One cheat meal is not going to hurt you

Sweetncgal78

This is the one reason I have been successful this time around! I swear by it!

HeidiMightyRawr

I prefer not to plan cheat meals/days as I go over occasionally anyway (part of life) so would rather not do it on purpose.

I fit all the foods I like into my daily calories/macros so I don't feel deprived. Everything in moderation Although sometimes I go out for a meal or drinks and it's not going to fit in my calories, I accept that and get back on it the next day. It's not all the time, why spend ages beating yourself up over it?

Last night I had a chinese takeaway - because I had a craving for it. I haven't had one in quite a while. I was 448 calories over my goal by the end of the day, which is probably 100 calories over my maintenance. That's nothing! Sure I was all bloated this morning and looked pregnant, but a couple of hours later my stomach was back to normal.

Same as last week, my friend had a party, I went along, had a few drinks, some snacks etc, was around 1000 calories over my goal, bloated and all that the next day but ate normally again and by the day after that (Sunday - weigh in day) I still managed to loose 2lbs (in 2 weeks)

This is why I focus more on weekly deficits instead of daily.

LauraSmyth28

I do it a little bit differently. Now and again (maybe once every 4-6 weeks) I take a few days off from calorie counting altogether. I eat when I'm hungry, and enough to satisfy my hunger.....and whatever I feel like eating. I find my appetite is a lot smaller than it used to be anyway.

Taking these few days never results in a gain, just a stall in weight loss. It always gives me more motivation to keep going. I had most of last week 'off', so this week I'm newly determined.

Whatever makes a long term diet works for YOU has to be a good thing.

itsirkmr

For me, having a "cheat" day has enabled me to stick with it this time. If I am struggling one day, I just tell myself in 6 (5, 4, whatever) days I can have this if I really want it. It allows me to be moderate. In prior attempts to lose weight I would be rigid, black and white, and extreme. If I had one piece of chocolate, it caused me to tailspin into days and days of overeating. For me, having a "cheat" day is about learning to be moderate. Many of my thin friends do this naturally - eat very well for most of the time, indulge every now and then, and then go right back to eating very heatlhy most of the time.

HMVOL7409

I guess if we want to knock the title of cheating then the same can be said for the term diet. I call it cheating bc I try to eat natural, organic foods that are good for me all the time and I'm not depriving myself of anything. I can't believe now how we use to eat, pretty much Paula Deen style every day and I refuse to go back to that. I hate the word diet and I wish people would stop saying that. That's setting you up for failure just as much as most think cheating/depriving yourself is. It's a lifestyle change and one you should make for all time not a certain time frame.

amanda8o

I have my cheat day every Sunday,and I have to say it's been working for me,sometimes it's my motivation to kick my butt through my workouts knowing that come Sunday I can enjoy myself and not have to worry so much about what I'm eating,I still workout on Sundays but I get to enjoy my food instead of stressing over calories.I still log everything and sometimes unknowingly I'm still at or under my calories.

kitinboots

I tried the whole cheat day thing but I would use it as an excuse to stuff my face. Chocolate, crisps, bread and cheese. I would consume 3000cal easily.
If I don't give myself that, then sure, I might slip up here and there, but only by 300cal. It makes more sense to me to accidentally go 300 over than purposefully go 3000 over.
But that's just me. I can see how it would work if you have more restraint.

Jezebel_Barbie

You know, I don't even think of them as 'cheat' days/meals/whatever. This is a lifestyle change right? Do you think a person who has never struggled with their weight considers it bad if they eat a big meal, or a slice of cake, or has some beers? Probably not; they just enjoy these treats for what they are. When I'm at my goal weight I don't wanna be obsessing over meals out with friends, takeaway nights with my boyfriend or drinks out with the girls, so I'm not going to do it now.

ElectricMayhem

You know, I don't even think of them as 'cheat' days/meals/whatever. This is a lifestyle change right? Do you think a person who has never struggled with their weight considers it bad if they eat a big meal, or a slice of cake, or has some beers? Probably not; they just enjoy these treats for what they are. When I'm at my goal weight I don't wanna be obsessing over meals out with friends, takeaway nights with my boyfriend or drinks out with the girls, so I'm not going to do it now.

AMEN!! I refuse to treat food like the enemy as some people on here do...i love food, always have and always will, but i've just learned to have a healthier relationship with it! I had a yummy shaved ice with my son last night which put me over my calories, but it was a nice treat for us both and i know that one treat won't send me spiraling out of control. I actually enjoy food much more now vs when i used to eat whatever i wanted

scottywor

Great post, couldn't agree more!

CHEATS FTW!

ataylor89

I cant do moderation. I find calorie counting is the best method for me. I also can't do a cheat meal either because I end up feeling crushingly guilty about eating that its not worth feeling that crappy about.

ArroganceInStep

I cant do moderation. I find calorie counting is the best method for me. I also can't do a cheat meal either because I end up feeling crushingly guilty about eating that its not worth feeling that crappy about.

Even if it's planned for in your diet?

atjays

I'd have to disagree with the throw one day out the window mentality,especially weekly. Doing that greatly slows your progress because people then indulge in all of their cravings, ignoring lables and they throw away half or more of their progress for the week.

I do agree in giving in to a craving here and there, but its important to isolate it to one meal and make sure you still stay on track that day.

Getting on the scale the day after a binge and seeing it up 3-4 lbs is horribly defeating, especially if you worked weeks to get that off. To ultimately be successful and fit, you have to show you have control over what you eat and demonstrate it. Otherwise you're one emotional day from throwing in the towel and robbing a McDonalds....

bizgirl26

This is the one reason I have been successful this time around! I swear by it!

Agreed. The main thing is not getting hung up on it and getting back to eating healthy. I think depriving yourself all the time can lead to failure. I dont have a set day but I always find that something comes up where I want to indulge or it is really hard to eat healthy so I just enjoy myself. As a rule I dont weight myself the next day like I used to but wait 1 day. It has never gone up. Its about lifetsyle changes you can live with. Tonight I am indulging because it is girls night and the alcohol calories are going to put me over for sure.

ArroganceInStep

I'd have to disagree with the throw one day out the window mentality,especially weekly. Doing that greatly slows your progress because people then indulge in all of their cravings, ignoring lables and they throw away half or more of their progress for the week.

I do agree in giving in to a craving here and there, but its important to isolate it to one meal and make sure you still stay on track that day.

Getting on the scale the day after a binge and seeing it up 3-4 lbs is horribly defeating, especially if you worked weeks to get that off. To ultimately be successful and fit, you have to show you have control over what you eat and demonstrate it. Otherwise you're one emotional day from throwing in the towel and robbing a McDonalds....

I eat very low calories throughout the week so that I can have a monster meal that I actually enjoy once a week. It's not slowing my progress any.

MinkyMoo13

Sometimes i do have a cheat dayusually a friday but recently i dontwant to go over my cal limit. I find if i want chocolate or something i will wait until Friday and i enjoy it even more knowing i waited for it and hadn't splurged each day. Fridays tend to be pizza and wine and maybe chocolate but i exercise on that day to make up for it and it's also my housework day so i burn calroeis back from that too.

I think a cheat day is a good idea if you still continue to lose or maintin. if your putting on it's probably an idea to reasses it but hey everybodies different.. I do belive in the 'Everything in MOderation' theory.

Fieldsy

I'd have to disagree with the throw one day out the window mentality,especially weekly. Doing that greatly slows your progress because people then indulge in all of their cravings, ignoring lables and they throw away half or more of their progress for the week.

I do agree in giving in to a craving here and there, but its important to isolate it to one meal and make sure you still stay on track that day.

Getting on the scale the day after a binge and seeing it up 3-4 lbs is horribly defeating, especially if you worked weeks to get that off. To ultimately be successful and fit, you have to show you have control over what you eat and demonstrate it. Otherwise you're one emotional day from throwing in the towel and robbing a McDonalds....

Everybody is different. You can never go off, have one meal, have a cheat day, etc...just as long as you make progress!
Getting on a scale after a bad weekend encourages me that playtime is over and there is work to do. Again, if you create a good plan of attack, you never have to say goodbye to the foods you love, and you can eat them every week.

kitinboots

Its good motivation to exercise. Since I no longer do cheat days, if I know I'm going somewhere or doing something special or even if I simply crave pizza, I'll have a really good workout beforehand so I earn it. Sure chocolate cake might not be clean eating but if I've worked hard for it then its guilt free.

neverstray

Having is cheat day is really the only thing that has ensured my success up to now. No other diet has ever worked, but fitting in a cheat day is great. Not only a cheat day, but when I first started, a cheat day was all out. Even though I did that, I still lost weight. So, I am a strong proponent of it.

Having said that, i have recently not allowed cheat days, and instead, might just randomly cheat. So, it's not planned out, it just happens. I find by doing that, cheating is less frequent. I'm really having a hard time losing the last 5 lbs. So, I'm seeing if cutting out planned cheat days will help.

For maintenance mode, cheat day is absolutely mandatory.

funkycamper

Since upping my daily net, I can have splurge meals/treats without showing any increase on the scale. I also have days that I don't eat my net if I've had a big calorie exercise burn so I bank those calories to spend another time on treats. I really look at my overall calories for the week, not my daily. So I can splurge quite a bit and usually have no problem staying under/at my target calories for the week.

cheryladamseve

I also do a cheat day but I find that I feel really bad the next day almost like my body does not want all that stuff in it anymore.

muddyventures

I'm really trying not to see anything as cheating, but just trying to be honest and live life where I'm at..sometimes we go out or sometimes we have a dessert. I just want my over all weeks to even out.

arcticfox04

I learn to manage a cheat meal 2-3 times a week into my Log w/o going over calories/fat/carbs. I just plan it out the day before. I eat enough during the day so I don't feel hungry and I could go for the bad meal w/o having to cheat.

peasantgirly

I don't cheat...I EAT. I do not understand this cheat thing. What exactly is one cheating on... Do people plan on going the rest of their lives without eating out or eating cake or whatever else. That is why diets fail. You need to work these things into your lifestyle. All things in moderation. It works.

I couldn't agree more. I don't like the concept of a "cheat" day, either. Just the name encourages a person to feel guilty about what they eat that day, and guilt is never a good emotion to have about food. I strongly feel that if I want a food that is not part of my normal daily food plan then I simply have to earn the extra calories for it.

matchfitin5

I'm always strict with what I eat during the week but on weekends I eat what ever within reason. Since I have soccer games on Saturday and Sunday I won't eat anything fried but if I want ice cream, damn it I'm eating ice cream!

mfpcopine

I would see an established Cheat Day as the thin edge of the wedge. I prefer to try to stick to my default calorie goal every day. Of course there are days when I go over, but I don't want to develop the mindset that it's OK.

mfpcopine

I don't cheat...I EAT. I do not understand this cheat thing. What exactly is one cheating on... Do people plan on going the rest of their lives without eating out or eating cake or whatever else. That is why diets fail. You need to work these things into your lifestyle. All things in moderation. It works.

I couldn't agree more. I don't like the concept of a "cheat" day, either. Just the name encourages a person to feel guilty about what they eat that day, and guilt is never a good emotion to have about food. I strongly feel that if I want a food that is not part of my normal daily food plan then I simply have to earn the extra calories for it.

Agreed. Besides, I like my eating regime, but I'm not married to it. It and I are striving for peaceful cohabitation.

Fieldsy

My calorie goal sun-fri is 2300, 3000 on fri and 3700 on my cheat day. If I am really bad Fri then Ill switch to 3000 on Sat.

chrystee

For some people, it can cause a binge to begin though.. You have to know yourself..

Jacwhite22

I dont have cheat days........Cheating is what causes binges.......I "cheat" every day.