cheat days

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arosethorn
arosethorn Posts: 41 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello, I have been dieting for about two months now and have lost 23 lbs. I am nearing my goal now. I have heard positive and negative things about "cheat days". What is your opinion? How do you incorporate them? How often? How much is too much? For example: I would like to add a cheat day, but I am very hesitant. I don't know how often is acceptable or how many calories to watch on a cheat day.
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  • arosethorn
    arosethorn Posts: 41 Member
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    I am honestly scared to cheat. I don't want to gain anything back, but it would be nice to have a break.
  • stines72
    stines72 Posts: 853 Member
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    i have never had a cheat day and never will. that is my opinion, i personally think they are unhealthy mentally... maybe physically too, who knows. i keep it clean 24/7 and have no urges to binge.

    now there may come a day when im in a situation where i do eat a lot more than i normally would, but id never have a planned cheat day
  • Hadunka
    Hadunka Posts: 59 Member
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    I don´t have cheat days. But sometimes I eat ice cream or several bites of chocolate. Of course I do...
  • arosethorn
    arosethorn Posts: 41 Member
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    i have never had a cheat day and never will. that is my opinion, i personally think they are unhealthy mentally... maybe physically too, who knows. i keep it clean 24/7 and have no urges to binge.

    now there may come a day when im in a situation where i do eat a lot more than i normally would, but id never have a planned cheat day

    So how often do you think those types of days are acceptable?
  • biddy249
    biddy249 Posts: 76 Member
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    Look at it as a lifestyle change, not a diet. Hopefully by now you have developed a taste for new and heathly foods. Treat yoursellf to foods you enjoy on occasion, just use moderation.
  • KAiles86
    KAiles86 Posts: 1 Member
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    I personally try not to plan cheat days. But I do allow myself to enjoy special occasions such as my birthday or holidays. Those days I eat what I want but don't binge.
  • TinkerbelleJ
    TinkerbelleJ Posts: 33 Member
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    My plan is not to have a cheat day but be prepared for cravings since I know I'll have them.

    My plan is to not go too much over my limit of 1200 cal, even if I have a snickers bar (or all the candy I had today). I just have to move other calories around.

    I will try to focus on adverting the cravings with other things such as fruits, vegetables and tea :)

    Tea helps me so much with cravings!
  • lizblizz2012
    lizblizz2012 Posts: 196 Member
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    I just had a cheat day yesterday. In my opinion, they keep me on track because I don't feel deprived all the time. I'm not going to tell myself I'm never going to eat a cupcake ever again. This has to be something I can live with! Also, I believe it kind of "resets" your metabolism and helps to prevent plateau-ing. This being said, I NEVER just gorge myself and carelessly eat anything I want on cheat days. I eat what I want, but I watch portions and I often don't cheat the whole day, Sometimes I just have a cheat meal. And I ALWAYS work out more in the days following the cheat to keep myself from putting pounds back on. If I ate clean all the time, yeah I'd get skinny, but I would be bored as heck. Sometimes you just need to order your favorite thing at a restaurant, enjoy it, feel satisfies, and get back to the routine,
  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
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    Saturday I eat anything I want, up to my TDEE maintenance. If I go over that, I don't worry because I don't eat my exercise calories back either. I firmly believe it's good for my metabolism and gives it a boost. Plus it makes it easier to eat better during the week.

    Just be prepared for the water weight gain that will come with it. I usually retain about 6 more pounds of water, but it is always gone and then some by the next weekend. Also remember that you're not going to gain a ton of permanent weight. It takes 3500 calories to gain a pound of fat, so you would have to eat back all the calories you were under maintenance for the week pus another 3500 over for the day to gain a pound. Damned near impossible for most people.

    So, your weight will probably go up due to increased sodium and stuff, but it will drop back off.

    *EDIT* I still make smart choices. For example I was going to grab a King Size Kit Kat at Walmart last night since it was my cheat day. But since I knew I was pretty close to maintenance and that damned candybar was 400 calories, I put it back. Wiouldn't have killed me in the long run, but I had already had doughnuts and soda, etc. lol so I do try to have some restraint.
  • scythswife
    scythswife Posts: 1,123 Member
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    Sunday's would be what you consider a cheat day I guess. For me its a day off don't log my food and eat whatever I want without worrying about it but i still only eat small amounts. I still lose weight and may or may not get in a workout. For me its family day each week and after church we mainly veg out and watch movies together.
  • goofyblonde
    goofyblonde Posts: 47 Member
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    My last major cheat day was when my boyfriend was out of town (September 22). I had a Girl's Night In... We ordered pizza, and played The Big Bang Theory drinking game. Half a pizza later and about a dozen shots... Boy, was I WAY over my calorie intake! But it had literally been months since I'd done anything like that, and I only do it once in a blue moon. And I went right back to my normal everyday diet and exercise the very next day.

    I think that a cheat day is needed every now and again, but it shouldn't become a common occurance. The major one I had, maybe every few (4-5) months, but even that is a little much... Like I said, I hadn't done anything like that in a while, and now that I think about it, I think that was the first time all year. But it also depends on how much you splurge, and what you splurge on. If you're going to consider one drink, or a slice of cake a splurge, then certainly more often! I do that maybe once a month.
  • LadyRhodes01
    LadyRhodes01 Posts: 88 Member
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    I also have one cheat day a month. I don't exceed my 1200 cal diet more than 400 cals. Even though we are striving to be healthier, doesn't mean we have to deprive ourselves. If you want a treat you can cooperate it into your plan. I crave a sweet after dinner so I have it! From frozen yogurt, a homemade smoothie, a 100 calorie snack, even a piece of cake. I use to have a cheat day every week, where I would go out to eat. It didn't do any harm either. I stayed very active during the week and stuck to my meal plan, so I know I deserved it.
    Even on cheat days I don't binge eat. Just may have a couple of things I wouldn't normally have. I have my boundaries, I refuse to go overboard, I have to live with myself when it's done and over with. As long as you make good choices, and don't overdue it, it doesnt harm you in the long run. It sorta gives me an incentive to look forward to at the end of every month.
  • sunnyside1213
    sunnyside1213 Posts: 1,205 Member
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    Once a month I go out with friends and have lunch. I eat whatever I want, even bread! Then I go home and get back with plan. Works for me.
  • rjacob1214
    rjacob1214 Posts: 19 Member
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    I've heard a lot of theories on metabolism confusion... As in: If you eat similar foods and the same amount of calories every day, your body expects that and metabolism will slow down, but if you throw in spikes ("cheat days" and low cal days) it keeps your metabolism kicked into high gear.

    I'm no expert though, I would research it.
  • Lrdoflamancha
    Lrdoflamancha Posts: 1,280 Member
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    Look at it as a lifestyle change, not a diet. Hopefully by now you have developed a taste for new and heathly foods. Treat yoursellf to foods you enjoy on occasion, just use moderation.

    I agree with this.
  • katevarner
    katevarner Posts: 884 Member
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    I don't cheat, but I treat myself almost daily as long as I stay in my calorie allowance and my macros.
  • jnp96
    jnp96 Posts: 163
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    I have a cheat day once a week. It has not been a good idea though. I did regain weight so now I am back to no cheat days.
  • YoungDoc2B
    YoungDoc2B Posts: 1,593 Member
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    No need for a cheat day, just make room in my calorie budget for foods that I want. Had ice cream a couple days ago and was still under my calorie goal. It's not hard at all.
  • Allyice
    Allyice Posts: 122 Member
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    My friends do them all the time and seem to be fine. I seem to go off the wagon when I have a cheat day though and find it really hard to get back on, so I try not to have them. I give myself little treats now and then but I won't give myself a whole day of treats.
  • dancingj2
    dancingj2 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    I have days that I go over my calorie count. I do not call them "cheat days." I consider them a normal part of life now.

    When I tally up a day and find I am over I know I need to more careful the next few days. I also check out the weekly chart on my phone to see how I doing for the week. One day over by a few hundred calories might be balanced out by a day or two with extra exercise calories.

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