Why is cheat day important or is it?

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  • monih10
    monih10 Posts: 578 Member
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    i believe in cheat days... not gluttony days. i still log, and chose nutritious food. i don't go out and get a six pack and eat a whole pizza.

    I totally agree!! IF you are going to have cheat days....at least do it in moderation!! :smile:
  • megala65
    megala65 Posts: 34 Member
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    One of the dangers of a cheat day or meal is if you do it as a "reward."
  • Scott613
    Scott613 Posts: 2,317 Member
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    Its called a spike day and I do it once a week. It keeps my metabolism from slowing down and adjusting to my calorie defecit through out the week. Ive lost bodyfat the quickest this way.
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
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    Its called a spike day and I do it once a week. It keeps my metabolism from slowing down and adjusting to my calorie defecit through out the week. Ive lost bodyfat the quickest this way.

    this is good. how much of a spike are we talking about? how many extra calories over your intake, and do you still work out that day?
  • mattellis2
    mattellis2 Posts: 152
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    My "cheat" days are the days that I run long distance. Because I can get away with it. I love my long run days. :)

    This right here. I love the days I can get in ~50 miles on the bike. That is worth about 1800 calories for my body, which means I get to relax a little on what I eat that day.

    i've been eating around 2200 day, and i am pretty much maintaining within a couple of lbs of where i am at.

    one thing i have learned though...going completely off the reservation is a bad thing. i like college football very much, and used to enjoy a really big plate of nachos with all the extras while watching a game. when the season kicked off this year, i fixed a plate (worth about 1100 calories) and had at it. the grease along with the high fat content was a shock to my system, and i felt terrible the remainder of the day. my cheat meals or snacks now consist of just eating more of what i have been doing all along. seems to be working well.

    -matt
  • wolfcounty
    wolfcounty Posts: 55
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    im all for cheat days, but they have to be reasonable. ya know if you are running a 300 cal deficit per day and eat like 1000 plus extra calories on the weekend it can totally set you back. its no good. a slice of pizza and a beer is great, but try not to eat the entire pizza lol.

    often you can find smart things that taste like and feel like indulgences anyway. half of the decent protein bars out there are all chocolate and peanut butter stuff! and i absolutely love the chobani greek lemon yogurt. it feels like a treat, but its super healthy.
  • JulieSD
    JulieSD Posts: 567
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    Ya know what?! This is real life. Everything in moderation is my motto. I've never been one to eat a whole pizza because I have never had a problem with portion control. My problem is snacking!

    I know on the weekends that I'm going to stray from the path, I still make sure to be near my calorie goal and work out. You cant deprive your brain of something you really want, you'll go bananas. And as for this being a total life change, I'm doing a total life change - and I still, get this, eat what I want!! lol

    Just be happy!
  • MayMaydoesntrun
    MayMaydoesntrun Posts: 805 Member
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    Don't know about you guys, but some days I just HAVE to have a pizza or burger, and knowing that I can have it one day a week makes it easier for me to stick to healtheir eating the rest of the week.

    This is me! Saturday is "my" day.
  • BackwoodsMom
    BackwoodsMom Posts: 227 Member
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    I choose to not record my food intake or my exercise on Sundays so it's sort of a day off but I find I'm quite conscious of what I'm doing.
  • kitinboots
    kitinboots Posts: 589 Member
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    I think a cheat/spike day you're only supposed to go up to your maintenance calories. Which makes **** all difference to me since the difference is only about 150cal :(
  • Huskeryogi
    Huskeryogi Posts: 578 Member
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    There are so many studies "proving" one thing or another has an affect on metabolism that I have given up being convinced about anything.

    I don't call them cheat days, but generally on Saturdays especially during football season I eat what I want. I feel like it helps pschycologically more than anything.

    I am a believer in "if you do it right 80% of the time, you will get 95% of the results". If I eat right 6 days a week I'll get the results I'm looking for.
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
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    My "cheat" days are the days that I run long distance. Because I can get away with it. I love my long run days. :)

    Yeah me too - if I have a big day coming up at a birthday where I want o have cake and pizza, I double the cardio and hope to come in about even!
  • ludgerclay
    ludgerclay Posts: 95 Member
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    The idea of cheating just seems not quite right. Who are we cheating? It has a very negative connotation. Regardless of the activity, calling it "cheating" gives us permission to try to deceive ourselves, and I think a lot of people have started using this site so that they can more clearly see what they're eating and stop deceiving themselves.
    I eat big around my long runs, and smaller during the week, but I try not to think about cheating on anything. That just brings back to mind all of the years of trying to quit smoking, and cheating by having "just one cigarette". It's not a good place to be.
    I guess it's all semantics...
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
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    For some, cheat days are like an alcoholic having one drink, it sets them up for continued failure.

    Sure, we all want to lose weight, and scale drops are encouraging. I LOVE THEM! That said, what I want to do is learn how to eat less, and rely on maintenance calories. I was losing 4lbs to 5 lbs a month and loving it. Then I got with the doctor and the nutritionist. They upped my caloric intake (and blasted me about sodium!) and I slowed down a little, but I am rarely hungry. I am still dropping weight at about 2lbs a month. I have 20 something lbs to go, but I am not worried.

    I still eat dessert everyday, and I enjoy pizza or hot wings once or twice a month, but I am careful to plan for the extra calorie meals in advance, and not end up with a binge day.
  • mknoble
    mknoble Posts: 1
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    The simple fact that you have a "cheat day" kind of defeats the purpose in my mind. I feel that this implies that you are "dieting" and haven't simply changed the way you fuel your body.

    Don't get me wrong, I truly believe that eating some "calorie dense" (that's code for junk) food now and then is a actually a good thing, and as long as the calories are logged or accounted for then this can't be called a "Cheat Day". Just like your bank account, some times you can afford to spend a little extra money on yourself, so can you afford the extra calories every now and then. JUST DON'T BREAK THE BANK!!!!!

    Good luck!
  • Scott613
    Scott613 Posts: 2,317 Member
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    Its called a spike day and I do it once a week. It keeps my metabolism from slowing down and adjusting to my calorie defecit through out the week. Ive lost bodyfat the quickest this way.

    this is good. how much of a spike are we talking about? how many extra calories over your intake, and do you still work out that day?

    Between 4500-6000 calories and I dont work out that day. It's a rest day. The next day my workouts are killer and I can get a really good one in. I've tried a lot of different things and this is what works for me.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    I think it helps you burn calories faster when the body realizes that it's getting more calories. And damnit, sometimes I just want to eat whatever I feel like and have no stress from monitoring calories.
  • 4theking
    4theking Posts: 1,196 Member
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    Spike days are one of the best things you can do to keep your fat burning hormones going strong. Last Saturday I had around 7500 calories and I will lose weight this week. Its not a cheat if its planned. Large deficit for six days and then have fun. Spiker for life!
  • kymmixxx
    kymmixxx Posts: 151 Member
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    i agree with some of the other posters, knowing i can eat something not particularly good for me helps me stick to healthier stuff the rest of the week, its never harmed my weight loss yet...fingers crossed
  • mattellis2
    mattellis2 Posts: 152
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    Spike days are one of the best things you can do to keep your fat burning hormones going strong. Last Saturday I had around 7500 calories and I will lose weight this week. Its not a cheat if its planned. Large deficit for six days and then have fun. Spiker for life!

    holy smokes! what did you eat that was worth 7500 calories?! Most i have eaten on one of my long ride days is about 3500-3800.

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