Cheat Days...Yay or Nay?

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  • ericsperling
    ericsperling Posts: 10
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    I totally cheat on cheat days but I always go back to the diet the next day. Visualize cheat days as going on a vacation. You're on vacation to relax and play. You need vacation to unwind and as a reward for all of the hard work that you did during the year.

    Therefore on cheat days, eat all you want and enjoy foods that you normally can't have. Don't use cheats days to do stupid things (e.g. 36 donuts for breakfast). Your body also needs cheat days to jump start the metabolism, otherwise you're body may slow metabolism to prevent you from starving to death i.e. starvation mode.

    Cheat on the following days:
    Thanksgiving
    Christmas
    New Years
    Your Birthday
    Superbowl Sunday
    Labor Day (cookout)
    Memorial Day (cookout)
    Independence Day (cookout)
  • jeffsinkw
    jeffsinkw Posts: 16
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    Yes, but not a WHOLE cheat day. Like some others have said, I allow myself a cheat MEAL on the weekends if I've done well during the week, but I immediately go back to watching my calories after that. Also, that same day, knowing that I'll have a high calorie meal, I am careful the rest of the day not to eat too much. I've found that even on my cheat meals, I still am very conscious of what I'm eating and tend to make better choices than I ever have. Had pizza this past weekend and instead of 2 meat toppings I only ordered 1. I still log my calories on cheat meals and even though I go over that day, it generally doesn't set me back.

    It helps me get through the week knowing that I will have my 1 cheat meal on the weekend. :happy:
  • Nownourish
    Nownourish Posts: 89 Member
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    What are your thoughts on eating at maintenance once a week (to allow for a little indulgence without undoing all the good work and give the metabolism a boost)?
  • Molly_Maguire
    Molly_Maguire Posts: 1,103 Member
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    I find the best thing for me, is to take something I'm dying for, then purposely work off exactly that many calories BEFORE I eat it. Like if I MUST have a big greasy bacon avocado cheeseburger, I calmly sit down and tally exactly how many calories it's going to be, then work out until I've burned off that many calories. My husband wanted to make homemade chicken alfredo, with heavy cream and cream cheese. So instead of being miserable and saying no, I went for a vigorous run while he made it, then sat down and enjoyed a completely guilt-free splurge! I've found that when I force myself to wait for a craving, then EARN it before having it, it always tastes sweeter when I finally get it!

    But I always always ALWAYS work it off BEFORE eating, because invariably the bad food will weigh me down, and I'll rationalize and make every excuse in the world to not work it off, and 9 x out of ten I wont ever do it. So be careful on that! :)
  • VogtAndrea
    VogtAndrea Posts: 236
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    Im not big on cheat days......I am in fact big on IIFYM on a daily basis.
    If it fits your macros, is closer to the way I look at things though I've learned that I can't just throw in a "cheat day". Now I try to eat healthier and deal with things realistically while staying within my macros.
    Everyone fails once in a while but we pick ourselves up out of the cupboards and fridge, clean off the whipped cream and chocolate, and we get back to what works best for us.
  • planettea
    planettea Posts: 3
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    I think "cheat days" don't exist. Who are you cheating? Because the answer is yourself. I'm either eating the way that's going to be helpful for me achieving my goals, or I'm not. All day every day I'm faced with that question, is eating this going to help me achieve my goals or not? If the answer is no, I walk away. Sometimes the answer I give myself is, eating this will not help with my goals, but I still want it. Then I walk away, I think about it, and if I'm okay with that and knowing that it might delay me reaching my goals then I go ahead and eat the thing. For me it's on ongoing conversation about my goals and keeping focused on them. No matter what you decide, just keep tracking so that you don't feel guilty, I think guilt can really help someone spiral downwards further from your goals.
  • JenMull44
    JenMull44 Posts: 226 Member
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    Uhh maybe a cheat MEAL.. but still fit it within your goals as best as possible. Just eat something that you would normally avoid.

    Cheat days.. no. Nobody needs an entire day to have an excuse for an eat-fest (in my opinion).

    AGREED !

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