Thoughts on "cheat day"

amberlykay1014

Cheat days/meals usually happen occasionally and accidentally for me. I don't plan them, but when they do, I don't really feel guilty either. We all have to enjoy what we're doing, right? At the end of the day, I know that even with the occasional cheats, I am far more healthy than I was before I joined MFP -- and that's a WIN for me.

melsmith612

I try to work everything I want into my daily allowance but if I can't then I don't beat myself up over it I just try to do better the next time I eat. If I set aside an entire day to purposely go off track then I'd end up eating HUGE quantities of food on that day just to make the "cheat day" seem worth it. Instead I just try to eat well all the time and I forgive myself when I don't, much easier.

IveLanded

I don't think "cheat days" are a good idea when starting out. If you feel "deprived" and you are truly unhappy if you can't have McDonalds (i.e. if you can't treat your body poorly) then I think it's more important for long term success to address that, rather than cater to it. I really hate the whole mentality of "I'm not going to deprive myself!". If your relationship with food is such that you absolutely need to put bad foods into your body to feel whole, happy, and fulfilled.......I think that's something that needs fixing if you want to lose weight long term. It seems to me that if you don't break those habits, cycles, and connections with food then you are probably setting yourself up for failure down the road.

On the flip side of that, if you can be just fine without bad foods in your life, then having them here or there probably isn't going to do any harm. I think it's just important to pay attention to the feelings of "needing" them or not.

jenniferillene

I have cheat days! And Ive lost 75 pounds while doing it! I usually go over my calorie goal on the weekends..not by a WHOLE lot but I dont log those days. You can still eat things you enjoy, I just cut back eating so much of it when I do have it. I was a big overeater..but now I have learned to moderate what I eat and count my serving portions. And typically its not a cheat day for me either..more like cheat meal each of those days

kthurman87

Having a cheat day is healthy. I usually try and have mine at the end of the week and thats only when I make sure I exercised enough for the week and maintain being in my calorie goal. You body needs a bit of fat in order to maintain weight loss. So just don't go overboard on your cheat day. Make it more like a cheat meal

gzus7freek

I create my cheat day during the weekend. I stay under calorie and eat really good all week and then I spurge. For example this past Friday I ate 3,000+ calories because I went to the local Italian restaurant and ate Lasagna, bread and salad. Then I ate a grilled chicken salad and bread for supper. Doesn't seem like much but that lasagna was loaded!! I have been doing this for 2 months and have a cheat day every weekend and I am down 40 pounds.....

Cheat day is what has really helped me through it this time. I have never lost more than 10 pounds before and by the grace of God Almighty I have made it so far this time.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

i think that people get hung up on semantics. There are meals that should be enjoyed ON OCCASIONS or at least not with any degree of regularity--these are perfect for "cheat meals." Now a true "cheat meal" could potentially undo a substantial portion of one's weekly deficit (think pasta and cheesecake from the cheesecake factory--that could be a whopping 2000-2500 calories in addition to the rest of the day's meals). That's why these meals should not be had very often but that doesn't mean you can NEVER have them again--nor does it mean that you haven't changed your lifestyle, quite the contrary. Realizing that you have to make better choices MOST of the time while also enjoying the occasional "food fest" is indicative that you have made a lifestyle change!

On a day to day or week to week basis you can have treats--make them fit into your calorie budget and plan accordingly. If that means "saving" or "banking" an extra 500 calories during the week so that you can eat an extra 500 each saturday then so be it. Saturday would then be a perfect day for dessert after dinner or maybe a slightly larger portion of steak than you would usually have.

Does that make sense?

elisheva

I don't necessarily have cheat days, but every once in a while I feel like it's important not to care. Every once in a while I have to get out of healthy eating mode and just relax. But I get a ton of exercise daily (I walk dogs professionally and ride my bike to get everywhere!). Also you have to think about why you're having a cheat day. Holidays and special occasions are great for cheat days, but if it's emotionally charged, or you just feel unhappy then that's not a good time to cheat.

Being in tune with why you want to eat junk is a great way to make sure you don't eat it. If you reallllllly want a chocolate cake, bake yourself a mini chocolate cake - it's healthier and way more satisfying!

adriadawn19

I try to eat the stuff i want when i want it but in moderation vs depriving my self of something and then eating all of it when i finally get a hold of it. And i definitely do not eat "clean" but what i am doing is working for me. you just have to find what works for you and stick to it. Think of it as a lifelong change not a diet.

wolfchild59

Personally, I didn't take any planned cheat days or cheat meals until after I reached my first weight loss goal. I found that it was easier to stay on track by just always staying on track initially. But then once I had that first real sense of achievement and really felt like I would be able to accomplish my overall goals, I found it easier to loosen the reigns.

Though, I did go through a period of absolutely no cheats or treats of any kind again when I was struggling as I got closer to my ultimate goal weight and it turned me into a total ball of bitterness and stress that time. So not having any cheats may or may not work, depending on your state of mind.

But I also discovered that a weekly cheat meal or cheat day just does not work for me. I instantly go up on the scale by a fair amount after even just a small cheat. Like last night I had just a single cheat meal, and only went over my actual TDEE calories by about 400 (not my net/deficit, my actual burn as per my BMF), but the scale had me almost three full pounds heavier than yesterday. And while I know that's not real weight, I also don't just drop it in a day or two after plenty of water or being back on my regular eating. I probably won't see the drop back to what I was before until this weekend.

And it was daily weighing that helped me realize that cheats didn't work for me. I had tried giving myself a weekly cheat as so many people on here were recommending at that time and found myself still not losing anything at all when doing my weekly Saturday weigh-ins, sometimes even going up (my cheats were on Sats or Suns). I kept doing the cheats, thinking I was trying to break a plateau, but then I started daily weighing.

That was when I discovered that I'd gain two-six pounds on the scale the day after a cheat, then I'd spend the following week dropping that weight back off in increments each day. Then I'd see my Saturday weight and it was back down to what it had been before I had the cheat.

So I stopped the regular cheats and now keep them to once, maybe twice a month, planned for and typically scheduled to be for a party, celebration or a nice day out with the hubby. I still see that scale jump, like today, but I know that once I lose the weight from the cheat, then I'll go back to actual losing again after that rather than being stuck in the cycle that I was.

klbruce317

I have a cheat day - every other Friday. Sometimes ever Friday. I still log the food I eat and it really helps me to not go overboard with the calories even though I'm allowing myself to splurge. When I see the calories quickly adding up I tend to slow way down on the splurging...MFP helps keep me on track and not get totally carried away on those days. I don't want to completely un-do what I've worked so hard for all week.

Seriousmom3

I don't really do a cheat day...i try to stay within my calories...if i want a little something extra or go over my calories then i go burn come to even it out.

rubyautumn4

You need to structure your diet in a way that can be sustained long term, not thought of as being "on" and "off".

Structure your plan so that you can indulge in what you want sometimes, in moderate amounts.

^ THIS!

debado483

I would go off the deep end if I had a cheat day. It's hard enough for me to loose the weight without eating whatever I wanted one day a week or one day a month. That could undo a whole weeks worth of work if I did that. I am far from perfect and slip up enough without allowing myself a whole day of cheating. Sorry, I couldn't do a cheat day.

Danayle

I don't have a cheat day, but if I go out to eat and go over my calories I try to make up for it by working out or cutting back calories further until I have enough of a deficit to make up for it. I also try to include certain indulgences without going over my calories.

adelitas_star

I typically don't do "cheat days". Every day I allow myself something that I really enjoy, like a piece of chocolate, or a bowl of ice cream. But here's the key word - moderation. I only have *one* serving carefully measured and accounted for. As long as it fits into my calories, then it's all good.

Once in a while, like yesterday, I'll have a day where I eat a pretty bad, but it's usually only once a month and I make sure my calories never go too high.

skylark94

I don't "cheat", I eat what I want. I just focus on eating less of it and don't sweat it if I go over from time to time.

kit8806

For me I have an occasional "cheat day" usually 2 days a month. These are days that I let myself snack on things I've been keeping out of my diet or trying to stay away from. It works for me because it gives me something to look forward to, especially when the cravings start kicking in. Though I have my cheat days, I've been trying to make them healthier. If I have pizza, I'll eat a salad with it and eat that first so I don't over indulge in pizza. I see them as saying "I just have to make it thru the next X days and I can have my wine/pizza/whatever I am craving" so it's more of a reward. Like others have stated, it's whatever will work best for you and how well you can keep yourself on track. If having a cheat day will make you fall back on your habits, then don't do it. They don't work for everyone. They tend to work for me because I don't keep snacks/junk food in my house, so I can't fall back on old habits. Think of what works best for you!

Best of luck!!

Jesstruhan

I believe fully in the cheat day. Mainly I eat anything I want anyway, but I have to restrict how much so I stay within the calorie range during normal days. I am better now about balance since I started this because if I eat half a donut instead of a boiled egg and piece of toast, I'm cranky as heck.

But I do have cheats. They are the days where I can eat any dang thing I want, and however much I want. It's usually just one meal that I do this with but this weekend was an exception. I think it's OK to do as long as you are very strict on when, and give yourself just one or two per month when starting out. I get about one "free" meal a week and I love it. I don't lose very fast, mind you, but I'm down to my last 10 so It's crazy slow for me anyway.

Good Luck!

SarahCW1979

Ill be having a cheat day once every two weeks. Im weighing in every other Monday and for that Monday (if Ive lost) Ill up my cals to maintenance to sneak in a cake or other sweet treat. Might not sound like much but as an ex-binge eater its probably all I could handle without going off the rails and inhaling the whole bakery!