Cheat days - ruined an entire week

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  • MeanSophieCat
    MeanSophieCat Posts: 200 Member
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    When I have a "cheat" - which is no more than every 10 days, usually closer to two weeks - I try to stay within maintenance cals and just not run a deficit that day. So for me, a cheat meal is about 500 cals over goal.

    I don't know if my body needs it but it is a great mental motivator for me. I don't even really look forward to the food but it is a way to have a night out with friends or hubby and not be so concerned about what I am eating.
  • flexdirectcpr
    flexdirectcpr Posts: 103 Member
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    I try to stay within my calorie goal each day even though I do allow treats. I look more at my weekly progress. I try to allow deficits each day for date nights and weekends that are planned.
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
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    Cheat days have a way of morphing into decades for me.
  • jynxxxed
    jynxxxed Posts: 1,010 Member
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    I don't see a problem as long as you maintain control. If you're prone to binging, allowing yourself too much unplanned eating could definitely turn into an issue.

    I usually log 1,300 calories or so of my planned food for the day, and whatever I eat over that isn't much of a big deal because I know my limits. I've never had any issues doing it this way. You've just got to find what works for you, and personally I enjoy not eating at a deficit every single day.
  • Shellbug75
    Shellbug75 Posts: 74 Member
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    Funny you should post this. I was just asking about cheat days a couple days ago. I got a lot of useful feedback. I was told if you are going to cheat, make it a cheat meal not a whole day. Also, I feel as I am not strong enough for one yet. That is just me personally. I think you need to do what works for you. But you don't want to deprive yourself either. It's all about portion control.

    It may help if you research what you are going to eat beforehand, then log it. That way you know where you stand and how many extra calories you will be added to your day. Good luck!
  • NormInv
    NormInv Posts: 3,302 Member
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    Love this place. Every message is the same: no cheat days but cheat meals or 'this' or 'I agree'. Any original replies?
  • wendybird5
    wendybird5 Posts: 577 Member
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    Oh, and I lost 30lbs cheating every Sunday. And, cheating badly. So, it works. Do whatever y'all want. Just saying, it can be effective.

    Ditto!

    You know how kids, when you tell them they can't have something, suddenly want it like crazy. I'm like that with food. If I tell myself I'm not allowed to eat candy or sweets or chips or whatever, then I start craving it all the time. Even if before I barely ate that food regularly, just telling myself no makes me suddenly want it. But if I tell myself I can have it on my cheat day, the cravings tend to go away and sometimes I totally forget I was craving something and don't even eat it.

    You just have to figure out what works for you. For me, I feel that as long as I can eat in moderation, I can have what ever I want. Unless my doctor tells me I have a deadly allergy and can't eat something anymore, I'll eat what I want.
  • BioMechHeretic
    BioMechHeretic Posts: 128 Member
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    I don't have "cheat" days because I'm not a child testing myself. Cheat days are for people on diets.

    People that make long term positive health differences make lifestyle changes, not diet. Nobody can diet forever, which means at some point you'll quit the diet, go back to how things were and gain weight back.

    Don't think of it as "cheating". You're an adult, eat what you want(using some sense) here or there, it should have no overwhelming difference. If you try and approach it as "I must eat healthy exactly this every single day every meal no matter what" you will grow to resent your "diet" and stop doing it. Eat what you want and when you want within moderation and workout.

    Also, you can't get accurate numbers from weighing yourself every single day. Weight fluctuates WAY too much to say it took 6 days to go back to losing weight, which was .6 lbs. That's like the difference of drinking some water and not using the restroom.
  • Tyggress73
    Tyggress73 Posts: 104 Member
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    I think the term "cheat" is not necessarily helpful. It's unnecessarily negative, like saying foods are "bad" or "good" - foods have no morality.

    Healthy habits for the rest of your life require leniency. Are you never going to eat cake at a friend's wedding or have a pint on St. Pats? Of course you are going to participate! You love life! Learning how to have meals that may be slightly outside your new norm without completely letting it derail you is an important skill to develop.

    But that's just how I see it.

    This! I completely agree....I am working hard to develop a good, balanced relationship with food. I am a total foodie, love to cook, love to eat. I refuse to cut anything out completely. I just eat it in moderation. I plan to stick with the healthy eating for the rest of my life, not as a temporary diet.

    Perhaps have a cheat MEAL once in a while, rather than a whole cheat DAY. Or...work little extras into your overall lifestyle and stop looking at it in a negative light.
  • Luvmesumkenny
    Luvmesumkenny Posts: 779 Member
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    I don't have " Cheat Days" I have "Cheat Meals for that exact reason. If I allow myself on one day to have whatever I want I would eat a weeks worth of calories.
    I allow myself whatever I want when I want it....BUT!!! I eat it in Moderation.
  • Tyggress73
    Tyggress73 Posts: 104 Member
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    Love this place. Every message is the same: no cheat days but cheat meals or 'this' or 'I agree'. Any original replies?

    Perhaps that's because everyone here has been down the road for awhile and learned/discovered the same lessons. Everyone is different, but there are some universal truths to losing weight that tend to work for most people.
  • darrenhough1976
    darrenhough1976 Posts: 3 Member
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    What's been working for me lately is when I do go off the rails, to track it accurately. Staring back at that "you went over by 700 calories" to makes me want to be more disciplined next time.
  • Heather4275
    Heather4275 Posts: 26 Member
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    Agree
  • Heather4275
    Heather4275 Posts: 26 Member
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    Agreed, who are you cheating, we all have personal responsibility for what we eat.

    No food is off limits for me,
  • krickeyuu
    krickeyuu Posts: 344 Member
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    They're not cheat days if you have a 'lifestyle'

    it's not a diet - it's a lifestyle. period.

    Yeah, this ^

    Since I don't consider myself on a diet, I don't know what I would be "cheating" on. I have a lifestyle that involves mostly eating foods that fit my macros 80% and then foods (or drinks) that may or may not for the other 20% in a calorie range that should keep me at my current weight, more or less, for the rest of my life. My lifestyle also involves holidays, special occasions, date nights, vacations, etc. and sometimes those things involve eating or drinking more than I would normally. I ENJOY THEM. And then I go right back to the 80/20 for the long haul.
  • wolfelements
    wolfelements Posts: 117 Member
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    Totally agree with the lifestyle thing. I eat mostly what I want, within reason, and if that means splurging a little for a special occasion then that's okay.
  • UsernameStillLoading
    UsernameStillLoading Posts: 299 Member
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    Well cheat days are ideally for the people who cannot psychologically follow their diet plan.
    It also depends on what they consider "cheating" and to what level of "cheating" are they committing during these days?
    I would suggest having a cheat day during a vigorous work out day (given that your metabolism can handle it that day) or the day right before vigorous work out day so you can burn it off the next day. Granted if you overdid it, you might feel sluggish enough not to be able to work out.
    Another reason people have cheat days is so they can shock their system. Once your system adapts to a lifestyle, it doesn't progress the same way. However, people who use cheat days to shock their system know the limit.
    Don't get discouraged if your week was off, if you follow through this week and metabolism is strong; you might wind up making up that weight next week when you burn off more weight. Give it time.

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