How many Calories are acceptable on Cheat Days?

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  • VpinkLotus
    VpinkLotus Posts: 849 Member
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    Not a cheat day...reward day...when I reward myself I go all out. I do not track anything but my blood sugar and insuln amounts....

    Why reward yourself with food?

    I think a lot of people do. I don't think that is abnormal. Just have to learn to make it work into your cals and eat well most days...
  • sean_d33
    sean_d33 Posts: 40 Member
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    I read a post the other day that said "Fitness is like a marriage, you can't cheat on it and expect it to work."


    I love love love this ^^^^

    I don't agree with that. I would also not agree with a post saying "Your relationship with food is like a marriage" (that would be a better comparison when talking about a cheat day...)
  • nsre1976
    nsre1976 Posts: 19
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    Call it a naughty day, and burn an extra 500cals in cardio, then you have some headroom for naughtyness :o)
    Or, do not be naughty, wait till you hit your goal and then be naughty.
    You can borrow the angel/devil one for each shoulder if you want, eventually you get so busy arguing with yourself the nughty time passes away anyway.....
  • metacognition
    metacognition Posts: 626 Member
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    As much as you're willing to make up for in the succeeding week. Personally I can't consider crashing my calorie intake for the week and feeling restrained the rest of the time. I'd rather eat 1500 - 1800 calories and lose as a slow, manageable rate!
  • sean_d33
    sean_d33 Posts: 40 Member
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    Since no one posting actually DOES a cheat day I guess I will respond and say what I do as someone who takes in all the glory that is cheat day. I don't use any calorie restriction when doing my cheat day...usually just eat until I don't want to eat anymore. Because my diet is maintained so well throughout the other six days (usually I am able to do that because I know that I have a feast coming up) I am usually under not only my maintenance calories for the week but also under my caloric deficit of one pound a week.

    It's not that big of a deal people...it shouldn't be compared to adultery or any other nonsense like that. And if most people could eat moderately throughout every week...every week for the rest of their lives...never having a calorie surplus ever...they would likely not be on this website. My cheat days make me very motivated to start the week right, to focus on my goals and to keep losing weight.

    If this doesn't work for you then try something else. Get a better feel for how YOUR body responds and change accordingly. But like I said, I see a lot of benefits in the idea of a cheat/reward day.
  • nsre1976
    nsre1976 Posts: 19
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    Everything in moderation, and as seanyo33 pointed at everyone is different, your body will have different requirements to his/mine and the others. For the record, I do have a naughtly day but not a scheduled one, just if I feel like it, (but it is controlled) like 600 calories of cocomut cake the other day :o)
    good luck!
  • whackyjackie
    whackyjackie Posts: 7 Member
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    Prepare for a 'cheat day' by banking some calories by with going under on previous days or earning some calories I'm hand through exercise. Make sure you log it all even if it's really bad to give you chance to rectify the damage by looking at your 'weekly' graph to see how your weekly average looks. I'm usually surprised that I haven't spoilt my week at all and it averages itself out. Keeping the body guessing by fluctuacting like that can be a good thing.
    Have fun with your diet and your calories. Make it work for you and not make it hard work.
    Enjoy mfp is the greatest!
  • sean_d33
    sean_d33 Posts: 40 Member
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    There are no such things as "cheat days" or "reward days". Eat what you want in moderation. This isn't a diet. It's a lifestyle. If you want chocolate, have chocolate. Not a ton of it but enough to satisfy that craving and move on. I hate the term cheat days because really, you're only cheating yourself.

    Not everyone is as amazing as you and can put down the chocolate when there is still half a Hershey bar left. Some people need a light at the end of the tunnel. Some people need to just say no during the week at moderately eating sweets because they know a food coma is coming shortly after that decision to eat moderately. You can't possibly think that eating perfect six days and doing whatever for one day will be "cheating" oneself. That's silly talk.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    Or you could screw the cheat day and eat what you want in moderation... and eat more then 1200 calories.


    This. 'Cheat' days tend to result in weekend binges, which undo all the good work through the week. Increase your daily allowance throughout the week so that you do not feel deprived and have the need to 'cheat'.

    But if you still want to have a 'cheat day' then ensure you still have a deficit on average for the week.

    ^^^ this

    I find that the mentality of "forbidden foods" and "cheating" makes me overeat on the forbidden foods, because I see them as something that I can't have all the time, so I have to have as much as I can, right now!! ......... the mentality of everything in moderation is better for me, as if I know I can have whatever food I want, whenever I want, I don't want it right now, and end up eating a lot less of it. i.e. really in moderation. I rarely eat ice cream, but if I thought to myself "I'm not allowed ice cream" I'd want to eat it all the time. When i think "I can eat ice cream any time I like" I don't end up eating it apart from the odd occasion, maybe once a month or less.
  • mrdexter1
    mrdexter1 Posts: 356 Member
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    after a week on 1200cals to kickstart and break a weight barrier - last night i had 3 large slices of meatfeast pizza , a crunchie ice cream and a biscuit....

    This morning the muzzy head has gone and i feel bloomin marvelous !!!
  • Fairlieboy
    Fairlieboy Posts: 84 Member
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    I'm doing the 5:2 diet (group on mfp) and that has 2 days a week at 25% calories. 500 for females, 600 for men. The rest of the week is not measured. (Those 2 days are not consecutive) . That means there is no cheating at all! The research teams (UK & USA) found people over time lost weight slowly and stayed with the diet.
    They found that over time people self regulated to about 105-110% on the other days so over a week they were about 10% under on average.
    The comments from varous mfp members above sort of put eating on a moral basis. Good foods, bad foods, cheating foods. Whereas the issue is that we just want to enjoy life, be healthy to live without disease.
  • nevinjo
    nevinjo Posts: 1
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    A cheat day is a cheat day!! Indulge.! IMO, you do not have to keep a count on your cheat day provided you are 100 % clean on other days.
  • McManda89
    McManda89 Posts: 27
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    On MFP your calorie goal is automatically lower to promote weight loss WITHOUT working out, so going over a few hundred guarentees you'll MAINTAIN your current weight. You won't gain weight but you won't LOSE weight either. I try to make sure I don't stray off my MFP calorie goal so I can steadily lose weight even on days I don't work out, but I don't feel horribly if I go over a little because I know I'm not going to bounce back up.

    I'd say go over a max of 200 calories from your MFP goal.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    If you're looking forward to a cheat day that much, you should probably consider increasing your daily calories. 1200 is not enough. Eat more, and you won't pig out on cheat days, and will be able to actually maintain your lifestyle.
  • elizb00
    elizb00 Posts: 1
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    Everyone is missing the key word here.... cheat "DAY". No wonder everyone is freaking out about a cheat day, a whole entire day of eating whatever you want?! When you work so hard 6 days of the week to binge crazy like that is counterproductive. a cheat MEAL is more acceptable. For that ONE MEAL you can have whatever you want. ONE meal. Not the entire day. This is what works for me. I train very hard and eat very clean throughout the week, and completely enjoy that wonderful junky meal on Saturday :)

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