Do "cheat" days actually work????

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carajo
carajo Posts: 532 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have seen many diets that allow one cheat day per week, which allows you to eat all the foods that you basically shouldn't be eating!! (sweets, simple carbs, ect.) does following a diet like this work or does the "cheat" day un-do your weeks worth of healthy eating and potential weight loss??
THANKS!!

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  • carajo
    carajo Posts: 532 Member
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    I have seen many diets that allow one cheat day per week, which allows you to eat all the foods that you basically shouldn't be eating!! (sweets, simple carbs, ect.) does following a diet like this work or does the "cheat" day un-do your weeks worth of healthy eating and potential weight loss??
    THANKS!!
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
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    I guess that all depends on how much you cheat. I mean, if your total calories for the week is less then what you need to maintain your weight, then for most people you WILL eventually loose weight (there are, of course exceptions to this rule like any other). But if your cheat calories end up being more then you save during the week then you won't. This is probably a little bit of an oversimplification, but the general idea about cheat days (I think) is to allow you time to enjoy the things you love that are "bad". It reduces the stress on the rest of the week and allows you to see a "light at the end of the tunnel". 6 healthy days out of 7 is better then most people have. That's my opinion at least. It's a subjective topic but as long as you don't go crazy, I think 1 day is ok to be "bad".
  • bla115
    bla115 Posts: 206
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    I think the issue with "cheat days" is the fact that most people have a hard time stopping after that one day. To avoid this pitfall I go more for the cheat meal or cheat snack. This way you are not thrown off by a whole day of cheating, just one meal or snack. I also try and modify the rest of my eating for the day if I know I'm saving up the calories for something less healthy. This has helped me stay on track! Good Luck!
  • catlover
    catlover Posts: 389
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    You will find varied opinions on this. Personally, life creates enough challenges for me so I opt to stay on track all the time, and "cheat" when I have no other option. I try to keep it to a minimum and only "cheat" enough to make it through the moment. I do not wait until the next day or the following to start over. I drink a big glass of water, do a litle exercise, and begin again immediately. This week I really wanted garlic chicken pizza, so I looked it up, exercised enough to add it for the day, and then enjoyed it. Some would call that cheating because I would not normally have pizza and have not had it in several months but I still stayed well within my weekly total although I did go over by less than 200 calories on that day.. This is a case where you look at weekly total intake, are you losing with a planned cheat day, and what works for you.
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    I used to do a cheat day, which some days was a "lose my mind!" day. I think the psychology of it was important. I'm not sure if I was losing consistently with it.

    Now I have a few "treats" throughout the month, and try to only eat them on a Sunday. (just my "day") I rarely lose my mind anymore. I did have a day a few months ago (trying to bust a plateau) where I intentionally went 1000 calories over. OH, man. . .I was sick! You know, the kind of sick where you WISH you would hurl, but you don't. So, I have no further fear of losing my mind.

    I read once that if you really want to buy a new dress or shoes or something, you should wait a day. I try to do the same with food. Sometimes you really want a chocolate, and sometimes you just have a knee-jerk "want" response because it's right there by the cashier and you've had a lousy day. So, planning to indulge once a week keeps me from doing this.

    :flowerforyou:
  • rem1979
    rem1979 Posts: 344 Member
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    You will find varied opinions on this. Personally, life creates enough challenges for me so I opt to stay on track all the time, and "cheat" when I have no other option. I try to keep it to a minimum and only "cheat" enough to make it through the moment. I do not wait until the next day or the following to start over. I drink a big glass of water, do a litle exercise, and begin again immediately. This week I really wanted garlic chicken pizza, so I looked it up, exercised enough to add it for the day, and then enjoyed it. Some would call that cheating because I would not normally have pizza and have not had it in several months but I still stayed well within my weekly total although I did go over by less than 200 calories on that day.. This is a case where you look at weekly total intake, are you losing with a planned cheat day, and what works for you.

    I completely agree with this. I don't "cheat" unless I have no other option. For example, we went to my husband's aunts on Saturday and they had fried chicken (I removed the skin), rice, and pasta. I did work out that morning but what pushed me over my calories was the cake I had. SO good but I did feel a little icky afterwards.

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