Cheat days= good or bad??

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 :)

Replies

  • jamiesmom1803
    jamiesmom1803 Posts: 1
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    I never thought about scheduling them, how often should you have one?
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
    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
    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
    Thank you!
  • ShmareParks
    ShmareParks Posts: 88 Member
    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
    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
    I prefer calling them reward days or reward meals. That way, I feel like I've earned them!
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    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
    :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
    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
    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
    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
    :smile: I do have a cheat day. it helps keep me on track the rest of the week :-)
  • mamasmaltz3
    mamasmaltz3 Posts: 1,111 Member
    I don't really have "cheat" days or meals. I have days where I eat things I don't eat everyday. Family get togethers, holidays etc...I don't consider them cheating I just consider it life, enjoying it and my family and the food that goes along with it. I may get an extra workout in or not. I workout hard and I eat healthy more often than not. I do not "diet". I do not have a list of foods that are off limits. If I want it and it fits my cals, I will have it. However, as I have gotten more fit and work hard to hit my fitness goals a lot of things I ate before just aren't worth it anymore. I am satisfied with a rich piece of dark chocolate instead of an entire milk chocolate candy bar. Instead of ice cream I am loving my Greek yogurt with fresh fruit and honey. It is a wonderful feeling to be free of those feelings of guilt and shame from eating something forbidden. The food has lost it's hold over me.
  • LavenderBouquet
    LavenderBouquet Posts: 736 Member
    I don't have cheat days often and I don't do them as part of boosting my metabolism when I do take them. It's more out of convenience or there's a special day coming like a birthday. It's possible if you've plateaued that changing up your routine will get your body back in gear but I'm not sure about it actually improving your metabolism significantly. I found cheat days/meals make it harder to get back in the groove of things and I get cravings for a couple days after. Whatever works for you personally I think is the best bet :flowerforyou:
  • jascat83
    jascat83 Posts: 31
    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...


    How is this going for you? The no-sugar thing?? I've just started day 2 of no-sugar and it's a struggle but I'm sure it's better for me. Only problem is my morning coffee is no longer on my breakfast listing cause I can't have coffee without sugar - now I have decaf tea.
  • TheNewBlake
    TheNewBlake Posts: 25 Member
    i dont have a cheat day..
    if i can resist eating chocolate i do..
    if i really want some.. i eat a tinnny piece
    if i my family buys pizza.. ill eat a tinnny like 100 calorie piece
    but mostly i try to stay away and the only time i mess up is usually dinner because ive had a light breakfast and lunch and im craving food but i make sure it doesnt go over calorie intake for the day
  • ThinWhiteDuchess
    ThinWhiteDuchess Posts: 28 Member
    Cheat days as a sort of bargain with one's self are a rather controversial issue. The 'If I am good for a week I am allowed anything I want for a day' type is fine, helps a lot of people. It's when it becomes 'I've been good for the week, now I can binge my way through the weekend and nothing counts' that one finds one has a problem.
  • feelagain
    feelagain Posts: 27
    I hate whole cheat days. I end up feeling like SUCH crap if I eat terribly all day. What about a cheat meal? Or a cheat dessert? I let myself have a cupcake from whole foods the other day that had 31 grams of sugar. Normally I'd NEVER let myself eat something like that... but it was Valentine's Day and that seemed like a good excuse for a little cheat.
  • Chris0h9
    Chris0h9 Posts: 24 Member
    I would say bad, go for cheat meals. If you binge/cheat for an entire day calories are gonna add up. I like to, for example, once a week, instead of getting myself a healthy meal I'll get myself something at McDonald's (usually a Burger with a snack wrap, McNuggets, or a McFlurry). I don't get the fries/coke though.

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