"cheat days" pro or con?

Navmachine

hey folks. i've seen a few diets that restrict calories/certian foods throughout most of the week, then has either free weekend days or "cheat days" where you can eat whatever. my question is, is this beneficial, or detrimental to a diet?

i'd like to hear your thoughts on the matter. thanks!

futurefitgirl88

beneficial= because it stops you eating crap rest of the week
harmful= because u are eating crap

I don't do cheat days, but I don't eat (that much) crap either. I try to find a balance. Everything in moderation will make you slim ..... look at it as a 'treat' rather than a 'cheat'...having the whole 'im on a diet mentality' has been a disaster for me in past....so now I look at eating as something which feels natural...I just log in my calories and try not to go over 1500 which is easy in most cases!!!

juliapurpletoes

If it is something that is healthy and you can sustain for a LIFETIME then yeah!

megrrt

I think it depends on the person. I had a big cheat day but then I had a hard time getting back to "good" eating...So I dont do cheat days but sometimes I will let myself have something that I want but not a whole day ...then I feel like I let myself be "normal" but not blow the whole day...
I also will make sure I count ahead. So if I am going to have a lunch "cheat" I will make sure I plan out my dinner to be smaller and still stay around my cal limit.
That is just what I do ...does not make it the best way!
Good luck in your journey!
:flowerforyou:

sayambular

I allow myself a small cheat once a week because if I don't, I'll binge on it the entire next week. So to me it's beneficial but it's different for everyone.

petey247

I hate the term 'cheat day' as it implies doing something dishonest or bad. I think we should all make a conscious effort to call our once a week treat day a 'maintenance day'.

Find your maintenance calorie total and enjoy yourself up to that point. Experience what daily life will be like once we're all done with the weight loss journey. Keep it within reason and enjoy the guilt free day; this is a lifestyle change and we need something to look forward to in order to keep us going.

Even though you won't log a calorie deficit on your chosen 'maintenance day', you also won't undo any of your hard work if you practice moderation.

Enjoy!!

ginique

I hate the term 'cheat day' as it implies doing something dishonest or bad. I think we should all make a conscious effort to call our once a week treat day a 'maintenance day'.

Excellent line of thinking.

I allow myself a maintenance day every Friday. For me it's a must, especially with this being a lifestyle change. I tried to do without a designated free day in the past and wound up binging harder than a sack of rocks after a couple of weeks. Now, I give myself my one day and have no problem switching back to deficit mode for the rest of the week. I also work out a bit longer on Friday, just to offset as much as I can. Hasn't impacted my weight loss at all (i.e. the numbers continue to drop).

In short, I'm very much pro. But it's going to vary from person to person depending on goals, level of discipline, etc.