Thoughts on "cheat day"

I don't necessarily have a "cheat day", but on the weekends I do not exercise and I don't watch what I eat as closely...though I do still log my calories and be conscious of how I am eating, I don't take as much care as I do through the week.

I've not been planning on cheat days as such, but ended up having a treat and either going over my daily cal allowance or saturated fat allowance one day a week. Still lost 10 Ibs in 3 weeks. But now trying to have treats within my daily allowances by looking for alternatives to make them just a bit healthier. E,g. Instead of eating 4 slices of my boyfriend's Domino's pizza and regretting it once I log it and see how much fats in it, I've made my own pizza base with olive oil, frozen them, and made up a topping in a Tupperware box that's ready to go (no cheese, but marinated tomatoes, olives, basil, olive oil, mushrooms and peppers). Delicious! But won't beat myself up if I go over my cals one day a week, or may try to contain it to one day a fortnight. Absolutely agree we can't feel too deprived or its hard to keep up. Especially important when you've got a lot of weight to lose, that's gona take time. Good luck!

I trick my body into thinking its a cheat meal or snack because I either work out or eat light the rest of the day to fit it in. This way I don't feel compelled to fall off the wagon. If I cant fit it into my day...it will have to be postponed or eliminated altogether.

Ive been on here for a month and have lost 16lbs doing this. '


I will say this that everyone is different and you have to trust your instincts and willpower.

I do have days, (mainly Family Sundays) where I tend to eat a meal that is not healthy,
let's say hit the movies and have some nachos, or maybe get yogurtland... however
I do not plan this day, it could be any day during the week... I say don't deprive yourself
from foods you enjoy, just make healthier choices. If you need to go out with your hubby
or family, get a healthier option, maybe eat half of what you normally would before
and I'd recommend to choose water as a beverage. It tends to fill me up more, I drink a lot of
water when am out.

For me, I log in my food as I eat throughout the day so I have a better idea of how many
I have left, etc. I log it on my phone which makes easy access on the go.

I have a cheat day. It makes the rest of the week easier for me. So far I've lost a pound or two each week. As long as I keep losing, I will keep my cheat day.

Cheat days don't make sense to me. If you're serious about losing weight and being healthy why would you do such a think to yourself? There is a different between "everything in moderation" and flat out having a cheat day. In the end you'e only cheating yourself.

Cheat day... Cheat meal... Who are you cheating? Only your own progress.

I really can't understand the mentality of rewarding your progress by undoing it!!!

If you want to eat more. Get off your *kitten* and do some cardio and earn the extra food intake. It really isn't that hard to burn an extra 500 calories or more.

I have gotten real fat again after loosing a lot of weight a few years ago. This time Im sticking to my net calorie goal. If I want to go and munch my way through a Pizza Hut buffet, I'll damn well go and do 2 or 3 hours on my bike and earn an extra 1000+ cals so I stay under my goal.

I do not have cheat days, but I do allow myself to have stuff that I want. I am in maintenance, so I have space. I allowed myself to have "cheat" stuff when I was losing, too, tho. I just made sure that it fit in my calories and macros for the day. That was possible because I was eating 1650 per day even during weight loss, more like 1900 now, so there was/is space. I make sure to log it all, tho. Read somewhere that Jillian Michaels recommends that you get at least 80% of your calories from healthy/quality sources then allow yourself up to 20% as a treat. I figure that makes it ok.

I would choose a certain amount of calories that you plan to eat and then workout to burn those calories first. I would not choose a whole day or even a meal, but 1 item or a certain number of calories. If you give yourself too much leeway, you will blow everything that you have worked for and you will be frustrated and have to start all over again. This is a lifestyle, not a diet---a new more mindful way to approach eating so that you are in control. If you workout ahead of time, then you can enjoy what you choose to indulge in and also not "promise" to work it off later. Guilt free and doesn't counteract all of your hard work. Good luck!! You can do it.....the trick is FOCUS. All the time, plan and focus on your goal.