Cheat Day or Craving Satisfaction?

Cheat days don't work for me. To me, cheat days imply that this is not a lifestyle change but a diet I have to stick to. There will be some days I go over, and I understand that, but I don't plan on it and I try not to.

I have one cheat day a week, but I save up calories throughout the week to help counteract its effects (usually 150-250 calories a day). I like to have one day where I can feel "normal". I don't track that day or worry about how much is in what I'm eating. Personally, I can't stick to moderation because I don't want just a bite of the food I'm craving, and there is virtually no way for me to work a decent portion of some things into my daily calorie goal. For example, last cheat day I had Sbarro's pizza, which is about 700cal a slice. My two slices would have taken up all the calories for my whole day!

I don't binge, but I do eat whatever I want. I know I must go over on my daily calorie goal by a lot, but I usually have 1000-1400 calories saved up from the week to help counteract that. It has been almost 9 weeks, and I've still managed to lose a consistent average of 1lb a week even with the cheat day. So, why fix what isn't broken?

I used to have cheat days, but than my cheat days turned into cheat weekends and it all went downhill from there.

I eat what I want in moderation for the most part. Do I have to say no to extra cake or chips sometimes? Yeah. but usually even a little bit satisfies my craving. I RARELY feel like I am being deprived, and it's usually only turning TOM

My opinion is that there shouldn't really be a "cheat" day. If you are looking at weight loss as a "diet" then what will happen when you get to your goal weight? When does everyday become the same way it used to when bad choices were abundant? It's about lifestyle change.. someday you can go for the whole piece of cheesecake instead of half, but a binge day on bad food just seems counterproductive!

I think of it as a lifestyle change... that way of binging and "cheating" needs to be gone from our lives to truly live as happy and healthy people. We can eat what we crave, but as we go futher on our journey we find we crave less of the bad and more of the good... or we hope right?

IMO... its (most of the time) best to give in to some cravings, just to get the over with. I don't believe in full cheat days, maybe cheat meals or treats..but a full day of not focusing set me off for days.

I can't have a cheat day as it will just turn into a full on binge!! instead I allow myself a little treat every day like a couple of squares of dark chocolate or some reduced fat ice-cream with a tiny bit of chocolate sauce, this helps me stop bingeing at the weekends which is my worst time because I work every weekend at the moment and get very stressed!! If im really really craving something though and im thinking about it for more than a day then I will just have it!! life's too short to deprive yourself of all the nice things and as long as you're exercising and eating healthily most of the time then it can't do much harm as long as you know when to stop! I firmly believe that food feeds us mentally as well as physically!!

Honestly I have a hard time eating my designated intake amount during the week, not sure why, but I prefer lighter meals and less of it, maybe because its busier and more work out intensive who knows. Because of this I find that my weekend free day turns into catching up on a much needed calorie boost so my metabolism is fooled and it doesn't get used to the weekly routine. As far as portion control goes. I use childrens dishes and sometimes even cutlery! It sound stupid but if I'm going to have a bowl of iced cream or a piece of chocolate cake, it seems to go a lot further if I can have a whole small bowl with a tiny spoon, than what feels like a tiny piece in two bites with a big spoon.

I always take Sundays off of counting (and I try to avoid the internet the whole day as well) but I don't call it cheating, I call it a break! It's more for my mental state than anything else... I'm not a binge eater so I'm not in danger of going WAAAAY over a healthy amount of calories, but I allow myself healthy portions of wine and dessert without worrying if it will fit into my daily calorie goal, for example. It's great to have that day off so you can start the week fresh.

Ok, so I've been dieting ever since I was 256 lbs and now I am around 150 lbs, and I never really had cheat days except on holidays. Now I've been at a platau for about 4 months and I think this whole cheat day thing could help me out. Basically, I'm going to be following something similar to the spike diet.  I will continue to eat at a 3500 calorie deficit each week in order to lose 1 lb a week, and workout as usual (about 4 days a week).  However, instead of logging calories burnt on the day I work out, I will log them under  whatever day my cheat day will be that week.(usually Saturday).  Normally i would eat all my calories burnt on that day, but This way, I can eat to my hearts content and still stay within my weeks calorie deficit.  And I'll also be able to get a break from eating entirely healthy every single day, confusing my body a little, so it won't adapt. Technically it won't even be a "cheat day" since I'll still be staying within my calorie deficit.

For this first cheat day however, I decided to go all out in order to celebrate my hard work so far.   it lasted ALL weekend.  This is my last Saturday cheat day :

Breakfast-  Pancakes, GIANT Hersey bar, and a 6 egg omelet with a ton of cheese.

Lunch- large Calzone(extra cheese,chicken,veggies), chocolate cake, more random candy bars and snacks.

Dinner- 1.5lbs of honey mustard wings!, onion rings, 4 pints of Ben and Jerry's half baked Froyo.

Late snack- I just stuffed my face with chocolate and other snacks all night. 

And now Sunday:

 Breakfast: French toast, waffles, bacon, donuts and other fruit filled Danishes.

Lunch: dominos medium deep dish pizza w/ almost EVERY topping, dominos chicken Alfredo bread bowl, dominos spinach feta cheesy bread, 1 pint ben and Jerry's.

Dinner- extra large calzone w/ extra cheese and chicken,  onion rings, a carton of moose tracks ice cream, a berry smoothie.

Night snack-a frozen  jello Oreo no bake pie, slice of cake, chocolate, and more ice cream.

 Overall, best weekend EVER.  If I didn't care about staying fit I think could go into competitive eating since I wasn't entirely full, haha.  

Now here's the crazy part. It's been 4 days since that weekend and I've lost about 1.5 lbs from what I weighed BEFORE that weekend! This gives me some confidence in my new plan.

So ya, if you eat really healthy all the time, your body needs a break from that too. Go overboard and your metabolism is going to kick into overdrive to make up for it. Just make sure you go back to eating healthy after that day.

I don't "cheat" just work what I want into my calorie goals. If I know I'm going somewhere where I'll want to eat a less healthy choice (a favorite burger or dessert), then I plan for it by getting up early to workout before starting my day. Most days, I try to save enough calories for a nice dinner and dessert in the evenings, but if something comes along during the day that I really want, I just "trade-it" for evening dessert or get in an extra workout to cover it. Although I rarely go over my daily allowance, when I do, I am sure to have enough deficit throughout the week to cover it, so I am never over for the week.

The biggest change I've made is that I do not eat or drink anything that I don't really want. I will NEVER again waste calories on soggy fries or anything else I won't enjoy just because it's there.

I feel the exact same way!

I dont have cheat days. Some days i crave M&M's. i will eat about 5, then i am good to go