Cheat days= good or bad??

I don't have a cheat day, because if I tell myself I can't have anything 'bad' for me, I will over do it on my cheat day, however, if I know I'm going to eat something not so good for me - like today - I will work my butt off, so that it fits within my daily limits.

Cheatmeals accomplish many things, depending on where you are in the dieting process. At very very low bodyfats (10% and lower for men, 18% and lower for women), cheat meals help to "reset" your metabolic fire via a hormone called leptin.

If you are not in those bodyfat ranges, cheat days once or twice a month will help you cope with your diet emotionally. And one day will not hurt in the general scheme of things. A cheat meal may prepare you for two more weeks of compliance, so it might actually help!

I don't cheat too often, usually I try to incorporate the foods I used to eat a lot of (like mac and cheese) into my calories for the day. Usually my cheat days are once every couple months if I go out to eat with family or something, but even still I try to keep my meals out within my calories. If you find that cheat meals help you, awesome I've found myself that I don't really need them

Well...what I usually do with clients is...if they are pretty far from their goal, the most important thing is to not cheat. So for like a person trying to lose more than 50 pounds, cheating should be held to a minimum.

If they lose 20, and they can stay on a consistent deficit diet, we work cheat meals in. Cheat Meals, and not Cheat Days. From there, if they can get within 10 pounds of their goal, I'd advise 2 cheat Days, or 4 cheat meals per month.

Then, if they want to get into contest shape, or very extremely low bodyfat, I would advise cheat meals every 7-10 days, depending on male or female.

So for the average dieter. either 2 cheat days a month, or 4 cheat meals.

I need cheat days and that's all there is to it. Otherwise I feel permanently deprived. So I have one cheat DAY per week (every Sunday) IF I have kept under my calories all week. If I haven't kept under all week (but have been close), then I am still allowed a cheat MEAL that I don't log (but not a whole day). If I have a dinner date or special occasion on a day other than Sunday, then I stick to my diet that Sunday instead.

I have already lost about 25 pounds, so it seems to be working.

But I have a question about it. My current weight is 137. If my tally at the end of every day says "if you ate like this every day, you would weigh 131 in 5 weeks" ... but my tally on my cheat day says "if you ate like this every day, you would weigh 147 in 5 weeks" .... then can I just take an average of all 7 days and assume that my resulting 5-week-away weight will be the average? (i.e. 133?) Or are there other factors (like for instance, sometimes I feel I'm in "starvation mode" 6 days a week keeping my calories under, and I'm worried that my body will hog all the fat and store it up on my cheat days)?

I prefer calling them reward days or reward meals. That way, I feel like I've earned them!

:drinker: This is a lifestyle, not a diet! Diets do not work! So, I gotta HAVE my 1 cheat day! Had 2 this week {for shame!} One was Fastnaught Day and Valentine's! Enjoy and live!

I have a cheat meal but not a cheat day. Just one meal a week where I let myself have whatever I want, but I still don't let myself binge out.

It's working so far, since I don't feel deprived of anything. I can save it for when I go out with friends, or if I just want a treat.

I do have a cheat day. it helps keep me on track the rest of the week :-)

I don't have cheat days often and I don't do them as part of boosting my metabolism when I do take them. It's more out of convenience or there's a special day coming like a birthday. It's possible if you've plateaued that changing up your routine will get your body back in gear but I'm not sure about it actually improving your metabolism significantly. I found cheat days/meals make it harder to get back in the groove of things and I get cravings for a couple days after. Whatever works for you personally I think is the best bet :flowerforyou:

i dont have a cheat day..
if i can resist eating chocolate i do..
if i really want some.. i eat a tinnny piece
if i my family buys pizza.. ill eat a tinnny like 100 calorie piece
but mostly i try to stay away and the only time i mess up is usually dinner because ive had a light breakfast and lunch and im craving food but i make sure it doesnt go over calorie intake for the day

I hate whole cheat days. I end up feeling like SUCH crap if I eat terribly all day. What about a cheat meal? Or a cheat dessert? I let myself have a cupcake from whole foods the other day that had 31 grams of sugar. Normally I'd NEVER let myself eat something like that... but it was Valentine's Day and that seemed like a good excuse for a little cheat.