Cheat Days...Yay or Nay?

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  • dr3wman
    dr3wman Posts: 205
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    I love my cheat day, its a great way to reward yourself and de-stress about counting calories. Note that cheat doesnt mean binge, just eat what you want when your hungry.
  • zorylopez
    zorylopez Posts: 23
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    My opinion is that you should not have cheat days. You should eat what you like. Just count the calories. Is true that when you deprive yourself you tend to give up. That is why is a life change not a diet. Diets are temporary. Of course all in moderation. Everyone culture is different and you should learn to calorie control your normal eating.
  • Esther50
    Esther50 Posts: 252
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    Nope, no cheat days for me. I work it all in, otherwise, yup I will go back.
    I have to make sure my goals are met with all types/kinds of food, otherwise I will never learn to controll it.
  • jsj024519
    jsj024519 Posts: 400 Member
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    I have cheat days. Last week was a cheat week. I plateaued and ate more calories and ended up losing two pounds
  • britfout
    britfout Posts: 86 Member
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    I don't do cheat days because I'm loving what I eat everyday already! I actually get bummed out if I can't for some reason have my green monster smoothie for breakfast and lunch. On vacation last week I did not have access to the foods I normally eat so I found myself not wanting to eat at all cuz most of it was junk! That being said I think I've finally trained myself to want and crave healthy foods! And that's from steering clear of the bad ones.
  • blushlady
    blushlady Posts: 7 Member
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    I say nay to cheat days, train your taste buds to appreciate the taste of healthy foods. A cheat day only reminds your taste buds of excess sugar salt and fat and it never get used to the taste of delicious tasty fruits vegetables and lean meats.... That's just my thoughts :smile:
  • anothermop
    anothermop Posts: 187 Member
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    I had a "cheat day" when I hit 20 lbs lost. It was sooo good but I was so full from lunch that I only ate a small snack for dinner and ended up staying under my calorie goal. So I guess I say, Nay.
  • hkevans724
    hkevans724 Posts: 241 Member
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    I think it's a personal choice. If you want to splurge one day then do it! If you feel like it will cause your whole week to spiral out of control then don't.
  • NikkiSmo
    NikkiSmo Posts: 180 Member
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    I'm not sure about a whole cheat day, I will take a bite or maybe a few bites of something that I might be craving or just looks yummy but I know I shouldn't have all of it. But I log it into my diary, accountability!!!! If I did a whole cheat day I beleive it would send me out of contol because I would start calling every day a cheat day!!!
  • fit_and_lean
    fit_and_lean Posts: 1
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    I adore chocolate, I crave it so every evening I have a treat snack made by south beach or atkins. I binge on sundays, not to the point of bad foods, I eat all day, fruits, whole grains, hummus, meat-turkey products only, I have been doing this since Feb 1 and have lost 50 lbs.. eating more for at least one day a week revs up your metabolism for the start of a busy work week. Some people restrict calories so much that they do not lose the fat...
  • waytogoraus
    waytogoraus Posts: 38
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    I don't consider days when I eat above my calorie limit "cheat days" because I'm trying to change my lifestyle. I don't schedule days (I know some people will have one cheat day a week) but if my boyfriend asks me out to a restaurant or if I am attending a graduation/birthday party, I'm not afraid to go a little over. For me and my lifestyle, it isn't realistic to think that I'll never have a piece of cake at a party ever again or never have a burger at a restaurant. Again, for me it is only every 2-3 weeks on special occasions.

    I would say that you should create a "cheat" system that works for your lifestyle and that you can see yourself following realistically even after you've lost all the weight that you want to. If you can lose and maintain weight without cheat days, kudos to you, but for me I don't think I'd be able to maintain. While losing weight I think you should develop regimes & strategies that you can follow throughout your life, not just in the up & coming months/years you need to lose.
  • DiannaMoorer
    DiannaMoorer Posts: 783 Member
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    Give your self your treats in moderation. If you don't you may find your self binging. I like to have spike day once a week. But I spike in healthy foods. Sometimes I do eat stuff like french fries. But Not very often at all. Mostly I work my treats in around my daily calories.
  • Presleyforpresident
    Presleyforpresident Posts: 172
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    i really try not to have cheat days at all, just because my life was one giant cheat day, and that's exactly how i've gotten to the weight that i am.
    i'm sure once i hit my goal weight and i'm just trying to maintain, i'll incorporate some more cheat-like items into my diet, but for right now i just want to power through and get this done.
  • kellygirl324
    kellygirl324 Posts: 74 Member
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    I believe that everyday can be a "cheat day" if done in moderation! I don't like calling them cheat days though, as it encourages a feeling of guilt. I treat myself everyday...I just don't overindulge. Moderation is key!
  • dynad
    dynad Posts: 87 Member
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    I also agree cheat days are easy to have but hard to get back on track. Ive been slacken on the weekends this summer and evey Monday I bummed out. Sticking to my guns this weekend!
  • dmdakd
    dmdakd Posts: 17 Member
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    My goal is to be "normal", you know go through life making more good decisions than bad ones. That being said of course you will have cheat meals, days, and maybe weekends, then you get back on the horse and go back to making good decisions. I lost a lot of weight very fast a few years ago, it was amazing and my discipline was unmatched, I started the program on January 1st and did not cheat on my diet a single time until the middle of May and lost 80 pounds in that time, then I did pretty good for about a year and when I started putting on weight I did not simply hop back on my diet, why you ask, because I had made my previous diet the absolute worst thing you could imagine and it took three years and every single pound I had lost and 20 more to decide in needed to find another way. I may not lose weight as fast but hopefully this way I won't be so afraid to keep myself on a normal diet and if I do start slipping more often than not I would be so reluctant to buckle down when I need to.
  • ldobson710
    ldobson710 Posts: 9
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    I eat "cheat"-type foods when I want to, but I fit them into my calorie count for the day. I just eat much smaller portions than I used to. This weekend i had macaroni and cheese and ice cream and still managed to stay under, but most days I prefer healthier foods anyway just because I feel more full within my calorie count when eating lots of veggies and lean protein-heavy foods.
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
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    that's a big fat YES on my behalf. I enjoy my cheat days. I call them High Calorie Metabolism Shock days. Every Saturday. That's how I roll.
  • tinytoyjess
    tinytoyjess Posts: 139 Member
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    I don't have an officially scheduled cheat day but seem to always stumble into one on the weekend. I don't beat myself up over it because I honestly think that limiting myself to 1200 calories a day for the rest of my life is a bit of an unrealistic expectation. I am only setting myself up for failure if my goal is to never "cheat."

    Anyhow, I currently weigh 113 lbs so I don't think my occasional cheat days are hindering me much.
  • dynad
    dynad Posts: 87 Member
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    Normal sounds like a good idea

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