Cheat Days

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chicorac
chicorac Posts: 34
in Food and Nutrition
Do you guys have a day of the week you specify as a cheat day? I haven't but was told by a few people I should incorporate a cheat day.
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Replies

  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
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    i dont ..I eat what I want and always stay accountable and have one serving
  • MindiKat
    MindiKat Posts: 49
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    I just posted the same thing! We want to go to an restaurant that only offers choices that will wreck my diet. I could just not go but that means I'm giving up quality time I'm not willing to do quite yet for my diet.
  • Aries03
    Aries03 Posts: 179 Member
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    Bump...Help!!!
  • RCKT82
    RCKT82 Posts: 409 Member
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    I don't have a cheat "day"... but I do allow myself one cheat "meal" a week for keeping my head in the game for every other meal. I don't always redeem that coupon every week, but I allow myself the go ahead to do so if I wish.
  • a_dawn
    a_dawn Posts: 47
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    I just started Monday, and honestly, I don't WANT a cheat day. But, I understand about going to a restaurant where there's nothing healthy on the menu. Instead of a cheat "day", how about a cheat "meal". Just because you go over at a meal doesn't mean you have to make a day of it. But that's just my thought. Good luck everyone!
  • JLervold86
    JLervold86 Posts: 93 Member
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    I eat what I want in moderation and ensure that 6 days a week I do not bust my goals BUT I do allow myself 1 cheat meal each week, usually on Saturdays. It's the once a week that I go out to eat and dont feel guilty if my numbers bust by a bit for it....it gives me a meal to look forward to each week and keeps me healthier making wiser choices knowing that it's on the horizon :o)
  • sometimes_blondie
    sometimes_blondie Posts: 241
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    I always go to Cousin's Subs on Thursdays at work. I didn't want to abandon my ritual, but instead made a few adjustments to accomodate my calorie allowance, and then did a good workout when I got home. I didn't feel left out, and also didn't feel like I wrecked my diet.
  • jaelwoman
    jaelwoman Posts: 81
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    I will do a cheat meal that is high in protein and carbs and low in fat. Plus I add in a reasonable dessert. Mmmmm...saving mine for Monday evening!
  • sometimes_blondie
    sometimes_blondie Posts: 241
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    I know how you feel though! I almost fell off my chair when I looked up Qdoba's burritos!
  • HollyMcCaw
    HollyMcCaw Posts: 154 Member
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    I think one bad meal a week isn't going to hurt. I always look at it this way... If an overweight person with very bad eating habits ate one low calorie healthy meal per week they are not going to lose weight...so someone who eats well all week long is not going to gain weight by one unhealthy higher calorie meal..
  • JennieMaeK
    JennieMaeK Posts: 474 Member
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    I don't think you necessarily have to incorporate a cheat day if you don't want to. I don't have one, but I know myself and a cheat day will turn into a cheat week. That being said, I don't really deny myself anything either. If I can work it into my calories for the day than I'll have that piece of chocolate, or chicken with skin, or whatever. I just make sure I watch portion control and stay accountable.
  • sarahlyzzibeth
    sarahlyzzibeth Posts: 108
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    I don't usually schedule "cheat" days, but I kind of take them as I need them. But, I think having a few sensible indulgences every once in a while is what keeps me from going overboard when I do cheat. For example, if I were to permanently deprive myself of chocolate (which is pretty much my favorite thing on the planet), then I just know that one day, I would gorge myself on it. Instead, I make sure I can incorporate a sensible amount of it into my daily diet plan (my current obsession are the mini ice cream cones that lots of brands are coming out with lately. They are about 130 calories each and they help me get my fix, yet they don't wreck my diet.) Yet, I know there are days where counting calories isn't plausible or I just don't want to, and those are my cheat days. (Such as when I go out to eat and I haven't looked up the nutritinal information beforehand or if I eat at a friend's house and don't know how certain foods are prepared, or even a holiday such as Thanksgiving or a 4th of July BBQ) I feel that my good habits that I do daily, such as allowing small indulgences will keep me from binging and will make up for whatever "damage" I do when I'm not counting.
  • mosneakers
    mosneakers Posts: 343 Member
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    I only have a cheat meal. For me, a cheat day would make me feel horrible the next day - and could possibly turn into a cheat week. . I've learned that eating bad food makes me feel bad (emotionally and physically). I've gotten to the point that I WANT to eat food that's good for me (I seriously can't believe that I just wrote that because it doesn't sound like me - but I did, and it's true!!!). Love MFP!
  • Angela_MA
    Angela_MA Posts: 260
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    i dont ..I eat what I want and always stay accountable and have one serving


    Same here I eat what I want, but stay accountable and within my goals for calories and try to maintain within my macro nutrients.
  • annacataldo
    annacataldo Posts: 872 Member
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    absolutely not.. It defeats all the hard work youve done and makes it easier to lapse back into a non-diet lifestyle... If I want a piece of chocolate, I have one, if I want chips, I have a serving (or half a serving). If I want fried foods, I have them... Its all about moderation, portion control, and staying within your calories. If having a fried food will put me over my fat, I dont have it, if having a piece of chocolate will put me over sugar, or increase sugar on an already high day, i dont have it.... etc..

    this is about a lifestyle change, not a diet, so whats there to cheat for?? Im not on a diet--Im living--and having cheat days would mean that there is something to be cheating on...and there isnt... im simply living my life.
  • bmw4deb
    bmw4deb Posts: 1,325 Member
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    Who do you cheat with a cheat day??? YOURSELF!
    I work to hard to keep my self on track i don't want to be
    the one to sabotage myself.
    All restaurants serve vegs and some type of salad I
    would think.
  • bmw4deb
    bmw4deb Posts: 1,325 Member
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    absolutely not.. It defeats all the hard work youve done and makes it easier to lapse back into a non-diet lifestyle... If I want a piece of chocolate, I have one, if I want chips, I have a serving (or half a serving). If I want fried foods, I have them... Its all about moderation, portion control, and staying within your calories. If having a fried food will put me over my fat, I dont have it, if having a piece of chocolate will put me over sugar, or increase sugar on an already high day, i dont have it.... etc..

    this is about a lifestyle change, not a diet, so whats there to cheat for?? Im not on a diet--Im living--and having cheat days would mean that there is something to be cheating on...and there isnt... im simply living my life.

    Well said !
  • enchanted428
    enchanted428 Posts: 8
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    It totally sabotages your diet. I used to have cheat days, but then you feel like since its a cheat day you can eat anything! I say everything in moderation. If you know your going to a party, try eating beforehand so you can splurge a bit on cake!
  • MindiKat
    MindiKat Posts: 49
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    One of the posts just really put it in perspective for me - I just quit smoking a few months ago. I couldn't "cheat" and smoke one cigarette and I certainly couldn't go out on a Friday night and drink with my friends, buy and smoke a pack of cigarettes and hop back on the wagon the next day. I'm not equipped to do that and I doubt my eating habits will work that way either.

    So to go eat crap tonight and have a cheat night is like buying a pack of smokes and telling myself that I will get back on the wagon in the morning. This time I quit smoking because I didn't cheat even once, never bought another pack after my quit day and really adopted a true discipline. Maybe I need to suggest another place to eat. :( I guess it depends on who you are and what t ype of personality you have. (I know I have zero willpower.)
  • fsugirl26
    fsugirl26 Posts: 207
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    Anytime I go out to a restaurant or have a cheat day, I gain anywhere between 3-5lbs. I know it's mostly water retention, but it still takes forever to get rid of! Definitely not worth it!!

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