New and looking for advice

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mhughes_52
mhughes_52 Posts: 3
in Introduce Yourself
I am pretty new to this site. Have been working on it for about 2 weeks. I have been really happy with this site, and the good advice I read on the message boards. So now, I need some advice and I am curious to see what you all have to say.

I hear and read a lot of things about people having a "cheat day", where they don't count any of there food and just eat whatever they want. I am not sure how I feel about. I am curious to hear what everyone has to say.

Thank you in advance

Replies

  • youngs
    youngs Posts: 250 Member
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    Guess I am diffrent :indifferent: ..I log anything that goes in my mouth (no matter how big or small).:blushing: ..I log everyday..no skipping and cheat days for me..:wink: .I say if it fits in to my calories and all of my other food tracker than I can have it :love: if not ..well sorry but I dont get it that day.:cry: ..I belive that if I would take a cheat day that I would think that I could cheat anyday when I want.:noway: .and I want to do this the right way...:heart::flowerforyou:
  • augustbells
    augustbells Posts: 113
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    I don't have a cheat day but I do have a cheat meal every 2 weeks or so. I still do my regular workout and everything so it doesn't interfere with my weightloss. And it keeps me going...if I didn't have that pizza or those cupcakes, etc to look forward to I don't know what I'd do! Lol
  • 25anniversary2011
    25anniversary2011 Posts: 123 Member
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    I started 3 weeks ago and decided (with my family) that if I didn't cheat for 30 days that I could have a cheat day after each 30 days. I have a goal of loosing 100 lbs in 1 year! I have not gotten to my first 30 days yet and am actually nervous about cheating! Not sure how this will go, guess we'll have to wait for the 20th (this Saturday) to see what happens.

    I'm curious to read what the "long time" users have to say . . .
  • veggieheadie
    veggieheadie Posts: 79
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    I actually have one cheat meal a week----I usually try not to do a whole day, but sometimes I do. I have found that this cheat meal helps me focus on eating healthy throughout the week. I have lost 70 lbs so far sticking with this plan. I have a small treat (Figured into my calories) everyday and one cheat meal on Saturdays (Sometimes I eat this meal on other days but Saturday is the day when my family likes to eat out). It helps me to avoid those awful binges and guilt cycles when I mess up.
  • epoeraven
    epoeraven Posts: 458 Member
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    I don't have a full cheat day but I do have a cheat meal. I still log it though. When I started I had a 100 pound weight loss goal. That was just too daunting to me so I set up 20 pound mini goals. In order to keep myself on track most of the time I decided that for every 20 pounds I lost that I could have one meal that I could eat whatever I wanted. It has really helped me stay on track. Whenever I get frustrated when I get stalled I keep telling myself that I have "X" amount of pounds left and then I can have the cheesecake I want.

    I know it sounds kind of weird but planning a specific day to fall off the wagon helps to keep me from falling of the wagon the rest of the days.
  • efcdcdb
    efcdcdb Posts: 392 Member
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    I have been logging daily for about a month and a half now, and I would not recommend a cheat day where you decide to eat anything you want and not log it. I have had a couple of "bad" days, like a "girls' night in" party with all kinds of drinks and yummy snacks. :drinker: I ate more than I should have BUT telling myself that I was going to do my best to log everything kept me from a full blown "pig out". I am sure my logging for that day wasn't very accurate but it was better than not logging at all. I would just have no self control if I allowed myself a day to be completely unaccountable. I am trying to change my habits for every day, every occasion, even if that isn't always "being good". Hope that helps.....:smile:
  • mhughes_52
    mhughes_52 Posts: 3
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    This has all been great advice. Thank you for everyone who has responded.

    What I have been doing is weighing in on Sunday mornings and then having Sunday be my cheat day and not count. But I think I need to start counting, just so I remain consistent with the website.

    Again, thanks for the replies, I really appreciate it!
  • melbhall
    melbhall Posts: 519
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    I personally don't really believe in a cheat day for myself in the sense of not logging any food. If I choose to eat what I want regardless of the calories I'm still going to log it. I think once I feel it's okay to not log things I will cheat here and there all the time. That's just me. I'm sneaky and love to eat so I have to be honest all the time!
  • tam1020
    tam1020 Posts: 1
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    Hello, I'm new to this site, any words of advice, please let me know. I don't drink alot of water, I know I should, but our water is really bad in Follansbee, and I have trouble drinking regular water anyway. I have to have some kind of flavoring to it, I need to know what is the best thing out there to get. I was drinking alot of Gatorade, but that stuff is loaded with sugar.So any words of advice, I would appreciate it ....Thanks
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    I don't believe in cheat days. I think it's the wrong mental approach for me as it sets up this false dichotomy with food. It really feeds into the idea that dieting is depriving yourself and that you do that for a while and then you get to eat whatever you want. I think that leads to yo-yo dieting. I also think that it plays into this idea that there are good foods and bad foods (i.e., on your "cheat" day, you "cheat" by eating "bad" foods and that leads to a messed up relationship with food. Food is fuel. Some of it is more nutritious than others and some is more tasty than others, but it has no intrinsic moral value.

    I also think it's important to be honest with yourself about what you eat. I've seen cheat days backfire on people because they end up eating as many calories on that one day as they deprived themselves of on the other 6 days.

    I also think cheat days interfere with our minds ability to develop new habits. Setting habits requires laying down neural pathways in our brains. Every time we go outside for a walk instead of eating when we are bored (as an example), that reinforces that neural pathway. But every time we reach for food when we are bored, we reinforce the existing, already strong, neural pathway. If we "cheat" enough, we'll never make the new habit stronger than the old one.

    I have to say that when I got to my goal weight, I did have this idea that somehow I needed to do everything differently now. What I found that worked the best for me was to keep doing what I was going when I was losing only eating more calories each day. I still have a protein shake for breakfast in the morning. I still workout. I still eat mostly what I ate before, only more of it.
  • 25anniversary2011
    25anniversary2011 Posts: 123 Member
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    My "cheat day" is approaching and I still don't feel like I will consciously "cheat". I just know that after 30 days of not cheating, that I need to reward myself with something. I will continue to log in everything I eat and then probably feel horrible about it and and get on my Wii. In my mind, at this time, I can't believe that I will NEVER cheat and if I reward myself every 30 days of continuous "good" days then that is something to look forward to. Maybe as time goes on I will not feel the need for rewards . . . :ohwell:

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