What are your views on cheat days?

HunterKiller_wechange

In my incredibly important opinion, cheat days are what got you here. So yeah I don't agree with them not one bit

Yeah but that was having a cheat day everyday!

kie_kie

I normally have one set cheat day. Being a jamaican sunday dinner is a big thing and what is sunday dinner without rice and peas? so I normally choose sunday as my cheat day so I dont feel left out when the rest of the family is have rice and peas and I'm stuck munching on lettuce lol that could make a person go crazy.

However if i happen to fall off during the week I use sunday as redemption so i only cheat once per week.

Bobby_Clerici

My view is that it's better not to if you can, but....
I LOVE MY "Free Day"
Saturday is my 10 hour food orgy - a total binge - anything goes.
Burgers, pizza, beer, ice cream - anything and everything.
I lost over 72 lbs doing this. It's nice knowing I have less than a week before I can treat myself to something fabulous but UNHEALTHY!
And there are physiological issues as it shocks your metabolism and all that.
Works great for me - GOOD LUCK!

taunto

I have a cheat day every 5 days. I pool my workout calories and on non-cheat days donot eat back my workout calories but on my cheat days I use those "saved" calories and go to town.

I calculate my calories by the weak rather than daily so that helps also. I would be a very very grumpy guy if it wasn't for spike/cheat days and I would most likely not be doing this if I couldn't eat goodies I want

JDMPWR

As long as my significant other is ok with it then.........

jcstanton

"Cheat day" means eat WHAT you want, not AS MUCH as you want. In other words, if you want Chinese food, eat it, but still log it and keep within your calorie limits. Just be prepared to eat MUCH smaller quantities of food that day, as junk food/fast food/restaurant food is much more calorie dense than the healthy foods you eat every other day of the week. Personally, I don't allow myself more than one "cheat day" per month. Ever hear the expression, "Give 'em an inch, and they'll take a mile"? That's the problem I have. The more frequently I allow myself to cheat, the more normal it becomes and I start making too many allowances.

Edit to add: WORKOUT on cheat days! It helps you feel less lethargic after bingeing on junk. At least, that's been my experience anyway.

Laura80111

I don't like the term "cheat day" it just screams bad to me. What are you cheating on? This should be a lifestyle change (one that I have not totally grasped yet) not some diet that you just do for a while and can "cheat" on sometimes. If you want a treat, eat it, just not a lot of it. That is what is going to keep you sane.

Everyone is different, this is just my take on it. I do have days that I don't track but it is normally because I just don't have the time not because I am "cheating". You can't cheat at life.

My thoughts exactly:bigsmile:

benjit_t

I feel that it's a bit like an alcoholic rewarding themselves with a drink, or a smoker rewarding themselves for a week of not smoking with a cigarette. It defeats the purpose and reinforces the bad behavior that you are trying to stop. Ideally you would reward yourself with something that is not food.

Having said that, I think your body needs 'refeed' days, but they need to be controlled. You need to know how many calories you are overeating before you start. Maybe plan your meals for the refeed days.

So, from a dietary perspective, have planned refeed days. From a psychological perspective if you need to just go nuts, do something that is no food related and nuts. Go bungy jumping or something.

jcstanton

One cheat day a week normally a saturday or if theres a family meal to a restuarant or something. Nothing wrong with having a cheat day. Whats the point working our arses off all week if we are not allowed to have a treat once in a while.

I completely agree!

In Italy we say that eating is one of the pleasures of life

Thats because you have such great food!

^^THIS! Pasta dishes are one of my weaknesses...and I mean scratch made pasta and sauce, not store bought stuff.

basillowe66

Hi Kate, You just started so maybe cheat days are needed occasionally. You have to decide, do you want to lose a lot of weight or just kid yourself. Dieting and cheating, if done regularly is going to lead you to believe, this Dieting is just not working. If you are serious about losing weight then get a notebook and write down everything you eat each day along with the calories. This is the only way that has worked for me. I to tried different diets and for a short time they worked. But soon I was discouraged and quit. I to have a terrible sweet tooth. I found I just can't have them in the house. I started this about 2 months ago. I went to the store and bought the cheapest cookies that Kroger sold, I think like 1.27 for a large pke. I also bought a box of 12 ice cream bars and figured the 2 of them would last a week or 2. They lasted 2 to 3 days. It was then I realized, I wasn't a big eater, but I was eating a lot of what wasn't good for me. I was at 230lbs then and I am down to 212 now.
You can do it, but you have to be committed.

Basil

mike_littlerock

Dr. John Berardi (precisionnutrition.com) uses cheat Meals instead of cheat days. He used to recommend cheat days, but had clients that would get up early and stay up late on their cheat day eat insane amounts of calories for that day. He now recommends that about 10% of your meals (he calls them "feeding opportunities") as cheat meals.

I will note that he also counts a skipped meal as a cheat meal, if you are on the plan with 5 meals a day. He does define a Intermittent fasting approach, especially useful for me as I travel almost every week and eating a healthy breakfast can be a challenge.

taunto

I don't have cheat days, in fact I hate the idea of them. I'm aiming for a lifestyle change for the better and the thought of getting into a routine where once a week I splurge just seems wrong.

I make allowances in my daily diary for things I consider to be a treat, such as healthy home baking or a biscuit or two, but still try to stay within calories or if I'm having a bad day under maintenance calories.

Many of us don't like to have a treat or something a day or whenever we want. I keep a day seperate so that I can allow myself that one day to go out with friends, eat something that satisfies my cravings for a while and keeps me happy.

If getting into a routine where once a week you splurge just seems wrong, then don't do it This is something that works for me and I, along with many others, would continue doing it despite how "wrong" it is because without it, we'd be knee deep in candy bars and french fries DAILY rather than once a week.

Thanks for your input though

ninerbuff

I cheat EVERYDAY.

If that's the case, then I guess I can't call it cheating.....................I call it LIFESTYLE.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

SoDamnHungry

I love cheat days. That's all there is to say about it.

9chimera11

I don't have a cheat day. But then again I was not born with a sweet tooth But I totally get you about the necessity of the cheat days. Well... If it was for me, I would have one small bite of what I like each day rather than keeping a cheat day where I would wolf down a whole load of it. In that way I may be able to stop my self at 50 calories at most. Otherwise the whole week spent on losing the 3500 calories would be in vain if you are gonna add 800 right back on within one day

Having said that, I promote healthy eating all the way just make a lifestyle out of it.

hpsnickers1

Wow. You call that a cheat?

That's part of my Primal lifestyle. A glass or two (or three depending on the day) of some Cabernet and some Lindt 85% dark chocolate to go with it. Both are very healthy choices in moderate amounts.

I drink a glass of red wine almost daily with dinner.

I never use the word "cheat". That's makes it sound like you are doing something bad and you aren't ("cheating" didn't get you here. A broken metabolism is what got you here - you can lose the weight but unless you figure out what broke your metabolism it will be sheer hell keeping the weight off). I figured out what broke my metabolism - genetics and years on a bad diet. The USDA guidelines will not work for me. I have insulin resistance/blood sugar issues so the USDA telling me to eat more than 50% glucose as part of a healthy diet will ensure I end up on dialysis. Yes there is such a thing as a thin diabetic; It's just that most doctors won't check the blood sugars of a thin person. Had I not followed the Standard American Diet I would not have blood sugar issues right now. I should have started life off eating like a diabetic. But unfortunately most doctors still think fat is what makes you diabetic (and fat - it isn't).

Protein doesn't make me want more protein
Fat doesn't make me want more fat
BUT carbs make me want more carbs. And "complex" carbs just delay the "wanting to eat and eat" feeling. Even fruit and starchy veggies kick that feeling in. Because that feeling comes from a blood sugar crash - not actual hunger.

Debbe2

I dont have cheat days because I'm not on a diet with defined rules of acceptable foods vs non acceptable. I eat what I want, keep track of it and log it. If I go over oh well! It's one day. Otherwise I have what I want but I remain in control of the direction I want to be going in and the nourishment I need to get there. By nourishment I guess for me it's physical food and emotional acceptance that I am human and trying to achieve perfection has never worked well for me. So I live and enjoy but I'm so over the extremes and out of control eating. Feeling healthy tastes much better to me!

IveLanded

I don't like them, at least when people are first starting out.

If you don't want to change the way you eat, you won't lose weight long term. From what I have seen, the folks on here (and in real life) who fail over and over are the ones who refuse to break their bad eating habits. The ones who say they "neeeeed" a donut or pop tart fix. If you eat what you've always eaten, you'll weigh what you've always weighed. I honestly don't think it's the norm to maintain weight loss and still eat crap.

That said, I think that after you've established a real change in your eating habits and after you've been able to change your views on food, that it's ok. I just don't think junk should be something you feel you "need" or a "reward".

I think the bottom line is that if you truly believe you can't live without putting bad things into your body, there is a bigger problem other than Doritos or McDonalds that you should probably address if you want long term success.

AmyRhubarb

I don't have cheat days - I work the goodies into my calories for the day. It's a lifestyle change, not a temporary diet, so depriving myself of things I enjoy won't work for me. And if I'm over a bit for the day, I don't sweat it - it's not going to undo all my hard work.

And the longer I stay with this new lifestyle, the more I'm able to make better choices. Last night I considered having a beer with dinner, but decided I'd rather have plain iced tea and enjoy the calories later in the evening with a juice pop and some yogurt, blueberries & honey for dessert. I could have done both and not been over, but am happy that I find myself considering whether I really want something.

stubbysticks

I think the key concept here is control. If you tend towards disordered eating, then it's probably not a good idea to have "cheat" days. Even defining them as "cheats" isn't helpful, since the word implies you've done something wrong & should be ashamed of it.

I eat some food every day that is devoid of nutritional value just because it's delicious & I like it, & occasionally I go over on calories. But most of the food I eat is chosen because it will help me get healthier, lose weight, & fuel my exercise. I'm allowed to eat crap food if I want to, & I am aware that if it puts me over my calorie target too frequently, I will lose weight slower or not at all that week. Sometimes it's worth it to enjoy the holidays, for example.

But in my experience, having a spike day (a spike in calories) once a week doesn't interfere with weight loss. This is a long-term project (2 years in now) & eating clean 100% of the time is just not realistic for me. I'm not in a race. Taking a few extra months to reach my goal is worth it if that means I can enjoy the foods I love in moderation while I'm losing weight.