Is one cheat meal going to mess up your diet?

underthecherrytree

Tomorrow is my husband's birthday and we are taking him to Melting Pot which is a fondue restaurant. It is a 4 course meal that includes a cheese fondue, a chocolate fondue, a salad, and chicken,shrimp, and sirloin. We haven't been there in a long time so we are surprising him. The thing is, the place prices by couples so for my husband and I it is $100. Therefore, I feel like it would be a waste of money if I just had a salad. If I have a little bit of everything, will it completely ruin my diet? I mean, it is only one day. Not sure what to do....

LoveMy3Boys

I've always wanted to go there lol big piping pots of melted cheese yummay!

It won't ruin your diet. I would expect to see the scale go up for a few days (if you're a daily weigher) due to the sodium. I would just eat very light all day leading up to the meal out and take it easy there.

Have fun

Chelsea_Marinos

As long as its just for the day I don't think it will ruin you diet.. I have the issue where if I do a full on meal like that I just go on an all out food binge for a few days after so it's not good for me but if you can do it for just the day and thats it I think you will be fine

megsmom2

One day wont ruin anything. Go, enjoy a wonderful dinner, and just get back on track in the morning. Have fun!

sweetpea129

One meal isnt going to hurt anything. Just eat well the rest of the day. DH's 30th birthday is a week from today and we are going out to dinner, having cake and going out for drinks. I'm a bit nervous about it but i know one day isnt going to ruin everything. I just have to keep reminding myself of that.

dg09

Nope.

PercivalHackworth

Yes, like Jumanji, you'll need to start everything, like not any of your efforts existed
enjoy

taso42

Do you think if a fat person had one healthy meal it would mess up their fatness?

coconutbuNZ

Yes enjoy your lovely dinner and get your money's worth for sure. For myself if I'm going out - that is my day to have and enjoy. Then after that I have 6 days to pay for my enjoyment lol that is with extra exercise. I don't like food or money going to waste.

odonogc

I would try to eat really light earlier in the day, that's what I do if I know I'm going out big in the evening.

Ittybitty22

have fun workout the nxt day or workout before u go

myjourney2

Leave your diet and any guilt at the restaurant door before you go in and enjoy your meal! Once in a while definitely wont hurt and I would bet that after that meal you wont feel like going off your program for a long time.

sdow

Having one cheat meal a week is great for your diet. It helps you stick to the rest of the week knowing that you will have freedom once a week. It takes 3500 extra calories to gain a pound and that much to lose one. If you enjoy one meal a week, you can still hit a 3500 deficit. We need to enjoy life. Good food is part of that.

nikki_marie05

No, once it actually helped me by resetting my metabolism. I was only losing about 1 - 1.5 #s a week when I usually lose 2-3 and for a couple of days my boyfriend and I didn't diet and the next week I lost 3.5 #s. If it doesn't happen all the time, it won't affect all the progress you've made. I say go for it! It's his big day, just get back on track the next day

nikki_marie05

Do you think if a fat person had one healthy meal it would mess up their fatness?

Lol. Good point.

chickentunashake

Don't worry that much. It is just one day, and you can make up for it later. Just don't go on the scale for a couple of days, and you will be just fine

Striving4Fit_MrsOrtiz

I'm gonna be honest, for me, it almost did. But here's why, when I started this journey it was hard to learn how to say no to bigger portions or even cravings. So I finally got on the wagon, ate within my calorie goal, still had what I liked as long as I could, and learned how to eat healthier, and portion control. But then one day, I felt man I worked so hard let me just go all out and eat my fav, annd since then I have to learn everything I learned all over again!! I'm not saying eat a salad, do portion control at the least, so you don't have to do it all over again. Now I do agree that it doesn't really ruin anything, you might weigh a little more than what you expect. But you can fix that. Just the next day, go back to this. Have fun, and be wise!

Justacoffeenut

I allow myself special occasions. If you did this every week then I'd say yes. Just expect the scale to show the indulgence you had. And don't beat yourself up over it to much the next couple days. Drink lots of water before and after if you can. Remember they salt things like mad when you eat out so a lot maybe water gain as well.

DrBorkBork

Honestly, I find having 1 cheat day every week or two actually helps me stay on track. I had a seven mile hilly run this morning and I've had a blast eating whatever the heck I want today!
special occasions (birthdays, anniversaries) shouldn't be worried about. Planned, yes, but don't stress it. They come up infrequently.
Just make sure you are dedicated and have the discipline to get right back on the horse immediately.

P.S. my cheat foot today really isn't that awful, lol. I'm not inhaling candy bars or anything. Cheats for me today include ice cream, and rice pudding. My diary is public if you want to check it out.

PinkiePie07

I won't ruin anything . I just celebrated my 4 year anniversary with my boyfriend a few days ago and I pretty much went red on everything. I've been doing just fine since then. Out of curiosity I weighed myself yesterday and today. The scale didn't move yesterday but I went back to losing today.

Chocolatewoman

No. Life is to be lived and enjoyed. If you can't have a "cheat meal" every now and then, then shame on you.

Get back on your plan the next day.

Ribena145

Any chance of doing a bit of exercise earlier in the day to "rev" up your metabolism? It's also a good way to help alleviate any quilty feelings.

onedayillbeamilf

If I'm spending $100 for two people for one meal, calories will be the least of my worries.

jmduvall22

I've done a cheat day once a week since I've started losing weight. Just enjoy yourself and get back on track after.

SPNLuver83

Nope. I regularly have cheat meals.

LivingstonIpresume

I personally recommend that everyone gives themselves one cheat meal per week. Initially I thought it was the worst idea ever but the fact is that most of us on this site are here because we eat too much, eat bad crap, binge, or have poor impulse control (I could say I tend to be all of the above). I have a tendency to go to extremes when taking on a goal, If I'm working out, I'm working my butt off or not at all, and I'm generally incapable of sustaining a middle ground. Sounds great except that means when I screw up with my diet I spiral out of control and give up. Telling myself I have one "cheat" meal a week (it started as 3) keeps me from beating myself up for making a mistake with my meal planning as well as keeping me from being so rigid and regimented that any change means failure. I call it making an offer to the little fat kid inside (so he'll leave me alone).

Jade17694

One meal will make no difference. Hell if it did i would be in BIG trouble lol! Go, eat and enjoy yourself

_Schatzi_

No! I try to aim for a weekly average (same as my daily calorie goal). I'm always surprised that my weekly average is actually about 200cal below my daily average!

I think if your under your weekly goal, it's been a sucessful week. And also keeps me from stressing on days I go a bit over. Life happens!

LilRedRooster

One day will totally not ruin anything. I do it a few times a month, and have lost weight steadily, without any issue.

What I do, though, is some extra cardio or other workout that day, so that at least I feel like I made up for it somehow (totally doesn't balance out at all, but it helps me feel like my body earned itself a treat.)

Enjoy yourself! Cheat meals now and then are good for you mentally. They keep you normal.

claire7090

One day will not send you off track, I too am due for a bad day tomorrow as it is my sons birthday party and I will have piece of the birthday cake I have lovingly made him and I will be enjoying his birthday meal.

A treat meal is real life and MFP is in my opinion about a life change and real life has birthdays it is what we do the rest of the year that brings about that permanent chage we all want.

Tourney3p0

Lots of people saying it will make no difference. Fact is, it will absolutely make a difference in the short term. Not really in the long term. The good news is that it's very easy to calculate.

Add 250 calories per half pound you're trying to lose. If you're set to 1 lb a week, your number is 500, and so on.

As a second number, add up the calories you overeat during your "cheat meal". Divide by the number above. This is how many days it will take you to undo the damage done by the cheat meal.

For example, if your MFP goal is half a pound per week, your first number is 250. If you overeat by 1000 calories in your cheat meal, you're losing (1000/250) = 4 days worth of progress.