What do u people think of "cheat days"?

DrFancyNancy

do u guys have a cheat day? How often? Do u set a ceiling for your calories on that day? I myself have a cheat day and I lose weight too.. But I feel guilty about it

ashley0616

I don't have full on cheat days, but I might have a cheat meal or two every so often. I really found that back when I was strictly following a diet from a nutritionist, the weeks that I splurged once on say Chipotle or a burger I actually lost more weight than the weeks I didn't. It's good to toss your body a curve ball every so often, but I think a cheat day is a little overboard for me at least. I would get knocked way too far off course.

Nelly711

I have "cheat" times. I have to have them or I will fail miserably!!! There is nothing wrong with it. I still lose. I'm sure I would lose more if I was strict with my diet, but right now, it's workin for me and I'm going to keep doing it!

McDougal416

Definitely don't feel guilty about it! I have a cheat day 1 or 2x a week and still lose weight. I don't have a cap on my cal's, but I TRY not to over eat that day. But, its basically me eating foods that I NORMALLY don't eat..but what I don't want to give up. You gotta remember..its a life style change, not a diet. If you diet, when you go off the diet your going to gain back the weight..but if you do a life style change...you won't gain anything back because there is nothing to change.

crystal10584

my cheat was last night... I went to chili's but still got chicken fajitas with no tortillas or the side items. I simply asked the waiter to not bring them so i wouldn't be tempted. It felt like a real cheat... but I stayed within my calorie budget.

RisRis85

I think they're great when you are on a highly restrictive diet. My friend is a body builder and she has to have cheat days, other wise she kind of goes looney. It keeps you sane, mixes up your metabolism, and keeps you on track! I think its very healthy!!

LizzieBee17

For some it maybe fine. You could probably work it off. However, for somebody like me, cheat days are a big fat NO.... I tell people like this ONE cheat day for me is like a crackhead stopping at one rock...lol

Sasha_Bear

I don't have cheat days either every now and then if there is a treat I may want I just have it, but I do try to keep it within my allotted calories.

misslyssx

I have some cheat snacks. But to be honest, I know if I cheat too much I will probably get completely off track, so I stay pretty strict in general. But of course it doesn't hurt, just in my case I will probably fail if I do.

randi50

I don't cheat, to me the word cheat means you are doing something bad. Do I splurge occasionally, yes! I had a strawberry milkshake this weekend and it was divine! It is good to give in and splurge once in awhile

Enigmatica

I don't care for the idea of a regular "cheat day". Life presents plenty of opportunities for us to make choices on a minute by minute basis. I guess I don't even believe in the idea of "cheating". To me it's about choosing whether to stay within planned limits or not. If I choose *not* there's no cheating about it. It's simply a decision I made, and it's up to me to correct it later if it's going to have an impact.

Sasha_Bear

For some it maybe fine. You could probably work it off. However, for somebody like me, cheat days are a big fat NO.... I tell people like this ONE cheat day for me is like a crackhead stopping at one rock...lol

CTFU:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

MyNameIsNotBob

I don't have set days where I "cheat," like every Friday or anything like that. But when events pop up that revolve around food (and there are a lot of them), I try to be reasonable, enjoy the treats, and then get back to making healthy choices the next time it's mealtime / gym time.

I'd say it evens out to once a week or once every other week. Most days I still stay within my calories.

Daisy374

I don't really have 'whole' cheat days.. except maybe my birthday or a holiday. But I let myself eat something if I am craving it or have worked really hard that week. If it is something like dinner or going out with friends for an evening, I just try and eat healthy during the day, then let myself get what I want when I go out. You shouldn't feel guilty... we have to live and enjoy sometimes!!

bikinikillaer

I don't stress about "cheating" or even make it feel like a bad thing. Like others have said, if it's your life-style change, then you can happily eat something a little more indulgent once in a while, and just ENJOY it, without feeling like there's now a penance to pay.

Especially when it comes to having a few beers out with my boyfriend. Yea that's a TON of calories, but I really enjoy good, craft beer, so I'm not going to feel bad about sharing that with him.

I splurged on a Five Guys burger the other day, but I've been eating so well lately that it was hard to even finish the thing. I think that's a pleasant side effect of living/eating better - your body is better equipped to take care of itself, so you won't WANT to over do it.

Good luck and happy living!

amfmmama

I do not do a cheat "day" I do a cheat meal. All day is too much for me. But I usually do a cheat meal that I will really enjoy once a week or every two weeks. I agree with some of the others, I think it actually helps weight loss.

LiL_MisS_C

If I was to give myself a cheat day it would turn into a CHEAT WEEK! lol. So instead, I treat myself to an extra snack at the end of day and use some of my calories left over. That seems to work best for me. That way I make sure I don't go overboard!

kim_mc

I try not yo have entire days that I cheat or just eat whatever I want. I never plan to eat bad for the day. But if there is a birthday party or something like that I will plan of having a piece of cake or a slice of pizza at the party and I know that's ok. And sometimes I do slip up and ruin my day altogether. But I don't really ever plan on cheating all day long. To me, it's a glimpse of how I used to eat and that's just a tease to me. Makes me want to eat that way all the time again!!

carribear

I eat out every Wednesday but I make sure to plan ahead and make sure I don't go over. My real "cheat day" is on Sunday. If I'm really craving something I'll save it for that day but I also try not to go to crazy. Its just the day I put the measuring cups away and try to eyeball it. I think cheat days are good cause we need to learn how to eat just that right amount. I know after a month of doing MFP if I eat to much I feel sleepy and sick. My friend made fun of me the other day cause we had pizza, I ate two slices then complained that I was sick. He thought it was funny cause we use to be able to split a large and leave nothing left,lol. Cheat days also help us keep on track cause we don't feel like we're missing anything. All for cheats day in modernation

KhollerSA05

The key about a diet is moderation. Cheat Days ar all about no moderation. While I understand that there are days when you are gonna go postal if you don't have a cookie or your schedule that day has you in a position where you healthy choices just aren't avaliable. BUt when that happens you have to find a trade off. For some it may be a Bacon cheeseburger for lunch equals a trade off of steamed veggies for dinner.

We're all going to have days when we fall off so to speak, but you get yourself back up and on before you fall back into your bad habits. You can also combat poor dietnot only wi decisions by adding additional exercise, Don't go crazy, but if you now that it's the weekend and you are going to spend all day at a theme park maybe get up a little bit early so you can get in an extra 20 mintes of cardio in just to raise your heart rate or maybe if it is your weight training day push yourself to do that extra set just to give your metabolisim the extra boost it needs.

Ultimately your success is going to depend on the choices you make. If you think about it as a trade rather than a cheat then not only will you not have that overwhelming feeling of guilt at the end of the day or at the end of the week when you step on the scale, but you have used the most important tool that you have which is your ability to make better decions when it comes to your health. Not even personal trainers eat 100% healthy 100% of the time, but it's all about knowing what you can trade off to keep yourself on track.

live2smyle

I dont set up days of "cheating" at all. Who would I be cheating besides myself? If I am going to eat something that is going to be high in calories, or sodium (salts a biggie with me) I adjust everything else to accomidate that during the day. A lighter lunch, oatmeal for breakfast etc. I fit it in. Life happens, we cant be perfect everyday. So if I go over a bit im ok with it, to go over all day in a cheat day?? No way.

mandamama

I don't have "cheat" anything. I feel like this is a new lifestyle I am creating for myself, and that lifestyle is not going to be void of icecream or a cookie or some chips here and there, I feel like If I am always eating healthy, the odd nasty snack or bad meal out, isn't going to effect me. I feel like, all is well in moderation, and its just a mater of wether or not "you" (figurative) have the will poer to stop at.. 24 chips, or just have a mini blizzard type thing. then again, I have just started this journey, so ask me again a couple months from now HAHA

jkestens63

I have a free day once a week. Usually Friday but if we're doing something on a particular day like going to a party on Saturday that will be the day. I have a healthy breakfast, do a hard workout, and then don't worry about it for the rest of day. I don't call it cheating because implies something bad. I'm making a choice to relax, not worry about calories, and just have the things that I may have been thinking about.

Works well for me... lost 249lbs and met my goal today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

missbrandyp

I can't do cheat days. I'll fall off track with even one. I will have some "cheat meals" when a special occasion comes up with my friends but I make up for it with what I eat the rest of the day and throwing in an extra workout in the day or week to counter balance. You can't be 100% good but I try to be as close to 90% as I can be!

JenCM

I don't do "Cheat Days" or even use the word cheat when it comes to my eating - it implies to me that I've done something wrong and have failed a bit. I have meals occasionally where I allow myself a bit of a splurge...but I always make sure I have something healthy alongside whatever that splurge is (A Philly Cheesesteak sandwich, for instance is always paired with a big salad first so that I have my veggies and don't feel like eating a whole sandwich ).
Cheat days have fouled me up EVERY time I have tried to lose weight. I would work my tail off all week or for two weeks or however long, and then essentially binge eat a bunch of junk. And all that it caused was me to get set off on eating that stuff again - and I think part of it was the whole "forbidden" mindset of it - I was so strict with not eating it, that when I got it I felt like I had to eat enough to sustain that craving for it for months or whatever. It was stupid and it didn't work. Plus, cheat days usually started to turn into cheat weekends and then cheat weeks and then Huh? What's a salad and exercise? And where did this 15 lbs come from?

My mindset now is simply - moderation and nothing is totally off limits. It makes it much easier for me personally to say no to foods II used to love to eat, if I know I CAN have them if I want. Because in the end the work it takes to work off three slices of pizza and some breadsticks, is not worth the 20 minutes of "pleasure" my tastebuds get from them and then the inevitable tummy ache later because my body isn't used to eating that anymore. And because of that, it's also easier for me to eat less of that yummy-but bad for you stuff. I think of the consequences and I remember that overindulging, is what got me where I am now.

I think you should allow yourself little bits of what you enjoy because I personally don't think being healthy is about never enjoying food again or never having that splurge food you love...I think it's about not letting food be the biggest part of your life and what you enjoy and go to the most......

JMO though...but this change of mind is what's finally helped me to go from losing 20-30 lbs and backsliding...to finally sticking with what I'm doing and now approaching 100 lbs lost. This is the only time I haven't thought about giving up and I've kept my momentum. And I believe a lot of that is change in attitude towards food.

darkrider42

Other than Thanksgiving or Christmas, I absolutely do not have planned cheat days. One bad day and it takes me the next 5-6 days to recover and start losing weight again. *SO* not worth it to me. Do I go over on my calories? Every now and then ... and when it happens, I try not to let it get to me too much because I know that I'm trending in the right direction.

It's too easy for me to go off the deep end with my eating if I let my guard down. I just get 'crazy eyes' for food and nothing is safe when that happens. :noway:

scottyy3323

If having something that is unhealthy for you or not on the fat police(you know who you are) list of approved foods then I cheat everyday. I have some form of chocolate everyday. Usually my favorite Snickers!

elliecolorado

This is my life I am not cheating if I go out to eat and order my favorite thing, I am not cheating if I decide that I want cookies or a piece of cake, I am not cheating if I go out drinking. It just isn't realistic to think that I will never do any of those things again. Yes, I do them less often than I used to and I do it in moderation. I try and figure it into my calorie goals, but if I go over I am ok with that too. If I know that I am going to be going out I try to get in some extra work out time so I don't go over or not by as much. Depriving yourself of things doesn't really work out very well.

bmontgomery87

I have a kind of cheat day on sundays. Where I may end up a couple hundred calories over my current goal amount.

But normally instead of a cheat day, I'll rework my diet so I can fit whatever food i want into my daily macros.
If I want a bowl of ice cream, it won't affect my fat loss, as long as I still hit my macros. (carbs/protein/fat)

bellamia88

I honestly don't have "cheat" days. I just try to incorperate whatever i'm craving with my meal and calorie limit for the day. For example I love sweets cookies and chocolate especially so what I normally do is if I know i'd like to have cookies tomorrow i'll plan my meals around it eat some healthy low cal meals throughout the day and also make sure to go to the gym so I can enjoy those two cookies. I also always make sure to leave at least 200 unfilled calorires before I go to bed just to make it under my limit. It's worked for me so far I treat myself quite often as well usually 4 times a week and i've still managed to lose 15 pounds usually it will be half a chocolate bar coming at 100-150 cals depending on the kind and when I go out for dinner the night before I will always check the nutritional info from the resturaunt of the meal i'd love to order so I can plan my day around it try to burn at least 500 cals and then eat a fairly big lunch to satisfy me until dinner and usually I will have 1000 cals leftover to eat my favourite resturaunt meal. For me it's all about managing your meals and numbers, no point depriving myself of the things I love as long as it's in moderation and if you're craving something today EAT IT because you will go overboard if you wait till the end of the month to do so.

cardbucfan

This is my life I am not cheating if I go out to eat and order my favorite thing, I am not cheating if I decide that I want cookies or a piece of cake, I am not cheating if I go out drinking. It just isn't realistic to think that I will never do any of those things again. Yes, I do them less often than I used to and I do it in moderation. I try and figure it into my calorie goals, but if I go over I am ok with that too. If I know that I am going to be going out I try to get in some extra work out time so I don't go over or not by as much. Depriving yourself of things doesn't really work out very well.

This is my philosophy too. I'm sure there are folks who would look at my diet and be absolutely horrified at some of my choices but for the first time ever, I have lost weight, I'm keeping it off, I feel great and I'm happy. I told a friend of mine that this was both the hardest and easiest time I have ever had losing weight. It's hard because it can be a big pain in the rear to log every little bite (especially in the beginning when you are getting your food diary full of what you normally eat). But it's the easiest because I'm not deprived. I'm not spending every moment thinking "I want a bagel. I want a cookie. I want a ...(fill in the blank)" If I want something, I make certain it fits in my calorie goal for the day (and do occasionally go over) and I enjoy it. But-here's the key- I enjoy it in moderation. You have to find what works for you though. Some people can not eat certain things without going off the deepend and if that's you, then don't eat that thing!