Cheat DAY works!!! did they work for you too?

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  • vtmoon
    vtmoon Posts: 3,436 Member
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    I'm using MFP to help me develop healthy habits for the rest of my life. Losing the weight is awesome but I want to be able to keep living the same way I am now, portion control and healthy eating. So cheat days/ meals to me are like getting a taste from the past habits I'm trying to correct.
  • 388gigi
    388gigi Posts: 485 Member
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    8000 calories is CRAZY!! But Awesome that it works for you :)

    I try to be really good during the week, and then a bit more relaxed on weekends.

    It's working OK. I'm not losing as fast as I would like, but I don't have much left to lose so that's ok. It's also something I can stick to forever, so I'm happy with it :-)
  • spidertheman
    spidertheman Posts: 38 Member
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    What do you exactly eat when your clocking up 8k to 13k worth of calories..? I'd really want to know.

    Usually a couple calzones, 1.5lbs of wings, onion rings, fries, Hersey bars, Oreos, fruit and veggies, pasta, pizza, frozen yogurt
    and other various frozen dessert treats. And yes, that's all in a day. Also cookie dough. Love cookie dough.

    Don't you feel like your forcing food down though? I've shrunk my portions down considerably and I'm pretty sure I've shrunk my stomach a little so even slowly eating a cup of broccoli can fill me up for around an hour. If I ate a whole calzone I'd be be pretty stuffed...but if you handle it then enjoy them delicious calories! :drinker:

    Exactly why I drink a very excessive amount of water each day. To avoid shrinking my stomach so I can still eat a lot without getting so full I feel sick. I honestly feel like I got limitless room when I don't drink a ton of water, lol
  • Sister_Someone
    Sister_Someone Posts: 567 Member
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    No, it didn't work for me, but I was doing it wrong. I'd overindulge on my cheat meal/food of choice, gain some water weight back and then spend the rest of the week trying to undo it.

    I think it all boils down to what kind of person you are. If you can find satisfaction in moderation, then you can pull the cheat day off. Me, I'm the kind of person who doesn't do moderation, period. I'm stubborn enough that I could do moderation if I really set my mind to it, but I've tried it and decided it wasn't the way to go. I find greater pleasure in indulging extremely rarely but going all in and savor every last moment when I finally do, than I could ever derive from watering it down to a little every day, or every week. I'd never be completely satisfied. And that's precisely the wrong mindset to have, going into a cheat day.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    What do you exactly eat when your clocking up 8k to 13k worth of calories..? I'd really want to know.

    Usually a couple calzones, 1.5lbs of wings, onion rings, fries, Hersey bars, Oreos, fruit and veggies, pasta, pizza, frozen yogurt
    and other various frozen dessert treats. And yes, that's all in a day. Also cookie dough. Love cookie dough.

    Don't you feel like your forcing food down though? I've shrunk my portions down considerably and I'm pretty sure I've shrunk my stomach a little so even slowly eating a cup of broccoli can fill me up for around an hour. If I ate a whole calzone I'd be be pretty stuffed...but if you handle it then enjoy them delicious calories! :drinker:

    Exactly why I drink a very excessive amount of water each day. To avoid shrinking my stomach so I can still eat a lot without getting so full I feel sick. I honestly feel like I got limitless room when I don't drink a ton of water, lol

    It seems very strange to be trying to force your stomach to not shrink, in order to eat a crapload of food. It seems a little wrong, somehow actually, and honestly, not very healthy, regardless of weight loss.
  • spidertheman
    spidertheman Posts: 38 Member
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    What do you exactly eat when your clocking up 8k to 13k worth of calories..? I'd really want to know.

    Usually a couple calzones, 1.5lbs of wings, onion rings, fries, Hersey bars, Oreos, fruit and veggies, pasta, pizza, frozen yogurt
    and other various frozen dessert treats. And yes, that's all in a day. Also cookie dough. Love cookie dough.

    Don't you feel like your forcing food down though? I've shrunk my portions down considerably and I'm pretty sure I've shrunk my stomach a little so even slowly eating a cup of broccoli can fill me up for around an hour. If I ate a whole calzone I'd be be pretty stuffed...but if you handle it then enjoy them delicious calories! :drinker:

    Exactly why I drink a very excessive amount of water each day. To avoid shrinking my stomach so I can still eat a lot without getting so full I feel sick. I honestly feel like I got limitless room when I don't drink a ton of water, lol

    It seems very strange to be trying to force your stomach to not shrink, in order to eat a crapload of food. It seems a little wrong, somehow actually, and honestly, not very healthy, regardless of weight loss.

    well i'm not trying to force it. its just a side effect from drinking a lot of water. drinking a lot of water keeps you feeling full and also helps boost your metabolism and helps muscles recover faster from workouts. i always try to drink at least 100 oz a day at minimum to make sure I'm always fully hydrated. especially because you never know when your gonna get the urge to go for a jog on a nice summer afternoon.
  • raeleek
    raeleek Posts: 414 Member
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    I agree with you on this, it works for me anyway!

    As a lot of people have already said they don't have cheat day they eat what they want in moderation. I was doing that fairly successfully for about two months and then I hit a plateau. I tried switching up my calories and exercise and nothing. One weekend I ate as much of what I wanted to the feeling of full and did light walks in the evening. I started back at it on a Monday and over that following week my plateau was gone and I was down almost 3 lbs. I don't know why this works for me it just does. One thing I have learned while working on myself is that weight loss makes no sense. It is not linear and once you think you have it down your body decides something different. I was doing everything as far as more calories out than in and eating clean 90% of the time and my body stopped dropping weight. Switching up my routine seemed to kick start my weight loss. To each his own!
  • TravisBurns
    TravisBurns Posts: 353 Member
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    I agree they work. I don't eat that many cals but I definitely clock a few thousand on my all-out cheat days. Muscle gain, fat loss, and cardio endurance gained. All eating not so great at times.
  • ptak1sm
    ptak1sm Posts: 172
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    I've been using MFP consistently for almost 4 months now, and I have a cheat day every week. Lost about 20 pounds :)
  • bpotts44
    bpotts44 Posts: 1,066 Member
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    What do you exactly eat when your clocking up 8k to 13k worth of calories..? I'd really want to know.

    Usually a couple calzones, 1.5lbs of wings, onion rings, fries, Hersey bars, Oreos, fruit and veggies, pasta, pizza, frozen yogurt
    and other various frozen dessert treats. And yes, that's all in a day. Also cookie dough. Love cookie dough.

    Don't you feel like your forcing food down though? I've shrunk my portions down considerably and I'm pretty sure I've shrunk my stomach a little so even slowly eating a cup of broccoli can fill me up for around an hour. If I ate a whole calzone I'd be be pretty stuffed...but if you handle it then enjoy them delicious calories! :drinker:

    Exactly why I drink a very excessive amount of water each day. To avoid shrinking my stomach so I can still eat a lot without getting so full I feel sick. I honestly feel like I got limitless room when I don't drink a ton of water, lol

    Would you open your diary so that we can see what you are eating. It sounds like you may eat very little calories during the week.
  • Tat2dDom624
    Tat2dDom624 Posts: 1,226 Member
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    I feel a cheat meal once a week has helped me so far, and has helped me in the past as well.
  • tigletcann
    tigletcann Posts: 16
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    I'm female, 18 and when 10 stone 6.5 pounds. When I was younger I was stupid and starved myself and as a result my body went into 'starvation mode' where metabolism slowed down considerably and food I ate got stored as fat. Since then I've developed a much better appetite for food and went from being 6 stone and borderline anorexic to the weight I am now. I started this diet tracker on Saturday realising that my eating was getting out of control. Would it still be suitable for me to have a 'cheat' day considering these previous problems?? If I earned these extra calories throughout the week by exercising?

    Of course, just start out small with something your comfortable with. There's no need to rush into a cheat day if you think it may cause you problems. Like I said before, it may not be for everyone. All I know is that it's great for me and fits my lifestyle perfectly. Just be happy with your diet. Thats all you have to worry about.

    Thank you :) im gonna stick it out without a cheat day for the first week, weigh in on sunday, and then have a 'cheat' meal (and possibly dessert) on monday then see if it looks better or not on next weeks weigh in :)
  • beccastarr
    beccastarr Posts: 8 Member
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    Wow. 8000- 13000. I'm kind glad I don't have the capacity to put that much away!

    My weight tends to be very balanced around the 9 stone mark - I stick to my diet religiously and eat around 1200 calories Monday - Friday, and exercise every day. I guess my 'cheat days' would be the weekend, where I'll drink a fair amount and have whatever I want to eat, and break from exercise as a result, but even if I drink cider I rarely go past the 4000 mark on a day, it's just kinda impossible.
  • lilpoindexter
    lilpoindexter Posts: 1,122 Member
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    Dude I ate a 12" pizza by myself on Saturday, and on my Sunday weekly weigh in I was down 3lbs for the week...ha ha..

    Hell yes cheat days work...as long as you plan for them they are great. I also move them around, if I have to, to fit special occaisions.
  • spidertheman
    spidertheman Posts: 38 Member
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    Ok, so Saturday is around the corner yet again and I was wondering what I should indulge in? I pretty much satisfied my Oreo fix last Saturday and I'm already going to be getting wings for dinner. What craving should I choose to satisfy? Ice cream Sundays? Chocolate bars? Reese's? Hmmm... Maybe cannolis?
  • bpotts44
    bpotts44 Posts: 1,066 Member
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    Spidey open your diary so we can see what you are actually doing. You are either promoting disordered eating or your not and your diary will let us all know. If you can't do that then stop promoting binge eating.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    Personally, I don't see the need...

    ...(I haven't had a real craving since shortly after dropping the grains and (nearly all) added sugars) late last year...

    ...but glad you found what works for you. Of course, if you'd open your diary, it would let some of the others on this thread satisfy their curiosity.

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