Cheat day or cheat meal?

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Replies

  • LivingInPuglia
    LivingInPuglia Posts: 122 Member
    I am odd... i eat whatever as long as it fits in my cals for the day. this is because i lost almost 2 stone eating mega healthy and then disappeared for a month or so and just about managed to stay the same.. im easing myself in this time. as i go along i will try and get healthier, but i think denying yourself of everything will make you want it more! so im neither, but both at the same time lol!

    You're not odd ..... for me it's the best way.
  • LivingInPuglia
    LivingInPuglia Posts: 122 Member
    I vary my number of calories so that I have some higher days and lower days. On the higher calorie days, I might have something I wouldn't be able to fit into a lower calorie day (like eating out or a couple of margaritas).

    Since I plan it into my calories, I don't consider it "cheating", and I do track everything.

    Varying number of calories with some higher / lower days is a good idea. It fools the body and stops metabolism slowing down.
    I try to keep within my total calorie limit each week, having some higher, some lower days. No carry forward of unused calories into the next week now. I can't remember where I read about this but it does seem to work.
  • blueroses_78
    blueroses_78 Posts: 85
    check out this article, i just read it today.. might be good with helping you answer your question. really put some things into perspective for me :) : http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=1753

    Thanks for the article. Very interesting :)

    As to the OP: I usually have a cheat day, but I try not to cheat with more than 500 extra calories. If it's a special occasion, then I might just let it go and watch myself a little more closely the day before and the day after.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    check out this article, i just read it today.. might be good with helping you answer your question. really put some things into perspective for me :) : http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=1753

    Normally I cringe at random blog links because they're full of crap, but the above link was really a great write-up, thanks for sharing.
  • lynz4589
    lynz4589 Posts: 389 Member
    I essentially started out as a cheat day but I found I didnt want to eat anything other than the meals Im used to now because the thought of working hard all week in the gym to blow it anyway wasnt a nice idea and the thought of my PT not seeing the scales drop wouldnt be nice either! So without realising it I have a cheat dinner on a friday and a snack. By cheat meal it usually involves having some carbs incoporated into the meal (dont eat carbs after 6pm otherwise) and the odd small bar of chocolate (im a chocoholic so once a week feels like im starving myself of it lol)
  • LivingInPuglia
    LivingInPuglia Posts: 122 Member
    check out this article, i just read it today.. might be good with helping you answer your question. really put some things into perspective for me :) : http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=1753

    all the answers I wanted!

    Great article ...... covers the weekly calorie banking and lots of other stuff.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    neither. i had plenty of cheat years.
  • miadhail
    miadhail Posts: 383 Member
    I don't exactly have a cheat day. I eat whatever I want and watch my proportions (mostly for dinner and my weakness for rice). Though I mostly eat healthy the rest of the day and make sure I exercise prior to allow me the cals.
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
    I try not to have cheat meals. I might get myself a small treat every now and then, but I would much prefer finding recipes and foods that are both healthy, delicious, and fit into my calorie and macro goals.
  • tryinghard71
    tryinghard71 Posts: 593
    I go by weekly totals on MFP instead of daily. This way when I have plans to eat dinner out or maybe a birthday party with cake I can enjoy without taking me off track. I do this by leaving a couple hundred calories for the day. Then if I am over on another day I am still in my weekly goal. This has been working for me.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I took one weekend day off a month to not log, which turned into both weekends, and any holidays, after I reached my initial goal weight.

    It wasn't about cheating, binging, eating everything in sight... it was to have a day of just eating normally without obsessing over calories, macros, protein, sodium, carbs, yadda yadda yadda. It was, if I wanted some pretzels or potato chips, to just grab a handful, put them on a plate and eat them, without counting out an exact portion. It's having a piece of birthday cake at my great niece's first birthday party this weekend, without wondering how many calories are in it, or how long I have to run to burn it off.

    And even being "totally unaccountable" on weekends, I still maintain if I'm set to maintain, and lose if I'm set to lose. I'm currently about 100-150 calories below maintenance, just as a buffer against any splurges that might occur on the weekend because there's a lot more of them in the summer, and lose the .25 - .3 pounds a week that it predicts.

    A longer take on it: http://www.isthisbliss.com/to-log-or-not-to-log-that-is-the-question/
  • pebbleygood
    pebbleygood Posts: 2
    I don't have a cheat day or a cheat meal. Occasionally there is something I want to eat that's not the healthiest. I cut the serving in half or more and load up on more veggies. This way I don't feel deprived. I work it into my daily calories, and still stay within a few calories of my 1200.
  • Dudagarcia
    Dudagarcia Posts: 849 Member
    I've done both treat day and treat meal but in all honesty I think for me it's better to fit smthng in my macros that day, smthng I really want because I feel I'm more in control this way than the other.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    I usually just do a cheat meal with my parents once a week when I visit. Otherwise, everything is logged. I really only do the cheat meal because it's a headache for everyone if I don't. It's not like I'm missing out on anything - I just eat less of the stuff I like. :-)
  • leanby2013
    leanby2013 Posts: 137
    I used to eat super clean and low cal all week, not even bread, then on saturdays eat whatever i wanted and i just got out of hand. I found myself looking at pictures of food during the week and planning what i was going to have on the saturday so i stopped cause i felt that i could end up with a ED if i carried on. So now what i do is make sure i get my protein in, then whatever after that aslong as it fits into my cals. I do eat clean most of the time but if i feel like a snickers and it fits in, then i will have one lol :)
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I do the old Weight Watchers program and I can save up activity (exercise) and weekly points and have a treat or two a week. I weigh in on Sunday mornings and reset my points on Monday, so I have my planned treats on Sunday afternoon or evening so the sodium doesn't affect my weigh-in.

    I think I'm going to stop, though, because I've been feeling sick after. lol Too much fat in one sitting when you're not used to it.
  • Scott277
    Scott277 Posts: 63
    I can't do cheat meals. It messes my weight up, and I don't find it worth it.

    HAHA no it doesnt. Its actually proven to boost your metabolsim resulting in better long term results.

    I only have one cheat meal, although I save it for when im hungover normally or I just cant be bothered (saturday normally) so if im hunogver I tend to have a cheat breakfast and lunch then just go back to a healthy dinner.

    Over time you will develop the guilty feeling everytime you cheat haha. It just motivates me more now to push harder the next week!
  • Scott277
    Scott277 Posts: 63
    I try not to have cheat meals. I might get myself a small treat every now and then, but I would much prefer finding recipes and foods that are both healthy, delicious, and fit into my calorie and macro goals.

    Thats fair enough, but tell me....will you do this? are you mentally strong enough? I dont think so, i takes months/years to get to that level of dedication.

    One little meal a week wont make you get fat. It will however reward you for all your hard work and releive you of any cravings therefore having a better knock on effect the rest of the week.
  • lizchristine
    lizchristine Posts: 42 Member
    I definitely plan for treats but I fit them into my daily calories. If I know I'm going out or have a big meal coming up, I'll try to get in an extra intense work out so my calorie budget is bigger. I've also come to the realization that I can have treats, but not all of them all at once. For example, I can have a light beer or two when I go out, but I can't have the tortilla chips and queso, and dessert, too. Or vice versa. If there is something you really want (fries, dessert, etc.), I say go for it, but plan ahead and fit it into your day/ week.
  • Arexxx
    Arexxx Posts: 486 Member
    I just had a cheat week and lost 3 pounds. :D
    YEYAHHHHHHH
  • DJ2120
    DJ2120 Posts: 407 Member
    I used to eat super clean and low cal all week, not even bread, then on saturdays eat whatever i wanted and i just got out of hand. I found myself looking at pictures of food during the week and planning what i was going to have on the saturday so i stopped cause i felt that i could end up with a ED if i carried on. So now what i do is make sure i get my protein in, then whatever after that aslong as it fits into my cals. I do eat clean most of the time but if i feel like a snickers and it fits in, then i will have one lol :)

    Oh wow this is me! And my cheat day (Saturdays) would end up turning into entire cheat weekends. I would spend the day thinking about what I was going to eat. Then I would just go overboard & not log anything. So by the time Monday rolled around I would have no idea how many extra calories I had consumed. Geez, no wonder why I have been putting weight on the past couple months! I'm going to stick to one cheat meal & still make sure I log it so I don't go overboard like I used to.

    It's so interesting reading everyone's opinions & experiences with this!
  • jlapey
    jlapey Posts: 1,850 Member
    I don't do "cheat" days or meals. If I want something, I have it. Usually in a smaller portion now than what I used to have. If it puts me over my calorie allotment, then I go for a walk or eat fewer calories the next day. If I know beforehand that I'm likely to go over on a particular day (birthday, anniversary, social gathering...) I planned for it by eating fewer calories on the days leading up. My days may look a bit sporadic in regards to calories but I'm always under for the week.

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