Who here has a cheat day once a week?

lewist90

the problem you get with 'cheat days' is that you tend to let yourself off on everything in a sence that you'll be like 'ill eat this cheesecake because its my cheat day ect' its easy to lose control........just do a cheat meal or a cheat meal on both Saturday and Sunday. i promise the results will be better than just a whole day of not keeping it in check

wonderwoman_72

I don't call it a cheat day, but a "High Calorie Day." I don't go overboard with eating anything and everything. I usually eat about 1,000 calories more than my usual daily goal. I don't have a set day and I don't always do it every week. Gives me the flexibility to enjoy special occasions/meals, keeps my metabolism on its toes, and satisfies me enough that I can resist those cravings the rest of the week.

SCVSarah

Personally, I can't do cheat days or meals because it just sets up binge eating for me :frown:

fmbomzo

I don't consider them cheat days. I look at them as rest days just like with exercise. I keep it pretty tame during the week and on weekends I loosen the reins. I try to have a sensible low-calorie but nutrient dense breakfast and then I allow myself whatever foods I chose for lunch and dinner. For example, I'll go to Red Lobster and have the cheddar bay biscuits I love (one or two depending on whether I'm having dessert), a broiled or grilled fish entree with a salad, soup and/or dessert.

My dinner will be light most times and I make sure to get some exercise in if I'm going to go over my TDEE.

I think weekly goals are more flexible than drilling something in every single day. I do the same with my exercise.

devil_in_a_blue_dress

If you view what you are doing now as a lifelong process, I don't see how you don't have cheat days.

Things is -- you take them for special occasions (that you hopefully plan for somewhat) or days were you REALLY, REALLY want it. Personally, I don't feel like cheating most of the time -- the days I do, I don't fight myself too hard.

I've lost 12 pounds with MFP, I go back and forth gaining and re-losing those to some extent. Before that, I lost 35 pounds on WW (I never gained any of that weight back after about 8 years). How I am might slow my progress down - but I am healthy and can totally do this forever. So that's what I stick with.

lucythinmint

They problem with the idea of a cheat day or meal is that people go crazy. Cheating is more allowing yourself a treat for your hard work. I love pizza, will not live my life without pizza.
I don't eat it all the time, and when I do I don't eat the entire thing. Even if I work pizza into my week it will not undo everything I have done to that point.
Eating the entire Papa Johns pizza and a 2 liter of soda and a pint of ice cream, yeah that will mess some *kitten* up. 2 pieces of pizza and a bottle of water, I am not even considering it a cheat.
I log it and move on, It was damn good, I enjoyed it. End of story.

Reward yourself when you want it. Don't lose your mind over it. No diet will every succeed if you feel like you are always staring at the food through the glass window.
Go in, eat a bite. Then walk your *kitten* home! :drinker:

Excellentia

I dont call them "cheat days" I call them "Not logging days" lol. I do it every saturday and they have NOT done any harm to me. I am still losing weight the same as I was before.

Its watever works for you.

Pretty much, um... What SHE said!

916lude

I have a cheat day once a week. Usually involves a BBQ and liquor or going out to eat. I also make sure to get a workout in that morning.

Pirschjaeger

I have cheat days whenever there is a special occasion and I won't log what I eat, but I don't gorge my self with food. I tend to get nauseated easily if I eat too much, so that keeps me from binging.

MaxsVeganMama

ive never done a cheat day, i cant undo all the hard work ive done

fit4lyfeLisa

I have a cheat meal, not a cheat day.

MelisRunning

Sunday is my cheat day/meal! It is lunch and I always have a Sonic footlong chili cheese dog with onions and jalapenos. That is 850 calories! And it is glorious! The rest of the week I am very disciplined but boy, that footlong!

lauravasseur

Felt like I was having a cheat day last night as I ate four or five things in a row at dinner. I logged it and still have calories left over for the day (I almost always do...) if it works for you its working. It is silly to deprive yourself of everything that is yummy for the rest of your life and silly to think that you will. Moderation is the key to everything. Good job on your weight loss and good luck to everyone on their journeys.

clarajean123

Please don't call it cheat day. That makes it sound as if we have to be perfect or we are worthless. We are not perfect, and we are all valuble individuals. Everyone has a cheat day, or we wouldn't have weight problems. I think it is all a matter of balance and time!

AmbyrJayde

Me! its on sundays, but technically I restrict my calories to 1500 mon-sat so that I really don't end up going over on sunday :P But my brain thinks I do

dietmotivator

I don't 'allow' for cheat days but sometimes they just happen. For example, it was my sisters birthday on Sunday so I overindulged.

I then work out that 10 minutes more each day. I do incorporate small amounts of chocolate too. I just log it.

Mr_Bad_Example

Um, I lost at least 30 lbs and kept it off by having one cheat day every week. I do them to this day and still haven't gained anything back that I lost. And I'm not lying.

Krizzo87

Not me! I'll do a cheat "item" or "meal" but if I had a cheat DAY, I don't think I'd be able to stop and I'd just end up sabotaging myself! Plus, I've found that when I do have a cheat, I end up realizing just how much I DON'T miss eating those things!!

kimnsc

just curious, who on here has a cheat day once per week. I've been really good at logging my food and dieting lately, and i've lost 12 pounds so far. but i still like to allow myself one cheat day/meal per week. where i won't log, and will let myself indulge. and then at the end of the cheat day, i'm more than happy to go back to my diet the next day. and it hasn't seemed to hurt my weight loss at all. i'm still losing. what's your views on cheat days once a week, are they harmful to a diet or good? I've heard mixed things.

Never a cheat day, but I will do a cheat meal once or twice a month.

bluebird321

I do and it has worked fine for me.

taunto

I do it once every 5 days. If I don't do it, it don't lose any weight. Whenever I have spike/cheat days, I lose weight. I like losing weight

rowtard

I have one a month

GSCPostBaby

You don't have to have a cheat day, you can allow yourself to eat the things you enjoy in moderation. It is all about watching what you put in and out. If you want ice cream, have 1 scoop not 4, make sure you exercise too. I would not recommend cheating unless you have the calories to do so. I find not having something I want now and then is bad for you because instead of taking a few bites I want to just shove my face. So allowing a treat in small portions works for me perfectly. I have only been disappointed by cheat days and found I binged my face out.

Also, try to curb your cravings with other things. When I am craving something sweet, I try to have a slice of watermelon instead of chocolate. Something salty, go for planters heart healthy nut mix. Eventually you will get used to it. Unfortunately, loosing weight and eating food, I find you have to treat it as if you were an alcoholic or drug addict. I also found that Fiber Ones 90 Calorie Brownies are not terrible, and they make 100 calorie ice cream sandwiches. There are things you can find and do to satisfy those needs.

Good Luck!!

Yes, ma'am, this works for me. A woman after my own heart.

aegisprncs

I definetly do a cheat day and I am still taking the pounds off. My cheat day is way weigh in day (first thing in AM). Sometimes those days I do cardio and sometimes I don't. Just depends on my mood. But I do log it.

CyberEd312

Do one every week normally on Saturday's and have managed to lose a few pounds.... Best of Luck...

smilesback

So I don't really plan cheating on food once a week or whatever...so can't say I have a cheat day...I just cheat on my weight loss program -- and that is an issue. My friends at MFP have suggested I focus more on balance, calories in, calories out. That is a better way to approach my relationship with food for me -- as I love food. Good and bad food appeals to me. If I have too many *can't have-its* then when I feel *naughty* -- I will go crazy, that is, eating as much and a lot more than I normally would. After that, I feel guilty and the scale says NOPE you cannot lose eating like THAT! Hard to come back from eating a cheat meal or having a cheat day -- so that swinging back and forth on the pendulum is not how I want to live. Balance.

DrowningMermaid

I will openly admit that I cheat on the weekends. Some days I just don't want to be bothered to cook, so we'll go get some Pizza Hut or Subway, McDonald's or whatever. I'll try to make the healthiest choice I can with my cheat by removing a bun, sacrificing my olives or pickles and having just one or two slices or just half of my sub, but I'm not going to let myself completely stop eating the things I love. Recently I discovered that I actually PREFER my burgers (or chicken sandwich) without the bun. It's like a cheat, but since I add tomato and lettuce, it's like a salad with mustard as the dressing.

I have individual baggies of single-serving junk food cheats sitting in a basket in my kitchen right now. Because I think those single serving bags are so much better than sitting down with a whole tube of Pringles only to discover halfway through my movie I've eaten the whole thing.

And if you have a cheat, just make sure to get in some good workouts in the next few days so you at least feel like you've earned it.

eric198

Like some others above, I don't really have cheat days. To me a cheat day would mean I'm cheating on a diet... which I'm not. I'm learning to live a new lifestyle, which for me means being mindful and healthy all the time. However, if I really want something, I have it. But, I still watch portions and work to stay within my limits with extra exercise.

kaitiebeth89

I do once a week! Usually it's a tostado from my favorite mexican restaurant with chips and salsa. I just eat the meat, cheese, and lettuce, and leave the flour shell. Or sometimes I go to McDonalds and get a cheeseburger and a small frie. It hasn't stalled me yet.

spoonful

When I was working out to lose fat AND build muscle I had a free day each week. I do not think you undo anything let alone a week's worth of work. My body benefited from it.