Cheat days= good or bad??

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groversa
groversa Posts: 450 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Thinking normally, cheat days seem like they would be bad. But many people say a cheat day every once in a while, within a healthy diet is good for weight loss because it helps your metabolism?
Which is it? Do you have a cheat day? I just want a good answer to help benefit myself!
Thanks :)
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Replies

  • jamiesmom1803
    jamiesmom1803 Posts: 1
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    Definitely good! I have one cheat day per week where I get to have any meal I want & don't count it at all - I do count the rest of the day, though. I lost 40 pounds before my 2nd child & that definitely was good motivation for me!
  • Pink_turnip
    Pink_turnip Posts: 280 Member
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    I don't have a cheat day, because if I tell myself I can't have anything 'bad' for me, I will over do it on my cheat day, however, if I know I'm going to eat something not so good for me - like today - I will work my butt off, so that it fits within my daily limits.
  • tndejong
    tndejong Posts: 463
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    i allow myself one cheat day a week. usually me and my fiance eat out every saturday. its a part of our life. when you eat out, its hard to stay within these limits. so its nice to know i can go out and look forward to things everyone would view as being naughty and still lose weight. people laugh when i tell them i eat like everyone else. i love food. it got me fat. and im just going to learn how to enjoy it in moderation now.
  • aelunyu
    aelunyu Posts: 486 Member
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    Cheatmeals accomplish many things, depending on where you are in the dieting process. At very very low bodyfats (10% and lower for men, 18% and lower for women), cheat meals help to "reset" your metabolic fire via a hormone called leptin.

    If you are not in those bodyfat ranges, cheat days once or twice a month will help you cope with your diet emotionally. And one day will not hurt in the general scheme of things. A cheat meal may prepare you for two more weeks of compliance, so it might actually help!
  • groversa
    groversa Posts: 450 Member
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    Cheatmeals accomplish many things, depending on where you are in the dieting process. At very very low bodyfats (10% and lower for men, 18% and lower for women), cheat meals help to "reset" your metabolic fire via a hormone called leptin.

    If you are not in those bodyfat ranges, cheat days once or twice a month will help you cope with your diet emotionally. And one day will not hurt in the general scheme of things. A cheat meal may prepare you for two more weeks of compliance, so it might actually help!

    Thanks for clarifying on who it helps for metabolism
  • slroggemann
    slroggemann Posts: 168 Member
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    I don't cheat too often, usually I try to incorporate the foods I used to eat a lot of (like mac and cheese) into my calories for the day. Usually my cheat days are once every couple months if I go out to eat with family or something, but even still I try to keep my meals out within my calories. If you find that cheat meals help you, awesome :) I've found myself that I don't really need them
  • aelunyu
    aelunyu Posts: 486 Member
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    No problem! I guess the only thing you need to know about cheat days is that they should never be a gateway into prolonged binging.

    Planning for cheat days will help greatly! Schedule them precisely into your diet process and stick to the schedule =)
  • groversa
    groversa Posts: 450 Member
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    I never thought about scheduling them, how often should you have one?
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
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    My bdays the 9th and so my cheat days are on the 9th of each month. But i dont need them usually. I just work what i want into cal
  • aelunyu
    aelunyu Posts: 486 Member
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    Well...what I usually do with clients is...if they are pretty far from their goal, the most important thing is to not cheat. So for like a person trying to lose more than 50 pounds, cheating should be held to a minimum.

    If they lose 20, and they can stay on a consistent deficit diet, we work cheat meals in. Cheat Meals, and not Cheat Days. From there, if they can get within 10 pounds of their goal, I'd advise 2 cheat Days, or 4 cheat meals per month.

    Then, if they want to get into contest shape, or very extremely low bodyfat, I would advise cheat meals every 7-10 days, depending on male or female.

    So for the average dieter. either 2 cheat days a month, or 4 cheat meals.
  • groversa
    groversa Posts: 450 Member
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    Thank you!
  • ShmareParks
    ShmareParks Posts: 88 Member
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    I need cheat days and that's all there is to it. Otherwise I feel permanently deprived. So I have one cheat DAY per week (every Sunday) IF I have kept under my calories all week. If I haven't kept under all week (but have been close), then I am still allowed a cheat MEAL that I don't log (but not a whole day). If I have a dinner date or special occasion on a day other than Sunday, then I stick to my diet that Sunday instead.

    I have already lost about 25 pounds, so it seems to be working.

    But I have a question about it. My current weight is 137. If my tally at the end of every day says "if you ate like this every day, you would weigh 131 in 5 weeks" ... but my tally on my cheat day says "if you ate like this every day, you would weigh 147 in 5 weeks" .... then can I just take an average of all 7 days and assume that my resulting 5-week-away weight will be the average? (i.e. 133?) Or are there other factors (like for instance, sometimes I feel I'm in "starvation mode" 6 days a week keeping my calories under, and I'm worried that my body will hog all the fat and store it up on my cheat days)?
  • bodiva88
    bodiva88 Posts: 308 Member
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    I don't have a cheat day, because if I tell myself I can't have anything 'bad' for me, I will over do it on my cheat day, however, if I know I'm going to eat something not so good for me - like today - I will work my butt off, so that it fits within my daily limits.

    This.

    It isn't cheating. It's eating. Count it and just be sure you eat a little less other days that week or exercise more that day so you're still at your target for the week.
  • paijing
    paijing Posts: 184 Member
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    I prefer calling them reward days or reward meals. That way, I feel like I've earned them!
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
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    There are as many answers to this question as there are people. Find out what works best for you and then do that. :)
  • pamperedhen
    pamperedhen Posts: 446 Member
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    :drinker: This is a lifestyle, not a diet! Diets do not work! So, I gotta HAVE my 1 cheat day! Had 2 this week {for shame!} One was Fastnaught Day and Valentine's! Enjoy and live!
  • lazymochabear
    lazymochabear Posts: 24
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    I accept that I'm not going to be perfect, so I give myself one floating cheat day a week. I've actually found that I rarely use it - and never purposefully. I guess it's more of a mechanism to not beat myself up if I have 1500 calories instead of 1200 in a day.
  • Cytrix
    Cytrix Posts: 48 Member
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    I have a cheat meal but not a cheat day. Just one meal a week where I let myself have whatever I want, but I still don't let myself binge out.

    It's working so far, since I don't feel deprived of anything. I can save it for when I go out with friends, or if I just want a treat.
  • Xelace
    Xelace Posts: 18
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    Personally, I have one "cheat day" a week - Saturday. It's not a complete free-for-all day, but I can eat basically what I want guilt free as long as I've had a standard, healthy breakfast.
    My diet involves no sugar, so I don't really crave sugar anymore, but I still like having some chocolate when I'm allowed.
    I count, but don't care...
  • tommienana
    tommienana Posts: 13 Member
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    :smile: I do have a cheat day. it helps keep me on track the rest of the week :-)

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