CHEAT DAY!?

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  • ChristinaR720
    ChristinaR720 Posts: 1,186
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    I wouldn't recommend it. Try just working the things you love into your diet so you aren't depriving yourself. Just practice portion control and make sure you incorporate lots of healthy and nutrient-rich foods into your diet as well.

    I had one serving of ice cream with a 1/2 serving of hot fudge 3 days this week and still managed to lose.
  • anonymousKel
    anonymousKel Posts: 92 Member
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    I have never given up alcohol either and stayed at goal over christmas ....enjoy but stay with MFP x
  • Nachise
    Nachise Posts: 395 Member
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    Wow. I really had to think about this.

    I have to take "cheat" out of my vocabulary because it implies the intent to deceive, and what I'm doing in my lifestyle is maintaining accountability. I will tell you that I did go over goal on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Family feasts are just too tough for me to put the brakes on totally. What I did was count everything. The next day, I would get back on track with my food and exercise. It might take two or three days to stop wanting to overindulge, but overall, that works.

    I eat what I want to eat, and fortunately, most of the time it is healthy foods. I even include chocolate, cookies, or desserts in my plan. I do have to set limits. One food that I cannot eat with any amount of reason is pizza. I could go over a whole day's worth of calories in a few slices.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Say you go really, really, really mad on your cheat day and manage to cancel out the whole week's deficit.... (Some serious eating/drinking to manage that.) All that means is that for that week you stayed the same weight.

    Not really a big deal if it takes you a week longer to reach your goal and no long term impact.

    You could always build a load of exercise into your cheat day and the impact would be negligable.
    Personally I prefer the idea of a cheat meal rather than a cheat day but each to their own.
  • supermodelchic
    supermodelchic Posts: 550 Member
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    don't make it a day , just make it one meal.
    that way you can't go to crazy.I don't do cheat day's
    if I want a treat I will just have a smalll portion of it.
  • fIashforward
    fIashforward Posts: 66 Member
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    I lost over 50 pounds but never had a cheat day.
    To be honest I never really missed junk food, it was mainly sugary energy drinks.

    However every few months I would take a week off and eat whatever I wanted; usually when I had holidays from school.
  • bethany41h
    bethany41h Posts: 218
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    I'd say that is a personal decision. As self proclaimed food junkie - if I eat sweets or anything I am trying to train my palate not to want - cheating is a down hill spiral of disaster for me.
  • ed33952
    ed33952 Posts: 1
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    It works fine. I am opting for the special occation days. Like family gatherings for birthdays or holidays. I find in my life that it happens about once a month on the average. I don't feel guilty on those days because I planned for it.
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
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    Well, I don't call them cheat days, nor do I "reward" myself for sticking to my goals for the week. Having said that, I also don't deny myself a whole lot of things and I have no problems or guilt going over my calories from time to time. Let me make that perfectly clear...from time to time. If I went over everyday then I'm kinda missing the point of this whole thing. But then again, if I never go over, then I'm kinda missing the point of enjoying life.

    A "cheat day" every now and again isn't a bad thing, as a matter of fact, it has been my experience that it has helped me in the long run. There are times where it's a family outing or just hanging out with a friend and we hit the buffet, I don't try and track anything, I just enjoy myself and let it go.

    This isn't a contest or a class where you will get graded...well...not by anyone but yourself. Do you want a "Cheat Day?" Will it make you feel better? Will it help you stick to your goals more? If the answer to these is "Yes," then by all means...cheat away.
  • tutti777
    tutti777 Posts: 72
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    I did the program...Crack The Fat Loss Code...which allows you cheat days. It "helped" me stay on track since I knew on that particular day or days, I could have something really good. I lost 35 lbs and lots of inches. The program is hard to learn but really does work. I just don't have it in me to do it again. Felt like I lived in the kitchen. Wish I'd never gone off the program. I went from a 16 to a size 10 and felt great. And, to me, it was a healthy program. I looked and felt the best I'd felt in years but several surgeries (back and knees) set me back and I never went back on the program. And, all I did was walk exercise during this time. Again, as for the cheat days, it kept me from going off the program knowing I could have chocolate, fries, burger, dessert, etc on a given upcoming day. Yes, you cannot go crazy on that day....keep it within reason. Good luck!
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
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    It's awesome to indulge here and there! Counting calories as a weekly total might be a way to do it without seeing it as cheating. It reminds me of eating a bowl of Lucky Charms, where you eat the cereal pieces first and save all (or most of) the marshmallows for the end.
  • ClementineGeorg
    ClementineGeorg Posts: 505 Member
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    Cheat meal would be better.
    You can spoil all week effort with a cheat day. A cheat meal is more... good for weight loss.
  • meganr116
    meganr116 Posts: 4 Member
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    My idea of a cheat day is having one day a week (usually a weekend day) when I don't have to record everything I eat. I still eat small portions and healthy food, but it gives me a break from having to record every single thing I consume. It's important to be careful that you don't allow yourself to eat horrible things just because you aren't recording it.

    In a nutshell: a cheat day that's a break from recording everything not a break from eating well.
  • akshil
    akshil Posts: 23 Member
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    Having a Cheat day makes it tougher to get back to normal eating the other day, I eat a small "cheat meal" usually on the weekends within my calorie budget. That way I have more small cheat meals till I get all my cravings satisfied. You have to look at it in a very long term manner, for me not exceeding my BMR even on days I worked out is important so that I can get trained when I have to get into maintenance mode
  • jeninne
    jeninne Posts: 412 Member
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    I like the comments about finding healthy foods you enjoy and therefore the word cheat is no longer a concept.
  • sweetv1smith
    sweetv1smith Posts: 21 Member
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    cheating a lil is fine just dont go over the top. Remember everything u eat over what your body needs for the day will turn into fat and make life harder for u.

    a few bites of a burger, a couple of crisp fine (i do that weekly)...a day......:noway:
  • Hazel2005
    Hazel2005 Posts: 175 Member
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    If you don't omit anything in your diet, that is, anything in moderation, and are honest and accountable, you don't need a cheat day. Everything seems to center around food, rewarding yourself with food, considering why I'm here, doesn't sound like a good idea for me. I'd rather go with spoiling myself - with a pedicure, manicure, a new "smaller" pair of jeans.....sigh, sorry, just picturing them:smile:
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
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    As an alternative idea, I know some people that eat at maintenance on the weekends, or maybe just on Saturday, as a way to add a little extra calories for fun. Doing that really would Not stall you much at all. For instance, if you're set to lose a lb a week, that means that you are at a 500 per day calorie deficit. So you can eat 500 more calories ona particular day, or over the weekend. It will not stall your weight loss goals, it will slightly slow them down. Instead of losing a lb per week, you might lose .7 per week, or however the math works out. I'm too lazy to figure it out.

    Cheers.
  • camiann10
    camiann10 Posts: 3
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    This is a complicated thing...I allow myself a cheat night on Saturday nights to eat out with hubby. In the beginning, its what allowed me to stick to my diet and lose 60 lbs. I had failed before because I thought if I could not be perfect, I could not stay on a diet. Now that I am trying to maintain, its harder...sometimes I feel like binging on those days and the holidays that I take off....I find its impossible to count my calories on holidays so I often go into binge mode. Its hard to pull yourself out of that the next day. I am now thinking of ways I can counteract this and do it better. Its a process of discovering what works best for YOU, not anyone else. Do what works and feels right for you and be consisitent and thats all that matters. :-)
  • tinkerbug83
    tinkerbug83 Posts: 83
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    I think it's okay to have a day where you allow yourself to splurge, it doesn't have to be every week or month. For examaple on days when I know I have a party or event to go to, I'm going to allow myself to indulge a little. Since I have a sweet tooth, if I were to try to cut that out, it would be worse. Everything in moderation, if you have a day where you go over, so be it; tomorrow is a new day :smile:

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