Cheat day without counting

standoug888

Well my best friend is havig a babyshower today and a party at night i know im going to go over bored i havent had a cheat day like im gunna have today in 4 months n i knw im prolly goin to have a couple drinks havet had a drop of alcohol in 4 months either is it ba not to log for a day?? Only thing worried about is settin my self back i loat 89 pounds so far only want to lose 11 more.. One cheat day cant do me that much harm right? As long as i have the mind set to get back on it the next day

aubrie917

Allow yourself some freedom. I always struggle with the NO YOU CAN'T HAVE THAT...which tends to make me eat more. Whatever you do, do NOT feel guilty after...that will cause you to eat more. I do suggest avoiding sugar and sweets, though, because sugar is addictive and it will be really hard to eat sugar today and get back under control tomorrow. I suggest sticking to other sorts of junk food. Have fun...let yourself enjoy some junk...don't feel guilty...get your diet back on track tomorrow. You will be fine!

standoug888

Yah iwont really struggle with sweet stuff eveb before i lost the weight u didnt care for sweetes that mych just regular food was my down fall like fried chicken lol

jackieg218

I say enjoy yourself! Now if you had a party to attend every week, that would be a different story. Once in a blue moon is fine. You have to remember to LIVE too. I chowed down 3 pieces of pizza yesterday and didn't feel the least bit guilty about it. Since Jan I have been eating every bite I brought in and logged everything I ate or did! I needed the break! I will warn you however, do be careful what TYPE of stuff you eat. The pizza really did a number on my stomach later in the day and today I have had many trips to the bathroom.., I think it was due to the high fat content, my body just isn't used to that anymore. So enjoy today, and reinvest tomorrow..., again, just don't do it often... It CAN be a slippery slope we get into if we start having too many "break days" (at least for me it is)

Enjoy,
Jackie

ohmscheeks

I say "cheat", but still log.

alyssa92982

I still log cheat days somehow seeing all the fat and calories disgusts me enough to stay on track:)
Also I'm to the point I even feel horrible for eating it and gets me on track too

lisabundy5

My cheat days usually consist of a normal healthy breakfast and lunch. I then have what I want for dinner. - My vice is pizza with a coke. I try not to overdue it on cheat day meals but sometimes it's hard. - As far as alcohol, I am not really a drinker as it is, but I am content with a glass of wine or two if I ''have'' to. It's just empty calories so that on top of feeling like crap the next day, I'd rather pass. Good Luck, have fun & NO, one crappy day will not ruin your diet. Just like it didn't take ONE day to get where you are now. ENJOY the baby shower and all the goodies today!

RllyGudTweetr

Eat your food; log your food. Don't stress over your food and allow one cheat meal or day to become one cheat week or month based on beating yourself up and resigning yourself to failure.

flte74

I am actually having a cheat day today with a party we are throwing. To offset the extra calories I am going to have, I am going to do more exercises today and rollerblade (30 min of average exertion at my weight I can burn roughly 450 calories) plus I am adding my housework I am doing to get the house party ready so I will have more of a calorie deficit so I can splurge today. I also am under my calorie budget for the week by 467 calories so I can take from that as well. So if I end up having an extra drink or 2 I won't feel guilty because I have truly earned it )

http://www.coachcalorie.com/cheat-day/

goodtimezzzz

have a blast you will be great...I cheat all the time! its a Dirty secret of "dieting"

3foldchord

Depends on you. Are you prone to eating for the sake of eating, binging, not stopping even when you are full? If so, trying to log your day will be good, even with the extra treats today.

If you have good self control over food, enjoy treats but not " the whole box of cookies", and you can go back to good eating habits after a day of treats, then I would say not to worry about the logging of food today.

ron2e

Sorry, I don't believe in "cheat days". I would however accept days when I eat/drink and log way over (I've only been doing MFP three and a half months and haven't faced that issue yet despite a lot of business travel, conventions, eating out, etc). Personally I want to know where I am but maybe that's just me. It's going to happen to me sooner or later and that is how I will deal with it. It's no big deal, it's just the concept of a cheat day that offends me somehow as if that makes it OK.

youareorange

I'm having a cheat weekend. It's my birthday and I'm going camping with friends. There will be alcohol and bad food. I'm just going to be mindful of the things I'll be eating, yet enjoy myself!

RllyGudTweetr

Sorry, I don't believe in "cheat days". I would however accept days when I eat/drink and log way over (I've only been doing MFP three and a half months and haven't faced that issue yet despite a lot of business travel, conventions, eating out, etc). Personally I want to know where I am but maybe that's just me. It's going to happen to me sooner or later and that is how I will deal with it. It's no big deal, it's just the concept of a cheat day that offends me somehow as if that makes it OK.

I don't understand how you can not "believe in cheat days" and still "accept days when [you] eat/drink and log way over." If you're over the allotted calories for the day, it is, by definition, a "cheat day," is it not?

medic2038

More often then not I see these "free days" planned in advance becoming an all day buffet. If you're thinking "well I'm gonna have just 1 cheat meal, and it's going to be 17 pizzas" that's totally the wrong mentality.

I'm pretty strict with my diet, and don't feel the need to "cheat". I am however lenient with myself though, if I feel like eating out some night I go ahead and do it. I think the more people "cheat" they more they start to fall back onto bad habits.

Mcgrawhaha

i have a day like this every other saturday... but i still log!

rosemaryhon

I say "cheat", but still log.

I agree. I see the OP is close to his goal, so I think it'd be wise to get an idea of what a 'cheat day' calculates out to. He might be pleasantly surprised that it's not as high as he assumes. As example Mother's Day I was prepared to indulge myself and just so happened when I logged I didn't go over. But even if it was over, good to have a clue how a bigger eating day pans out.

To OP: Enjoy your day!

rosemaryhon

I'm having a cheat weekend. It's my birthday and I'm going camping with friends. There will be alcohol and bad food. I'm just going to be mindful of the things I'll be eating, yet enjoy myself!

Happy Birthday youareorgange! Camping sounds fun, enjoy!

conniemaxwell5

One cheat day will not set you back. I would encourage you to count and log though, for a couple of reasons. One, it shows you just how much you went over. Log how you feel after you've eaten "cheat" foods as well as logging tomorrow how you feel "the morning after." I always have a sugar hangover after I cheat and I don't enjoy it. Logging it helps me remember, it really wasn't worth it.

The second reason I think logging the food is important is that we need to be accountable for what we eat, even on the bad days. If we log it, we own it and take full responsibility for it. I find that when I do that, I still eat the "fun" food, but maybe not quite so much of it and as a result don't feel as bad the next day.

LouiseH238

Eat what you want, but log it. If you don't then the temptation is going to be that you have these days where you don't "admit" to what you've eaten. When I say "admit", I don't mean it as if you've somehow done something wrong and need to confess! All food is just food.

Galloping4God

Definitely log it! It won't effect your weight as long as you get right back on track tomorrow!

KyliAnne26

I agree with all the people telling you to still log it. I have days where I just want to go out for pizza and beer, which I allow myself to do, but by logging it afterward I get to visualize how doing these 'cheat days' could negatively affect my weight loss. Even if you end up going 2,0000 cals over, still log it and start fresh tomorrow Go HAVE FUN!

craigmandu

I would personally log it....why? Because I then might make a "small" additional deficit the rest of the week to make it "not so bad".

My son had his graduation from college last weekend...I went way over...by 1K calories...was just one day, no big deal. But knowing the number, let me add in some additional walking this week (wasn't much, but at a 3-3.5mph pace for 20 minutes at a time), and I ensured I was under my calorie goal by 50-75 each day (which was real easy to do)...the result....that extra 1K didn't mean sh1t, I more than made up for it and am actually glad I had that cheat day...as I got some extra fitness in as a result.

Do what works for you. No one "overday" will kill your goals, only consistently having those days will.

standoug888

Only trouble im gunna have logging it is idk how many cals or n e thing because at a party all the stuff is usally in party trays woth no bitrition facts

NYUbookworm

I saw a TV segment with Chris Powell (Fitness expert and host of ABC's Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition) this week. He suggests that everyone working to lose weight have one day when they eat what they want, ideally on Sunday (he calls it "Sunday Funday"). He said that doing that helps to manage cravings during the week, and getting back to your eating and fitness the next day (Monday) helps boost metabolism. That explains why people are surprised when they still lose weight after going overboard for a day. I haven't started doing the "Sunday Funday" thing, but I might once I start doing some of the more hardcore workouts (like Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and Body Revolution). Anyway, I say all this to let you know that as long as you get back into your regular food and fitness groove the next day, you should be able to enjoy yourself!

craigmandu

Only trouble im gunna have logging it is idk how many cals or n e thing because at a party all the stuff is usally in party trays woth no bitrition facts

Don't expect to be exact...a handful of chips is about a serving...etc..etc.. Just eyeball it to get a general sense. 2 burgers....could be alot, could be a little, things like potato salad, could be "not so bad" could be atrocious...just keep it to a general amount in your head and log what you can remember later. Doesn't have to be exact...it's really just to give you an "idea" of the relative amount you were over.

ETA: Don't obsess over what you doing on this day...you are there to have fun. I will usually "graze" on the veggies or fruit a bit before I go into the stuff I know is high calorie (chips, dips, burgers/dogs/brats/etc..)

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peaceissues

Yesterday i took a cheat day! took my daughters out of town for a small trip and decided to just enjoy every single moment. I logged in what i ate but was way over. For some reason it still felt good logging in and keeping track of what i ate even if i went over. Guess once you see those red numbers you get scared and wont want to fo that again.

RachelX04

I agree with some of the other posts. cheat, but log it does help you to stay on track and it holds your accountable.

thesupremeforce

I had a non-counting cheat day a few weeks ago. I even went to a buffet, and I was fine. I actually found that I didn't even want to go too crazy and I stopped eating once I felt full.

Of course, half the reason I didn't bother logging was that I was out of town actually doing stuff and didn't feel like bothering with the phone app.

PlayerHatinDogooder

Wow!

This post is unbelievable! The fact that your planning on cheating is despicable! And at a baby shower no less??

It ALWAYS counts! Think of your marriage and the children.