Cheat Days- I don't get it

natvanessa

I have a question. Really just curious...

Reading these forums a lot recently, I have seen a lot of people incorporate a whole "cheat day" each week into their plan. From what I'm hearing you can eat whatever and how much as you want.

What I'm wondering is, can you still lose weight doing this??

See, I understand the concept of doing this so you don't feel deprived and go over on the other days of the week. But I would think just one "cheat meal", or indulgence now and then is good. I'm not planning to have a cheat day myself because I'm already losing weight very very slowly and only indulging a little bit on some days is fine for me right now.

Just trying to make sense of it. In my opinion I feel like having a whole cheat day would ruin the whole progress I had already made the days prior, I don't know? If it works, that's great! Maybe I will try it LOL :laugh:

dg09

If you look at your calorie goals weekly rather than daily, and you're still at a deficit at the end of a week with a cheat meal... ya, it works.

I used to do it every Sunday for about 7 months.

FloridaAimee

I pretty much just don't count my calls on the weekends. We have teenagers, and always have friends over during the summer on the weekends, which means cooking over the fire/on the grill, and yeah we do a lot of hot dogs or brats because of the amount of people that are here, and I just don't worry about it a whole lot. If you look at my diary, you'll see no counting on Saturday or Sunday. I don't sit around and pig out, but if we wanna have hot dogs, we have hot dogs, and I don't stress about it.

And yes, I am losing

AmyB69

I don't "cheat" really. I still have pizza every Friday night. I eat everything in moderation. I drink 9-10 glasses of water every day, I work out for 60-90 minutes 6-7 days a week. I've lost consistently. I just don't go over my calories. If I know I'm going to have something high in calories then I just plan for it.

ariant23

ditto to the above. just make sure your net over time is below your usage and you'll lose weight. rather than a "cheat day" (at least for me) it's an "eat normal in the end day" it's a net-zero day for me (or something close), not a binge and lose the rest of the week day. and i do usually put in a higher-calorie tasty food on that day.

all things in moderation...

TeddyBear47

You're right a cheat meal is better than a cheat day. Maybe every two weeks or so. I've had 2 cheat meals in 4 months. I didn't plan on those, it just kinds happened. GOOD LUCK

neverstray

Quite a few years ago, I heard of this from my mom. It wasn't until about 3 years ago that my mom turned me on to this book by Bill Philips. The book is called Body For Life. In the book, Bill is a strong advocate of a cheat day (it was written in the 80's). He talks a lot about why this is good for your body, but only if you are exercising 6 days a week and utilizing HIIT for cardio. So, if you are doing those things, then having a cheat day is fine. I've lost weight doing it. No problem. There are lots of reasons why it works. One of those reasons is that it makes it easier to be good all week, if you know your cheat day is coming up and you can have pizza and ice cream. My only self-imposed rule was, i only got cheat day if I was good all week. If I blew it, no cheat day and that would make me a sad panda.

Elizabeth_C34

Most of the people who have lost the largest amount of weight on my friends list have cheat days. They don't really "eat whatever they want" though. It's more like they allow themselves to indulge in something they really like that might put them slightly over their calorie goal for the day.

mmapags

I just don't believe in a 'cheat" day philospophically. If you need to do that, you have your goal set too agressive. Losing weight in the short term is great but if we're not learning how to change the paradigm of our lives. I've decided I'm not really trying to lose weight, I'm trying to reduce fat and be healthy. That puts the whole thing in a different perspective. My fat is going down, my body is getting healthier and my weight hasn't really changed in 2 months but my clothes are all looser and my body fat is down about 4%. There is no need to cheat. I can do this for the rest of my life!

mibrewer413

Quite a few years ago, I heard of this from my mom. It wasn't until about 3 years ago that my mom turned me on to this book by Bill Philips. The book is called Body For Life. In the book, Bill is a strong advocate of a cheat day (it was written in the 80's). He talks a lot about why this is good for your body, but only if you are exercising 6 days a week and utilizing HIIT for cardio. So, if you are doing those things, then having a cheat day is fine. I've lost weight doing it. No problem. There are lots of reasons why it works. One of those reasons is that it makes it easier to be good all week, if you know your cheat day is coming up and you can have pizza and ice cream. My only self-imposed rule was, i only got cheat day if I was good all week. If I blew it, no cheat day and that would make me a sad panda.

I did Body For Life about 10 years ago and lost 30 lbs and his concepts of eating/cheat day/working out 6 days a week really made sense to me. I drank those myoplex shakes for years. I still apply a lot of his concepts like not eating food that is "empty calories" and I do have a cheat meal but not a whole cheat day anymore. He always stressed the better carbs too like whole wheats, sweet potatoes, etc. His best quote that still runs through my mind is "Fail to plan, then plan on failing".

0622cameron

I don't "cheat" really. I still have pizza every Friday night. I eat everything in moderation. I drink 9-10 glasses of water every day, I work out for 60-90 minutes 6-7 days a week. I've lost consistently. I just don't go over my calories. If I know I'm going to have something high in calories then I just plan for it.

I agree totally with this. I don't call it a cheat day because it is incorporated into my calories. We eat pizza mostly every friday and I have still lost weight doing this. Just don't go over your calories. Remember to exercise and drink your water.

kalynn06

I don't have planned cheat days per se, but I eat close to maintenance once a week or so. I still average my calorie goal for the week. For me, it works. I tend to lose more weight with high and low days than with eating the same amount each day. It's an informal way of calorie cycling, and the way I naturally eat. Some days I eat a lot, some days I don't. I just make sure it all averages out in the end, and I've been losing weight.

beckylawrence70

I don't have "cheat days" either, I eat what I want, I'm at my goal weight and maintaining with ease.......:) Anything in moderation is my motto........

WiegandS

My cheat days are just days where I'm just really hungry. Most of the time they are days where I don't exercise (because my body is used to eating more than 1200 calories) or days where I burn 1,000+ calories and I'm just hungry every hour on the hour. I don't plan it where it's every 1st monday or the month or every friday, etc.

Fieldsy

Dropped 220lbs having a cheat day, often times 2 cheat days a week.


I work hard though.

karinefitness

I don't do cheat days. I'll have a cheat meal, where I'll have something I don't eat during the week. Most of the time, I'll order in some chicken (not fried) and fries. Or pizza. Sometimes I'll have a dessert; most of the time I won't. I won't go overboard and eat anything I want an entire day because:

1. I honestly don't want to;
2. I'll be sick the next day;
3. It doesn't make sense for me to eat 'clean' during the week and then go crazy 1x week for an entire day. It just goes against what I am trying to do. But a cheat meal about once a week? It keeps me sane! ;-) And it's working since I'm dropping body fat. So why not?

SmartAlec03211988

If you're not able to indulge then jump back on, you probably shouldn't do it.

I don't have that problem, and so 'free days' work for me. Saturday, I eat whatever I want, and I was losing weight every week. Now I'm on maintenance and still incorporating a cheat day and actually lost 6 more lbs at MAINTENANCE while incorporating a cheat day, so according to MFP I was eating a surplus (should've gained, not lost...) before it actually leveled out and actually maintained my weight.

I'll never give up my cheat day because it works for me.

monty619

the more cheat days/meals you have.. the slower you reach your goal.

veganbaum

The only thing that really matters is your weekly deficit. I'll be eating 3,000 calories tomorrow. I vary my calories the other six days a week so that if I were to average my weekly calories it would be like eating about 1600 a day; in the end my weekly deficit is still the same. It's not a cheat, though, it's completely planned. Some people work well that way, some don't. Some people can have a free day where they don't log anything for that one day and still end up with a nice weekly deficit. I have to log to make sure I get to that 3,000, not under and not over.

kathleennf

I don't like calling them cheat days.
What's been working for me, though, is thinking of it as a weekly calorie goal/limit as others have said. I "save" up calories for Sundays, and then I eat what I want on Sunday, up to the number of extra calories I've saved. I virtually never eat them all. I am also still losing weight even though I have my goal set to "maintenance" and I am going to have to up my calories again!

kathleennf

the more cheat days/meals you have.. the slower you reach your goal.

Not true, or at least not totally true. Google "calorie cycling".

monty619

the more cheat days/meals you have.. the slower you reach your goal.

Not true, or at least not totally true. Google "calorie cycling".

cheat meals = extra calories = slower weight loss... i think carbohydrate cycling has more benefits try to mess with those numbers rather than calories.

missprincessjenny

I believe in upping your calories once or twice a week to keep your metabolism guessing. It's called carb cycing. Not that I know if it works...haven't tried it long enough.

mag1c

http://www.romanfitnesssystems.com/blog/in-defense-of-cheat-days/

him1025

i allow a cheat treat meaning i might eat a ice cream cone or a couple table sppons of frosting imply cause i have learned that if i try to cut out the foods i crave i fall off the wagon. but lik eeveryone has said i allow for it or if i go over my calorie count i exsercise it off

veganbaum

the more cheat days/meals you have.. the slower you reach your goal.

Not true, or at least not totally true. Google "calorie cycling".

cheat meals = extra calories = slower weight loss... i think carbohydrate cycling has more benefits try to mess with those numbers rather than calories.

Problem with that statement is that you're interpreting a "cheat" to mean going over calories. Around here, some people mean that, but *a lot* of people take "cheat" to meant eating junk food or whatever. So you don't know what your reader means when they say "cheat" unless they've said so explicitly. I just don't use the word at all.

LorinaLynn

I don't consider it cheating, but I take weekends, and sometimes a week, and sometimes a month, where I stop logging my food and just eat what I want. Not gorging on everything in sight, but my mind needs a mental break from thinking about calories so much. I don't want to, for instance, go to a party and be that one stick in the mud who can't or won't eat anything, or have to count out an exact serving of potato chips, or ask my host what's in their recipes. I just want to live a normal life.

LadyBeryl

Someone asked Michelle Obama about pigging out on Thanksgiving and I remember that she responded that she would indulge a few days each year. I interpreted that as "cheat days" - all things in moderation -- including sticking to a strict self-imposed diet.

That said, I don't really have "cheat days" but I don't see anything wrong with them.

leslisa

I have a cheat day but it's 600 calories above my regular day and it's a day with 0 exercise requirement (though I usually still walk dog or bike or whatever, there is no pressure if I miss). I do not limit my carbs that day but I do still watch my sodium due to high B/P.

Why do I have it? Because I deserve it. 600 calories is a piece of my fav pie or eating out at a nice restaurant (not salad or without carbs) with my husband, or going to my SIL's house and eating whatever she made even if it's loaded with cals. It takes some of the pressure off Fri, Sat, or Sunday (whichever is the day I need that week).

Do I still loose weight? Yes. Is it as quick? Don't know, don't care. I've lost 13 lbs since Mid-Febish (about 10 weeks) so I'm hitting my goals+ and I'm feeling fine.

My opinion is if you need one, take one. It's better than regressing. Should mention, now that my stomach has shrunk and I'm working on my abs again I get full a lot faster anyway so staying within my 600 splurge (1600 total for the day) is pretty easy.

(And no saying my 1000 cals is "starvation mode". No, it isn't. It's doc approved and I get all I need for my very small stature with 1000.)

teee12

I personally wouldn't do it... every body is different, but im so determined to lose weight, i dont want to risk having a cheat day, though once i week ill have something 'naughty' in portion

monty619

the more cheat days/meals you have.. the slower you reach your goal.

Not true, or at least not totally true. Google "calorie cycling".

cheat meals = extra calories = slower weight loss... i think carbohydrate cycling has more benefits try to mess with those numbers rather than calories.

Problem with that statement is that you're interpreting a "cheat" to mean going over calories. Around here, some people mean that, but *a lot* of people take "cheat" to meant eating junk food or whatever. So you don't know what your reader means when they say "cheat" unless they've said so explicitly. I just don't use the word at all.

no.. calories are essentially equal assuming you hit all of your macro goals for a day... any type of technical "cheat" is a caloric surplus. if you are still under or at your caloric goal for the day you wont gain any weight at all no matter what you eat...