rest day /cheat day?

madamepsychosis

I don't have a 'cheat' day. I try and allot things I enjoy into my daily calorie allowance. I think the idea of having one day where you just eat whatever you want suggests you CAN'T eat the things you want and still lose weight, which I don't agree with.

That said, there are days where I know I'm not going to have as much control over what I eat. For example, if I'm going to a friend's birthday meal and the restaurant doesn't have their nutritional info to hand. When that's the case, I just go super hard at the gym and don't sweat it if I go a little over. We're trying to maintain this lifestyle for the rest of our lives and if I started seeing certain foods as 'bad' or 'forbidden', I don't think it's something I could keep up.

zoodalia

i think the idea of 'cheat' day stinks. it alludes to the idea that you doing something the rest of the week that needs to be cheated on, and depriving yourself. if you eat balanced and allow yourself the foods you like, in moderation, then there is no need to cheat.


I completely agree... although I don't always practice what I preach. I have one day a week in which I usually go wild, much to the detriment of my weight loss. I'm yet to find a balance.

imjessly

I never used to see the point of cheat days, i agreed with most of you that it was undoing your hard work.

But i've started to now - but I call it a spike day, not a cheat day.
I eat my BMR and I don't eat my exercise calories, and then one day in the week i have my BMR x 2. Its really just eating all of my exercise calories on that day. Gives my metabolism a good kick up the pants. Also makes it easier to use those days when you're going out for dinner etc and you don't want to be so particular about counting calories.

Ash_76

rest day, cheat day are both on a sunday, still stay within my carb, pro, fat allowance and still eat same food but i will allow myself something i normally wouldnt have,,, yesterday for instance i swapped chicken out for minted lamb

debswebby

I used to have one cheat day a week but because I have no self control, I would be undoing a whole weeks work in one day. Now I have a TREAT meal every Friday. Sometimes I save cals for it but most of the time, I work it off the next day. Have lost 12lbs since Christmas doing this

psiren28

should my rest day overlap my cheat day
or
should i work out extra on my cheat day?

I don't think it matters, it's the overall calories in / calories out over a period of time. Personally I sometimes exercise on my 'cheat' day, sometimes not, It doesn't seem to make a difference as long as I exercise at least 3 times and only have one 'cheat' day a week.

For those who bash the idea of a cheat day, I have to disagree. If I stick to my calorie allowance everyday I end up feeling drained after a couple of weeks and my weight loss stalls. For me, a cheat day refuels me, gives me more energy for a few days and kick starts my weight loss again. I'm not talking going mental and eating everything in sight but having a meal out where I'm not thinking 'I can't have that' or having a pizza and some chocolate in front of a movie. I probably have about 2000 - 2200 cals on a cheat day (my normal allowance is 1200). Works for me.

heavenlyhazel

I don't have either. I have been working on this for 1 month so far and don't feel at all deprived. If I want a treat, I have it. Do I let myself go above my allowance? NO. But I do let myself have things that I want, but keep it in allowable portions. I also do not have a DOR as you never know when you won't be able to do your workout. For me, that happened Saturday as I was just too busy and not at home to do it. Do I feel guilty about that? No, I am doing this to live a fuller life and obviously that is what I did Saturday. I am living now as I plan to live the rest of my life. I don't want to plan days off my eating plan nor days off from exercise..that takes too much thought and is too much temptation. I just want to do what feels right to me and succeed once and for all. I hope my rambling makes sense!

Matt_Wild

and i do have cheat day, more like cheat meal. and i disagre with the above, i think its important. i dont look at it as "oh im cheating on my diet and misbehaving" and I def never feel poorly after because I earned it. Everyone deserves to have some pasta or cake or whatever it may be here and there in moderation, so having that during those "cheat" meals makes it easier to find that balance so you dont go crazy or crave things so bad that you binge. be proud of being healthy and working out and then enjoy treats here and there for your hard work

As a body builder who competes and coaches others, I get them all to have a cheat meal as they desire. Thats a starter, main and desert. I'll see how their body reacts to the cheat meal and either get them to increase or decrease the size of the cheat meal based on weight lost.

It helps increase the output of leptin in the body and so keep the release of the triiodothyronine high and so the metabolism does not slow down as much (hence people lose less weight as the diet goes on, the body trying to promote homoeostasis and maintain weight and stalls weight loss).

Definitely not a case of binging however.