Question for you successful people

xtrout

I used to have a cheat day once a week and I still lost 1-2 pounds a week. Then I stopped doing that to see what would happen and now I am losing 3-5 lbs a week. It really has sped up the process for me by NOT having the cheat day and just fitting the food into my daily calories or exercising to give me the extra calories for the day. I'll save my cheat days for like Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners though.

Goal_Line

I never cheated until I lost a sig amount of weight (30 lbs or so).

jsj024519

I like zig zag days. Eat more on one day and eat less on the other. I measure calories by the week and not by the day.

JamesterCK

I completely agree with amkfitatfifty; you don't have to have cheat days if you fit things you want into your daily allowance. That's what I do. I eat a lot of the things I did before I started this healthy lifestyle (except more vegetables and fruit now!), but it's all about fitting it in to your day. I don't find myself wanting to have a cheat day and I used to be HUGE binger, but I don't have the urge to binge anymore AT ALL! It's an amazing feeling. That's just my advice though; people tend to go way overboard on cheat days. But if you do decide to have a day like that, only pick one meal to splurge on, don't do it all day long.

Going4Lean

Just eat what you want and fit it into your calories.

tdelo7634

I suggest a cheat meal at most. Not a whole day.

DoomCakes

My opinion is to make a healthy version of your fave comfort dishes for your "cheat day" so you don't feel so guilty later. Or even make them for a normal dinner so you feel like you're fulfilling those desires. Almost anything can be made healthy, just takes some thought put into it and some time testing it out!

Kelly_Runs_NC

I heard a true statement today: "What you eat in private shows in public"...very true statement. If you cheat, don't go above 250 calories over or you are cheating yourself. Stick with it, and after a while you will not even crave "bad" food anymore.

Good luck to you. With determination you can do it.

clumsygermangurl

You'll hear lots of theories, but IMHO, put items into your daily menu plan that seem like cheats, but fit into your calories. That way, you never really have to have a cheat day or slip up meal. It is going to happen occasionally, but if you plan for it, it will kill your weight loss.

Good luck!

I do this

canadakim17

There are a lot of opinions on this, but here is what I have done. I didn't plan for slip ups or cheat days, but if I got invited out for dinner and wine with the girls, I went, ordered something I really wanted and then ate a reasonable portion and then had the waiter remove the rest. I enjoyed those moments and the food. I was careful not to binge eat though. Also, if I really really wanted ice cream, pizza or any other "bad' food, I had to go out of the house to get it and eat it. Only let healthy foods in your home, that way you really have to intentionally make a decision to get them, which helps make sure you only eat them when you really want them. Then log what you ate, and adjust for the rest of the day. One bad food does not turn into a bad day.


THIS!!!!

tgeiger777

My cheats or "days off" go a couple of ways. It all depends on the calendar, if I have a special occassion like a dinner out, i just cheat the meal but I only eat until i'm satisfied. If is a football tailgate party, its a day off. But I prep a couple days before by eating extra good and working out just a little more.

Aello11

I don't plan a cheat day because I'm not "dieting" - I'm trying to be healthier in my food choices and activity level. If I lose weight as a byproduct then great but if not I'm happy to be who I am with what I have. My diary doesn't always look pretty (note the quick add of nearly 400 calories from 5 oreos last night) but I try to fill it out every day. Last weekend I didn't log anything Saturday or Sunday but I logged in to MFP and tried not to stray too far from the norm despite attending a cookout with more food than people.

"Success" is defined differently by every one of us. You have to find your definition of success and strive for it. If that includes planning a "cheat day" then it's your choice.

^^^ This - I am not on a diet, just trying to make better choices.

Sehena

I don't have a cheat day. I just eat what I want and count the calories. You can eat whatever you want to as long as it's under the calorie recommendation. Just don't go pigging out on too many ice cream cones. One or two a day is fine. XD

RBXChas

In the past I have lost weight and then planned a "cheat meal," where once a week my husband and I would go out and eat whatever we wanted in whatever quantities we wanted. It always turned into a ridiculous food fest. If we did this on Saturday evening, it would take me until Thursday or Friday morning to get back to the weight I was on Saturday morning, and then I had one or two mornings left to have good weigh-ins before gorging myself again. I felt like I was taking two steps forward and then 1.95 back, if that makes sense!

What I do now is try not to slip-up or cheat all the time, but if I really decide I want something, I just try to have it in moderation and work it in. If it means I go a little over one day, then fine, but I try to keep that day within limits and maybe work out a little harder, if it's not a rest day. Now when I say "really decide I want something," I mean really, honestly contemplate it, not just decide that I want something. For example, I might give myself a good 10-15 minutes to think about it, and if I still want it, then I'll have it. I'd say 75% of the time, I don't want it after waiting for it.

For me planning a cheat day was basically robbing me, both physically and mentally, of what I'd worked so hard for. It takes a lot of resolve and a long time to break yourself out of the habits of eating certain foods, often in mass quantities. It's like I went back to square one, mentally speaking, and then the next day I'd be moody because I had to go back to eating "boring" foods in smaller quantities. Instead I try to eat well all the time and make those foods interesting!

DonM46

Assuming 'cheating' is defined as exceeding your daily calorie limit, look at the arithmetic.
If you are on a 500 cal/day deficit, and you go 750 over that limit, you've essentially wasted a day and a half.
Go over by 1000, and you've lost 2 days.
So, even if you 'peg' your calories on each remaining day, you'll slow the progress of your weight loss.
I think it's best to stay within your limit, or try to anyway, every day.
Then, when the inevitable happens, once in a blue moon, it's easier to make up the overage.
As others have said, "Don't plan to fail."

jenilla1

I've been on maintenance now for well over a year. I don't understand the purpose of planning a cheat. I figure a cheat is an occasional oops situation that you would then make up for by perhaps exercising or whatnot. There is really no need to cheat if you are not restricting yourself from the foods you love in the first place.

For example, I have pasta every day and a small amount of chocolate every night. I never crave it or miss it, because it's always there for me - just within my calorie goals. IMO, people who "diet" and purposely deny themselves are setting themselves up for failure. This has been a lifestyle change for me, not a temporary diet, so I eat the way I would be willing to eat for the rest of my life. That doesn't mean starving myself and eating miserably all week, then going crazy and gorging on crap on the weekends. It means I get whatever I want ALL the time, it just fits into my goals or is earned through exercise. Good luck! :drinker:

joann1948

I have been successful and almost end of my journey. I did not plan cheat days. If something came up and were going out to dinner, I just made wise choices, and had dessert if I wanted. The next day back to the plan. If we dont indulge when we want to we would fail. Because if you want something and dont eat it, you will end up going off the program. So if I want something I eat it, and it dosent happen often. I just went thru a wedding, bridal shower, so I was off plan a couple of times. Good luck to you whatever choice you make.......Joann

Lula16

you need to plan for success, not for cheating!

^^This^^

I don't cheat, it doesn't work for me. But then again, I eat anything I want in moderation.

Best solution? Exercise more and give yourself the extra calories so you don't have to cheat or slip up.

^^^THIS^^ completely agree

FoodPwnr

I don't plan cheat days at all. I almost always stick to my plan, but occasionally a day will come up where I just feel like cheating, and I do it. Or sometimes a day will come up where I am put in a position where it is really hard to make it, and I just don't. But these days are very few and far between, and never planned.

I do the same

brneydgrlie

For awhile, I did have a planned cheat day each week. During the week, every time I had a craving for something bad, I would add it to a list to eat on my cheat day. By the time the cheat day finally came around, I did not even want everything on my list. So, it really helped keep me "on the straight and narrow".

Now, I don't have cravings for horrible things nearly as often (except sometimes TOM). So, if I wake up in the morning wanting some really unusual stuff, I designate a cheat day right then and there. I have worked my way from having a planned cheat day once a week to a spontaneous cheat day about once every 3 weeks.

By the way, it is very rare these days that my cheat days do not end up still fitting within my goals for the day. So you can "cheat" without going over!

janny4jc

I know there are a lot of opinions on this topic, but I think you have to figure out what works best for you. I started this journey last October 1st - so coming up on one year on MFP. I've lost 76 pounds and feel 10 years younger! (I'm 59) It has just been the past couple of months that I allow my self a "treat" off the record one day a week, IF I lost or maintained my weight that week. I weigh in on Saturday morning, so if I've had a loss I'll allow myself one small treat that I don't track. But I absolutely track everything else. It might be one dip of ice cream (I use to eat 3!) or a cookie (again, one cookie would never have done it in the past). Also, like someone else mentioned - I get these treats "out" and don't bring a whole, bag -box-carton into my house! And honestly, most of those days I have enough calories at the end of the day that I could have tracked it anyway. It really is all about balance, making healthier choices, and figuring out what works for you. And, like many others have said, upping the excercise (I walk 3 - 5 miles most days now - was completely sedentary before!) helps so much. And, the support and encouragement received on this site is awesome! You know you aren't in this alone and there are many others, on the same journey, cheering you on!! Each new day is a new opportunity to make good, healthy choices that ultimately change your life!

CyberEd312

So the common theme as usual around here is people don't like to call it cheating.......... but you still indulge in that occasional food choice that may not be on point... Six of one.....1/2 dozen of the other. It all comes down to whatever you want to call it, cheat meal, indulge meal, free meal, off point meal, etc, etc, etc... It is all the same, look you really have 2 choices if you want to add this into your meal plan. 1. If you can handle the temptation of having those kind of foods in you home and have the discipline to only grab 2 oreo's for example out of the pack and have them for your indulgence snack for that day and not eat the bag or have some IDK a serving size of Pizza Rolls, etc. If this works for you then by all means do this... or 2. You can eat within your mealplan keep the junk out of the house and stay on point for the week and then on the weekend (Friday, Saturday) go out have a meal that you can indulge in (Pizza, wings, etc, etc.) If you have the discipline to do this than it is an option. Most of us, not all I understand there are people that want nothing to do with bad foods and eat clean all the time and that is fine if it is what you prefer but the rest of us that enjoy some of those off menu items and still want to have them from time to time have to find the best way to work them in without constantly follow of the wagon. I have no problem calling this a cheat meal ( I have a couple a week) which doesn't make me feel I am cheating yada yada yada... It is just a word that I use to call it what it is for me, end of story and I think regardless to what you wanna call it, I have manage to make it work and still have lost a couple pounds over the last 3 years.. Oh by the way I am in the #2 camp myself, It is not that I don't like having those trigger foods in the house (back at the beginning most definitely it was but food does not control me anymore, I control it) but I just prefer to eat within my perimeter for 6 days and then on that 7th day if I want to go out with my wife and have some Pizza and wings and hit the DQ for dessert then get back on point the next day then that is what works for me... Just my 2 cents...

bf43005

I try to keep my "cheats" on days when I worked out hard and have the calories to spare. Though it's football season & my husband & I love some beers & wings. I know this is going to be a struggle for us. I want to try and cut back during the week and "save up" calories for the weekend. I know that isn't the best way to do it but it's better than just drinking and eating whatever. So if you work out during the week don't eat back all your work out calories and save them up for that one day, then you won't really be cheating because you already earned it. Hope that makes sense. Best of luck!

Otterluv

That's what long hikes are for! I don't schedule cheat days, but as long as I am getting what I need out of my diet and working my tush off with some serious exercise, I feel no guilt for the occasional cookie or sliver of cake at a get together. I also have a mocha most days. I know that it's generally not considered a good thing to drink your calories, but there is no way that I would be able to give them up permanently (I won't make any changes that can't be permanent). I cut them down to a small and work them into my daily calories. In no way do I consider them a cheat. But yeah, having a whole day where I'm not accountable? That would be bad, very very bad. There are certain foods that I can't have in the house (cookies, brownies, etc.). They are my trigger foods and I have a seriously hard time controlling how much of them I'll eat if they are around. So, I could do some serious damage on a cheat day, and it would probably leave me craving & thinking about that cheat day all week. The last thing I want is to be thinking about food all the time.

Other people are different. But, this is what works for me.

TheRealParisLove

1. Don't call it a "cheat." Cheating has a negative tone and all of us need to be a little less hard on ourselves and our eating habits. Call it a "treat" or a "freebie" or a "wild card." I call mine "free day." One or two days a week over on your calories are not going to mess up all your progress. Just don't eat the whole week's calories in a single day.

2. Plan your freebies around holidays and family events. These times are stressful enough, worrying about counting calories on holidays or at family gatherings is just going to pile the stress on. Eat good wholesome foods before the event, then enjoy your time celebrating.

3. Make the free day special. I don't like to just stuff my face with crappy foods. If I'm going to go over on my calories, I want it to be good. I try to eat gourmet foods when going over or I'll hit up my favorite fast food places for treats (DQ blizzards, McDonald's fries).

That's it. If your week is still within your goals, it's all good.

bridgetkario

I have never deprived myself of things I want to eat; Therefore, I don't need a "Cheat day" If I eat something high in calories I workout more to burn those extra calories. Every Saturday my husband and I go out to dinner, I don't want to deprive myself of something I want, so every Saturday morning I work out for at least an hour and a half to ensure I have enough extra calories to have dinner and a couple of drinks, dessert or whatever I feel like having.
This has worked for me. :-)
Good Luck to you!

nvancleve808

I totally understand where you are coming from. I started MFP in June, and the summer was filled with gatherings, picnics, etc. So "cheat days" did happen for me. I would let myself not worry so much one weekend day...however, I would also make sure that I was working out the same day. It is not realistic for me to always be "on" with the program...days and events are going to happen in life....so i am trying to learn how to best handle them and not miss out on those higher calorie/fatty foods. I work out, and try not to overindulge, and get right back on the next day. I am still losing weight, so it is working for me!

Dorothy888

My weight loss has been slow and steady. Only 1 pound per week, but look and feel so much better. I did not deprive myself of anything. I did eat the occasional ice cream cone this summer, ate a few oreos, and did sneak a few chips now and again. I made sure to record it however, and stayed within my calories...most of the time. But, this isn't a diet for me and I am trying to make this a lifestyle, and sometimes ice cream, oreos and chips are part of my day. I didn't have a cheat day, but if I knew I was going out to the Keg or something on the weekend, I just made sure I ate very cleanly the week before, and then ate whatever I wanted at the Keg. I am by no means an expert, just someone who, for the first time, hasn't fallen off the wagon! Good luck!

Deedsie

So I don't have cheat days or treat days. For one thing, I mess up enough during the week to make up several days so I don't need any additional excuse to eat more. I got that in the bag.

That isn't to say that I haven't ever gone over. I have likely this week. But the number of times I've come in under has far exceeded those times. And in general my progress has continued downward.

Yes, I could eat healthier. I could even cut out those foods that are my temptations but that isn't what I want for me. For one thing, I have to have junk in my house because my daughter has to eat a high fat diet to maintain a healthy weight (that is what is called a secondary benefit to having a chronic illness.) For another thing, my life's purpose is not to be the best eater that I can be, but to enjoy life and give to others. I enjoy chocolate, coffee, cake and chips but I also enjoy knowing that I'm healthy and strong enough to give when I need to and what I need to be it a lift to the airport or a major organ, so I work towards a balance.

You should try to determine what your life purpose is and what you want to accomplish before you die. Then set up goals that help you achieve that purpose.

For full disclosure, I do have a day that I can eat more food than others. I'm training for a half-marathon and I'm currently running 8-10 miles every Saturday. That many miles adds up to a lot of extra calories and I do typically eat those, though I find that after running that far I want less junk and more nutritious food.

Good luck on your journey!

Thundermtn

SUNDAYSURF SAYS: Everything in moderation. Fit it into your daily allowance. Life is tough and someday you will go above and beyond your daily limit. We workout and eat healthy most of the time so every once in awhile we can indulge (special occasion) and enjoy the finer things in life. I enjoy eating healthy. It makes me feel good but I also love a piece of birthday cake with ice cream. If I am at your birthday and eating cake and ice cream that means you mean a lot to me. If it is a birthday party for one of my friends kids I don't know, I don't eat it.

If you need a cheat meal once a week to stay on track, do it. Look at the big picture and figure out what works for you. What works for someone who is further along in their healthy life style journey may not work for you at this time. Keep up the good work and you will figure it out.

^^ Absolutely wonderful points. Although, If I see you are not eating cake at my birthday party, I will assume we are not friends..