CHEAT DAY!?

LiftAllThePizzas

It's awesome to indulge here and there! Counting calories as a weekly total might be a way to do it without seeing it as cheating. It reminds me of eating a bowl of Lucky Charms, where you eat the cereal pieces first and save all (or most of) the marshmallows for the end.

ClementineGeorg

Cheat meal would be better.
You can spoil all week effort with a cheat day. A cheat meal is more... good for weight loss.

meganr116

My idea of a cheat day is having one day a week (usually a weekend day) when I don't have to record everything I eat. I still eat small portions and healthy food, but it gives me a break from having to record every single thing I consume. It's important to be careful that you don't allow yourself to eat horrible things just because you aren't recording it.

In a nutshell: a cheat day that's a break from recording everything not a break from eating well.

akshil

Having a Cheat day makes it tougher to get back to normal eating the other day, I eat a small "cheat meal" usually on the weekends within my calorie budget. That way I have more small cheat meals till I get all my cravings satisfied. You have to look at it in a very long term manner, for me not exceeding my BMR even on days I worked out is important so that I can get trained when I have to get into maintenance mode

jeninne

I like the comments about finding healthy foods you enjoy and therefore the word cheat is no longer a concept.

sweetv1smith

cheating a lil is fine just dont go over the top. Remember everything u eat over what your body needs for the day will turn into fat and make life harder for u.

a few bites of a burger, a couple of crisp fine (i do that weekly)...a day......:noway:

Hazel2005

If you don't omit anything in your diet, that is, anything in moderation, and are honest and accountable, you don't need a cheat day. Everything seems to center around food, rewarding yourself with food, considering why I'm here, doesn't sound like a good idea for me. I'd rather go with spoiling myself - with a pedicure, manicure, a new "smaller" pair of jeans.....sigh, sorry, just picturing them

neverstray

As an alternative idea, I know some people that eat at maintenance on the weekends, or maybe just on Saturday, as a way to add a little extra calories for fun. Doing that really would Not stall you much at all. For instance, if you're set to lose a lb a week, that means that you are at a 500 per day calorie deficit. So you can eat 500 more calories ona particular day, or over the weekend. It will not stall your weight loss goals, it will slightly slow them down. Instead of losing a lb per week, you might lose .7 per week, or however the math works out. I'm too lazy to figure it out.

Cheers.

camiann10

This is a complicated thing...I allow myself a cheat night on Saturday nights to eat out with hubby. In the beginning, its what allowed me to stick to my diet and lose 60 lbs. I had failed before because I thought if I could not be perfect, I could not stay on a diet. Now that I am trying to maintain, its harder...sometimes I feel like binging on those days and the holidays that I take off....I find its impossible to count my calories on holidays so I often go into binge mode. Its hard to pull yourself out of that the next day. I am now thinking of ways I can counteract this and do it better. Its a process of discovering what works best for YOU, not anyone else. Do what works and feels right for you and be consisitent and thats all that matters. :-)

tinkerbug83

I think it's okay to have a day where you allow yourself to splurge, it doesn't have to be every week or month. For examaple on days when I know I have a party or event to go to, I'm going to allow myself to indulge a little. Since I have a sweet tooth, if I were to try to cut that out, it would be worse. Everything in moderation, if you have a day where you go over, so be it; tomorrow is a new day

martinh78

I think that it is more beneficial to have rewards that are non-food based: a trip to the movies, mani/pedi, new clothes, etc.

Isn't standing on the scale/looking in the mirror reward enough? I don't look at loosing weight/maintaining a healthy lifestyle and diet as need for a treat. The treat is being healthy!

harrietlg

it depends on your mentality, if it's easy for you to get back on track the next day then your fine, I've found lately that instead of one day i'm taking 2 or more so i'm not giving myself cheat days right now, if I want something i'll work for it in the gym.

size08

Yeh. I love my cheat days. It does give a break from all the lettuse leaves you've had to endure all bloodly week. I keep my diet pretty strick threw the week it dose allow me to have my treats on the weekend. But when I'm feasting on my delights I make sure I know it's calorie content and I'm swimming training on the weekends.

alibug2001

Last night was a perfect opportunity for me to have a "cheat day". I went to a birthday party -- had no idea what they'd be serving (obviously I knew cake) and the party was at dinner time.

I did have some cake (DS2 & I split a piece that was given and then we ended up tossing half of it still).I also at dinner. Luckily they catered On The Border fajitas so tracking was easier. Now I did use ALL my available calories for the day (including my workout calories) and I probably didn't help lose ... but it sure didn't make me gain... and I didn't feel like I was left out.

I can do this! 2 weeks from yesterday is DS's birthday. I'm making mini-cupcakes so that should be easier for me too!

epcorne

One of my favorite quotes:

"you're not a dog. don't reward yourself with food"

BigBigBertha

Personally I've always lost weight taking a day off from logging, though I don't make it a reward or go crazy eating junk all day. For me it just means being able to sit down for a weekly roast dinner with my family without worrying about counting calories. It works for me, but I think it's important to keep an attitude of moderation even if it is a 'cheat day'.

rfsatar

Ok so I know there are other posts about this, but I wanted my own

I am debating doing a "cheat day" as a reward to sticking with my calories throughout the week. What do you all think? Would it hinder weight loss a ton in the long run? I think I would be more likely to stick to this for the long haul if I knew I had this day to look forward to.

Thoughts please!

I switch to maintenance on the one day a week where I totally rest my limbs.
My maintenance cals on MFP are still within my TDEE deficit of between 15-20% so gives me some wiggle room to enjoy myself on a weekend on a day when I my additional calories from FitBit will be negligable.

I don't treat it as a cheat day because on my current deficit I eat pretty well... cooked breakfast, light lunch, balanced evening meal, small dessert and maybe a cheeky glass of wine.

I also discovered that my maintenance cals for my target weight will be close to this level - so I feel confident that I will be on the right track, as I really don't need anymore and snacks I have are generally quite healthy.

Also - does your metabolism good to give it a boost from time to time, so long as it is not daily!
But a treat is fine...

jsolomon207

Why not plan on adding a few extra minutes to your work out and accumulate the extra calories that you are allowed to eat to your day, but don't eat them that day. Save them for your cheat day. That's a weight watchers thing to do.

martinh78

One of my favorite quotes:

"you're not a dog. don't reward yourself with food"

Mine too now! Love it

LiftAllThePizzas

I like the comments about finding healthy foods you enjoy and therefore the word cheat is no longer a concept.

LOL yeah it sounds all great and noble in the short term. But I like Pizza Hut, for example, and "I'm never ever eating Pizza Hut for the rest of my life," is not an acceptable lifestyle. Doing so once in a while isn't going to ruin my health. But it's definitely a matter of knowing yourself and deciding what works best for you. Some people can't handle moderation and need to go all extreme with deprivation, apparently.

MyOwnSunshine

My reply is: "It depends."

I have used cheat days successfully in the past, but they are generally more useful when you've been at this a long time and have your healthy habits down, when you're more content with losing slowly, or as a maintenance tool.

If you are just starting out, or you want to lose quickly and steadily, I would skip the cheat days.

Also, from my experience, cheat days are a little excessive for me. I can consume enough calories in one day to totally negate all the progress I've made in a week. I try to stick with a cheat/treat meal, plus one treat snack/dessert over the weekend.

Right now, I've eliminated my cheat/treats because I let myself eat pretty much what I wanted for the month of December, and have some specific fat loss, fitness, and health goals to meet in the next few months.

ByronJP

I agree with eating what you want when you want as long as it stays with in reason of calories, fat, carbs, etc... I will eat what i like during the day so i dont have to feel like im depriving my self of something i enjoy. The only cheat days i would consider having is for when i want to drink alcohol.

HyacintheAlcuin

A sound nutrition plan wouldn't have a "cheat day". Include all the foods you love into your daily nutrition.

This

Christylee76

I have a cheat meal.. not a cheat day..This helps me keep it under control!

Babeskeez

I am not doing cheat days but cheat meals. It is on either Friday, Sat or Sun. I eat healthy all up until my cheat meal.