Do you believe in "Cheat Days"?

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  • angelams1019
    angelams1019 Posts: 1,102 Member
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    i never committed to only eating healthy and under/at my maintenance level calories every single day for ever and ever. that's pretty much a recipe for failure in my book. no one can give up everything forever, so instead of holding out as long as I can until I go crazy and eat too much, i just eat the things I like, in moderation.
    tonight for dinner I had Chinese food, not the low-cal home made kind. there was a fried spring roll in that bag, hell yeah.
    last week I treated myself to gourmet chocolate truffles. and I don't mean just 1 or 2.
    the week before, 3 slices of pizza.

    logged it all. average daily calories those weeks? still under goal, and lost pounds every week.

    There is no right or wrong answer here. Its all a matter of opinion. The only thing I wanted to comment on was your point in saying "no one can give up everything forever..." That is a pretty bold statement. There are plenty of people that transition to vegetarianism and never eat meat again. There are plenty of recovering alcoholics that never drink again. It IS actually possible to "give up everything forever" if one feels the benefits outweigh the risks. It just depends on the person and their priorities.
  • brendadale1
    brendadale1 Posts: 90 Member
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    I agree HOWL, me either..lol
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
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    my calorie goals were pretty low, so cheat days worked fine for me and i lost weight anyway. comparing i to cheating on a spouse is silly.
  • Richie2shoes
    Richie2shoes Posts: 412 Member
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    I reserve Sunday for my cheat day, but will shift it around if necessary and don't use it every week.
  • phoenix4151989
    phoenix4151989 Posts: 1
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    so true. no such thing as cheat days... i choose to look at it as a treat... i tell myself "im gonna loose 15 lbs (total) by the end of this month. if i hit that goal. i will treat myself. it might be something like an extra slice of pizza or a cupcake but i believe that it all comes back to moderation. i will tell myself i get one cupcake or one extra slice of pizza... not all of it. cuz that is what landed me where i am now. I am on board with angelams1019 as long as your logging and you know your wiggle room it will be successful.
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
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    I believe in "spike days."
  • CoraGregoryCPA
    CoraGregoryCPA Posts: 1,087 Member
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    LOL
  • Minerva624
    Minerva624 Posts: 577 Member
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    Heck no. If I want a treat then I will have it with no shame and keep the portion small.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    That analogy only works if you plan on spending 24/7 with your partner.

    Today, my partner went out with the guys! Tomorrow, I may eat something that isn't perfectly healthy. I may even go over my calorie limits. Neither one is cheating, both make my overall relationships stronger, as long as they are not the norm.
  • MeghanMorrical
    MeghanMorrical Posts: 7 Member
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    I really hate when people talk about diet because the word has been mangled and no longer means what it once did. Diet now means something you consume for a short period of time. Diet should still mean the foods one person, culture, or small group of people consume. I am not on a 'diet' but my diet now includes more veggies, fresh fruits, whole grains, yet I still eat chocolate, and cake, and ice cream. I don't eat these foods every day (ok I might eat a small square of dark chocolate daily) but I do eat them and I enjoy every minute of them. Instead of depriving myself of the foods that are soooo yummy I have started sticking to my M&M's mindset and moderation. I don't eat the entire cake I have a small piece and I work out the next morning or the same night depending on how late I eat the cake. I no longer eat after 8pm. I weigh myself every morning. If I see my weight goes up more then a few fractions of a pound I know to stick to healthier choices but every now and then people deserve a treat in the form of sugary goodness or fatty greasyness.
  • charismanoodles
    charismanoodles Posts: 343 Member
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    Cheat days as in you log nothing and stay oblivious or cheat days where you log? I think there's a big difference! Some days I don't have the perfect diet but I still log to make sure I'm around my calorie goal. I think it's fine to have something just in moderation :)
  • angelams1019
    angelams1019 Posts: 1,102 Member
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    What a load of crap.

    I cheated my way to a 163lbs loss. Tell the trainer that.

    lol Calm down hun...Its not that serious. If you don't agree it, that is completely fine.

    ha my problem is how he made the client to be "so wrong and evil." Not a good thing to do, to anyone.

    I don't think he made it sound evil. I think he was just comparing the relationship with yourSELF and your health to being just ask strong as a spousal relationship. I don't think it is meant to be taken so literally. I think a lot of times we tend to forget that being healthy IS a commitment....One that takes work. For some, it comes easier than others...In BOTH cases. The unhealthy relationships require a lot more work as well as a much higher level of commitment to keep it going....Again, in BOTH cases.
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
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    Well, I don't use premium gas in my car...I guess I'm not giving 100% to my marriage, because, you know...everything is related to my marriage.

    While I don't do "cheat" days, I do have days where I'm over and days I don't log..why? Because this is a part of my life and life isn't always perfect.

    Stick within your goals about 90% of the time. Exercise. Win. Simple.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    Meh, I get the arguments behind the word "cheat". I get the arguments behind the idea. I am pretty much a IIFYM person. However, I trained for a bodybuilding competition last year (figure class). I had a super strict diet and was allowed "cheat days" then later "cheat meals". While it wasn't what I could consider my philosophy, I learned a lot. I had cravings. I would tell myself I could have it on my "cheat day" (that referred to my cheat meal or whole cheat day). Some of those things I still wanted come cheat day, others i didn't. I learned what I really craved. I also learned how to handle cravings.
    Then on cheat day, with only so many hours (I mean there is only so much food you can eat no matter how much you want to, especially if you only have on meal), I found that certain things satisfied me more than others. I quickly stopped hitting Mickey D's or Burger King for my cheats, they just weren't worth it. I craved other things that weren't on my restricted diet, like certain fruits, cheese, and other foods that aren't terrible. I found that fast food wasn't what I wanted, but pizza was still good every.single.time.
    When I went back to my normal eating, I still stayed away from those things. I can count on one hand how many times the rest of the year (my comp was in April) I ate fast food ilke McDonalds.

    Is it for everyone? Certainly not. But for me, "cheat meals" or "cheat days" has taught me a lot.
    Plus I find I do better if I have a planned day where I can be a little more relaxed. It allows me to still have a life while still losing weight.
  • missjanetleigh
    missjanetleigh Posts: 149 Member
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    Today would have been my 2nd cheat day, free day and I still kept my calories in check. I was craving pizza so I got a person pan and didn't even eat it all. It was enough to help the craving for bread and cheese and I was over it.

    I'm guessing in time when I'm able to get more foods to replace all the foods I use to crave that I won't see this as a issue.

    I think I cheat myself if I go hog wild
  • TastesLikeChicken
    TastesLikeChicken Posts: 32 Member
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    What a load of crap.

    I cheated my way to a 163lbs loss. Tell the trainer that.

    Awesome job!! I love your comment.
  • nathan6878
    nathan6878 Posts: 115 Member
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    The way I look at it is if I can get a decent hour long workout in, and stay under my calorie limit I am feeling pretty good about myself!!! Yes I do enjoy my meals a little more during the weekends, but I then try and really watch what I eat during the week, to either lose a little weight, or even just staying the same is fine with me!!!
  • tm0054
    tm0054 Posts: 6
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    I generally try to fit in some stuff I like every day. All I care about is hitting my caloric and macro goals by the end of the day. This way if you eat something 'bad' you'll have to make it up later in the day because your macros will be out of whack.

    I do have one day where I allow myself to go over my goal calories, but even then I try to hit my macros as closely as possible. Usually protein suffers on those days and I wind up with extra fat.
  • wiss22
    wiss22 Posts: 14 Member
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    a friend is following another weight loss plan and has a cheat day on the weekend. i don't like to hear that term because it implies that you're doing something wrong. why give yourself an out? or an opportunity to think you're swaying from your plan?

    just know that you're gonna have pizza and plan the rest of your day around it (calories in other food, exercise, etc.).

    that's my thought process, anyway. FWIW.
  • Bannawoman
    Bannawoman Posts: 8 Member
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    I'm not on a diet, so I don't really see the need for cheat days.

    ^boom

    Love this!!!

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