsawwah
    chinsawwah Posts: 1
    I have cheat days as well, the days when i have meals with friends outside. Just make sure you run your *kitten* off after the cheat meal. haha. (:
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    How about if we call it a "Freebie Meal" instead? :laugh:
  • jdesm
    jdesm Posts: 22 Member
    I don't understand "cheat days". Why would you log daily, exercise and eat healthy and then one day a week throw it all out the window and eat whatever you want? Doesn't that just negate everything you worked so hard on that week? I can understand a piece of cake at a wedding or a slice of pizza at a football party, but an entire day? Do you weigh the day after a "cheat day" ?

    Having a cheat meal (or day if you prefer) isn't the end of the world. In fact I think it is a healthy thing to do, psychologically.

    Like a few other people have said, my diet doesn't make me feel deprived or unsatiated. But when it comes down to it over the course of the week I can't count the number of things I see and think "I would love to have that", and then pass on it. The cheat meal/day allows you to relax a little and let yourself have that special treat.

    Look at it this way:
    Even if you have a massive meal and blow your calorie goal for the day by 500cals, that only makes for a difference of 1/7th of a pound (0.14lbs) on the scales at the end of the week... But you don't feel like your diet is ALWAYS holding you back.

    I would rather see a cheat meal/day than a person trying to make space for the empty calories in junk food by lowwering their intake of healthier calories just to see a green number at the end of the day...

    IMO
  • jdesm
    jdesm Posts: 22 Member
    Sorry, I forgot to mention.

    Go for it. Take some friends or family, relax and enjoy yourself. Trust that when it comes time to order you'll make the right choice and won't go crazy.
  • sophiajackson99
    sophiajackson99 Posts: 90

    However, I HATE logging what I eat, and hope to not have to do it forever. My cheat days aren't so much about eating whatever's in sight as about not having to remember to log each and every cracker or slice of cheese, or wondering if my margarita was 8oz or 12. That sort of thing. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were my last "cheat days," and I still kept losing.

    I like the idea of not logging every day. To me, that is practicing what we hope to be doing some day normally, just eating and paying attention to serving sizes but not "counting every calorie." What I am rebelling against is the concept of being on or off a diet, and that is what a "cheat" calls to mind for me.
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    How about if we call it a "Freebie Meal" instead? :laugh:
    or we could just call it life!:laugh: :flowerforyou:
  • ChellieIrish
    ChellieIrish Posts: 593 Member
    I dunno why it's called a "Cheat Day" either :tongue: for me my weigh in day is what I use for my "Treat Day" it's only once a week and I look forward to it :laugh: It's working for me I'm still losing :bigsmile: It's my reward day for working my butt off during the week :drinker:

    During the week I may still have small treats but they are logged within my cals for that day :smile:


    IMO go out and enjoy yourself log what you eat even if a guesstimate and remember tomorrow is a "New Day" so back on track and try and drink extra water on the days following :drinker: :heart:

    PS if you are out in company and you want to reduce the cals/portion size share a starter/side dish with someone else :wink:
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