Cheat days??? do you have one or not?

I tried the cheat day thing but i had no sense of control at the beginning of this journey, so i would end up binging. Now i just focus on hitting my macros and calories. I eat chocolate every day. But this ifs a lifestyle change and of cheat days work fore you, then have them.

I don't consider what I am doing to be a diet. Those have never worked for me in the past. So, I don't have a cheat day per say, but I did not eliminate anything from what I eat, just don't eat some things as much as I used to. I may eat fast food (no fries) once a week, or something, but I don't go over my cal limit. When I eliminated anything from my diet, my cheat days would be gross over indulgences of those things which I eliminated, normally making me feel sick.

Yeah I have one or 2 **** up days of the week that I need to eliminate

Cheat days are an Absolute No! No! a "cheat meal" is a set-up...I hear from people all the time about over eating and when I speak in detail with them I almost find one thing every single time! They have regular "cheat meals" I am by no means here to condemn anybody, but sometimes the thought of "one of this wont hurt me" is wrong and extremely counter productive.

When you have a cheat meal you take many days of intense workouts and clean eating and flush them down the toilet! The average "cheat meal" sets you back at least 3 days of progress. That to me is unacceptable! Thus the reason I just don't do it. Not because I can't bounce right back, but because I work too hard to step backwards.

Also most "cheat meals" are either deep friend, super high fat, or sugar or all three. Why is this relevant? Well all that " mindless" eating is caused from one thing most times and that is refined sugars. If you detox your body of refined sugars you will not even "crave" the junk that you used to eat. Just sayin...I know I don't.

I don't really have a "cheat day", however, sometimes I'll treat myself with a "cheat snack" that way I don't ruin my whole day. Like today, worked out ate good all day, then had a couple cookies after dinner :P

I don't do a cheat day/meal - I have a TREAT meal once a week. I'm not on a diet, this is the way I will live my life from now on, but I deserve a treat once and a while. I pick something I don't typically have but that I've been craving - tonight is a Tim Hortons coffee and a wrap. I work it in to my calories for the day but if I go over a bit I just work out harder the next day. I make this meal on Friday nights because I weigh in Friday mornings and I have the rest of the week to eat like a champ

1 planned 'guilt-free' meal per week. if you don't have the willpower to get back on track after that one meal, i would say don't do it until you are at the point you do have the willpower.

I see it this way too. It's not cheating, it's guilt-free. I decided that I will not diet. I will be as active as possible and eat what I would like to eat in moderation (every day). Instead of committing to a diet, I am committing to a lifestyle change. That said, every weekend we have bacon and eggs. I don't eat toast (we rarely have bread in the house anyway), and I limit myself to how many pieces of bacon I have (usually 3 or 4 halves, so 2 whole pieces maximum). I never feel guilty for eating a breakfast that is higher in calories.

In order to continue on a successful weight loss journey, my goal is moderation. If I want something I usually eat it but within my daily calorie goal. I'm not "dieting" this is a lifestyle change.

Said it before and I'll say it again:

I do not believe in the concept of "cheat days". If you bite it, you write it. If you want to eat something, eat it, log it and move on with no regrets! IMHO, it's only cheating if you do not log it.

No.

Most of the responses in this thread do not sound like cheating. Calling a cookie, piece of chocolate, small fries or a piece of pizza cheating does not seem helpful. I believe I eat very healthy which can include all of the above food. I almost always fit it into my calories and macros. I am a foodie and I eat quality things that I enjoy. For example I wouldn't eat McDonald's because I don't enjoy it. But I received a box of Sees truffles for Christmas and I plan to enjoy them, and its not cheating if it fits in my daily cals or even goes over cals but is still a deficit below maintenance cals. I don't crave things and I don't feel deprived. I eat appropriate portions so for instance 4 ounces of steak at a restaurant only instead of the whole piece, or a half cup of rice at home instead of 2 cups.

theres no cheat days in my life. I eat it if it fits within my limits that I have set for myself. If I know Im going out with friends or dinner & drink etc - i'll work extra hard during my workout.

I don't restrict myself or I find myself craving and being unhappy and miserable and that's not what this is about

My husband andI have a standing "date night" when he has a weekend day off. Tomorrow will be our first date night since starting our healthy eating/weight loss journey. I'm not sure how it's going to go, but I know I'm going to NOT order as big a meal as I did before. I know I do way better sticking to a healthy eating plan if I don't deprive myself of things I really want, I just eat a small amount of them.

Yes!! I definitely have a day of the week where i will do a cheat meal.
Every now and then i might cheat during the week, but I try really hard not to make it an entire day, regardless of it fitting into my calorie goal or not!

I have a cheat meal. For me the hardest is the weekend when hubby is home all day but I allow myself mostly Saturday dinner to have a meal of whatever I want. If I crave something during the week I have a little. It works for me.