Cheat day?

averous214

I think the older I get, the harder it is for me to "recover" from a cheat day or a cheat week. This is especially evident around the holidays and when I go on cruises. It has taken me MONTHS to recover from a cruise. But again, I am a little older. If i want to treat myself to some food I normally do not have I just "budget" that food into the days diet. For instance, if I plan on eating chicken wings for dinner I will work out extra that day and eat accordingly through out. Sometimes when I have a calorie deficit and meet my protein and fiber goals I may indulge in some chocate or a cookie. So I am never cheating, but I am getting food that I crave that may not be as healthy for me throughout the week without going over calories.

bshibs

i eat healthy all week and cook every meal myself and then on friday or saturday night i go out an have a couple of drinks an eat whatever i want and dont log it. it doesnt make that much of a difference really, i gain maybe a half of a pound thats gone by the next day. i have to have a night where i go out an have fun and dont count calories or cook or else things get too boring : )

This is exactly what I do. I don't usually have a cheat day - instead, I'll have a cheat meal or a cheat evening. Not a whole day.

meganfoster12

I dont do cheat days; I just found healtheir options of the foods I used to like and eat them instead; I loved peanut butter balls however I found a protein ball and they taste just like peanut butter balls only way healtheir

pocketmole

I give myself an increased calorie count on the weekends. This works well for me because I still need to be conscious of what I'm eating, but I get a little more wiggle room.

ReaSpade

Hi,

I am new on here, but I been doing weight loss calorie counting for about a year, and have lost 65 pounds in total.

I recently have been finding articles similar to this topic, where they instruct you to have one day where you don't count. The reason is if you continually feed your body the same amount every day, it regulates at that calorie intact level. Reducing your metabolism and slow your weight loss. I usually use the weekend, and eat whatever I want within moderation. I have been stuck 7 pounds from my goal weight for 4 months, but each day I had struggled eating 1200 calories. But since doing this my weight loss has picked up again and I actually feel happier.

So maybe there is some grounds for “Cheat” Day, but apply moderation.

Matt_Wild

Cheat meal, not day.

Lets face it, if you are dieting you want to get to your goals... but a meal off won't do anything. Perhaps if each meal you eat 500-600 calories normal (if you have 3 a day), a one off meal of 1200 will give you net increase of around 600 calories in total and if you average it over the week, less than 100 cals a day and unlikely to effect weight loss much if at all, it will fill glycogen store and indeed may even push you positively in the right kind of mind state (that you have a treat to aim for if you are good, once a week).

majope

I don't feel I need them--I can fit the things I like within my calorie budget. On long run days, when I burn 700-1000 calories, I can pretty much have whatever I want.

The closest I come to a "cheat" is on very rare occasions I up my day's calories to just below maintenance. This might happen if I have bad PMS, or I'm really hungry but it's a rest day and I don't have any exercise calories to supplement my regular allotment. I'm still eating at a deficit on those days, though, so I don't consider it a "cheat."

yvnursechick

it is a watever day when you seemed to have stalled on the scale. They have always helped me. But i still log my food. This makes it actually hard to let myself cheat.