Cheat Days?

rachelmogel311

Do you Guys do Cheat Days on your diet? And if you do, how do you go about it? Do you tell yourself you have to exercise a certain amount the other days or stay within certain callorie goals for the week? ETC..... What do you let yourself eat on Cheat days?

FindingMyself24

I give myself one treat day a week..I don't worry about counting calories or what I eat...if I want it i eat it(with moderation of course)....it keeps me focused through the week because I know I can have what I want on my treat day!!

dunnodunno

I don't do cheat days. I try & incorporate snacks (like ice cream, cookies, sweets, etc.) into my regular calories. I also do that if I am eating takeout or eating at a restaurant.

tryskinni

I had a massive cheat meal last night. I planned for it, and I'm back on track today, but honestly I feel so gross that I might do it differently next time. Maybe instead of saying "one meal, whatever I want" I'll do an extra 500 calories or something. Just my personal experience.

rosebarnalice

I don't CHEAT. . . I BUDGET.

I save calories through the week and spend them on the weekend.

bmskid

I don't purposely have cheat/treat days. If I'm planning to eat something bad, I exercise. Sometimes I accidentally have cheat days, where we end up eating something that exceeds my calories but I don't have an opportunity to earn those calories through exercise.
Being completely honest, I just don't have the willpower to come back from a cheat day. One day turns into 2. If I exercise to earn it, I'm somehow able to make myself be on track the next day. Weird how our minds work!

Healthynut31

I was trying it, I ate what I wanted, when I wanted it (one day out of the week). However, it made me feel sick every time I did it. Guess I overdid it. No more for me. :ohwell:

zenchild

I've found that if I try to fight cravings and hold off until a planned cheat day, I tend to go a little nuts on the cheat day. If I have a craving, I wait a day or two. If I'm still craving whatever it is, I eat some. Most of the time I forget whatever it was I was craving.

bmskid

I also wanted to add that most anything I would consider a "treat/cheat", has so much sodium it gets me messed up 2 days. It's SO not worth it.

juniperleaves

I count every bit of food that goes into my mouth, every day of the week because I know if I give myself one day of freedom it'll turn into two days, then an entire week, and then it's all downhill from there!

What I do instead is I have a calorie goal for the week and I allow myself to roll over calories from day to day if I have any left over (limit of 200 roll over per day).

So, for instance, if my calorie goal is 1700 and on Monday I only eat 1400, I'd add 200 calories to my roll over bank. And if I did that every day of the week, I'd end up with 1200 extra calories at the end of the week so on Sunday I could go out to dinner or treat myself with something big if I wanted! Or I could just have an extra 200 calorie treat on Tuesday.

Then at the end of the week, if I don't use those calories, they disappear and I start over from 0.

It's a bit confusing to explain, so I hope that made sense. Basically, it allows me to treat myself without going over my calorie goals for the week and without just giving myself complete freedom to eat a bunch of junk (which is what I would do if I stopped counting for one day).

aloranger7708

I don't do cheat days. Personally when I start eating better food then I crave better food. I'm not really into eating fast food, ice cream, and junk anymore. I tend to give myself little treats throughout the day though: dark chocolate chips, chocolate covered strawberries, pretzels, small portions of frozen yogurt, etc.

When I tried to do a cheat day, I couldn't find things that appealed to me. I ended up eating something fried and greasy and got extremely sick.

I think cheat days or meals are okay if the meal fits into your daily calorie allowance, or if you workout a little longer.

kvercamer

If I know I'm going to be in a situation where there's a splurge I'd really like, then I budget it into my day. Otherwise, yes, reality is such, sometimes you go over your goal. Most important is to brush it off, and get back on track. Don't allow a slip here and there to sabotage your overall plan.

Elliesque

I don't do "cheat" days, since I'm not "dieting" I'm changing my lifestyle and the way I eat. If I really want something then I will incorporate it into my caloric intake. However, if I am going out to dinner for a special occasion or something, I will allow myself extra calories for that day. I've found that working things I like to eat (in moderation of course) worked better for me than all out indulgence, like a cheat day. But everyone is different and different things work for everyone.

DaveInSoCal

Well, I guess I am "Cheating" a little on the weekend. I'm not counting calories on those days, but I really am trying to make good food / portion choices. Anyway I'm pretty new at this so maybe I shouldn't

Mmmmona

Either you are on a diet or you're not. If you are, you don't cheat.

That's like saying you've quit smoking meanwhile still taking a few puffs here and there.

odddrums

I don't do cheat days because I don't feel like I'm dieting and I need to "cheat" on it. I generally just eat what's available and try to keep my portions from going crazy. I do have days that I drink or just go over because I'm out with friends or family or am just doing things, but I try not to get hung up on them. I'm pretty lucky though, my daily calories are around 2000 to keep me losing 1 pound a week which gives me a lot of room for decent meals and snacks. I know some girls have only about 1400 a day so if you need a cheat day every week or once in awhile then do it I say, whatever works for you is what you should do!

RobynLB83

A cheat day just has you one day further away from your goal. I don't do cheat days. That being said, I've never had more than 10 lbs to lose.

Hollyhobby22

i allow myself one meal out a week of whatever i want. it helps me to not feel deprived of the things i like.

frizbeemom

I don't have cheat days. That's giving myself full license to binge for a full day and I can undo everything I did during the week by having a whole binge day. I did in the past and it'd take me a week to lose what I gained on my cheat day. So now I try to stick to my calorie goal every day (barring a very special event/holiday). I tell myself that I can follow the 80/20 rule of eating 80% very clean and healthy and 20% treat. But then I still budget that 20% treat within my calories. And if I'm really hungry or my treat was a bit more than I had budgeted for, I try to work it off within that same day. And if I'm not having a craving for a treat, I don't necessarily do it if I am satisfied and content. I find that if I stay away from the junk/sugar/flour/processed foods, my cravings are so much more under control, so right now I'm just enjoying that.

djeffreys10

Most weeks I will have one meal, anything goes. Plus a dessert. But my calories are so low through the week that I still almost always lose over a pound.

herblackwings39

I used to do cheat days when I was "dieting". Now I just fit things into my daily meals. I eat all of the foods I enjoy, just not always as much as I used to or all at once. If it fits my calories I eat it, track it, and move on so I don't need to cheat.