Do you have a "cheat day or meal a week"?

gaveruz

Hello,
I am new to the site (this is day 5!) and I am very excited. I started trying to lose weight seriously since November. I host a "Biggest Loser" for people in my office and everybody is doing great. Except me lately! I lost 20 lbs and have at least 20 more to go. Seems as if I got too comfortable and stop trying hard. I have been in the same weight for the last 8 weeks or so! I do great through the week (Monday - Friday) but then the weekends hit and I am a disaster eating everything I find in my way and not exercising those days. It is Friday and I am terrified knowing the weekend is here! I gain 2 lbs on average every weekend and then lose it during the week.
I love food and I love eating! I wonder what you do to control your cravings and if you allow yourself a cheat day or meal a week and if you do, what do you do to compensate for it? I am thinking about star excersicing on the weekends too so I can have some "positve' calories to play with.

Dahllywood

You answered your own question: exercise more. The more you work = the more fuel you need.

But really, you shouldn't even get into the 'cheat meal' mentality. Don't think of this as a diet, think of it as a life change. You don't want to spend the rest of your life trying to fit in 'cheat meals' do you? Probably not.

987Runner

You answered your own question: exercise more. The more you work = the more fuel you need.

But really, you shouldn't even get into the 'cheat meal' mentality. Don't think of this as a diet, think of it as a life change. You don't want to spend the rest of your life trying to fit in 'cheat meals' do you? Probably not.

I agree. On the weekends it's just as important to exercise. I generally eat healthy all the time, but for the times I am eating a meal someone else has prepared for me, I still eat it, I just watch my portions. A neat trick for eating out or at a family event, drink a lot of water right before you eat. You could pile up on the salad and eat it first. It's okay to eat just about anything, just eat it in smaller portions.

And I too have stopped calling it a diet. It's not, it's a way of life now. Think of it that way, it might help!

Gosser

It isn't a 'cheat' it is just part of my eating habits.

Every Sunday we have a big family meal with dessert which takes me to double my normal daily calorie intake. I have fewer calories on the weekdays to allow for this so that my average over the week still means I should lose weight.

If you eat differently at the weekend then adjust your calorie intake for the weekdays to compensate. Then make sure you stick to smaller portion sizes at weekends, but eat what you want.

verdammtwenig

I gave myself a "cheat" day last Sunday. I didn't gorge to the point of being uncomfortably full, I didn't eat a bunch of desserts or fast food. I tried to make healthy choices for the most part. I just didn't consider the calories of everything I ate *before* I put it in my body. I ate more calorie than I do the other days of the week, but not by a ton. It was just a nice feeling to be a bit more relaxed for that one day. I think I'm going to keep this up since there's a pot luck at a friends house every Sunday evening.

oldmanstauf

I wonder what you do to control your cravings and if you allow yourself a cheat day or meal a week and if you do, what do you do to compensate for it?

Don't have cheat meals or days as nothing is off limits for me. Knowing I can eat pizza, ice cream even fast food during the week stops me from going off the rails. Sure I need to fit it into my calories, but I've had no problem doing so.