Cheat day/Free day

ImRadical4Jesus

Ok, so I had my first cheat/free day today. I started MFP March 20th and have been eating very healthy. I've read that if you are plateauing, to have a cheat/free day to shock your body....well mine is shocked lol.

So I went out and bought my favorite Sesame chicken, fried rice and egg roll. Ate half for lunch the other for dinner. Bought my favorite candy bar...had a hard time eating it. After dinner, I made 4 chocolate chip cookies in which I could only eat 2. I suck at cheat/free days LOL. I've been full since I ate the first half of the sesame chicken, I've had to pretty much force the other down, knowing I needed to eat and that this was my FREE DAY DAWG GONE IT! (c: I've been very thirsty (I'm sure from the sesame chicken), so drinking lots of water. I wanted my pop, but I just can't drink it, I just want water.

I really thought that I was going to enjoy my free day...not! I feel miserable and I don't like feeling this way, just reminds me of how I felt before MFP. So tell me about your cheat/free day.

Awkward30

You don't HAVE to do anything. And that sounds like you forced yourself to binge, which doesn't necessarily sound like a good idea.

I don't really eat clean, I eat what I want when I want it, I go over if I'm hungry, and I lose weight... don't let anyone tell you what you "have" to do. Just do what works for you and what you like. The "refeed"/"cheat day" would only need to be at or a bit above maintenance, you don't need to go crazy, unless having a crazy day scheduled prevents you from binging other days. Do what works for you!

Tink_889

I found that when I ate unhealthily, I also felt quite unwell and blah. It was quite an eye-opener. I hadn't even thought about it before but there was one day where I had a McDonalds and actually it fitted in with my calories but I felt bloated and yucky.

x

Klamber26

Yep, today was cheat day for me too. I pigged out on mini reeses cups then had a stomach ache for the rest of the day. Cheat Day sucks.

ImRadical4Jesus

Well I have decided to eat the way I have been since I've started MFP. I love the sesame chicken, if I choose to eat it again, I will only eat a very small portion and it will be within my daily calories. I have also found out that the sweets aren't as good as I remembered. lol

PuggleLover

I used to do crazy cheat days where I would eat every "bad" food all in one day - and I didn't even eat that bad before I started getting healthy - cramming ice cream, brownies, hamburgers and lots of carbs into one day. All that to say, I found a happy medium and still allow a cheat day but I still plan what I will eat. Like if I eat a good breakfast but want 5 Guys for lunch, I know dinner will have to include a lot of water and usually a protien smoothie, otherwise, I will get sick - especially since I have had my gallbladder removed.

jsapninz

There are two types of cheat days:
One is where you stay under your goal but eat crappy, unhealthy food. This is just unhealthy, but it doesn't sabatoge your weight loss.
The other is where you go over your goal. This can be unhealthy AND sabatoge your weight loss.

The whole "shocking your body" stuff is nonsense. Either way, the only person you are cheating is YOURSELF.

Regardless, in my experience, both forms of cheating make me realize "hmm, that wasn't as great as I thought it would be."

Glad this was a learning experience for you as well. :ohwell:
Carry on! :flowerforyou:

thelovelyLIZ

I've finally figured out how to strike a happy balance between going overboard and treating myself once in a while. My boyfriend and I celebrated our anniversary the other day, so I basically gave myself a free pass for the day. I made us stuffed french toast in the morning, then we had some fancy french fries at a local place in the afternoon, and then I had a grilled chicken sandwich with bacon, cheese, and a side salad for dinner. We split a chocolate caramel dipped apple later on, and I had a beer and some wine. We also went on a four mile hike and did lots of walking around at the beach.

The funny thing is, I REALLY wanted fried clams for dinner (we ate at one of our favorite local places), but I knew I wouldn't be able to handle any more fried food after those french fries in the afternoon. I would just feel sick. So I got a really delicious sandwich and asked for a salad instead of fries. We had also intended to get ice cream at yet another amazing local place (we love support local restaurants, in case you can't tell), but we both agreed ice cream would have just been too much on top of what we had eaten. We've both really cleaned up our diets, and so so much rich food just would not have been good for either of us. Eventually your body starts recognizing how bad some of the food we eat for us is, and you learn to anticipate and respect that.

apgreen

on my cheat days I would totally pig out and feel so sick before bed. but in my head if I was gonna cheat then it mine as well be worth it and get it out of my system and eat whatever I wanted all day long. after having a few cheat days n feeling sick at night I def. decided it wasn't worth it if I wasn't enjoying it so now on my cheat days I usually just cheat during dinner which is usually my biggest/favorite meal of the day.