Who are Cheat Days For?

mrscjwilson

Question: Should you have a cheat day if you are still trying to reach your goal? Does that defeat the purpose? or should cheat days be reserved for those who are at a maintanence point ih there weight?

stormieweather

I don't have cheat days. I found that they completely stalled my progress, and I work too hard to throw it all away for a few hours of gluttony. Once in a while (1-2 times a month), I go out to eat and allow myself to eat up to maintenance, but never over it. Since I began following this plan, my weight loss has been on target.

cakeordeath

i have cheat days so i dont feel deprived and then binge. it's also nice to have a break now and then and i usually have even more motivation after, and do better.

fuzzymel

I don't have cheat days. They just don't work for me.

If I want the food I will exercise the calories off first.

6Janelle13

I do have cheat days but they are more for others then myself. It is hard on my family to be restrictive all the time. if they want to go out to eat they don't like me stressing about it. yes it does slow me down some but I'm still learning how to incorporate my life style change to a sustainable level for the long term. This is more then a diet so for me i have to figure out how to balance eating and working out so that the need for a cheat day isn't needed because my habits have changed enough that a single day is not going to mess me up in the long run.

jessimacar

i let life take care of cheat days for me. if i'm having an especially awful day i might allow myself a few more calories. or if i meet with friends i'll allow myself to eat out without worrying as much.

i don't really cut out bad things from my diet completely, but instead i have them in much smaller portions, significantly less often.

Natural

i "cheated" through my weight loss, but not often. it gave me extra motivation to work harder.

"will work out for food"

shezza737

I have cheat days as such. Normally the day i weigh in. But i don't go majorly over the top, will maybe just have something different for dinner that i wouldn't normally have. Or perhaps a meal out where i don't overly watch my calories.
I find this actually helps me, keeps me motivated as well, as I am straight back on things the next morning.
It hasn't hindered my weight loss in anyway either. I have only properly been following MFP since January though so maybe this is why as I am fairly new.
I can imagine the less you have to lose, the hader it will be to have a cheat day.

BrianJLamb

I dont have cheat days, I have free days. A day labeled as cheat makes me feel like I am doing something wrong. A day labeled as free means that I have worked solidly for a bit and I need time off. I have a job that goes from 830 am to 500 pm Monday through Friday....Saturday is not a cheat day, I should be allowed to relax.

SOOO...I have free days. They have toned themselves down as I have gotten better at all of this. I find that a free day is pretty good for me since I undercut my calories for the majority of the week.

Smokechic

I think it all depends on what you consider a "cheat". When I know I am having family or friends over for dinner, I don't worry too much about paying attention but I make sure that I have fruits and vegetables and that the meal is healthy...maybe more than I would normally eat but still healthy. If there is dessert, I try to make that a decent choice as well. Guess I'm not actually cheating but may go a little over my calories with healthy choices. The times I do cheat is if I crave something...I allow myself that food and eat well the rest of the day. I still try to work it out in my calorie goal. Main thing is too not deny yourself something you really want and to do it in moderation.

Gert08

Once a week I choose one meal to "cheat". I do not cheat all day, just for one meal. I find that I save some calories every day during the week and that helps me not feel too bad. When I cheat I still record everything I eat. I then eat even better and exercise more after I cheat to try and make up for cheating.

ChristineMiller2

I agree that I don't call it "cheating" I log it as food I eat, I work it off and move on.

nickyevans

I have a cheat meal on the day I weigh in but it is only the 1 meal and not an entire day's worth of meals, so I have my regular breakfast and lunch but then my evening meal I don't count - I don't tend to go mad but I might make something that is not low fat e.g. tomorrow we are having lasagne - the only low cal part of that is the cheese in the cheese sauce. Mind you I have found that even on cheat days now I eat a much, much smaller portion than I would have done in the past. It has not so far affected my weekly weight loss, if it started to be a problem with that I would rethink it!

flutterqueen04

I have cheat days but they are few and far between. Every now and then you need to let yourself indulge in a planned treat that way you don't end up binging unexpectedly. I try to keep my indulgence to one item/meal and I still try to make sure its not too crazy. Usually the day before and after I try to eat extra better and workout a tad more to make up for it. Going off track for one day, actually just one hour if you think about it, won't kill ya and it won't stall your weight loss as long as your smart. Don't be one of those people who because they blew it with one item on one day say screw it to the rest of the week.

Enjoy your treat. You earned it

LeonaB17

I think a better approach would be a "cheat meal" or a "cheat snack" than an all out cheat day. For me - when i would allow cheat days - i would stay under my calories all week long and exercise my butt off, and then allow a cheat day (and i can seriously pack in some food) and because i'd eat so much that in one single day i'd eat back more calories than i had burned all week and undo an entire week's worth of work. And then the next few day's i'd feel SO guilty it was so hard to get back on track. And needless to say - i'd make NO progress and all that work went down the drain. So I am no longer allowing cheat days because i know i can't handle them responsibly. I will allow just mini cheats like a really good meal once every two weeks, or a nice small treat here or there. But not an all day binge! Some people can have a cheat day and do just fine because they just eat a little more than they normally would - but for me - it became a contest of how much i could cram in my face in one day. LOL. So i guess it is somewhat individualized from person to person. Can you handle a cheat day in moderation? Will you just have a few treats and get right back on track the very next day? Or will it negatively affect you longer than when the day is over? You have to do what works for you.

Lexie71

I don't do cheat days. With my plan 'all foods fit". I don't count calories. I'm just learning to use food to fuel my life while I enjoy eating it. I dieted for years and it never worked for me. Now I've lost 67 pounds in the past year without dieting. So if you compare what I was doing before to what I am doing now I guess every day is "cheat day"

BigBoneSista

I don't give myself unhealthy allowances. It has always lead me in the wrong direction. Now that I'm living healthier I'm into healthy homemade treats. I'm searching the web for receipes and making myself a cookbook. If I ever have the urge in the future I will be able to refer to my book. I haven't had any so far. Keeping my fingers crossed.

barberella

Absolutely not. It's bad enough that I still consume alcohol while doing this, I don't need to indulge myself in the same foods that got me heavy and unhappy in the first place. Sure, I have cravings for some stuff, but like any drug, cravings pass. I just remind myself of the rewards that not giving into craving will give me. Rewards such as how I will look in a new outfit to fit a new, smaller size, how good I've been feeling since I started this, how I feel my age and not older and worn out. So giving into a "cheat" day..aahh phooey. I can have those when I am in "maintenance" mode...

sbwood888

I have the very occasional cheat day--mainly to keep my sanity.

Swilson87

I know I'm probably a little different in my thinking, but I don't call them cheat days. My wife and I have designated Friday as date night, and we usually go to a restaurant, or cook something very tasty, and probably a little fattening at home. My view is that I don't want to diet the weight off. If I diet the weight off, what happens when it's gone? Will I never eat a fattening foods again? Not Hardly. So I eat now like I'm going to eat for the rest of my life. Heck last week I had a few slices of pizza mid-week, and a soda or two. Moderation is the key. If you're eating healthy all day everyday, a strong craving for something tasty can be satisfied. Just don't go over board with it. I still dropped 6 pounds last week, so that let me know that things are going well, pizza and all.

ebonybliss

Studies show that an OCCASIONAL cheat day like once a week or every other week is actually good for your weight loss. It causes your body to work harder to get rid of the extra calories and in turn causes your metabolism to increase!!! It also helps your mood and from being deprived from foods. Most weight loss plans like weight watchers, jenny craig and others give you extra points of free foods so you can have those cheat days. It becomes an issue when you want to keep cheating and you lose self control. I actually had a cheat day recently last week and i woke up the next morning starving.. that is how I knew it worked. It's okay with self control and not all the time.

CARNAT22

I prefer to have the opccasional cheat evening (dinner out maybe and a few drinks) but I stick to my plan for breakfast and lunch, plus work out and I am 100% back on plan the next day!

sweetheart03622

It's not really set in stone, it's whatever works for you. Originally, I would allow myself one cheat day a week but found that I usually ended up cramming myself with as much stuff as possible just because. I was completely screwing myself up with this. I switched to eating maintenance calories on the weekends and combining it with a good workout those days as well. That way I can usually eat at least 1,000 calories OVER my normal daily amount (depending on the workout). I can still enjoy the treats I like, but I'm still losing.

spackham

Cheat meal works better than a cheat day (which I would never do unless I was a Disneyland or something.) I usually can still stay under my cals or close to it if I watch my other meals and work out extra hard that day. I am working more toward life-style changes than just saying no to all food that is not as good of a choice. Good Luck! You can do this!

mummum2

I don't cheat, because I don't/didn't cut anything from my diet (apart from alcohol, which is very limited)......I just watch portions
and certainly do not go past my daily calories allowance, working out enables me to have a very happy medium . Always eat health/wholesome/freshly prepared foods, but I will certainly not/have not cut food groups out.....agree with the gentleman who said this is a life change and will I never be able to have a couple of slices of pizza if that's what I want one night with salad, or say an icecream in the summer...NO, is my answer, because I will not be able to maintain that strictness and will probably eventually pile the weight back on!!! so my whole outlook is no I don't cheat...I eat all but in moderation and still losing the weight!

nerdyandilikeit

i have cheat days so i dont feel deprived and then binge. it's also nice to have a break now and then and i usually have even more motivation after, and do better.

i feel pretty much this way about it. at least until this lifestyle is more of a habit than a goal. i have fun food friday with my best friend, but we still try to watch portions so we arent stuffing ourselves, and its only at dinner on that one day. we also eat a little less strictly the rest of the weekend, but again, we still watch our portions and we generally have more time to exercise to actually earn it. it may make the journey slower, but it keeps our sanity! plus, im very much a binge eater so i have to take it slow or ill give up out of frustration.

fabulousgran

Some people can handle a cheat day without falling off the wagon for good, but people like myself would have a very difficult time getting back on program.

getfitdiva

Hmm for me I wouldn't call it a cheat day - I have unplanned cheat moments LOL. Since I will inevitably go a little over board or indulge at times I don't plan for it. I just record it and move on and try to do better next time. If I restrict anything I will crave the thing I'm restricting - so no restrictions just portion control and lowering sugar/sodium.

mielikkibz

I don't have cheat days. They just don't work for me.

If I want the food I will exercise the calories off first.

Kinda bingo. . .if i overeat at work, I go home and bust my butt to get the calories off I don't deny myself anything I want, I just eat it in moderation

1Tammy2luv

I had 2 cheat meals a week allowed, not a whole day. It was only for what I felt like was an emergency or a special occasion,so that I could stop unreasonable cravings, but not ruin my diet. You have to keep track if you are doing this,so you can be sure how much you are eating. Bad eating can stall you out.

Christie23

I think this may be the most debated topic on MFP. And I have been all over the map about it myself. But here's where I (currently... lol...) stand on it. I don't believe in cheat DAYS, but a cheat MEAL once or twice per week is actually good for you. Mentally speaking, It keeps you from feeling deprived... and if you find yourself craving something like crazy all week, there is your chance to have it. But eat it slowly, drink lots of water with it, and you'll be surprised how much less you'll need to eat of it. Physically speaking, throwing your metabolism a curve ball every now and then is not a bad idea. The most important thing as you work on your weight loss is keeping a healthy attitude about it and balancing your physical and mental needs. You are changing your life... and that's amazing! But you also have to take care of your heart and head too.