Too Cheat, Or not too cheat that is my question

I refused to believe a spike would help me, until I went on vacation, ate what I wanted the whole week and came home and lost 2 lbs when I weighed. (was hitting around .4 lbs a week loss at that point)

I did a spike meal with dessert on Fridays if I had a good calorie burn that day, good calorie burn was done because I wanted my spike meal. So it worked out well for me when I was in weight loss mode.

My trainer encouraged me to eat spike meals because he said my body would get used to the amount of food I was eating, I have since seen evidence of that.

My suggestion is to try it and see what happens, but not in the first 3 weeks.

I had an identical experience over the Christmas holidays. Went on a gourmet food trail: thought for sure I was going to put on a few kilos- I lost weight... yippee!! But that is probably because I do work out most days and try to eat well for the most part: my body was ready to BURN whatever I ate while on holidays recovering.

Was the BEST Christmas present!

I have been at this a week tomorrow. Take what I have to say with a grain of salt....


How many people agree with having a cheat day/meal? I agree 100%. I feel like for me, I would have nothing to look forward to on the weekends if I didnt cheat. As much as people say (just people any people) that food should not be a reward, the truth is that most of our lives are built around food. I see a good time with good food and good BOOZE!

How often do you have one? Once a week. As my weight loss goes on I may do it twice a week. But right now just once. I do a cheat meal at night on a friday or saturday and have as many alcoholic beverages as I want. :drinker: :blushing:

It kinda depends on where you want to be and where you're at right now. If you have a high body fat and are trying to get that down, a cheat day every week isn't going to allow you to make AS much progress each week, a cheat meal once, twice a week or maybe even two weeks if you have the willpower which be much more beneficial to lose body fat. If you're trying to maintain, sure a cheat day won't do much harm, once you burn it off, but a cheat meal would be more appropriate to maintain per say. If you have a low body fat and are physically active, a cheat day will not necessarily ruin any progress you have made. If you're just the regular joe who wants to just pig out for the day, go ahead enjoy your food!

I allowed myself to "cheat" over christmas, well most of December actually, and the scale went up 7lbs by January 1. I lost 5 of those 7lbs by January 3rd. I pretty much had a cheat month and it didnt derail any of my efforts, so a cheat day or meal once in a while will definately not ruin any progress you've made. Enjoy some treats every now and then!

For some reason , I seem to lose weight when I cheat , I usually have 1 cheat meal a week , And I mean Cheat , I'm Talking about a1500 -2000 + Calorie meal . I also lose more weight when I just take multiple[e day rest from my work outs ... I think a cheat meal a week is good , keeps me motivated throughout the week !

I have an 90/10 rule. 90% healthy, 10% indulgence. This allows me 2-3 "cheats" a week. Works well for me!

This is my target for myself as well. I don't consider any of it cheating, though, because I stick to my calorie targets every day (including eating back exercise calories). I aim to have 90% of my meals be healthy, whole, home-cooked foods. The other 10% (typically two meals a week or so) tends to be when I go out to eat or decide to grab fast food or something. I definitely make better choices than I would have two months ago when I eat at restaurants, but there are definitely still times each week when I eat something that I know isn't completely "clean".

Overall, going with this attitude has helped me so much. I've tried to lose weight countless times before, but I always get stuck and give up after about a month. A big part of that was because I was trying to be perfect and would give up when I got off the plan or made a poor food choice. This time, I'm not beating myself up for having a burger now and again.

I don't have a cheat meal, I just indulge with moderation. I plan ahead for meals I know will be over.