Can someone please explain cheat days?

fstephanie4

I'm confused. So many people say yes and no to cheat days and I need straight answers!

I'm eating approx 1400 cals a day. For this week I've been burning approx 800cals (give or take 100) but I cannot (and people will probably have a go) but I cannot eat back all of them...I sometimes eat about 200ish but I am full with the 1400ish cals in the first place.
If I am hungry I will eat more but I don't see the point in scoffing my face just to eat back cals (sorry if I've annoyed anyone)
I've hit a plateau the past week or so and although it is only a week I'm a tad annoy especially as I've increased exercise from 500 to 800 cals burnt!

So if I add a cheat say once a week/fornight...will it kick start again? If so how many calories should I eat!
I am so confused by it all. I'm a total fitnessphobe and doing this is really a big deal and I've really come so far in the past few days and I'm very proud!

Please try and be as nice as possible because, as I said, I am proud of the work I've done I hated P.E at school and only ever swam and did TKD.

Thanks for the help and good luck to all. :happy:

Capt_Apollo

i don't have cheat days.



i had plenty of cheat years.

katevarner

Um, if you are really only eating 1400-1600 calories and you are burning 800, then you aren't eating enough. Sorry. Your body can't get by on 600-800 calories with that much exercise. Cut back on your workouts, or eat more.

As far as your question, I don't believe in cheat days, but I know they work for some people. I try to give myself a treat most days that fits into my calories and macros so that I don't feel the need to "cheat." I think that you need to cheat a little if you are really depriving yourself, tho, so if you are more comfortable doing it all one day instead of a little each day, then go for it.

Good luck.

vtmoon

Depends on the person you ask cheat days normally mean they eat uncontrollably or eat stuff they don't normally eat. But the purpose of it is to change up your calorie intake to confuse your body and hopefully help jump start your metabolism again. Also a plateau needs to be a bit longer than a week or 2, I normally think of a month or two as a plateau if I'm eating at a deficit and exercising and staying the same.

I would say wait 2-3 more weeks before you introduce cheat days, for me personally my cheat days are days I just increase my calories from my losing calories number to say maintenance number which for me is a 1000 calorie increase for that one day. And I only do it when I've been stuck for over a month or so.

Lyssa62

I don't do the cheat days either...if I've saved up enough calories I can splurge a little ..but a cheat day to me would set me up to go back to old eating habits.

eat when hungry..don't worry about if you are eating exercise calories back. To me I stick at my 1200 a day..sometimes I go a little over and sometimes not...I walk 4 miles a day and do some extra exercises.

When you are stuck...up your water intake...I've been doing that and it bumps me right back into losing.

Espressocycle

Numero uno, cheat days keep us sane enough to stick with this thing, since never being able to go out to that fancy meal, or have a burger and beer at the bar or whatever can just be discouraging. Also, eating a bit more from time to time is thought to prevent your metabolism from adjusting too comfortably to the lower calories. You don't want to go nuts. It's more about sometimes eating as if you were just maintaining your weight. So, typically, you might go over by 500 calories, which is your daily deficit if you are trying to lose a pound a week. I do a cheat day once a week or so when I eat out with my honey or go to a party and drink some beer. It hasn't kept me from losing weight on schedule.

Mr_Bad_Example

The idea behind a 'cheat day' is that you keep your body's metabolism on its toes so that it doesn't adjust too quickly to being on a lower calorie intake. Some people do calorie cycling (i.e. eating 1200 one day, having 2000 the next, 1500 after that, etc.) - I've tried that, but it was a bit too restrictive on the low end days for me.

I put one day a week off for eating without concern (cheat day, non-tracking day, whatever you want to call it) and have lost and maintained my weight pretty successfully for the last three years. But it's unique to each person - some people (like me) swear by them, others refuse to do them. It's all about what works best for you.

Crayvn

if its only been a week you have not hit a plateau. speed bump maybe..but not a plateau...

A cheat day varies from person to person. Everyone will give you a straight answer for what works for them.

To some, i cheat everyday cause i do not eat clean everyday. I may have an ice cream bar or a 100 cal brownie but stay within my net calories.

You can fairly easily *eat back* your exercise calories with a handful of almonds or nuts, smoothies and other calorie dense foods.

Try to do your best, but dont beat yourself up. Just stick with it... Patience is one of the biggest ingredients in weight loss.

warsenic

I guess it's just where you eat where you want to help your body deal w/ stress of dieting. I don't really know.

I don't have cheat days. I just have days where I budget in things that I want. Yesterday, I had a chocolate milk shake and was still in my calorie budget.

RachelSRoach1

There are several things that factor into cheat days.

1. The good thing about "cheat" days is that if you have any diet breaking cravings, it's okay to truly indulge and not worry about the calories, and by eating it on a day like that you eliminate the risk of breaking your entire healthy eating routine.

2. By having a cheat day, you also have a much lower risk of plateauing due to the variation in your calories. Often times getting stuck on one number on the scale is due to eating a certain amount of calories all the time. If you have a cheat day you probably are running into a fitness problem if your number isn't moving.

3. Cheat days are dangerous if you don't think you can stop. For example, if you are kicking diet butt by not having a cheat day and fear breaking your diet if you have one.. then don't. Don't put yourself in a dangerous situation. I only have a cheat day once every few weeks usually.

4. Keep in mind that cheat "day" is kind of misleading. For me... it's more a a cheat evening or something. I might save my "cheating" for a dinner with the family at the end of the week. I had one last night.. my family lives in the city and I am scared ***tless of highway driving which I had to do.. and my eating a ton of sweets reflects that. I'm not worried though. After counting calories and what not I know I didn't eat enough to gain a pound, and the two pounds my scale said I gained is sodium.

Frankly when deciding to have a cheat day or not this is completely your call based on what you think you can handle. You will probably get plenty of opinions on the matter, but you know you best! Good luck!

niftyafterfifty

I don't have "regular" cheat days. It just makes me feel a little uncomfortable, but there are occasional days that I go over my calories. Today will be one of them. We're having a cookout with lots of good food. I will not stuff myself, but I want a little of everything. I know I will go over my calorie goal for the day but will still be under for the week; it all evens out. I do have friends on MFP that have regular spike days once a week. It works for them; they are losing weight. I think you just need to find what works for you. Sometimes, it's just trial and error.

Corsetopia

Cheat days scare the crap out of me mentally, but I do them anyways. I have one cheat day a week where I do not log anything, so I really have no idea how much I'm sabotaging myself. My husband swears by them though and it hasn't seemed to hinder my weight loss so far, I usually lose 2 lbs a week even with the cheat day. I do, however, stay on a 1200 calorie diet on the other days.

jaxxie

People think of cheat days in different ways....some use it as an excuse to eat crap and others use it as a tool to cycle calories. When you mess with your metabolism...meaning confuse it, it is said that it works harder.

I don't think you are eating anywhere near enough if you are burning 800 cals per day. That would mean you are only actually eating 600. I would starve, lol!

You could try a site like Fitnessfrog.com. It has alot of information and free calculators to determine your BMR and your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) This is what you should be following and then subtracting about 500 cals from your TDEE to lose.

Your BMR is what you need to eat basically if you were in a coma.

Good luck with this and I think you will find that site quite helpful!

Have a great day and keep up the great work!

emmalene1984

its whatever works for you, I have a relax meal once a week, usually on a saturday, Its the one meal where if i want chips, i can have chips, or tacos or roast potatoes, whatever. i don't worry too much about my calorie intake although i try not to go crazy and counter balance it with some exercise most weeks, i find it helps me to stay on track throughout the week if i know at the wekend I can have that once something i really really crave. however last weekend I didn't have a real relax meal and I'm not planning on it this week either or next week, but that's only because it's my graduation in just under two weeks and I'm hoping that if i continue my low carb, low calorie regime throughout the weekends I can shift an extra pound or so a bit faster however I do not feel that this would be sustainable long term, it is only a short term, short cut to shift a little extra weight than i would do with my relax meals. that being said, I do also believe that a little spike in calories/carbs whatever you are restricting in your diet, once a week or so is helpful to weight loss and preventing plateaus as your body does not get stuck in a rut/ too used to your restrictions so quickly.

that's just my opinion, every one has their own, i would say, if you are in a plateau then why not give it a go for a couple of weeks, log everything and see what the results are, you may GAIN weight initially, but if you are like me, you may also then find that after a few days it will suddenly drop to below your weight before the cheat/ relax meal :-)

LindaKrivulka1

I agree with you, cheat days can be confusing. I have lost 60 pounds using cheat days off and on. It is a good way to satisfy cravings but we have to be careful that one cheat day doesn't turn into a week. Also, one of my biggest problems was that I would eat what ever I wanted and then I would make myself sick from too much or bad food combinations. So, be careful and use in moderation. Plan your cheat day so as not to overdo. It won't hurt you and can make your diet interesting.

chelovik

I don't do a fullon cheat day. I have a cheat meal which is a 2 hour period of time where I eat lets day pizza and boneless wings and have a hard apple cider or two and something majorly sweet like a home made dessert. I don't do full on cheat days because I end up with food hangover the next day which can be as bad of a feeling as the hangover from being drunk.

fstephanie4

Thanks to you all.

So maybe if I burn 800 cals Xtimes a week (say 3) then 500 Xtimes a week...that might help.

I'll have a good think about it.

BelleHeart

i don't have cheat days.



i had plenty of cheat years.

lol I love this.

SPNLuver83

I have cheat days once a week because it helps my weekly calorie goal get met since I am often under as well. Not by as much as you though. Plus I like to do it cuz its fun. Plus studies have shown that it helps to kick start the metabolism since it has to work harder for a day (cuz it gets used to working with the same amount). Works for me. I tend to go 1,000-2,000 over my goal. Every saturday..

chatterbox3110

I don't have cheat days, but I do have one day a week where I relax a little, normally after my weekly weigh-in, and if I go over a bit I don't fret about it.

I have this to look forward to, and whilst I know there are those out there who will disagree completely, while it's working for me I'll stick with it.

I'm up 3lbs from my highest loss of 116lbs at the moment because I've just had two weeks away on holiday following surgery and a close family bereavement, but I'll take it in my stride and I'm back on track so back into the old routine.

Good luck on your weight loss journey.

Tedebearduff

I'm confused. So many people say yes and no to cheat days and I need straight answers!

I'm eating approx 1400 cals a day. For this week I've been burning approx 800cals (give or take 100) but I cannot (and people will probably have a go) but I cannot eat back all of them...I sometimes eat about 200ish but I am full with the 1400ish cals in the first place.
If I am hungry I will eat more but I don't see the point in scoffing my face just to eat back cals (sorry if I've annoyed anyone)
I've hit a plateau the past week or so and although it is only a week I'm a tad annoy especially as I've increased exercise from 500 to 800 cals burnt!

So if I add a cheat say once a week/fornight...will it kick start again? If so how many calories should I eat!
I am so confused by it all. I'm a total fitnessphobe and doing this is really a big deal and I've really come so far in the past few days and I'm very proud!

Please try and be as nice as possible because, as I said, I am proud of the work I've done I hated P.E at school and only ever swam and did TKD.

Thanks for the help and good luck to all. :happy:

Hey regarding the plateau everyone is going to hit a plateau right now. It's human nature that our body automatically starts to store food because the cold weather has begun. It's to protect us from the long cold winter ahead. Do not stop doing what your doing don't give up. This is the hardest time to lose weight!!!!

Regarding the cheat days my personal thoughts on them are as follows. People take cheat days to eat all the crap they've been craving so they want cake all week so they work hard 6 days of the week at the gym and eat good and their reward on that 7th day is cake. ( get what I'm saying ) Personally I don't cheat or take a cheat day the term doesn't apply to me because I made a lifestyle change and cut out all crap food.

What I do, do is I have a day once every 2 weeks where all I eat for 1.5 days (depending on portion size) is bean salad. I do this for the high protein and carbs. The only source of carbs I get are from fruits and veggies since beans are high in carbs I guess it's a carb loading day ( I think that's what ppl call it ).

Don't be discouraged like I said it's human nature to begin storing fat because of the cold weather. Keep up the great work !!!!

rachmaree

Um, if you are really only eating 1400-1600 calories and you are burning 800, then you aren't eating enough. Sorry. Your body can't get by on 600-800 calories with that much exercise. Cut back on your workouts, or eat more.

As far as your question, I don't believe in cheat days, but I know they work for some people. I try to give myself a treat most days that fits into my calories and macros so that I don't feel the need to "cheat." I think that you need to cheat a little if you are really depriving yourself, tho, so if you are more comfortable doing it all one day instead of a little each day, then go for it.

Good luck.

Absolutely agree.

redhousecat

I'm like others. I just eat whatever I want as long as I stay under my allotment and exercise. One less thing to worry about.

Flixie00

I both eat back exercise calories and do unlogged cheat days. I have been eating better and losing weight for 14 months and would not have got to where I am without doing both.

My cheat days generally coincide with birthdays, holidays etc, are planned, and I eat what I like. I could go for a couple of months without a cheat day, or have a couple a week apart. For me cheat days have nothing to do with calorie cycling, and more to do with not letting my diet put a downer on my and my friends and family's big days and accepting that this journey is a marathon and not a sprint. I also find that they help put paid to some people's idea that my diet involves me starving myself.

The day after a cheat day I am back to my normal eating plan with no guilty feelings, or the need to try to make up lost ground. I don't count bad days as cheat days, as these are unplanned and will be logged.

I accept that this will horrify some people, and I am not advocating anyone do the same, but it works well for me.

RachelSRoach1

I accept that this will horrify some people, and I am not advocating anyone do the same, but it works well for me.

No point in being horrified when you have one of the highest losses I have seen on mfp! Great job!

healthynotthin

The only days I lose a couple of days after are days I've cheated - a LOT. :P

jeffreyjording

In my 400+ days on MFP I can honestly say I have gone over my calorie goal maybe 10 times. I feel that planned cheat days would probably turn into cheat weekends and more. It's all about lifestyle change, not just diet. Portion control is the key for me..Also structuringating and exercise important for me also. Your going to have bad days. Dont sweat it and try to do better the next