is it good or bad to have a cheat day?

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  • inuit
    inuit Posts: 72 Member
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    I have been doing better with the odd cheat. Only been doing this for 3 months, but got a bit stuck after 8 weeks, so i have cheat days or cheat items, which kick started my loss again. I try and stick to 1200 - 1400 net a day (eating at least half of my exercise calories back) but one day a week if i want to eat up to my maintence allowance I do, it is normally when friends come around, i have a couple of glasses of whatever and have a few snacks, but instead of going mad i limit my intake to smaller amounts.

    Nothing is off limits, even ate two spoonfuls of fresh champagne cream the other day, straight out of the pot!!! But did not go over my calorie allowance. This way i only put things in my mouth that are absolutely to die for or that i need for fuelling my body.

    It all depends on you.. If i cannot have it i WANT it, so knowing i can have a cheat day or have some food items that may be considered bad then i am OK. Some weeks i am really strict and do not need cheats, but it is there if i want.

    To do this sucessfully you need to make this a lifestyle change, so if you cannot avoid bad things, like me, then incorporate small amounts into my daily intake or go and enjoy a meal out and do not feel guilty, just log them and try to stick to your calorie limits. If it derails you and you lose the will to stop eating the bad stuff (all been there) just avoid the temptations.

    I never thought i could stop after one biscuit, but i can now and feel great about it. It takes time and a bit of experimenting to what suits you, but you will find it.
  • 2Bgoddess
    2Bgoddess Posts: 1,096 Member
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    I don't do a cheat 'day, but every 2nd week right after my official-with.-the-doctor-weigh-in, I have a cheat 'meal. The doc knows about it, and agrees that doing it once, right then, probably does the least damage to my diet, because it is the most distant time away from my NEXT weigh in. And, knowing that I am not depriving myself of cheatie foods forever, I am less tempted the rest of the time.
  • 2Bgoddess
    2Bgoddess Posts: 1,096 Member
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    Oh and if you're having to "cheat" then you clearly have not mastered the point of a balanced diet and the mentality of moderation, which is the only thing that will keep the weight off and you healthy.

    Really??? Sorry will have to disagree, i am 11 lbs. away from losing 300 lbs. in 29 months and if I haven't figured it out by now than god help me.... lol The word cheat in this context simply means eat outside of the norm. I log 50-70 miles a week at the gym and put in 3 days of weight training, I prefer to stick to a meal plan of chicken, fish, and lean beef as well as whole grains and veggies that makes up the bulk of my week. So when I say I am having a cheat meal (Pizza Hut, BW3, Mexican, etc) to me it is a cheat meal from my normal routine, it certainly doesn't mean I don't know how to eat in moderation or that I haven't mastered my lifestyle......... Just my 2 cents....... :-)

    YESSSS!!! And WOW, good job!!!
  • stuffinmuffin
    stuffinmuffin Posts: 985 Member
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    Cheat day once a week through my weight loss and even now in maintenance! It was more a meal than a whole day and I always logged it no matter how bad it read, and also made sure not to go over my weekly net goal.
  • bloodguilt
    bloodguilt Posts: 126
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    Today is my cheat day its my break from exercising and I can eat foods I don't normally eat.. but not too much.

    Is it good to have a cheat day or not?

    IMO, it depends. If you're already ripped and trying to maintain your hard-earned physique, eating anything in moderation for the whole day maybe fine. However, if you're still trying to shed off some pounds, I suppose you do cheat meal then having to cheat the whole day. Personally, I have cheat meals 3x/week and it worked for me.
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
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    Not sure if mine counts as cheat day as I do actually exercise extra to cover the extra cals and still have a deficit. Today I had what I call an high cal day as I allowed gluten free bread cake toasted with scrambled egg on and bacon, then Sunday dinner was a lamb chop, carrot and swede mash and sprouts..also had gluten free brownie and two brandy &cokes so did 2 and half hours exercise to burn an extra thousand cals.

    Not sure if this is still classed as cheat day if I make sure I covered the extra calories?
  • diloed
    diloed Posts: 15 Member
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    I eat lower on some days and allow more calories on weekend, but the calories for the week are still the same. I guess it's kind of like zig zagging. I like to be able to have a meal out or drinks on the weekend if I want to so I make them my higher days and it seems to work for me.

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  • Suziq2you
    Suziq2you Posts: 396 Member
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    I don't have "cheat" days. But I do have "splurge" days. Semantics, really. I eat at maintenance and eat my exercise calories on those days.
  • inuit
    inuit Posts: 72 Member
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    Oh and if you're having to "cheat" then you clearly have not mastered the point of a balanced diet and the mentality of moderation, which is the only thing that will keep the weight off and you healthy.

    Think this a little unfair, everyone has to handle their weightloss differently.

    I use the word cheat for items that many consider as the less healthy options. By calling them cheats then it makes me feel better and helps me deal with these items in moderation.

    I and many others are having to deal with major lifestyle changes so it is case of finding a way to get your brain to think in a different way. The word cheat works well for me, it could be a bad item or an XXX item, does not really matter what you do or do not call it, as long as i train my head to think about how i view and consume these foods.

    So according to the quote, no i have not mastered the mentality yet, i have a long way to go, I will continue to use the cheat word, until a healthy lifestyle becomes the norm. If i have to use the cheat way of thinking for the rest of my weight loss and maintence then i will. It has worked so far and i am commited and will continue to stick with it and my CHEAT items.
  • weetamoo
    weetamoo Posts: 6 Member
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    I don't call it a cheat, but I love to eat out, so when I eat out, I look at the menu online ahead of time, choose foods that I love, but try to choose a selection that don't put me too far past my daily goal. My goal is 1600 cal, and I might eat 800 extra calories at a meal out, which seems pretty generous to me. I usually have 2 meals out a week. I've lost weight doing this, and am now maintaining

    This helps me because I don't need to feel deprived as I know I can have that piece of cake, french fries, or whatever I'm craving once or twice a week.

    Also, eating more once or twice a week keeps your metabolism faster, instead of slowing in response to lower calorie intake. The real trick though is to find what works best for your body and lifestyle.
  • thpeek
    thpeek Posts: 76
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    Cheat day or Cheat meal if done in moderation and logged into MFP is a good thing and will keep you from feeling like you are on a diet. Once we start cutting out everything we have liked and only eat 100% healthy then it starts feeling like a diet. I personally believe that we should never be on diets. We should be able to eat about anything we want as long as we stay in our guidelines set out in our MFP profile, it may mean only a couple bites of something we really love that is not so good for us but I will never feel like I am on a diet.
    Diets fail everytime for most of us. I prefer to call it a lifestyle change, better food choices, proper portions, moderate excersize..........
  • Russellb97
    Russellb97 Posts: 1,057 Member
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    100% good and 0% bad
  • Echo17121
    Echo17121 Posts: 111 Member
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    I like a cheat meal every now and then but I have to be careful because I can fall really hard off the wagon so I try to limit them. I just had Christmas/bday/new years all in the same week so I am not doing any cheat meals this weekend as I had plenty during all of that. But I am making more of an effort to keep my cheat meal from turning into a binge because then I really blow everything. I am still feeling the effects of this past weekend (tired, sick, sore, just blah) so I try to keep that in mind as well when I want to eat crappy. It isn't always worth the effects it has the next day if it is extreme. I think the cheat meal is the best bet and not a whole day.
  • Russellb97
    Russellb97 Posts: 1,057 Member
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    I like a cheat meal every now and then but I have to be careful because I can fall really hard off the wagon so I try to limit them. I just had Christmas/bday/new years all in the same week so I am not doing any cheat meals this weekend as I had plenty during all of that. But I am making more of an effort to keep my cheat meal from turning into a binge because then I really blow everything. I am still feeling the effects of this past weekend (tired, sick, sore, just blah) so I try to keep that in mind as well when I want to eat crappy. It isn't always worth the effects it has the next day if it is extreme. I think the cheat meal is the best bet and not a whole day.

    It's impossible to "blow everything" in one day. If you were in a typical calorie deficit the other six days, you'd have to eat around 10,000 calories to negate them.

    There's several benefits to having a full day, and the mental break is just one of them.
  • KimertRuns13_1
    KimertRuns13_1 Posts: 705
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    I don't know that I call them cheat days but I do eat more "bad" stuff on long run days. I also believe in moderation and rarely deprive myself of anything that I want. I've lived this way for 3 years and successfully lost and kept off 80 lbs. Is this the best method?? I don't know. I'm just doing what works for me.
  • Echo17121
    Echo17121 Posts: 111 Member
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    It's impossible to "blow everything" in one day. If you were in a typical calorie deficit the other six days, you'd have to eat around 10,000 calories to negate them.

    There's several benefits to having a full day, and the mental break is just one of them.

    Tell that to my scale! Lol. I agree a day can be good but in moderation too. Like I said I can really start to binge and eat a bunch of food even when I am not hungry and then I see and feel the results for the rest of the week. On my bday I wanted pancakes so I had the whole wheat ones I had made for Christmas. I think making exchanges like that can be good and having a few treats as well. I do like taking a day off from logging here and measuring everything out because that can get really addicting and I don't think that is very healthy at all.
  • horizonflight
    horizonflight Posts: 75
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    Why have an entire day of eating nothing but what the community labels as "bad"? It may take some mental effort, but if you eat those "bad" things in moderation and incorporate them into your daily diet then you should be good to go. I'm in the Army living in Korea in a set of BEQ that doesn't have a full kitchen. I do not have a stove/oven, so I had to go out and buy a deep pan griddle to suffice as my cooking method. Since I've been here in Korea I've indulged in many foods that are labeled as "bad" like Taco Bell, Pizza, deep fried foods (Yaki Mandu, which is excellent), of course Subway is on the list and also a place called the American Grill Eatery. In addition to that, I've also experienced the Korean meals at the Katusa Snack Bars we have on the installation as well as going on the economy (outside the installation) to go eat some real Korean food. Also, I've indulged in Quizno's and Mr. Kebab (lamb meat is the best). All these foods are considered "bad" except for most of the Korean diet since it's basically nothing but cabbage and meat in small proportions. It's been difficult to stay on a straight line, but nonetheless I've lost about 12 lbs in the past 2 months. And I've been losing without going to the gym (I don't do PT in the morning because I'm a shift worker, so the whole thing of being in the Army and doing mandatory PT doesn't apply to me). Adjusting my diet was the key. I still eat "bad" foods now, on a daily basis, and continue to lose. It's about your proportion and moderation in which you consume these foods.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,683 Member
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    Today is my cheat day its my break from exercising and I can eat foods I don't normally eat.. but not too much.

    Is it good to have a cheat day or not?
    If you know how to moderate, a "cheat" day isn't needed since you can "cheat" everyday.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
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    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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