Cheat Days.

mum212

if im hungry ill eat more if im not then ill eat normal meals i like to control what i eat so i know how much i have to burn off the next day x

carriempls

I don't think of anything I eat as "cheating" but I do plan for extra calories where I want them, usually on the weekends. I eat lower calories weekdays so I can enjoy a meal out or a glass of wine or whatever without feeling guilty.

I also plan for slow weight loss. I love food and I eat quite healthfully most of the time. Food (cooking, baking and all-around enjoying) is one of my favorite hobbies. I'm going to enjoy it all the way through life.

efirkey

I have a hard problem getting back into the right frame of mind following a cheat day. I want to eat other cheat food and I try to convince myself that it is all right to eat the left overs and then go to the movies and have the large popcorn with butter. It is easier for me just to stay on course and let inertia take over.

I will say yesterday i had two plain McChickens for lunch for a total of 620 calories, which is definitely within my calories. But for some reason they didn't taste as good, nor sit as well in my stomach, and my energy was horrible for hours afterwards. I was even full after one but still ate the second one anyways. I need to get to the point in my life where I will stop after one, but for now old habits are hard to break.

I am still a work in progress.

Next time I feel like a McChicken, I am only going to buy one and if I am still hungry afterwards I can always hit another McDonalds. There is a McDonalds within 5 miles of me no matter where I am anyways.

XXXMinnieXXX

I normally eat 1700, plan a 2000 for Saturday and a 1400 for Sunday. Means you can have what you want in reason and even it out. Not always perfect but I think it's a good method and good to have a low day before weigh in. I still try to stick my carbs out in the 2000 day. Yesterday I enjoyed Diane sauce on my steak and extra yummy nuts.

Zara

links_slayer

SB Sunday = BIG TIME cheat day here

funsmile1234

I have one cheat meal one day a week and have lost over 100 lbs in one year doing this. If I didn't do this I would feel like I'm depriving myself and my lifestyle change would feel like a diet. I wouldn't stay on it. Plus if your food plan is not restrictive where you can have things like chicken, pork roast and potatoes, chicken fajitas, where you are making good foods and not depriving yourself it will be easier to stay on a plan. Basically eating a whole food plan all of the time and exercising 3-4 days a week will cause you to lose weight. Good luck to you.

Gallowmere1984

Cheat meals: yes
Cheat days: no

A whole day of eating in excess would wipe out any gains that week.

Gotta call BS here. The wife and I went on a week long bender (over 2500+ cals per day) while on vacation. The result when we got home? Zero weight gained. We just kept lifting while on vacation.

It's going to depend a lot upon the individual.

jlfoster0427

I do cheat days on Friday and don't exercise as much. I do log everything so I still portion everything but I might have pizza that day that I wouldn't have other days and I don't go over just get closer to my allotted calories as I usually finish under my goal.

WendyTerry420

Do you have cheat days? Why or why not? What do your cheat days consist of? What're your opinions on cheat days?

When you follow IIFYM and have a reasonable calorie goal, there is no need for a "cheat day."

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/817188-iifym

Lois_1989

Today is definitely a cheat day for me. It's the Superbowl tonight. I've planned and worked ahead for it. I had a good week, I went to the gym yesterday, I'm going tomorrow. But tonight I won't be logging, I won't be worrying I will be having guilt free fun and indulgence. Because I've planned for it, I'm prepared and mentally I know it will be from the moment the ball gets kicked to when I finally crawl into bed (as I'm in England that will be about 3 in the morning at the earliest) I can eat and drink. From the moment I wake up tomorrow morning it will be diet as usual.

GO RAVENS!

losingweightfindingme

I don't allow myself cheat days. I do allow myself an occasional cheat meal. A trainer friend of mine once told me that a cheat day is only acceptable if you are at your ultimate goal as far as fitness goes. I do allow myself a bit of what I'm craving...but I refuse to "go crazy" on a meal...primarily because I know I'll have to make up for it with sweat later and I could jeopardize my progress so far.

TheRunningGuppy

Tomorrow will be mine and I'm just getting started so I don't want to go crazy because of the efforts so far.

I'm trying though to figure out how to get to the movies without popcorn. LOL

A friend of mine recently told me that she broke up some rice cakes into pop corn sized pieces and took them to the cinema. I thought it was really clever!

Pop a 100 calorie bag of popcorn at home, toss it in a ziplock and bring a really big purse with you to the theater! :happy: I've done that before.

Sissyperm

yes .. absolutely. My friends and I go out once a week (usually Thursday nights) for GNO (girls night out). We range from 30-something to 60, and we don't drink but we ALWAYS eat. I try to go home from work an hour earlier so I can hit my stationary bike before we go, so I don't do too much damage to what I've accomplished. One time I tried ordering to fit my new way of eating, but I didn't enjoy it that much, The whole reason for us to get together is to visit ... and laugh ... and forget all the stuff that happened during the week that we didn't like much. So I've learned not to worry about what I eat that one night ... I just thoroughly enjoy my friends.

TheRunningGuppy

I was planning a movie night with my mom & sis (Les Mis!) and really wanted to eat the movie theater popcorn. So the afternoon before the movie, I walked 4+ miles, and for me (per Map My Run gps app for my phone) I burned almost 900 calories. Had no problem at all indulging in the popcorn then. I try not to do cheat days, but I also am going to eat what I want, in moderation, and make it up in exercise.

Richie2shoes

Do you have cheat days? Why or why not? What do your cheat days consist of? What're your opinions on cheat days?

When you follow IIFYM and have a reasonable calorie goal, there is no need for a "cheat day."

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/817188-iifym

The problem comes if you want something and IDFYM! I eat well, just less than I ate before, but I can go to a pub and have a couple beers, a bacon cheeseburger and fries and hit my limit in one meal. I'd rather have a day that I know I can get the cheeseburger and not sweat it instead of starving the whole day, just so I can fit it in my macros for that day.

Ejourneys

I don't have cheat days. I haven't had cravings for months and love the way I'm eating now.

Once in a while a meal detracts from my normal eating habits -- e.g., when I'm with friends at a restaurant, or when we've received candy for the holidays. I decide ahead of time what I'm going to consume and then log it. It still feels special and like a treat, but I still stay within my goal. Win-win.

katonaroof

i do one cheat day a week - & no i don't have challenges with using the word 'cheat', it's just semantics & it only brings on guilt if you think of it as a guilty thing. for me, it keeps me honest the other 6 days of the week when i know that if i really want something, i can have it on monday (my weigh in day) & it's not a 'reward', it's just part of my plan. generally, i eat really restrictively with no grains (no bread, pasta, pizza or anything like that), just protein and veggies or fruit (once in awhile). i enjoy eating this way & my body feels better doing this (so i don't need any input about what anyone might think of eating like this, it works for me - i don't judge others on what they feel works for them) although every once in a while, i do want to eat foods that aren't on my eating plan and so i allow myself to do that on mondays and i go right back to my eating plan on tuesday. i log what i eat everyday. what i've noticed is that if i cut myself short on monday because i feel i've already eaten too much then it's harder to make it through the rest of the week so i'm not doing that anymore - i'm eating what i want on monday, regardless of the count or whether i think i've eaten too much already and then the other 6 days are a breeze. i also do not add in an extra workout or anything like that - i do the workout that i would normally do the other 6 days, otherwise, it'd feel too punitive & it would feel like i was cheating. everyone is different, so do what works for you & sometimes that means experimenting to see what that is.

SherryTeach

Only person I'd be cheating is myself. Every day is full of food I enjoy and that satisfies my nutritional, emotional and social needs. For me, having a cheat day would lead me to going off the rails completely.

meechster20001

I have the occasional bad meal but find I still log calories and try and make healthier choices. I want to keep losing weight but I want this to be sustainable and about a change in lifestyle. I want to be able to enjoy going out and not feel guilty about it. If I keep dropping a pound or so each week and keep it off then that's me happy.

HugeBum

I used to have cheat days once a week, but found that it was turning into a cheat weekend, and so for 2 whole days I would eat rubbish, and then it just cancelled out my hard work from the week. Nowadays, I only allow myself a cheat day on two occasions- a special occasion like a family meal etc, or if I have hit a plateau. For some reason, if I just have one day where I eat more calories, it seems to kick start my metabolism. If I'm completely honest, I think if you let yourself have a cheat day every week, you're not really giving yourself a chance to overcome your cravings completely.

bkr45678

Do you have cheat days? Why or why not? What do your cheat days consist of? What're your opinions on cheat days?

For me, I eat my normal healthy diet on weekdays, but when weekends come around I eat what I want but still stay within my calorie goal to lose weight. Might be pizza, fajita tacos, a Mooyah burger, I just make it fit. Then the rest of the day I just snack on cheese, apples, cereal and coffee. Works for me.

lizlkbg

i dont think of them as cheat days if u have a little bit of what you fancy. think its best not to go overboard and add the exercise in

I love that! "have a little bit of what you fancy"
That is my new motto

reallifealien

HELL YEAH!! twice a week - and i'm still losing ;D

MissKalhan

I rewarded myself yesterday for being way over my calories burned and hitting the gym 6 days this week. I likemy pizza and usually I will eat it if its in my calories but yesterday was a full out binge *kitten* show and know what I feel amazing and I'm not bloated. Back to it today

feliligram

I don't do cheat days.
You can pretty much eat whatever you want as long as you stay with in your goals, not saying to go and get a whopper with cheese large fry and a coke, but if you want a little cup of ice cream, go ahead and have it.

babyblooz

It depends upon the individual. Personally, I see no need for them unless one is already below 15% bodyfat (for males, not sure about females), at least from a training stance. I view it as until one reaches that point, they haven't earned them, and really, their body has no use for the extra calories while overweight, so why do it?

:huh:

Mcgrawhaha

i have a day, every 15th day, where i have what ever i want, howevver, i still log. i lose a steady 8 pounds a month with these 2 monthly "cheat" days. im very happy with it this way, because it allows me to go a little crazy and splurge with my kids, without any worries. i log everything, however, i have no boundaries on these days!

TisheaDH

Moderation in all things.

Scottish_charlene_84

Yip, every sat

LeviLeDoux

Not necessarily a cheat day, but when I reach my short term goal of 110 lbs I'll be treating myself to sushi! ^_^