Do you log food on your cheat days?

Marinayes

I have a scheduled cheat day today (my first) and not sure I actually want to see the calories I plan on consuming.
Should I log anyway? What do you do?

xtezx

I would log it hun. At the end of the day , you're only cheating urself if you dont enter it into your diary. And seeing it in black and white might encourage you to try harder? xx

SGreen134

I do...even though it's a cheat day, seeing my calories makes me cheat a lot less than normal Enjoy your cheat day!

chroniclesofthinoholic

I suppose you log it in...because it does effect your weekly calorie goal...and is probably important in the longer run...

And it is your cheat day so don't feel too bad ..and don't binge too much maybe

brevislux

Yes, I do. You should still be aware of what you're eating.

Kimjanebrooks

Definitely add it hun! That way you can look back on it and see how many calories you had. Sometime people have bad days, but because of their leftover calories for the week they dont actually go over their weekly calories.

You'd only be cheating yourself if you dont add it

bluestocking01

I log everything, even cheat days. It's helps me cheat less.

cpaman87

Yes. You have to be honest with yourself.

shelbyfrootcake

Yes. I tried not to this weekend, but just ended up spending an hour yesterday recalling everything I ate and drank to log it all.

donnasjohnson

Definitely log it. I've done it both ways, and I've found that mentally I stay in the game if I log, no matter how much I over eat. I understand where you are going with not logging, but for me that extra bit of denial just turned into an avenue to keep my head in the sand for days on end. Believe me, the food tastes just as good if you post the numbers!

munozrd

I admit I have skipped it sometimes. More because I am embarrased of myself that day. But the right thing to do is post it. That way you see it and it can help you make adjustments, and see what it does for your week.

hunter624

Of course I do and anyway I don't call then cheat days I call them treat days, same fiddle different tune.

If you don't log them the only person your fooling is yourself. Anyway one day is recoverable and not too much hassle.

Good luck with your journey, I know I'm enjoying mine...

:drinker:

LeidaPrimal

I don't have cheat days, but I take weekend off logging. It fits better in my schedule. I concentrate on eating only good food, and don't sweat the amount or complexity of the dishes. Then I compensate by eating less and plain during the week when I log. It actually helps weight loss to have an occasional feast, so I figure the weekends are the days to do it & it gives me the chance to eat something with many components without turning it into a science project of weighing, measuring and dividing into portions.

SuperSexyDork

I don't most of the time.

It's not denial. I do it simply because sometimes I need a day away from here. I have a history of ED and obsessing over food and it feels good to have a day every once in awhile (maybe every 3 weeks to a month) to be away from here and to not think about food. For me, it's a mental health thing and I would prefer to stay healthy both physically and mentally.

Starality

I log in my CD (Cheat Day) because I want to know how many calories I actually consume on those days.

neverstray

Nope. It's a cheat day. No way I'd log that. Defeats the whole purpose. Most people on this site are not in favor of cheat days and don't really understand them. I do because this is a concept that came alive in the 80's and is probably the most misunderstood concept in health and nutrition. Maybe more misunderstood than starvation mode. Lol. Enjoy your day off.

By the way, this topic can bring about lots of passion, so people that do it, do not talk about it. This site is very funny in that it has a culture and if you go against that culture, people will try hard to tell you you are doing it wrong. Yet, myself, along with many other people have lost weight utilizing cheat days. The only way to knownifnit works for you is to try it.

What you will see is many people will say things like, "it seems to me..." or "I think..." or "I don't understand why you would do this, blah, blah, blah". There are a lot of really good reasons to enjoy a cheat day. Lots of them. I say try it out for awhile. If you get results, then that means it works and there's no problem. If you find that you aren't hitting yr goals, maybe dial it back or modify it to a meal, or half a day or something. Just find some balance that works for you.

Logging it or not is up to you. I wouldn't because I want it to be fun and maybe a little naughty.

bkwhit1964

Log it and it might not actually be as bad as you think. I have been really bad on days and actually my numbers were better than anticipated. Be true to yourself!

SheilaN1976

i dont have a cheat day...but i log everything...

rubyautumn4

I log everything on MFP - my body logs it all anyway. Not being 100% aware and tracking my food and exercise is what brought me to where I am, for me I need to be consistent with my efforts to make change happen.

MrDelts

Log it for the first time.. If you don't like seeing it in your log, then you'll know not to log it anymore. You gotta do what makes you most comfortable. I enjoy logging it. I like to see what I ate.. Whether you log it or not, the calories still count

Khymera

I haven't had a cheat day yet but my general philosophy is that if it goes in my mouth, it goes in my diary.

If anything, logging a cheat day should help you identify what "traps" you're most likely to fall into, which will make it that much easier to avoid them in the future.

hb817

I do...even though it's a cheat day, seeing my calories makes me cheat a lot less than normal Enjoy your cheat day!

I agree!!

TheVimFuego

I don't subscribe to the idea of cheat days, I prefer to cheat a little daily, but if I did I'd be logging it.

If you don't measure you can't track, if you can't track then you can't draw conclusions based on the data, however 'bad' the numbers are.

AmyFett

I don't believe in planning cheat days. Though on my diet, I don't deny myself of anything I want. If I want pizza, it fits into my calories or I go over by a little because I'll just keep wanting it and wanting it and wanting it until I get it. And the longer I wait, the worse it ends up being.

edit: but YES I log EVERYTHING

LivingInPuglia

I didn't schedule a cheat day yesterday ....... most days I'm consistently under my calorie allowance + exercise calories. But yesterday I blew it big time .... and I logged everything to find I had consumed a horrifying 2876 calories. Logging it has certainly made me realise what I had done ..... and will make me think twice before doing it again.

So yes LOG EVERYTHING!

psully1387

I think it's always good to log cheat days, (you should see my Saturday). It's good to let yourself splurge, but always important to know exactly how much you're splurging. It's great for keeping the cheat day "within reason" and also helpful to keep in mind for when you plan on just maintaining. I've found my cheat days that I log tend to be close to what I could reasonably eat if I no longer had weight I wanted to lose, but sometimes they spike into the calorie count that would lead to gaining back the 30+ I've lost. Anyway, accountability and knowledge...I don't see the downside in logging.

ctooch99

I don't believe in planning cheat days. Though on my diet, I don't deny myself of anything I want. If I want pizza, it fits into my calories or I go over by a little because I'll just keep wanting it and wanting it and wanting it until I get it. And the longer I wait, the worse it ends up being.

edit: but YES I log EVERYTHING

^^^ THIS. Cheat days imply you are depriving yourself. Depriving yourself leads to failure. Just my 2 cents...

WendyTerry420

Not logging is cheating. Period. Eating what you want is NOT cheating.

NikkiSmo

I'm still to scared to have a whole day of cheating! I have been logging for 146 days, but I feel like "cheating" is kind of what got me here to begin with. I would tell myself its OK to eat that whole pizza because you had a salad for lunch...... anyway I prefer to have "treat moments" like if I want a cupcake than I take A BITE of it and walk away. I have to learn self control and I'm not there yet, not to mention if I had a whole cheat day my stomach would streach back out and then I would spend then next week starving till it shrunk back again! Not worth it to me but I know for some it helps keep them going so if you need one than have at it but I would log it! This whole site is about accountability!

feepug

its personal preference, im pretty new here but i choose to log everything, it will helps me see patterns and alternatives, eg whole pizza vs 1/2 pizza with salad!

Good luck with whatever you decide, and make sure you enjoy your cheat day insted of feeling bad otherwise there is no point! : )

half_moon

Logging it doesn't mean it didn't happen!! But on days I don't care, I don't care, nor do I want to measure everything I eat. Sometimes I just want to enjoy!