Are cheat/spike days a mistake? Scared to try it

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  • lilsassymom
    lilsassymom Posts: 407 Member
    Still trying to figure this out. If I eat 1410 a day + exercise calories to lose .5 lb a week and my BMR according to MFP is 1229 wouldn't I be maintaining my weight if I ate BMR x 2?

    And what if I am at maintenance for 1540 calories a day and still feel deprived of food? Would I still eat BMR x 2 and just workout more? Yeah, I am confused but very interested in this...

    Do you 'bank' exercise calories for your spike day OR do you eat your exercise calories and STiLL have a spike day too?
  • crimsontech
    crimsontech Posts: 234 Member
    I didn't read this entire thread (but I bookmarked it because I want to see other people's experiences). I have been operating on a 1000-1500 calorie/day deficit including exercise calories and losing about 3-4 pounds a week. Last week, a death in the family meant going out of town to a place I'd never been for a week. I was really good at first, but I didn't want to regret not enjoying the local cuisine so I indulged a little. (Not overboard, I know what that feels like and I don't want to go back to that)

    I got back in town on Sunday and on Monday, I was back into the full swing of my diet. I ate my restricted calories and went for a hike up a local mountain. I had been taking anywhere from 53-60 minutes to reach the top over the last month and a half, but on my first day back on the trail, I felt awesome and needed far less breaks and ended up making it up in 45 minutes!

    I strongly believe going back to even calories after weeks of a sustained deficit made a huge difference and I plan on "cheating" once every 7-10 days going forward. I can tell when the deficit gets to be too much and I feel less energetic, but a higher calorie day boosts me right back up.

    I've also been very carefully monitoring my body fat percentage and keeping an eye on my lean mass (thank you Withings scale) so that the deficit doesn't lead to muscle loss, and only fat loss.

    Just don't let the food control you! It takes practice and willpower, but it's totally do-able.
  • acwatters
    acwatters Posts: 9 Member
    bump
  • capp138
    capp138 Posts: 3 Member
    bump
  • lease1981
    lease1981 Posts: 57
    If I desperately want something i will just have it it moderation, if i want chocolate then i try to keep it in my calorie goal for the day. I want this to be a lifestyle change not just a strict diet cause if it's just a diet i'm sure to fail because i cut out everything i love.
  • hiyomi
    hiyomi Posts: 906 Member
    Yeeeeeeesssssss on weekends I have cheat days and can easily eat 3000 calories which is almost a pound.... Do not do them unless you exercise that day, do not do them too often or know you can afford it. Btw I don't count anything up to 2,500 calories as a cheat day, just a meh day. Anything above that is like blarrrrgggghhhh cheaatttiiiinnng
  • Graciekinz97
    Graciekinz97 Posts: 1
    The program I made for myself is where you eat a strict, no-starches and lean protein diet for 5 days, and then have your crazy cheat day followed by a fasting day. This seems unhealthy but I have researched it and fasting forces your body to burn off stored fat in the body (ie your 'trouble-spots'), and controls your fat-burning leptin combined with a calorie spike day.I lost 8 pounds in one month NO EXCERSISE, all while cheating 1x a week.

    Please note that I ate absolutely NO carbs or anything during the week and ate between 12 noon and 9pm (mostly raw foods), but by my cheat day I went nuts (dairy queen, five guys,starbucks, and more) from when I got up until 8pm. My fasting day was tough the first few times (I suggest using fiber if you feel hungry), but by the end of the fast I lost all the cravings from my cheat day and you almost dont WANT to eat bad until next cheat day!

    By the way, I made my program a spin-off of Fatloss Factor, where i eat raw foods 5x a week between noon and 9pm then a cheat wakeup until 8pm then a fast day.
  • ZakBell
    ZakBell Posts: 1
    I think cheat days are awesome. This is how I do them. Every day I have an almost zero fat, 400 calorie consumption. I keep this VERY strict, (which gets easier with time). Once a month however, for a whole day, I eat as much as I want. BUT I eat healthy foods. Maybe a nice hearty spaghetti, or a roast, or quiche and salad. The next day I eat nothing at all, and the day after, I go back to my normal 400 calorie routine. For me this is perfect, but you have to find what's right for your body and your mind. Some people can't have cheat days because they find it more difficult to stop.
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