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Cheat meals??

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MrsCJ1
MrsCJ1 Posts: 77
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Hello Everyone! Just wondering about cheat meals or weekly treats. I have been slowly upping my calories for the last month or so. I am currently eating between 1600-1800 per day regularly now. TDEE is roughly around 2300 and my goal is to eventually get there then cut at roughly 2000.

Anyway, no more than 1-2 nights a week my husband and I like to go out on dates. Usually I save up my calories so that it levels out to my usual amount of calories but when I eat a little extra it is always at or still below my TDEE.

Thoughts? Is this okay to do occasionally or am I thinking about this the wrong way?

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  • fresh_start59
    fresh_start59 Posts: 590 Member
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    Different people have different ideas about cheat meals.

    Personally, I don't do "cheat" meals. This is because I don't think anything I put in my mouth is "cheating". I'm usually pretty good about eating within my allotted calories. Therefore, anything I eat is (mostly) without guilt. As long as I get close to (or over) my 30% protein goal I'm happy.

    I try to plan for meals out. If possible, I eat part of the meal and bring home leftovers. If I order something that won't keep well overnight (say a hamburger) then I've got to decide if I'm going to adjust my calories so that I can eat the whole thing or choose to eat only part of the meal and throw the rest away (throwing away food is really, really, really hard for me).

    Now, if I were to allow myself to regularly go over on my daily calories, then I'd be sliding right back into the lifestyle that packed on 100 extra pounds. And I don't want to do that.
  • MrsCJ1
    MrsCJ1 Posts: 77
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    Right. Thanks for yor thouhts. 90% of the time my cheat meals are within my calorie goal anyway. Trust me...i am a planner. But occasionally i go over a hundred or two which is still at or under my tdee. Just wonderimg what others do and think. Also i am at a good healthy weight so i kinda follow the 80/20 idea..80% good clean food but an occasional treat! :)
  • Mom2M_and_O
    Mom2M_and_O Posts: 214
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    I typically eat at a deficit 6 days a week. Saturday night is date night -- nice meal out followed by a couple (or 3 or 4 glasses) of wine and (inevitably thanks to the alcohol) snacks at night. I do try to plan the day ahead of time -- eat somewhat sensibly leading up to dinner, maybe fit in some extra exercise. And even though my MFP calorie surplus looks HUGE by the end of the day, in reality it's pretty close to TDEE (sometimes a couple hundred cals over). And even with the snacks at night, be it pita chips and cheese or chocolate, I still measure out portions.

    If you have more random days of eating out, then it's good to have a list of restaurants that offer something you can comfortably eat that won't send you terribly over TDEE.
  • MrsCJ1
    MrsCJ1 Posts: 77
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    We have our date nights on friday, which is when i typically eat a little more too. We occasionally get ice cream or something midweek but that is almost always within my calorie limit! Thanks for shaing!
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Trimming 100 back day before and day after to give you 200 more day of isn't bad.
    And lighter breakfast and lunch will really let you go big for dinner.
    Make that a heavy lifting day, and you've really given your muscles something to repair with.

    Besides, even without that planning, just means you have a day with less deficit, or worse, none. Well, worse would be surplus - but just 1 day.
  • hballack
    hballack Posts: 114 Member
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    Thanks for posting this MrsCJ1! I had a few scheduled cheat days coming up for events with friends and family and was wondering myself!
  • MrsCJ1
    MrsCJ1 Posts: 77
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    Thanks heybales. That is a good action plan for cheat meals.

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