The NOTORIOUS "cheat"

KristinCox70

I think as long as it is within reason, (especially portion size is the key)..and if you've saved or "banked" up enough calories all week for it through exercise is the crucial part. That way it really isn't going to jeopardize all of your hard work. I am allowing myself a treat now and then, if I have left over calories, but then the next day I'm working all that much harder at the gym so it doesn't result in a gain.

BABetter1

I don't reward myself with food. I feel like using food as a reward would be psychologically counterproductive, i.e. healthy food or healthy portions are something to be endured and unhealthy or overly large portions are "rewarding". Besides, I have enough days where I go over a little, and occasionally I go over a lot. There are going to be times when you go out with family, or have a lunch meeting, or birthdays or whatever. By not having "cheat" days, I can take those other days in stride, log them and move on.

vytamindi

Saw a quote somewhere on this forum...

"You are not a dog. Don't reward yourself with food"

I agree. You're a human, reward yourself with beer!

:drinker:

angelic843

Our health and weight are determined by the food and activity choices we make 85% of the time.

I agree with earlier posts that calling it a "cheat" or a "reward" is a slippery slope...but a higher calorie, or less nutritious meal once a week is not going to hurt you if your diet and lifestyle are in balance throughout the rest of the week.

xSkinnyMinnyx

Stick to good healthy food and reward yourself for working hard with a nice big bottle of wine!! haha x

PayneAS

Saw a quote somewhere on this forum...

"You are not a dog. Don't reward yourself with food"

I agree. You're a human, reward yourself with beer!

:drinker:

^


You don't really need to have a cheat meal as long as you stay within your caloric limits and keep the portions under control. I still go to McDonalds or Sonic and know off the top of my head how many calories are in anything I want to eat there. Then I make shifts in my meal plan for the day if I want something. Where I see a lot of people go wrong with going to a fast food place is that they get the meal. A portion size is one sandwich/burger. Not the fries and drink too. The fries have more calories (and are loaded with sodium) than the burger! I just get a single sandwich/burger and drink my water. Craving satisfied. Sometimes I can even fit in an ice cream! If you absolutely must get something other than the burger, most places have healthy choice sides; McDonalds has apple fries or salads, BK has apple (dippers I think they are called?).

tobnrn

I just eat what I want and make it fit into my calories. Yesterday was chipotle, chinese food & ice cream. Do I eat like this every day, Noooo. But that is what I wanted. Will the scale be higher today, absolutely. Is it fat, NO.

UsedToBeHusky

I eat what I want when it fits in my macros so I don't have to worry about this. :huh:

bpotts44

I actually think the term "reward" is worse than the term "cheat." Food should not be a reward for anything. Food is for providing nutrition and enjoyment. When you start making food a "reward" it can be used for rewards for anything later and I feel like that is dangerous long term. For instance, I just completed a report at work and I should get a "reward". One meal a week where you don't worry about logging calories is probably okay depending on how your progress is going. However, I would recommend only not logging a meal when it is associated with an event like anniversary, birthday, family outing etc and doing so out of the house and bringing no food home.

Yanicka1

Whatever everyone else think, do what work for you.

It really depend on your calories deficit. I eat 1700-2000 calories a day, I pretty much never need a cheat meal because I can fit pretty much anything in my calories.

Elen_Sia

If your weight problem is ultimately linked to a lack of control over food (this would be most of us), then using food is the worst way to reward yourself.

Quoted for truth.

bpotts44

does your "cheat meal" allow you to pig out?
or is it just a rgular portion of a generally unhealthy meal?
I think that may be the issue.

Sometimes we have nachos, which is riducolously unhelathy (with all the trimmings)
but I i have it, I limit the amout of corn chips/ sour cream / cheese.
I still have a decent portion of chilli ,fill up and enjoy it.
Its still about 800 cals this way, but if i didn't limit the high cal stuff it could easilly be 1400 cals.

I think that the difference between the two may mean the difference between sucess and failure.
over eating by 400 odd calories my body can deal with, but going crazy and having a full roast with bread sauce and all the desserts each week will cancel out any good i've done all week.

I can see where you're coming from but I don't agree with it. I read an article explaining the amount of calories required to gain a lb and the number was 5500. 2000 of which your body requires to maintain your current wait (maybe more depending in your muscle mass) sitting still. Another 3500 to equal that lb. 5500 calories is the equivalent of 9 pepperoni pizzas from Pizza Hut. So I don't think that one meal, even pigging out, would reverse all the work from the prior week. If I did it every day, then yes... Eventually those extra calories would add up. I don't know about you though, but I know I can't eat 9 pizzas... Even personal-pans.

Saying that, I absolutely under no circumstances have any intentions of stuffing myself to the point of explosion. It is simply a meal consisting of not my regular healthy calorie conscious food.

1 lb of weight equals 3500 calories not 5500. If you eat 3500 calories on top of your expenditure over time it will equal out to 1 lb of fat. Most people, including myself, got overweight eating 50-100 calories per day too many over many years, so one big meal a week can throw it off.

BernadetteChurch

Personally I think it's almost dangerous to plan a specific cheat day/meal once a week or whenever, because you may find yourself gorging because you've allowed yourself to rather than because you actually want to. If you manage your calories well you can still fit pretty much most foods into your weekly menus and then you won't feel deprived and won't feel that you need to cheat or be rewarded, whichever you want to call it.

When I can be totally in control I make sure I stay within my limits but when I go out, or there's a special occasion where I can't or even don't want to properly count calories I just enjoy my food and know that I'll be back on track tomorrow. And for these times I don't add the meals to my food diary but I do make put in the notes what I've eaten and why, just so I have a record of it, and am still tracking what goes in my mouth. I'm not going to beat myself up over a bad food day because it is, after all, only a minor blip on the radar.

I don't believe that one bad day makes you actually put on weight, in the same way you sometimes don't lose weight in a week where you've not put a foot wrong.

Elen_Sia

A question for the OP and I promise I am not being mean in any way; the question is borne of sincerity: I just noticed your ticker and saw it says "0 lbs lost." It made me wonder what you want to "reward" yourself for?

Please don't take any offense.

JoanFalk

I do not know what your calorie intake is per day but you there are is a formula to figure the # of calories you can eat in a day to not gain weight. I will tell you to lose weight I eat 1450 +or- 50 calories a day my calories on a normal 2100 +or- 50 on regular days. You can find the formula on the net. It is unhealthy to stay at your lose weight calories for long periods of time. Actually it is best to do 3 days low 2 days high. I have lost 124lbs of fat and gained 15lbs of muscle in 18 months and have now kept it off for 2 years. However I didn't start doing that at first and my body went into starvation mode. If you have a lot of weight to lose like I did it would be wise to try this. Don't call it cheat days call them your higher calorie days because they are important for your health. On my higher calorie days I might treat myself to that half cup of ice cream that I have been carving with some hot fudge. What ever it is for you. If you are on a diet what are your plans for keeping the weight off when you go off. This really has to be a life long change. Yes your weight will come off slower but what good is it to take it off and gain it back. Every ones weight is just a # on the scales it can not tell you your self worth or how much you are loved by friends and family. So don't call it cheating call it choosing to treat yourself.

Thena81

I have never put so much thought into the name of this meal slash day. Lol I do have one when I know it will be hard to stay under because I'm out of town or working a bunch. Sometimes it helps me stay on track but too ,any too often can derail ya! Stick to what you think is best for you!!

geebusuk

A question for the OP and I promise I am not being mean in any way; the question is borne of sincerity: I just noticed your ticker and saw it says "0 lbs lost." It made me wonder what you want to "reward" yourself for?

My ticker says '20lb lost', but in reality I started at 225 and am now at 168 - the ticker just represents the time I've been on here.

JoanFalk:
Do you have any research to back up that it's better to do 3 days low 2 days high.
Doing five days low two high (well, around TDEE probably) didn't work as well for me and with no noticable health benefits. Probably did put on a little more muscle, but then I was doing a lot more resistance work too.

apocalypsepwnie

When I have a 'relax' meal I only call it cheat because people then know what I'm talking about.
I've done it 3 times and just out of habits I've now formed I've only gone over once and only by 50 or so cals and that was having something at each meal I ate that day!
I'm always under each day and end up with 5000-6000 cals on a sunday lol. So I guess I can let myself have a piece of toast with breakfast or a dessert I wouldn't usually chose.
I don't like to call it cheating or reward. I save these days for nights I'm going to be with my boyfriend and we have dinner together or I go out for a meal with work for a meeting. I don't always want to be that person picking apart the menu rather than enjoying who I'm with.

lilacsun

does your "cheat meal" allow you to pig out?
or is it just a rgular portion of a generally unhealthy meal?
I think that may be the issue.

Sometimes we have nachos, which is riducolously unhelathy (with all the trimmings)
but I i have it, I limit the amout of corn chips/ sour cream / cheese.
I still have a decent portion of chilli ,fill up and enjoy it.
Its still about 800 cals this way, but if i didn't limit the high cal stuff it could easilly be 1400 cals.

I think that the difference between the two may mean the difference between sucess and failure.
over eating by 400 odd calories my body can deal with, but going crazy and having a full roast with bread sauce and all the desserts each week will cancel out any good i've done all week.

This.

ChaseAlder

I have "cheat" days all the time, but they aren't scheduled and they aren't rewards for good behavior. I simply eat what I want when I want to. And because I don't put restrictions on stuff, I find myself not craving them as strongly as I would if they were off limits.

I run hard/long/often enough to burn off the occasional treat. When I stopped worrying and restricting myself, my weight started coming off. Eating shouldn't be a stressful, restrictive thing. I enjoy eating and I enjoy running. That's all there is to it.