cheat days ?

adrim24

do you guys give yourself a once a week cheat ??
i dont know if i should do this because i am afraid if i do i will gain weight

joankpoirier

I do!!
I think that is why I choose the program to work out with that I did. I like certain foods that ARE NOT part of a "good" diet

BenKnowsFitness

I do whatever I want with the understanding of what it will do to me.

NeverEverEasy

I do but I don't want to have them often because I make a pig out of myself and hate myself the next day. Small treats in moderation everyday work for me.

~ Happy Logging ~ )

Venturin

I don't. I like so many of the good healthy foods that I feel I don't need to eat junky stuff or over-indulge and stuff myself. Plus I'm trying to train myself to be satisfied with a little less...

Tulipgirl1223

I have a cheat meal. This week I actually logged it and figured out I don't even need it because I worked it into my calories. Here I thought I was being "bad" by having it. It's a 950 calorie meal, but if I work out that day ect I can still work it in.

Mommy2Avaj

I do but I don't want to have them often because I make a pig out of myself and hate myself the next day. Small treats in moderation everyday work for me.

~ Happy Logging ~ )

This^^^^ if I wait and have only one day, I will undo the entire week!!! Lol

emnk5308

I would like to have one... but not once a week, that is WAY too often.. If I have a 'cheat' day it is going to be to go out and get Chinese food. I mean.. I'll go to the buffet and OH MY GOSH. :indifferent:

It can help keep you on track if you have treats every now and then..

fiveohmike

I dont have cheat days anymore. If it fits into my calories and macros Ill eat it. I dont have to worry about "cheating" as long as I dont go over my TDEE Maintenance target.

lbaileyjohannsen

I think it is important to remember that those high fat high carb not-so-good-for-you foods we all enjoy shouldn't be thought of as "the enemy" or something to be feared. In my past dieting experiences, I would find that I would hardline it as long as I could, and then putter out and end up binge eating and giving up. This time around, even though I've just restarted, I plan on allowing myself to have a cookie, or a cheeseburger, or WHATEVER, in moderation, every once in a while. I think that will also help me maintain once I have met my goal weight. We should enjoy ourselves a little bit, there is no reason you should be miserable all the time if you don't necessarily enjoy healthier eating. So I say yes to either cheat days, or just giving yourself a small treat a few times a week.

heartofdorkness

I've had one real cheat day so far, and that was at a family cookout. (And with homemade food, and my family's tradition of altering recipes to the extreme, it was impossible to say just how many calories I had that day.) With that exception, I don't set aside cheat days. Instead, I try not to deprive myself of anything. If I want to have a not-so-healthy treat, I make sure I keep my portions under control. For example, one square of chocolate instead of the whole bar; I buy single serving tubs of ice cream instead of pints and quarts; for mixed drinks, I allow myself one or two ounces of alcohol at most, and I only have one drink; and if I ever have Chinese takeout, I make sure I save enough leftovers for 2-3 more meals. Doing this has helped me out a ton, because I never feel like I'm missing out on anything.

fiveohmike

I think it is important to remember that those high fat high carb not-so-good-for-you foods we all enjoy shouldn't be thought of as "the enemy" or something to be feared. In my past dieting experiences, I would find that I would hardline it as long as I could, and then putter out and end up binge eating and giving up. This time around, even though I've just restarted, I plan on allowing myself to have a cookie, or a cheeseburger, or WHATEVER, in moderation, every once in a while. I think that will also help me maintain once I have met my goal weight. We should enjoy ourselves a little bit, there is no reason you should be miserable all the time if you don't necessarily enjoy healthier eating. So I say yes to either cheat days, or just giving yourself a small treat a few times a week.

This is key! I went out with friends to a restaraunt and got a Mini Wheat Crust deep dish pizza. 800 calories. Fit nicely into my macros...didnt feel guilty either...even with the 1 beer I had...still lost 1lb that week.

knwitall

I don't have a set cheat day or how often. But I will do this so called "cheating" thing. But i usually only do a cheat meal. Mc Donalds . There's just something about their hamburgers and fries that makes me ever so happy. Lol

RedWeb

As long as you eat the right amount over the course of a week to lose weight then do what you like.

thriftycupl

I use to have a cheat day as part of following The 4Hour Body by Tim Ferriss. I hit a plateau for 7-8 weeks but kept following. I'm moving over the Eat More to Weigh Less Group (found it here on MFP) so now I try to fit what fits into my overall calories. It's a shift.

What I will say is this-- if you deprive yourself for too long of the things that you crave, it will be hard and you may get frustrated. We all need to find ways to indulge ourselves or eat the food that we love that may not be the best for us.

Good luck.

bzgl40

In one cheat day you can totally undo a week of good eating. IMO they are a bad thing. I allow myself treats every day and account for it. For example, I love me some chocolate so I have a dark chocolate square every day. So I guess I never feel the need for a cheat day. That being said, every now and then I will eat out and of course end up with a high calorie meal, but I do my best to account for it during the day and maybe into the next one. And I still try and make the best possible choice while at the restaurant.

Missi3601

I do- and it saves me from going crazy overboard... I mean I usually go over my calories by about 500- but make sure on those days I burn at least 650 at the gym so it evens out

Jgasmic

I don't consider it cheating so much as not making the best choices I could. Yesterday, I was either in bed or on the couch all day and I ate crap, and I haven't started today off well either. I'm ok with this. If it's edible then it is an option for me, nothing is off limits. If I'm given too many restrictions (even if they are given by myself to myself) I will begin to rebel.

mommyT4

I do not have a cheat DAY, I have one cheat MEAL a week, not necessarily having something that is "bad" for me but just having extra calories than normal, it is not a bad thing to do and the weeks that I have had one cheat meal, I have actually lost a little bit more weight than other weeks where I did not cheat. I think that it is important to not deprive yourself of all the things that you think you should not eat, just do it in extreme moderation

Jgasmic

In one cheat day you can totally undo a week of good eating. IMO they are a bad thing. I allow myself treats every day and account for it. For example, I love me some chocolate so I have a dark chocolate square every day. So I guess I never feel the need for a cheat day. That being said, every now and then I will eat out and of course end up with a high calorie meal, but I do my best to account for it during the day and maybe into the next one. And I still try and make the best possible choice while at the restaurant.

It would have to be one heck of a cheat day to undo a whole week of healthy eating. If I'm losing a pound a week, that's 3500 calories (either burned or not put in) so I'd have to eat those PLUS whatever my calories would be at maintenance (2,000 something maybe?) to have it wipe out my whole week. That is an insane amount of food! I don't think the typical "bad" eating day even comes close.

(edited to add quote)

tobnrn

I dont have cheat days anymore. If it fits into my calories and macros Ill eat it. I dont have to worry about "cheating" as long as I dont go over my TDEE Maintenance target.

^^^This^^^ I had pizza and wings for dinner last nite. Fit beautifully