Cheat Days

YaBoiMUGS

I was having a conversation with some of my buddies about cheat days, and they asked me what I do on mine. Well first of all, I only have one a week, and it doesn't mean I stuff my face with every piece of junk made available. They were shocked that I don't "indulge," as they put it. To tell you the truth, a cheat day really means that you take in about 50% more calories than you usually do, and ideally, they're mainly carbs, about 50%. Cheat days are not supposed to be a McGriddle from McDonald's for breakfast, 3 slices of pizza for lunch, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream in between meals, and a #4 from Burger King for dinner. I think a lot of people have some misconceptions about what you can and cannot do on your cheat day, but that kind of meal plan is not it. I might have one thing I normally never eat, maybe a slice of pizza for dinner, but my calorie increase is made up of healthy meals still, just more of them.

What do you guys do on your cheat days? Are you guilty of this?

rose313

I too only have one thing I wouldn't normally eat, but I try to have a smaller portion of it. I don't have a set day to do it either, and sometimes I'll eat something bad twice a week. It's usually an ice cream cone (cone-15 cals slow churned ice cream- 160 cals) and I have about 3/4 cup instead of the recommended half a cup, which adds a little bit more calories, which I do log. So I don't go crazy, but I do let myself have what I want.

LiddyBit

My cheat day means more that I don't log rather than going way over calories. I mean, I probably do go a bit over but I don't usually eat much differently than I normally would. Last cheat day I didn't log and ate a piece of chocolate cake. Otherwise it wasn't much different. For me, the mental aspect of being free to make any choice I want doesn't make me all that rebellious. But never being allowed to have that freedom does.

Sometimes I zig-zag my calories to fit in "cheats" but I don't really consider them cheats because I'm still on-target for the week.

kshiraakshara

Once a week I go out to dinner with my friends, so for my cheat day I get whatever I want at that dinner. Sometimes it ends up being within my calorie goal and sometimes its way, way over. The cheating part is more about not thinking about what I'm eating than the food itself or the calorie count.

Kerri_is_so_very

I really don't have them. If I have a party or function planned, I try to eat before going if possible and leave plenty of room for indulges. I really don't see the point in going crazy and possibly killing some hard work. Though I really haven't wanted for anything. There are very few things that I say "I will never eat again or while I'm trying to lose I won't have any ____". In order to maintain this lifestyle forever I need to be able to eat what I want when I want (chocolate, cookies, pizza check check check...but they are rare treats), but knowing the caloric value of some of those things have caused me to lose interest! LOL

GCAsMom

I was thinking about this the other day. How often are you supposed to cheat to jump start your metabolism? I'm about the furthest thing from a health specialist, but it seems like I heard you were supposed to indulge periodically. My dad was put on a low carb diet by his doctor for health reasons and was told he could cheat once a month.

What is the ideal amount of cheat days in a month for weight loss? 1? 2? 4?

I've been back to tracking my calories after slipping off the wagon a couple years ago and have yet to take a cheat day in the two weeks since. (I really would like a piece of cake next week for a birthday. )

Lift_hard_eat_big

I was having a conversation with some of my buddies about cheat days, and they asked me what I do on mine. Well first of all, I only have one a week, and it doesn't mean I stuff my face with every piece of junk made available. They were shocked that I don't "indulge," as they put it. To tell you the truth, a cheat day really means that you take in about 50% more calories than you usually do, and ideally, they're mainly carbs, about 50%. Cheat days are not supposed to be a McGriddle from McDonald's for breakfast, 3 slices of pizza for lunch, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream in between meals, and a #4 from Burger King for dinner. I think a lot of people have some misconceptions about what you can and cannot do on your cheat day, but that kind of meal plan is not it. I might have one thing I normally never eat, maybe a slice of pizza for dinner, but my calorie increase is made up of healthy meals still, just more of them.

What do you guys do on your cheat days? Are you guilty of this?

I typically eat out 1 or twice a day, enjoying sausage egg McMuffins, Bacon double cheeseburgers, loaded burritos, pizza, etc. So on my refeed days on the weekends, I eat the same type of food I normally eat, just larger portions of them.

fitforlifeee

I'm trying to stop my self from having cheat days because I'm an all or nothing kind of person. I have to have the WHOLE tub of Ben & Jerry's or not buy it full stop haha.

bradphil87

I was having a conversation with some of my buddies about cheat days, and they asked me what I do on mine. Well first of all, I only have one a week, and it doesn't mean I stuff my face with every piece of junk made available. They were shocked that I don't "indulge," as they put it. To tell you the truth, a cheat day really means that you take in about 50% more calories than you usually do, and ideally, they're mainly carbs, about 50%. Cheat days are not supposed to be a McGriddle from McDonald's for breakfast, 3 slices of pizza for lunch, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream in between meals, and a #4 from Burger King for dinner. I think a lot of people have some misconceptions about what you can and cannot do on your cheat day, but that kind of meal plan is not it. I might have one thing I normally never eat, maybe a slice of pizza for dinner, but my calorie increase is made up of healthy meals still, just more of them.

What do you guys do on your cheat days? Are you guilty of this?

I agree with your way. The whole day thing is an easy way to lose all your hard work! If your eating at a 500 cal deficit. And on your cheat day you have 3 meals of 1000 cals a piece....you just lost a lot of the good things you did that week. Personally, I don't plan a cheat. But sometimes it comes up and I will do it. Like if I'm visiting family and they want me to stay for dinner, I will eat their cooking. I know it's not good for me. But I will not have seconds. That's my rule. I will have a serving, log it and try to get to the gym later that evening and make it back to the green