How do you feel about cheat days/meals?

iuew

i do a cheat meal occasionally, but i log it and budget for it, so i guess it's not technically a cheat meal.

0EmmeNicole0

I tend to have a cheat meal as opposed to a cheat day because even though I know I'm eating something that isn't great for me I still want to try and stay at or under my calories for the day. And even then, I think sometimes it will be more of just a cheat place instead of a meal. Like we'll have Burger King but I'll get the grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo so I can at least still be healthy (somewhat) while feeling like I'm still getting a cheat because I'm at BURGER KING. Haha

I'll still eat pizza too. I try to not eat more than 2 slices but even if I do, I know it's okay because I'll either go to the gym that day or make sure that I hit it up the next day. I feel that by allowing myself to still eat the normal unhealthy foods for me in moderation is better for me than completely cutting myself off. This way I don't binge because I've been denying myself. And with 24 pounds lost this year (in the first 7 weeks because I didn't lose anything in week 8) I'd say that cheating every now and then hasn't hurt my weight loss in the least.

HAHAHA! I do the same thing when i go to fast food restaurants. I will get something healthy, but consider it a little naughty just cause I'm eating fast food.

cbh142

I "cheat" on special occaisions and just plan here and there for a meal I enjoy. Cheating to me is not eating a whole bag of chips, a pizza, and a tub of icecream. Just allow yourself something here and there. That is what works for me anyway.

kbmnurse

Love my cheat day eat whatever I want and drink many beers. Today I drank coors light-numerous and 2 burgers with sauce/cheese french fries. tomorrow new day moved on.

suziecue66

I am doing the 12 week Body for Life program and it allows for 1 free day a week. I am just finishing up week 4 and have already lost 11 pounds and have really been sticking with the program of eating right and exercising 6 days a week. Check out my diary.

The Free Day is something that makes the Body-for-LIFE nutrition plan unique. One day a week, you have the option to indulge in all the “unauthorized” food of your choice. Pizza, French fries, ice cream, cake and cookies… it is up to you. The logic behind this is that a weekly day of unrestricted eating helps you combat the cravings you may experience during the rest of the week. In other words, it may be easier to say “no” to that donut at the Tuesday morning meeting if you know you can have as many donuts as you want on your scheduled Free Day. A Free Day is also an opportunity to remind you of how you used to feel when you ate those foods all the time. After six days of fueling your body with lean sources of protein, whole-grain carbs and healthy fats, indulging in a fast-food meal on your Free Day may not be as satisfying as it used to be. Here is how else you can use the Free Day to your advantage:

Save it for your Free Day. If you have a challenge making the right choices at restaurants during the week, try to save eating out for your Free Day.

Shop on your Free Day. Some people found it easier to do all their shopping for the week on their Free Days. After you’ve indulged in the your favorite foods, it should be easier to make healthy choices at the grocery store.

Plan ahead. If there is a specific event during the week when you know will make it hard to stick with your nutrition plan, such as a birthday party, business dinner or a holiday, re-schedule your Free Day so that it falls on that day.

Indulge the right way. Make the most of the treats you crave, and take the time to enjoy them. You may eventually find you need less of them to be satisfied. If you’re going to have chocolate, enjoy a piece of decadent dark chocolate. If you want ice cream, savor the full-fat version instead of a low-fat substitute packed with a bunch of chemicals. Have you been dreaming about a hamburger and French fries all week? Sit down and enjoy the best you can find instead of rushing through a drive-thru.

Freedom of choice. How you use your Free Day is up to you. Some past Champions chose to just have a free meal, other Champions chose to forgo their Free Days altogether. You may find that how you use your Free Day changes during the course of your Challenge. In the beginning, it may be an all-out free-for-all, but as you become accustomed to how good it feels to eat healthy food, you may find that you no longer crave the junk food you used to look forward to.

Free days are not unique to Bodt for Life. A lot of programmes do it along with lower carb days, mod carb days, higher carb days, fast days etc. These are all designed to boost weight loss.

I am not sure where I stand on cheat meals, cheat days, free days whatever. I used to be a low carber eating 20 g carbs and would be extremely strict for weeks BUT I would then have an event to go to or something and then go crazy on the carbs and continue for weeks like this - yo-yo dieting for years. I am still figuring out what would work for me in terms of treats. I have started having little choc bars with minimal calories daily, allowing myself bread and some other treats through the week. I need to see how that goes and how it affects weight loss. Got to find that middle ground where I see steady weight loss otherwise if it is too slow I lose my motivation.

neaneawy

Thanks! I don't really want to take cheat meals or days there's just to much risk of it all going to pot! I'd rather just turn what I'm doing into a habit. If that makes sense. The reason I asked the question was because i read somewhere that they can boost weight loss, and wasnt sure how that would work!

I've had a few planned cheat days, but they were for important birthdays or events. I'm much more aware now of the amounts I eat and what I eat, so I actually didn't even go over as much as I planned on allowing myself. I never go over my maintenance cals. So far the cheats and oops days haven't affected my weightloss. I'm still averaging 2+ lbs per week.

My DH recently deployed and the week before ended up basically being a cheat week. I didn't think I'd see any loss. 3 days after he left the water gain dropped and an additional 2 lbs,

I do think cheat meals/days should not be confused with binge eating. For me a cheat day is a day on maintenance cals.

neaneawy

You'll find that opinions about this are like *kitten*...everyone has one and none are the same.

To each their own. It works for some and not for others.

I do not deprive myself of anything but always stay under or right at my calorie goal for the day. If I want a candy bar or a glass of wine, I don't reserve it for a certain day, I have it on the days I have the calories for it. If I have a bottle of wine, but am at my limit for the day, the wine waits. Days like today where I've had three full meals and snacks, but had a gym session....my net is under 700 after all of this. Tonight, I drink wine and still finish the night with a huge deficit.

By not depriving myself of anything, I find i have great self control when I do want something. I don't call it cheating. I call it a sustainable living plan. I also don't call what I am doing a diet, but a lifestyle change.

My diary is public if you want to peak at what I've eaten today.
Good luck with whatever YOU choose.

This. I agree completely.

hesn92

if I want something yummy then I just fit it into my calorie goal usually.

FlyByJuly

I don't even call it a "cheat" day or meal. I have a "spike day" about every two weeks or even longer. These are rare days when I want to get together with a friend or family, spend the day shopping, and have a lunch or dinner out. The first time I planned one, I had thoughts in my head like 'Oh, I'm gonna load up my plate with this and this and that and just throw caution to the wind.' But it didn't turn out that way. I ate much less, and healthier, than I'd anticipated. I did eat well over my calorie allowance that day, but not nearly as bad as thought I would have. And the spike days I've had since Jan 2nd (three days) have had no adverse affects on me. Didn't gain weight, and it didn't start a downward spiral to cravings and all that. For some, it works. For others, it doesn't.

HauteP1nk

I always allow myself a treat here and there, but I wouldn't say I have a full day devoted to cheating.

Especially since I am in the begining of my journey...I don't want to allow myself to indulge too much. I want to stay focused...

ashleab37

Personally I think cheat days are horrible. It is so much easier to say "I can eat that today and tomorrow I'll be back on the wagon". If you haven't cheated then I suggest not to. Stay strong and stick to your diet because it does make a difference when you eat bad again, even for just one day, it makes a difference! Good luck!

I completely disagree with this. I'm not going to eat only healthy foods all day, every day, for the rest of my life!

I have a "cheat meal" once a week, or twice depending on what happening for the week socially - I eat extra healthy for the rest of the day (egg white omelette, chicken with salad, etc) and then eat WHATEVER I WANT for that meal. I mostly find that these days, that's still HALF of what I would have eaten in a usual meal before I started eating healthily.

lcardullo

I agree with the previous post - a cheat meal once a week or so is good and I also like to be extra careful at the other meals for that day. I fear I would be on the path back to where I started if I did a whole cheat day. That said, I allow myself to have a small treat daily like two hershey kisses.

Crystal_Pistol

I do 10-20% of my diet in pure whatever the hell I want to eat. I monitor my protein and sodium intake, everything else is fair game. I don't call it cheating, I just call it living. I made a vow to myself when I started this thing that this would be the last time I ever had to "start over." I live in a way that I can and will live FOREVER, and junk is and always will be a part of that.

Today I ate Cracker Barrel and a jumbo-sized chocolate bar. Yesterday I had grilled chicken in field greens with cherry tomatoes. Balance.

Run4UrHealth

I have a cheat day every Friday, after my weigh in. I've been steadily losing weight, with no plateaus or anything.

I am much more inclined to not over indulge when I think to myself "if I still want it, I can have it Friday" That being said, I still eat anything I want, just less of it. However, its comforting to know that if I want TWO pieces of cheesecake on Friday, I can

^^^^THIS....if I tell myself I cannot have a favorite food I will not succeed. I just watch my portions. I also make sure I get a really good work-out the day of or the day after. I only have ONE cheat meal a week but I do not eat anywhere near what I used to eat. I usually pick one night on the weekend to have my cheat meal. When my husband and I have date nights (which is not very often) I do not want to have to stress over which places I can eat at. We hit our favorite restaurants.

LilRedRooster

I prefer not to think of it as "cheating", and more of "enjoying in moderation". Like if I want chocolate, I have chocolate. I just have half a bar instead of a whole one, and save the other half for the next day. I don't deny myself anything just because it's "forbidden", because they I feel really restricted. I just eat it in moderation, and actively say "I'm done with this half. Now I can have the other half tomorrow."

I do the same thing with other aspects, like eating out. I enjoy what I want, I just don't overdo it. Denying yourself is the first way to failure, because it sets you up for feeling like you can't enjoy yourself.

kwaddell1987

I have a cheat day, its on fridays, however i still catch myself eating my healthier choices, i think outta habit now, which is great, so i only usually end up eating a cheat meal, like pizza or something but i still try to limit myself to some extent, i've only went kinda overboard once since i started about a month and half ago and i felt so bad the next couple days afterwards, so id say if i were u just do a cheat meal

AmyRhubarb

Indulge the right way. Make the most of the treats you crave, and take the time to enjoy them. You may eventually find you need less of them to be satisfied. If you’re going to have chocolate, enjoy a piece of decadent dark chocolate. If you want ice cream, savor the full-fat version instead of a low-fat substitute packed with a bunch of chemicals. Have you been dreaming about a hamburger and French fries all week? Sit down and enjoy the best you can find instead of rushing through a drive-thru.

This! And that's if you can handle it, but from reading all the previous posts, sounds like that varies from person to person. So the smart thing is, do what you know is best for you and what you can handle. If you will eat the entire bag of Tostitos instead of counting out a single serving and putting the bag away, then don't even go there. If one scoop of your favorite ice cream with a half a banana & some chocolate sauce leads to eating the entire carton, better not even have it in the house.

Personally, I don't call it cheating or plan "cheat" days. I do my best to make healthy choices all day long. I cook 99% of our meals at home, from scratch, and choose healthy ingredients (usually!). There is one night a week that we always get together with friends, and there's always dessert. I don't sweat it. Sometimes I eat a big serving of dessert, sometimes smaller - same with dinner. And then we occasionally indulge, like we did tonight, with In-N-Out Burger - it wasn't what I'd planned for dinner, but we ended up there, and I enjoyed every bite! And I'm still under my calorie goal thanks to today's exercise, but a few grams over on my fat. Meh, tomorrow's a new day. My weight loss has been slow but steady, slow I think because I'm down to those last few stubborn pounds, so the scale doesn't move much anyway. But the clothes are all fitting better, so yay!

But you gotta do what works for you, know your limits and stick with 'em. If you do fall off the wagon and go overboard with a bag of Oreos, make a mental note to remember how crappy it made you feel, and resolve to not let it happen next time. Then pick yourself up and go on, tomorrow's a new day for making better choices.

ingfit

I am doing the 12 week Body for Life program and it allows for 1 free day a week. I am just finishing up week 4 and have already lost 11 pounds and have really been sticking with the program of eating right and exercising 6 days a week. Check out my diary.

The Free Day is something that makes the Body-for-LIFE nutrition plan unique. One day a week, you have the option to indulge in all the “unauthorized” food of your choice. Pizza, French fries, ice cream, cake and cookies… it is up to you. The logic behind this is that a weekly day of unrestricted eating helps you combat the cravings you may experience during the rest of the week. In other words, it may be easier to say “no” to that donut at the Tuesday morning meeting if you know you can have as many donuts as you want on your scheduled Free Day. A Free Day is also an opportunity to remind you of how you used to feel when you ate those foods all the time. After six days of fueling your body with lean sources of protein, whole-grain carbs and healthy fats, indulging in a fast-food meal on your Free Day may not be as satisfying as it used to be. Here is how else you can use the Free Day to your advantage:

Save it for your Free Day. If you have a challenge making the right choices at restaurants during the week, try to save eating out for your Free Day.

Shop on your Free Day. Some people found it easier to do all their shopping for the week on their Free Days. After you’ve indulged in the your favorite foods, it should be easier to make healthy choices at the grocery store.

Plan ahead. If there is a specific event during the week when you know will make it hard to stick with your nutrition plan, such as a birthday party, business dinner or a holiday, re-schedule your Free Day so that it falls on that day.

Indulge the right way. Make the most of the treats you crave, and take the time to enjoy them. You may eventually find you need less of them to be satisfied. If you’re going to have chocolate, enjoy a piece of decadent dark chocolate. If you want ice cream, savor the full-fat version instead of a low-fat substitute packed with a bunch of chemicals. Have you been dreaming about a hamburger and French fries all week? Sit down and enjoy the best you can find instead of rushing through a drive-thru.

Freedom of choice. How you use your Free Day is up to you. Some past Champions chose to just have a free meal, other Champions chose to forgo their Free Days altogether. You may find that how you use your Free Day changes during the course of your Challenge. In the beginning, it may be an all-out free-for-all, but as you become accustomed to how good it feels to eat healthy food, you may find that you no longer crave the junk food you used to look forward to.

^^THIS

I follow my set cals 6 days a week and have an off/spike/ whatever -you -want- to -call -it day where I eat what I want within reason. I shop the day before for the week and include any indulgences I might be craving for that day. I do not log my food, exercise, or OBSSESS about what I'm putting in my body on that day. I enjoy it, relax and if I have any leftover "treats" they get thrown out or given away to other family members. The next day, I'm right back on track with my diet and exercise.

I find that after a few indulgences, especially someting too sweet or carby I feel nauseaus and get a headache, or feel sleepy and sluggish. This keeps me from over-indulging and it makes me realize how great, alert and full of energy I am and feel when I keep my eating balanced and in check.

Oh, and I consistantly lose 1 lb a week on average. It works for me. It is a lifestyle. I eat balanced and workout most of the time and if it takes longer to get to my goal, oh well, but I know I will get there eventually. To each his own. I can live with this for the rest of my life and never feel deprived.

runlaugheatpie

I've thought a lot about this since reading about "spike" days through the Spike84 group.

Personally, I didn't get to be where I am because I can handle eating certain kinds of foods well. I also didn't get to be where I am because I was honest with myself about certain kinds of foods. Can I honestly say I can buy a bar of chocolate and eat only a few bites of it at a time? No, I cannot.

I also never met a rationalization I didn't love. Or a program (until this one) that I couldn't game.

So, for me, cheating is what it is: Part of an old pattern of lying to myself about food. I don't say this is the way it is for all people, just for me. I don't want to invite a philosophy of dishonesty about food into my life, nor do I want to fool myself into thinking that I can buy certain foods, have them in my home, and stay in control of my food program. This is one reason why I can't do Weight Watchers--because I cannot eat whatever I want as long as it's the appropriate portion size.

My own personal goal is overall balance, and a day of cheating once a week would throw that balance off. So I can't say I can go for it, or that I would encourage anyone trying to keep it real with weight loss to do it.

what a great response. I couldn't agree more with all of this.

runlaugheatpie

i do a cheat meal occasionally, but i log it and budget for it, so i guess it's not technically a cheat meal.

this is my philosophy as well!