Cheat Days?

JustLindaLou

Do you allow yourself "cheat days"? Do you plan for them? Do you still track what you eat?

I am striving for balance, and I hate thinking of food in negative ways like "that is not allowed". With the holiday season upon us and several social (eating) events coming up, I want to enjoy what I really like but I don't want to go overboard. I find I can incorporate some favorites into my daily calories with careful planning, For instance at a birthday party yesterday, I did have 1 slice of pizza (instead of 3 or 4), and passed on the cupcakes.

On the upcoming social event days, I plan to eat carefully during the day (ie, a protein shake for breakfast, a small salad or soup for lunch), and look up foods I know will be at the party so I can have a calorie/serving size in mind when I get there and plan the treats I most want and avoid the others. Christmas Day will be a Day Off for sure, although I still plan to have calorie (and fat!) counts in mind, that knowledge does help me eat less!

How do the rest of you plan to handle these situations?

Sidesteal

When cutting/losing weight, I have 1 cheat day per week for both physiological reasons (hormones) and psychological reasons.

When bulking (which I'm doing now) I don't have cheat days but I will occasionally have a day where I don't keep track.

If you can cheat occasionally such that:

1) You resume your plan the next day without guilt and without over-compensating.
2) Your cheat isn't some OVER NINE THOUSAND calorie day (i.e. keep it moderate, slight surplus)

Then I'd say it's probably a good idea.

allieferriera

I have a cheat day once a week. But I don't log it on MFP because I sometime am embarrassed of the amount of calories I will eat(We usually have fast food that day). I feel like it really helps me keep on track the rest of the week!

surfrgrl1

When cutting/losing weight, I have 1 cheat day per week for both physiological reasons (hormones) and psychological reasons.

When bulking (which I'm doing now) I don't have cheat days but I will occasionally have a day where I don't keep track.

If you can cheat occasionally such that:

1) You resume your plan the next day without guilt and without over-compensating.
2) Your cheat isn't some OVER NINE THOUSAND calorie day (i.e. keep it moderate, slight surplus)

Then I'd say it's probably a good idea.

Each Friday, like clockwork, I plan to have a cheat meal in the evening. My boyfriend and I have a longstanding tradition of going out to dinner after work. I generally go over by about 500-700 for that particular day. I do my best to log it all especially if its food from a place that isn't found in MFP database.

I agree with Sidesteal, keep your cheat moderate, and get back on the plan the next day.

mrsdizzyd84

I had a "cheat" day yesterday. I had 3 slices of pizza and a beer for dinner.

My cheat days usually come on workout days so I can offset the effect a bit. Also, it allows me to stay within my calorie goal even though I completely blow my macros out of the water. Sodium, fat, and carbs yesterday were off the charts!

I have to have "cheat days" otherwise I couldn't stick with my weight loss plan. However, today it's back to the healthy eating. I'll have no more "junk" food for the next of the week.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

I used to do "treat days" a few tines a week...eating 500 calories more than usual but I was in maintenance and the other 5 days I ate at a slight deficit to offset the treat days.

I think logging it is important to have an understanding of what's happening to your body weight wise and why. I think having a calorie amount in mind is also useful. So maybe 500-1000 over maintenance , not over your daily calorie goal (which is likely at a deficit) but over maintenance. It will restore leptin functioning and possibly keep you on track during the week.

imalikat2

I log everything, not matter what. I don't have what I would call "cheat days". They may just spontaneously happen, but since I log everything every day, I can compensate where needed (providing my hubby doesn't want to go out to dinner... again... ) :blushing: I will admit, however, that sometimes on those days where I'm way over or my diary looks really, really bad, I may not click "complete this entry" that evening and may wait till the next morning where it won't show up on my daily profile, so my friends won't look it.... :sad: but at least I track it so I know the real deal. (Okay friends, now you know if you don't see that I completed my food diary for the day that's the reason!) :laugh:

allaboutaleah

I don't have cheat days, but I have good and bad days, but regardless I track it, just so I know. I don't think there is anything wrong with cheat days, but I think you should still track them, for your own reference