Cheat day?

ncsubeachgirl

Does anyone else have a cheat day? Does it slow your progress? How often do you have one?

arizonahiker

My daughter and I go out to eat every Thursday night and I use this opportunity for a cheat meal (not a cheat day). I try to not over due like eating a whole pizza but I do notice I feel sluggish and tired afterwards. With that being said I think cheat meals are not the worst thing.

Gallowmere1984

I do a re-feed day every couple of weeks, whenever my lifts start feeling crappy. I generally still stay below 2500 calories on that day though, but it's a sizable increase, considering that I stay around 1500 on a normal day.

I also just came back from a vacation during which my wife and I went on a total bender on food for the entire week. Neither of us gained a single pound between departure and return, according to home scale. We just kept lifting the entire time we were on vacation at a gym near the beach. This last part isn't something I'd recommend doing on an even remotely regular basis though, assuming you care about your waistline. xD

browneyes97

Not really, if I want something, I just eat it. And log it:)

piggydog

Cheat days are pointless... If you really want to loose you fit it into your daily intake or by 'cheating' you could end up going over for the week and gaining weight..

futiledevices

I don't do cheat days, I just work it into my calories.. (doesn't necessarily always fit into macros, though).. If I do end up going over, I will try and make up for it over the next few days. That way, it's evened out for the week.

Bumbeen

Yes I do a big refeed once a week. Tomorrow I am having half a dozen doughnuts and a whole pizza and maybe some ice cream too.

It's good for psychological aspect and it sets some hormones back right(supposedly) that get messed up from dieting hard.

I don't think of it as a cheat day though, I'm not cheating..... it's part of the plan.

binknbaby

I make eating out fit into my needs. But when I come across a day when I know I'll be off, I just don't freak out about it. LOL

I think calling it "cheating" would set me up for some bad habits (personally). I think for me, it would just cause me to binge a bit too much, and thus ruin the hard work I've put in. Not only that, but I'm in this for the long haul--for the complete lifestyle change--and if I can't make those foods fit into those boundaries, that change isn't taking root, and I'm still looking at the immediate instead of the long term--viewing it as "just another diet" instead of a new way to live.

So maybe I have smaller portions of food at a party, or do some research and make better choices when I eat out. I just make it fit so I'm not feeling desperate and deprived, and so I learn how to make it work for the big picture.

TravisRVA

So much back and forth about cheat days, and everyone has some other opinion of them that its so hard to choose who is right.

I take one cheat day every week. Could I have been further along in my weightloss without them? Who knows. But I enjoy doing my plan this way and have lost 20 pounds and 3.5 inches around my tummy in one month doing so. Different body types may react different, who knows.

The theory I follow is it keeps you sane, keeps following the rules easier, and keeps your body from getting use to low caloroes and keeps your metabolism guessing and working hard.

shawnasis

I agree with travis. Just don't call it a cheat day. Just schedule one day a week where you let yourself log in extra calories. That's what I'm doing.