CHEAT DAYS?

jakki_brown

I have read people posting about cheat days. Is this a common thing for people to do? How does it work? Do you actually lose weight with cheat days in your schedule?

I obviously don't make it under my goal everyday, but I try to and I accept the days I don't and hope they don't work against me too badly. Honestly, I think I can eat more calories in my day than what's alotted on here and still lose weight. So, I try not to sweat my bad days but I don't take advantage of it, so it's like a back up plan.

Worse comes to worst, I won't lose as much as I normaly do, but I will be likely to lose.


I am interested to know more about this cheat day and how it's working for you guys.

LuneBleu85

I don't do cheat days, I try my best every day and sometimes that doesn't pan out but I try! I don't understand sabotaging yourself...a treat is good...a whole day of going crazy on treats seems crazy to me. That's just my opinion though :flowerforyou:

sammys1girly

I just call them "splurge" days...don't sound as bad as cheat I usually have a splurge day at least one day out of the weekend, sometimes two, but try to restrain myself to not go totally crazy, just a couple to a few hundred over calories. Then right back at it on Monday morning! I lost weight doing this and tend to zig zag so it works for me.

gp79

I do it occasionally. I don't see any pos / neg results physically. Most importantly, the next day you get back on track.

theprices

i've never used a 'cheat day' per se - but i absolutely use a 'cheat meal' once every couple of weeks, where i eat something i've really been craving or would not normally eat. try that!

whisperingdragon

Cheat meal. Not cheat days.

:flowerforyou:

mandycasey

Hi i have a 'cheat day ' every saturday, i haven't found it a problem. xx

ShannanLaNae

i call them reward days...and i dont do it often but from time to time i like to reward myself with a special treat

Hayesgang

I choose to call it my "treat" meal and I do still log it - "cheat" sound like the forbidden and my lifestyle now all foods are included
I do usually go over my calories for that day but since I eat at or below my calories on other days my weekly total is never over.

JennATC

Cheat meal. Not cheat days.

:flowerforyou:

I agree a cheat meal or a special treat, not a whole day.

chocolateandvodka

I've had better success when planning a weekly cheat meal vs. an entire cheat day. it works for two reasons.

a) when i have a craving, i write it down, or plan to have it for my cheat meal (yes... sometimes i have a 3 course cheat meal lol)

b) the rest of the day i try to eat relatively healthy and exercise if at all possible to counteract the added calorie intake.

Silvercivic

I've found that sometimes if I keep doing the same thing over and over again I get bored or lose motivation or find ways to "cheat" and start to slip. If I allow myself to not log on a Saturday or Sunday it helps me reset and be ready for another week of logging. I probably go over my calorie allowance on days when I don't log, but I try to not go crazy. I haven't found it to hurt my weight loss progress. This is more of a mental helper for me than anything else.

wolfchild59

I tried it after seeing so many people here talk about success with it. But it didn't work for me. I would either see the same weight week over week or small gains the whole time I was trying it. I started weighing myself daily instead of weekly and saw what was happening.

I would lose a few ounces of weight each day of the week, then my cheat day would spike my weight up again, and then I'd re-lose that weight the following week. So I was essentially losing and gaining the same few pounds every week. Except for the few times that I didn't lose as much as it had spiked and then my weight would stay higher.

I stopped the cheat days/meals and have just been losing steadily since then. Unfortunately, all of the first pounds I had to lose were the ones I'd put on doing the cheats. But I'm almost clear of those and just back to actual loss again.

wolfchild59

Oh, and since it often comes up in these conversations, I logged everything I ate even on cheat days or meals. Cheating doesn't mean the calories didn't happen. I still hold myself accountable for every bite I take and it all goes in the diary.

drewmathieson

The purpose of a cheat day is so you don't burn yourself out. However, that means you must be strict 6 out of 7 days a week. By strict I mean NO snacking on unhealthy foods, eating a set amount of calories per day,...etc. Drink plenty o water.

My rule of thumb is I can eat as much as I want of anything that is a leafy green substance. Eating fish as much as possible is very helpful too. Protein, so I've been told will not convert to fat, but you must watch the fat content in the type of meat you're eating. Meaning, eating steak because it has a lot of protein in it is good, wrong! Steak has more fat in it than fish does. Fish is a more pure protein, it has less fat, but you must watch how you cook it.

Grapefruit juice is excellent for burning calories because it is one of the only fruits to burn more calories than the fruit has in itself.

On your cheat day if you want to eat a moderate bowl of ice cream, go ahead. If you want to go out for dinner, do so. However, the other six days YOU MUST EXERCISE and DIET APPROPRIATELY.

Good luck,

Drew

jakki_brown

I like the idea of a "Cheat Meal"! Me and my boyfriend are at our 3 year mark today and I figure we will do something special this weekend. We like to go out for a 3 course fondue meal (Melting Pot.. yummm) and I think this may be my ticket to enjoying it!

Also, do you guys focus more on weekly calorie budgets or daily? With Weight Watchers we looked at both (daily points and weekly points) and it seemed to work out there. I just am scared to mess up what I have going on. It seems to be a good thing! I'm new to the counting just calories and it almost seems TOO simple to me.

KnottyJen

I think Cheat days are bad news. That said, I drink on the weekends. That's my version of cheating.

livelygirl91104

Personally, on the days I have just eaten what I wanted to all day long...I feel worse the next day (guilty). So for me, cheat days do not work. That being said, I do have cheat meals every once in a while. But with those I tend to exercise a little more that night. I have found, in order to make a lifestyle change I can not deprive myself of the food I love. I just have to eat it less often and maybe not as much of it.

jakki_brown

Oh, and since it often comes up in these conversations, I logged everything I ate even on cheat days or meals. Cheating doesn't mean the calories didn't happen. I still hold myself accountable for every bite I take and it all goes in the diary.

I totally agree with this! Sometimes I have a hard time doing it because I love to see green numbers, but the fact of the matter is if I put it in my mouth then it's there regardless of whether I track it, so why lie to myself? I have found this to keep me VERY considerate of every food choice I make.

If I know I'm going to have a day that could possibly be a bad one (due to exams, papers, concerts, or anything else) I plan as much as possible in advance to try to see what I can do to keep my enjoyment up and my calories down.

jakki_brown

I tried it after seeing so many people here talk about success with it. But it didn't work for me. I would either see the same weight week over week or small gains the whole time I was trying it. I started weighing myself daily instead of weekly and saw what was happening.

I would lose a few ounces of weight each day of the week, then my cheat day would spike my weight up again, and then I'd re-lose that weight the following week. So I was essentially losing and gaining the same few pounds every week. Except for the few times that I didn't lose as much as it had spiked and then my weight would stay higher.

I stopped the cheat days/meals and have just been losing steadily since then. Unfortunately, all of the first pounds I had to lose were the ones I'd put on doing the cheats. But I'm almost clear of those and just back to actual loss again.

This is what I'm afraid of for myself..

heykatieben

I think cheat days just make me more likely to backslide, rather than satisfying some craving... most of the time. I'm convinced that chips, carbs, coke just make you want more of them.... I'm not sure there truly is a point, in my brain, where I think I've had enough coke, enough mac & cheese, enough chips & dip. So if I start, I'm more likely to just want it the next day, too, and things are harder...

I think what works better for me is thinking about how much better I really feel without those cheat items, and without feeling overfull. My stomach doesn't hurt in the mornings now that I'm not sucking down Diet Coke. I don't feel slow or sleepy in the afternoon/evening by eating too many carbs. My heart's not racing from caffeine, and doesn't have that heavy feeling from eating junk.. it helps me to think about food as medicine (*delicious* medicine), each bite an opportunity to fix something about myself - brighter complexion, smoother skin, more energy, etc....

It probably varies, though. If you really are satisfied by a cheat day, then I'd say go for it!

UponThisRock

I had better progress when I cut out cheat days.

Only time I don't count is when I go on vacation (I also gain ten pounds, mostly water weight, lol)

wolfchild59

To piggyback on what another reply said, I was extremely strict during the rest of the week. I never went over allotted calories, was sometimes under (I'm not at 1200 before anyone screams at that ;P) and always eat lots of spinach and other veggies, usually 8-10 servings of veg a day, minimal fruit, a good amount of lean protein and, at most, one small "unhealthy" snack per day. My macros usually end up around 40-45 carbs with fat and protein evenly dividing whatever remains.

I also workout six days a week, cook all of my own meals everyday and keep my sodium levels typically around 1300-1700 each day. So my cheats were truly cheats in that respect and I stayed tried and true the rest of time, and they were still a negative effect on me.

All of that said, every single person is different. And just because it didn't work for me doesn't mean it wouldn't for you, as it's clearly worked for a fair number of folks. So really, the only way to know is to just try it for yourself. I just wanted to share my experiences as part of the whole tale, since those that it works for definitely have a great love for those cheats.

kiahpyr

I don't have cheat days either. I just can't do it because I know it's not good for me and why I joined mfp. Once a month our mom's club has a mom's night out. That's my cheat meal and drinks. So far it hasn't had a negative effect on my weight loss. I do log it and make myself accountable for it.

spyork

Hi,

You can have cheat days as long as you dont eat a dozen cream cakes etc, i tend to have a veggie pizza as a cheat/treat day but i still take my protein etc.

Hope this helps

LJGmom

No I don't, but do I get tempted to eat and give in? Yes. Like tonight. We had a church dinner, with a smorgasbord of desserts to choose from. I chose brownie trifle. It was awesome!, I would NEVER make this at home, so for a once a year dinner, I had a dessert. I will be super good the rest of the weekend!

kimad

I weigh in on Fridays, and I consider it to be my 'cheat day' It isn't a gorge yourself sick day -- it's where we will eat out for dinner, or if the girls are going out at lunch I will join them. I may have an extra treat at night I have been craving or a latte sometimes too. I have been doing this my whole journey and it hasn't seemed to hamper me too much, it's being able to get back on track the very next day! I am ok to do so, but I fear for the halloween candy - to have just one - so that I have stayed away from! lol!
I know alot of people who have been successful with a zig zag diet.

I think you have to give yourself something once in awhile or you may not stick with the new lifestyle change - it's moderation and if you look at it more as a cheat meal than a cheat day, it may not seem so harsh!
Good luck!!!

kimad

I just wanted to add to my comment... I think it's what you do with that cheat day or meal or whatever you want to call it.

I go out for a meal or have pizza with my kids. It may be a couple beer or a latte. I also watch portion sizes still! I am not sitting in front of my tv eating an entire bag of chips or a tub of icecream or 3 chocolate bars lol. It's living life and being able to stick to this new lifestyle FOREVER!! if you don't let yourself have stuff in moderation then I fear one will gorge when they do have it.

I am strick the other 6 days!

eddyca

Ugh. I never planned on having a cheat day but they seem to pop up once every 2 weeks today was really bad. I probably consumed 3,000 calories total because of my late night domino's pizza binge. I honestly think these binges wouldn't happen if I allowed one light cheat day a week.

poisongirl6485

I generally don't like to do a whole day, but sometimes will have a calorie-heavy meal. I try to compensate for this the remainder of the day in terms of calorie intake. If I know I'm going to have a lot of calories, I try to save up for it.

MzGrinch9250

I don't have cheat days. I plan ahead and count the calories into my day. Once a month I get together with friends and we go out to dinner. If I feel that I may go over, then I increase my exercise for the day to give me a cushion. Do what you think works best for you.