How to handle cheat days. I don't want to fail.

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  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    95% of you are missing the point entirely... good luck.

    not to be redundant but uh...

    *humps post*
  • Marc713
    Marc713 Posts: 328 Member
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    As said above, if you are living a balanced life, it's not cheating. Work hard, so you can play hard. Eat well most of the time so you can indulge now and then without guilt. People die all the time that are fit & healthy, so why skip out on indulging in healthy moderation?
  • Getbusyliving1
    Getbusyliving1 Posts: 13
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    Just concentrate on the big picture. Log everything you eat on your cheat days. Log your weight weekly. If you are continuing to lose, eat as much or less fat/sugar on your cheat day. If you are maintaining, eat as much or less fat/sugar on your cheat days. If you are gaining, eat less fat/sugar on your cheat days. Rinse and repeat.
  • jessdani_333
    jessdani_333 Posts: 9
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    My diet (slow carb) has a cheat day specifically set aside to indulge in everything that I don't eat during the week. There are some important things to keep in mind on that day though. Here's a link http://www.slowcarbfoodie.com/2012/02/28/the-ultimate-guide-to-the-4-hour-body-cheat-day/ that you might give you some tips to implement if you decide a cheat day is right for you.
  • jessdani_333
    jessdani_333 Posts: 9
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    Also, a great thing about cheat day is that you can plan it. Make a list of the things you're craving and have them on cheat day. Then, when you're jonesing you can say to yourself, "I can't have that today, but on cheat day I'm gonna eat the hell out of it."
  • Linamalav3
    Linamalav3 Posts: 2
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    Honestly, I think cheat days are good. If anything, when I incorporated them I was much more successful. However, I would definitely suggest starting without cheat days. For example, if you are on either your first or second week of dieting/eating clean, then don't incorporate cheat days, because all that will happen is that you will most likely go crazy and ruin all of the hard work you've done. So I would say only incorporate cheat days once you have continually experienced successful control over you cravings (for me that was two weeks at that time). However, once you are ready to add cheat days I find they actually help you sooo much. Because while I loved eating clean and the energy and feeling I got from it, I also loved me some ice cream and chocolate, and sometimes it made me sad to see other people eating it when I "couldn't". But by adding a cheat day, if I ran across something tempting, it would be easier to control myself because I'd just remind myself that I would be able to have it in a couple of days if I still wanted it. So I found cheat days gave me control. The only rule I gave myself on cheat days was to eat until I was satisfied, not stuffed. But otherwise I went crazy and really took advantage of them. And at the end of each week I still lost weight. Another precaution I would say is, if you are not working out, then don't add cheat days. Nonetheless if you know deep in your heart you bust your butt at the gym and eat clean when you are supposed to a cheat day is perfect for you. One little day will not ruin any success. P.S.: leave out cheat days if you are plateauing, because in that case you need to try to create an even greater calorie deficit. Hope this helps! :)
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
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    I'm consistent with tracking and staying in calorie goal Monday through Saturday. Sunday is my free day, I eat what ever I want and don't stress over tracking things. This works for me but I'm in maintenance.
  • Heather_Rider
    Heather_Rider Posts: 1,159 Member
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    to those saying "DONT call a cheat day.. and DONT call it a diet."

    ya know what? I call it what i want!!

    I grew up in the 80's & 90's & thats what we called it.. habits are hard to break & i dont think there is any harm & calling something a word. ITS A WORD.

    Im not being locked up & hog tied & forced horrible things to be done to me. Sheesh!

    LOL.. anyway.. Carry on!
  • pamelak5
    pamelak5 Posts: 327 Member
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    to those saying "DONT call a cheat day.. and DONT call it a diet."

    ya know what? I call it what i want!!

    I grew up in the 80's & 90's & thats what we called it.. habits are hard to break & i dont think there is any harm & calling something a word. ITS A WORD.

    Im not being locked up & hog tied & forced horrible things to be done to me. Sheesh!

    LOL.. anyway.. Carry on!

    It's not a word - it's a mindset. When most people hear the word "diet" they think of some change they temporarily have to make to drop weight. If you are making changes only temporarily, and only to drop weight, then fine, it's a diet. If you are making permanent changes to adopt a healthier lifestyle...then it's not a diet. Same with "cheat days". Cheating, by definition, means you're doing something wrong. I don't have days where I stop caring about my lifestyle or my health. When I eat a cookie I'm not "cheating" - I balance it out with healthy decisions and it fits into a healthy lifestyle.

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