Rules about CHEAT meals!

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emtjmac
emtjmac Posts: 1,320 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Will it have any impact on my health/weight loss/progress if say like, once a month, I were to eat whatever I want and however much of it I want for one meal? Thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice fellow MFPers!
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Replies

  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
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    It won't kill you, but if you overdo it too much, you can gain back half a pound or so. It is good to have a refeed every other week or once a month, but you have to be careful about not having reckless abandon... if you have two pieces of cheesecake factory cheesecake after a maintenance calorie day, you will have eaten enough calories to gain a pound... but a few hundred or even a thousand calories over maintenance shouldn't be bad.
  • lhergenr
    lhergenr Posts: 242 Member
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    I do this once a week and eat whatever I want all day. Usually it's not too terrible though since I'm used to eating healthy and junk food just makes me sick.
  • TurtleRunnerNC
    TurtleRunnerNC Posts: 768 Member
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    I do this once a week and eat whatever I want all day. Usually it's not too terrible though since I'm used to eating healthy and junk food just makes me sick.

    This ^^^^
  • slpsparklette
    slpsparklette Posts: 9 Member
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    It's not bad to go crazy once in awhile...it helps to keep your body guessing. Just don't make it habit!
  • sharleengc
    sharleengc Posts: 792 Member
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    I have a cheat meal/day once a week. Usually for me it's more of a meal because I try to stay on my normal routine until dinner. But, at least once a month I probably have a whole day where I just don't care.

    My cheat meal is the day that we go to town for groceries...we live 90 miles out of town so we don't "run" in for stuff and usually stay home all week and make a trip on Friday nights or Saturdays. We go out and eat for whatever meal we are there for, do our errands, usually end with the self serve frozen yogurt or latte's depending on the time of day and our mood.

    For me, the scale is up a little bit the next day or that evening (I weigh every AM and PM) but it doesn't slow me down at all. Within 24 hours I am back to the same weight and the rest of the week continues as normal.

    I think that cheat meals/day are necessary to keep your sanity as you venture through weight loss. You should be to go out and eat or go out to the bar or whatever without worrying that one day/meal will hinder your progress. Granted, you do not want to eat what you want for days in a row because then you will run into problems but dinner out once a week or even once a month is not a problem.

    I have seen other people say that they cannot allow themselves cheat days because they make excuses and put off getting back on track. Or, with others, the one meal/day will really slow them down and it takes them a week to lose the weight from the day.

    That being said, I think it's fine to have a cheat day and/or meal. But, you have to listen to your body too. If you do have a cheat day, don't be discouraged if you go up in the immediate 24ish hours right after
  • anna0478
    anna0478 Posts: 505 Member
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    I do this once a week and eat whatever I want all day. Usually it's not too terrible though since I'm used to eating healthy and junk food just makes me sick.

    This ^^^^

    Agreed! I was dieting a couple months and my co-workers thought it would be nice to bring in donuts. At one point I could have downed three, but half of one made me feel absolutely ill. Eventually, I think you'll get over the craving to completely go nuts even for that one day a month :)
  • SkinnyBPW
    SkinnyBPW Posts: 7
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    I like to have a "cheat day" every weekend. I typically still eat smaller portions now that my body is used to that, but I will eat a smaller portion of whatever I want. I still try to count all of it in my food diary to see what my total caloric intake is, but I try to exercise the morning of my cheat day so I don't feel quite as bad about all of the extra calories. I like to use my extra calories toward alcohol.
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,406 Member
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    I do this once a week and eat whatever I want all day. Usually it's not too terrible though since I'm used to eating healthy and junk food just makes me sick.

    Speaking of getting sick - I had a&w today and pizza hut.

    Needless to say my entire evening was in the bathroom and I made a promise that I WILL NEVER eat fast/junk food EVER again! It is crazy how my body responded so negatively to crappy food when I was eating so much of this **** 3 months ago.

    :D Im glad my body doesn't even like fast food anymore.
  • smhammons
    smhammons Posts: 115 Member
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    As long as you log it then its not cheating. And no you can still lose weight eating whatever you want everyonce in a while enjoy it... and go back to your normal routine tomorrow.:happy:
  • heyitsadam
    heyitsadam Posts: 70 Member
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    It's been my experience that if you're making progress and you're getting ripped up, you won't WANT a cheat meal.
  • emmalouc93
    emmalouc93 Posts: 328 Member
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    I do this once a week and eat whatever I want all day. Usually it's not too terrible though since I'm used to eating healthy and junk food just makes me sick.

    Me too. I always make sure my junk food stays under my cal intake, and yeah, it isn't healthy...but I do love my 'junk food' so if this is for life, one day a week has got to stay! haha
  • rm830
    rm830 Posts: 531 Member
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    I do this once a week and eat whatever I want all day. Usually it's not too terrible though since I'm used to eating healthy and junk food just makes me sick.

    This^^
  • suzieqcookie
    suzieqcookie Posts: 314 Member
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    i do a cheat day every other sunday (or saturday) but i DO have my rules:

    i still have to exercise!
    i still eat when i'm hungry and stop when i'm full
    i make sure to eat all the different foods that i've been craving and "scratch all my itches"
    NO GRAZING
    and back on track tomorrow come hell or high water.

    I hit day 80 today and have lost 34 lbs so far. If it sets you back, it won't be by much
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
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    I've taken 2-3 (or sometimes more) "free" days a month since I started. It helped me keep sane and didn't seem to impact my weight loss at all - steady 10 pounds a month until I chose to slow it down by increasing calorie intake.

    One important note though: I eat very well typically. I watch my refined carbs and processed foods, I try to eat very clean and healthfully. And I have no problem getting back on the wagon, so to speak, the day after a free day.

    Your results may vary, of course, but it's worked for me.
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
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    I allow myself a 'cheat' meal every so often (it probably averages out to once a week). I don't go crazy though, because I simply can't eat as much as I used to! So a cheat meal usually doesn't put me over for the day by much more than 200 or 300 calories. It's not that often, so I'm not going to sweat it. I log it, and move on. I'm changing how I eat on a daily basis precisely so that i *CAN* indulge once in a while without it affecting my overall health.
  • kstrunk1
    kstrunk1 Posts: 462 Member
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    My husband and I have one meal every weekend in which we eat whatever we want. It hasn't hurt us ... he's lost 100 lbs. as of today and I've lost 81. We think of it as an indulgence meal instead of a cheat meal. We do limit it to one meal, though, instead of an entire day. :smile:
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
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    It's all about calorie deficit over time, consistent. Personally I like to work in foods I like all the time so I don't ever feel I have to "cheat". I just have special occasions sometimes and might eat slightly less leading up to it or afterwards.
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
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    My husband and I have one meal every weekend in which we eat whatever we want. It hasn't hurt us ... he's lost 100 lbs. as of today and I've lost 81. We think of it as an indulgence meal instead of a cheat meal. We do limit it to one meal, though, instead of an entire day. :smile:

    I like this!
  • sgaranzuay
    sgaranzuay Posts: 34 Member
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    Great post, thanks! I've been wondering about free meals/days since I started a few weeks ago. It's been *easy* to stay on plan for the 2 weeks, but i've thought about what happens when i just NEED a plate of enchiladas! :-) I appreciate your post!
  • kristenstejskal
    kristenstejskal Posts: 107 Member
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    May I rant for a minute?
    "Cheat meals" have a very negative connotation....when you say "cheat", it automatically implies that you should feel guilt. You should never feel guilty for eating! Food = fuel. When you associate food with negative emotions like guilt, you are pretty much setting yourself up to have an everyday battle with food. Often times, this leads to going overboard...and people end up yo-yo dieting their lives away.

    My opinion is that its best to eat whatever you want everyday, just eat in it moderation and stay within your macros! This totally eliminates the need for a "cheat day" and prevents any possibility of you going overboard on your cheat day and then experiencing the negative emotions that will inevitably follow...

    Remember, this is a lifestyle change! And a lifestyle change needs to be sustainable! One "cheat day"/week just doesn't seem sustainable in the long run to me without some adverse side effects....

    But to each his own I guess. Rant over.

    Edited for typo.

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