Why is cheat day important or is it?

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  • 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!

    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.

    The question might be what didn't I eat!
  • lilyinlove
    lilyinlove Posts: 441 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!


    Spike days rock!! Love it and still dropping pounds!
  • ressa8
    ressa8 Posts: 60
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    Someone told me a cheat day actually revs up your metabolism, not sure if it's true or not, hope it is!!
  • Marig0ld
    Marig0ld Posts: 671 Member
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    Hmm...haven't weighed in on this in a while.

    If I know I'm going to an event where there will be hard-to-track foods and lots of booze, I workout extra hard that morning and eat something small. Then I just play it by ear for the rest of the evening. I'm still losing 1-1.5 pounds a week, so it seems to be working for me.

    Another things I've noticed...my stomach is so used to the smaller portions that I eat during the week that I get satisfied very fast. Last Sunday, I had a turkey burger and sweet potato fries from a burger joint and was so full I didn't even want dessert. But if the scale starts stalling or creeping up, then I'll need to readjust. That's life. Birthday cake happens.

    I also hate the word "cheat"....can't think of what else to call those days/meals, though! LOL
  • ryanfeltz
    ryanfeltz Posts: 126
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    Thank you all...... I know there are differing opinions and research ... my concern is that i maintained my weight ( albeit too high) eating about 2500+ calories a day ( bad caffeine habit with DP too) so I wonder if i will get too used to the 1400 i have been doing everyday and stall.

    I dont eat the best anyway i get it but I am REALLY managing the portion control this time around. Everyday I cant even finish a 1/3 of what I was eating the whole plate of a month ago.

    this triggered by the fact that the scale is stuck.. part of my brain telling me because the muscles are building and you are not quite too that level where the new muscle starts eating the old fat and then you see a scale difference. The other half telling me I aint doing it right
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 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!

    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.

    Ha ha, I was thinking the same thing.................. I don't even think I eat 7500 calories in a week.
  • steve81872
    steve81872 Posts: 23 Member
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    My personal opinion -

    I personally feel "cheat" days are counter productive to making permanent lifestyle changes. The whole point of losing weight and keeping it off is to make permanent changes. That means changing the way you think about food, how and what you eat, the way you live, etc.

    It is truly a life changing event. If a person haven't experienced that, it is highly unlikely that they will keep the weight off.

    Changing the amount of what one eats is not a lifestyle change and should not be treated as such.

    Well put!
  • nosugarcoating
    nosugarcoating Posts: 194 Member
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    I never do cheat days, but it's a personal preference for me. Every once in a while I will do a cheat 'meal' but if I do a whole day of eating whatever I want....it's hard for me to get back on the wagon. I still log everything though, even if I know it ill put me over for the day.

    Ditto, except I don't call it cheating. I have been on MFP for 8 weeks now and in the entire time, I have been over my budget once, when I had a pizza for lunch. I try to stay under my budget but when I want a pizza or whatever else every once in a while, I have it. If it puts me over, that's ok, but I prefer to try to fit it into my budget. I don't do that regularly, though (like every week or so) because exceptions quickly turn back into old habits. I think the week after I had that pizza, I have also had the biggest loss yet.
  • stclair_jena
    stclair_jena Posts: 1
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    I think cheat day are important because for me i go crazy eating the same healthy food all the time so on every Friday me and my husband go to a buffet or somewhere we love..It keep you motivated i think!
  • tmiqueen
    tmiqueen Posts: 254 Member
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    My cheat days are important to me, because I know that I react rebelliously and if I deprive myself of certain foods it will cause me to binge. By scheduling a 'cheat' day, I don't have to feel guilty or feel like I failed.

    It doesn't work for everyone, but it works for me.

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