Why I'm Dumping CHEAT DAYS >:(

McKayMachina

That pretty much says it all. Those calories clearly had no idea it was a Saturday. haha

PLUS, I felt bloated, breathless, lethargic and guilty as hell. :grumble:

I've been doing great withOUT cheat days/cheat meals. I decided to factor them in - for whatever random@ss reason - and this is the result. NO, THANK YOU. Going back to the system that is PROVEN to work for me: Netting the cals MFP tells me to.

Ever heard of Occam's Razor? It states: All things being equal, the simplest explanation is likely the truest.

I don't know why I'm trying to mess up a good thing by over-thinking and complicating it. Just my 2 cents to anyone who's considering cheat meals/days. And yes, I know there will be times where I'm not 100% but there's no reason to PLAN to eat poorly. That's just counterproductive, isn't it?

CatRodger

Wha did you have to eat that day then ?

roadbiscuit2000

I agree completely. No need to plan to eat bad, but it is ok to every once in a while.

knittygirl52

I agree. There are going to be "those days" anyway. And we SHOULD record what we eat, even when it doesn't make us happy. But planning cheat days is just counter-productive. We need to build new GOOD habits, not reinforce old bad ones!

knittygirl52

I agree. There are going to be "those days" anyway. And we SHOULD record what we eat, even when it doesn't make us happy. But planning cheat days is just counter-productive. We need to build new GOOD habits, not reinforce old bad ones!

McKayMachina

Wha did you have to eat that day then ?

A bunch of high-calorie munchies. They weren't NEARLY as tasty as I thought they'd be so it wasn't even worth it! Learned my lesson!

live2smyle

I dont really get "cheat days" exactly who are you cheating besides yourself? I understand falling off the wagon once in awhile. I also understand special occasions or just an occasional "me" day.

I would never do a cheat day once a week though. I dont intend to bust my rump this hard to watch it all go down the toilet one day a week, litterally.

Nope no way...To each their own though. :flowerforyou:

oxnina

You can have cheat days, just make sure you exercise on those cheat days. Yeah, you might not have been at par with your goal, but say if you burnt at least 300 calories, you would have only been 700 over, and then your helping your inches go down

vfinkenstadt

My doc pointed out that I was blowing my weight loss by having a cheat day - saving up calories and then consuming them. It's sabotage.

BrianJLamb

Agree and disagree. It is better to plan to eat poorly and succeed than to plan to eat healthily and fail. That is my reasoning. If you are going to want to eat crap here and there, my mentality is to plan it in. If I know that I am allowed to eat whatever I want on a Saturday, then on Saturday I eat what I want. It doesn't mean I HAVE to eat badly, it just means that if I choose to, I dont feel like crap mentally for doing it.

Also, good for you on eating bad food and then realizing that you feel bloated and ****ty afterwards. That is another benefit of those free days. If I eat clean and feel great 6 days of the week, I have a control group. If I start eating garbage and immediately recognize that it makes me feel horrible, it curbs my appetite for that bad stuff because my brain knows exactly where to place the blame.

wanitalilly

This is so true. I do think cheat days should happen, for special occasions. But I have been giving myself one a week and I really think its messing with my progress...thanks for this post. Nice to see I'm not the only one!:drinker:

julie0913

I have to agree........I don't plan cheat days, but I always seem to have one a week anyway!

ygrad2001

Saturdays are my free day. I still track my calories but if I go over I go over and it works for me.

MeliciousMelis

Good on ya for ditching the "cheat" day. I don't like the term, much less the concept. I think if you factor in what you want to eat, stick to your target, and exercise, you are on the right path. Rebound, keep up the good work!

UntilNextTime

Honestly, I still have a cheat day but I keep the same calories...just make them bad. Like instead of a 350 calorie meal of fish, veggies and brown rice, I eat two chicken legs from Popeyes with mashed potatoes and gravy. Or for a snack, instead of a tbsp of almond butter with a slice of wheat bread, I eat a chocolate covered strawberry from Godiva...same amount of calores. Then Sunday morning, I am back to eating healthier foods but my caloric intake doesn't change.

ladybug1620

Personally, cheat days for me lead to falling off the wagon completely. I'm trying a different approach this time around. If I want something "bad", I have it...but I have half of what I would normally eat. This weekend we had Thai food. I put half in the fridge right away, and I was actually full after I had the half I ate. Same thing for a bacon and eggs breakfast yesterday. Just pushed half of it to the other side of my plate. I managed to stay within my calories all weekend so I think I'm gonna keep at it.

McKayMachina

If I start eating garbage and immediately recognize that it makes me feel horrible, it curbs my appetite for that bad stuff because my brain knows exactly where to place the blame.

EXACTLY.

qtpiesmom

I believe everyone will have times when they just want that piece of cake, or a day filled with craptastic foods that arent good for losing weight or our bodies BUT we will have them. I eat differently because I am diabetic so I have to a certain amount of Carbs and food to make sure my sugar levels dont drop to low. I also think that you shouldnt deprive yourself of things because when you do then you binge out to much. With sugary things I go by the 3 bite rule, no matter what type of treat it is I get only three bites. I also take out carbs if I am going to eat sugary things.
If your planning on eating lets say mcdonalds for dinner then for breakfast and lunch eat less calories because your giving yourself a treat and its not a bad thing.
Maybe not a whole cheat day just a cheat meal.
Dont beat yourself up over it look at it as a learning and a change of way you think which is a positive thing

Have a great day

pooh072572

I don't call them cheat days at all, and if I go over my calories I just make my days workout longer to absorb them.
So I know if I eat that candy then I will have to workout for an extra half-hour. It is sometimes enough of a deterrant.
I know too that I am not perfect, but striving towards it, so I never would say "I'll never eat over my calories again".

gec928

I agree with no cheat DAYS. I don't agree with completely cutting out temptations from your diet, however. If you do that, you're more likely to succumb to those temptations and WAY overindulge instead of allowing yourself to enjoy them in smaller portions. I have found this website is so successful for ME because it's about MINDFUL eating - just being aware of what you're ingesting and knowing where your weak spots are is a HUGE help!! Remember that dieting shouldn't be a one-time fad type situation - it should be an overall lifestyle change - make sure that you accept that you are going to slip up sometimes and don't spend so much time beating yourself up over being human!

rvice2

I think it depends on what a cheat day really means to you. My 'cheat day' is every Sunday after a 6 mile run. I have lunch at my aunt's house and dinner at my dad's. It is nearly impossible to figure out the calorie count when I don't cook it so I just make sure I eat one small serving of each food cooked. To me a cheat day is where I can relax from logging every single calorie, but I still try to stay focused. I still eat a healthy breakfast and healthy snacks and I allow myself 1 sweet item which I usually don't have during the week. If you use a cheat day to cram everything bad for you into your mouth, then of course you shouldn't have them. But if you have self control it is sometimes nice to have a cheat day!

McKayMachina

Honestly, I still have a cheat day but I keep the same calories...Then Sunday morning, I am back to eating healthier foods but my caloric intake doesn't change.

That is a really good way to look at it!

FearAnLoathing

If things were working just fine for you then I say ditch the cheat day.

Paccie

I am glad to see that I'm not the only one. I definitely try to eat healthy but if I do eat bad I too try to stay in my calorie range.

McKayMachina

I just wanted to thank everyone for the rad responses. Though, I'm not quoting everyone, I'm reading each reply. It's really nice to be surrounded by so many kind, intelligent people. You all rock.

Oh, also: I normally workout 500 cals. I have been super sick with a bad cold, so I'm temporarily helpless to fix that ZERO in the exercise column. But I should be back on my feet tomorrow and it's back to business as usual. Minus the cheats!

Beth_1217

I built a cheat day into my plan, but I think I'm going to do away with it. Maybe not entirely... but I just find that on Friday afternoons, even if I'm not craving anything in particular, I still eat something junky just to "use" my cheat day (if that makes any sense). Then afterward I'm like, "That wasn't even that good." So I think I'll still allow myself a day of excess for special occasions, but as for forcing myself to have one every Friday.... ehh... I think I'm done with that.

prettyinpink117

My boyfriend and I have a serious problem with Chinese food,we just love it... so every Saturday, we go to the Chinese restaurant right when they open and have our only bad meal of the week! We then proceed with a lovely hike or walk in the park. For dinner, we'll usually have all fruits and veggies and still manage to either maintain or lose a little!! I think it's all about letting yourself have a cheat day, but that doesn't mean cheat ALL day!! One meal, preferably early so you have lots of extra time to burn off some calories!

Paccie

Honestly, I still have a cheat day but I keep the same calories...Then Sunday morning, I am back to eating healthier foods but my caloric intake doesn't change.

That is a really good way to look at it!

Same here. I try to eat healthy but if I do eat bad I definitely try to stay in my calorie range.

EHuntRN

Yeah I dont set out an official cheat day...but on those days that I do go over...I consider it a cheat day...but I dont plan it that way and if I do go over then I make sure that I am good to sticking to my calorie goals for at least a week and my excercise!!!

McKayMachina

...as for forcing myself to have one every Friday.... ehh... I think I'm done with that.

Super good call! Me too. :happy:

mini_girl7

I use Sunday's as my "cheat day" or day off -- I don't necessarily go crazy and eat everything. Since the entire family is home that day for 3 meals, I do make things that i wouldn't normally make -- monkey bread, that has loads of sugar and white bread -- sometimes a crumb cake -- scrambled eggs that are full fat, as in, I don't remove any yolks -- what I make for the family I happily eat with no worries! My family also likes that I use the day off, bec during the week I healthify the meals I serve to them, which sometimes they are not so thrilled about! :laugh:

Sunday is also my exercise day off.

More importantly, I don't log anything that day on MFP! It just gives my brain and body a day to relax!