Cheat day or cheat meal?

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DJ2120
DJ2120 Posts: 407 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just curious.....Do most of you allow yourself one day to eat whatever you like or just one good meal a week? Like my "cheat" day is Saturday & on that day I let myself eat whatever I want for breakfast lunch & dinner. But, I think I might be over doing it & maybe I should just have 1 naughty meal that day for either breakfast lunch or dinner & then eat clean for the other meals. I dunno, just doing some thinking.
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  • mrseelmerfudd
    mrseelmerfudd Posts: 506 Member
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    I am odd... i eat whatever as long as it fits in my cals for the day. this is because i lost almost 2 stone eating mega healthy and then disappeared for a month or so and just about managed to stay the same.. im easing myself in this time. as i go along i will try and get healthier, but i think denying yourself of everything will make you want it more! so im neither, but both at the same time lol!
  • mavericks15
    mavericks15 Posts: 21 Member
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    check out this article, i just read it today.. might be good with helping you answer your question. really put some things into perspective for me :) : http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=1753
  • kjw1031
    kjw1031 Posts: 300 Member
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    I vary my number of calories so that I have some higher days and lower days. On the higher calorie days, I might have something I wouldn't be able to fit into a lower calorie day (like eating out or a couple of margaritas).

    Since I plan it into my calories, I don't consider it "cheating", and I do track everything.
  • DJ2120
    DJ2120 Posts: 407 Member
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    check out this article, i just read it today.. might be good with helping you answer your question. really put some things into perspective for me :) : http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=1753

    Great article! Thanks so much for sharing it with me!
  • skinnybitchbarbie27
    skinnybitchbarbie27 Posts: 306 Member
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    I allow myself one day but I dont go crazy. I will have a meal with a friend or treat myself to a coffee *full fat*. Like monday was my "cheat/treat" day and I had pizza at my favorite place and two big salads (with thousand island dressing which to me is a treat in itself). I only went over 1500 calories by 200 so I didn't view that as a fail. I think those are needed to keep you sane. Now I don't reccommend going off to the extent where you are eating extremely bad for a whole day.
  • DJ2120
    DJ2120 Posts: 407 Member
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    I allow myself one day but I dont go crazy. I will have a meal with a friend or treat myself to a coffee *full fat*. Like monday was my "cheat/treat" day and I had pizza at my favorite place and two big salads (with thousand island dressing which to me is a treat in itself). I only went over 1500 calories by 200 so I didn't view that as a fail. I think those are needed to keep you sane. Now I don't reccommend going off to the extent where you are eating extremely bad for a whole day.

    I agree :smile:
  • p0kers0ph
    p0kers0ph Posts: 250 Member
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    I think one cheat meal would be better perhaps rather than the whole day.
    I stay at my boyfriends Sat/Sun nights and we tend to have a takeaway or something on one of those nights and cook something the other night.
    It keeps me sane lol
  • AlexandraLynch
    AlexandraLynch Posts: 161
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    I do one day where I go over calorie for metabolic purposes, so that my body doesn't think I'm starving it totally. And that lets me never have to think, "Oh, no, I'll never ever have wienerschnitzel again!" Nope. I can have it on Monday. That's fine. And I can always wait til then.

    (Wienerschnitzel, for those who wonder, is a veal or pork tenderloin chop pounded very thinly, then breaded, crumbed, and deepfried; in Indiana we put it on a bun and call it a tenderloin sandwich. And it is good.)
  • ladylu11
    ladylu11 Posts: 631 Member
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    I have a cheat meal. I eat clean all week and all day on Wednesdays. But, on Wednesday night I go out for fajitas and ritas and usually have something sweet after, like Peanut M&M's or some kind of chocolate.
  • kimmers99
    kimmers99 Posts: 38
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    I have been doing a cheat day. But thinking I'm going to cut back to a cheat meal and 1 cheat snack. I think that I over do it as well eating junk all day and night. I end up feeling really crappy.
  • healthybodyhealthymind
    healthybodyhealthymind Posts: 92
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    I can't do cheat meals. It messes my weight up, and I don't find it worth it.
  • Antlady69
    Antlady69 Posts: 204 Member
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    I don't have a "cheat day" as such, but due to standing appointments I can't do any exercises on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and therefore usually go over my calorie limit. I try to keep it below my TDEE but don't panic if I go slightly over - the key word being "slightly". I also allow myself a pizza, a Dürüm Döner or a curry once a month. Hey, you gotta live, you know! ;)
  • Tank_Girl
    Tank_Girl Posts: 372 Member
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    Cheat day is a pure disaster for me... Cheat meals usually happen after a work out so im trying to pick up ready made salads/pasta salads/sandwiches from tesco after workouts now instead of just heading to the takeaway
  • mcpjan
    mcpjan Posts: 76 Member
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    I don't do cheat days. I try to plan my next days meals. If we are going to go out I go online and check the menu and plan my day around it. I allow myself anything I want but if I want to go over my daily calories I then have to exercise to make it up. That makes me think twice about what I am going to eat. Is it worth the extra workout. That works for me.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    I have really good meals all the time. I don't have to cheat to do it. Last night I had steak and mashed potatoes and wonderful vegetables with an ice cream sundae (it was my son's birthday). With half a beer. All in my 1310 calories.

    I just had a SMALL sundae and a very small serving of mashed potatoes.

    Eating too much makes me feel sick. The first taste is always the best. One of the things that I have learned is that small helpings of wonderful, delicious food are more satisifying - AND make me feel better - than overeating.
  • jsmamadden
    jsmamadden Posts: 5
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    I generally do a cheat meal but what usually happens is that I anticipate said cheat meal and it makes me work out way more in the morning and eat less during the day so that by the time i get to my cheat meal for dinner I can pretty much eat whatever I want anyway and still be under calories. The problem with this is that then I feel really gross after.
  • BrokenBarbiexoxo
    BrokenBarbiexoxo Posts: 91 Member
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    check out this article, i just read it today.. might be good with helping you answer your question. really put some things into perspective for me :) : http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=1753

    all the answers I wanted!
  • Jimmytreatingtons
    Jimmytreatingtons Posts: 128 Member
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    it's difficult really, I don't set out to have a cheat day so I suppose a cheat meal is better.

    For instance I am out this Saturday night with Friends so I will eat what I fancy. But during the day I will try to eat healthly as I possibly can and try to keep my calories down for the day. If I go over I go over.

    Saturday is a Spinning class day for me so I can work back some of the calories I will over eat or drink on Saturday. I will always try and counter balance it.

    I try not to let it bother me at the moment! Going on an All inclusive holiday very soon so that is going to be intersting to say the least. It's my holiday, but I am not going to go mad eating and drinking to excess but in saying that I will not be drinking water 24/7 and eating lo cal meals all the time.

    Think it is just about setting a happy medium with yourself.

    And enjoy it!
  • katescurios
    katescurios Posts: 224 Member
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    A couple of weeks into my healthy diet I had a cheat day and the next day my stomach hated me for it. Now I allow myself treats if I have enough calories left and try to do good cheats like gettin bbq rancher salad at KFC. Delish but under 200 cals.
  • gatorginger
    gatorginger Posts: 947 Member
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    I have a full day of eating what I want and yes I will gain a pound or 2 from it but Im okay with that because I am at my goal weight and therefore getting right back on track the next day helps me lose it. So if your not at your goal weight I would suggest a cheat meal or if you decided on a cheat day maybe not overdo it like I do lol.

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