Do you pass you daily calorie limit in your cheat days?

DalalMutar
DalalMutar Posts: 97
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone,

I was reading a post and this question came to my mind. In your cheat days, do you actually pass your daily calorie limit? Or not bother at all?

I don't do cheat days honestly, instead I have one cheat meal per month but i worry a lot about my daily calorie limit. I eat less in my two other meals so that my cheat meal fits. Now some of you might think this is not cheating if you eat without forgetting your daily calories.

So let me hear from you. Do you pass your daily calorie limit in your cheat days? How often do you cheat? And how do you make up for that (exercise? Eat less next day?)
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Replies

  • chelseachelsea1991
    chelseachelsea1991 Posts: 55 Member
    I just got really dedicated to eating better and within my calorie limit. Today makes one week! :) I haven't decided how I'm going to do my cheat meal or how often. I'm thinking I'll let myself go up to 2000-2200 cal a day once every two weeks. It's probably good for my metabolism and my mental state. I'm thinking a little box of orange chicken from Panda Express and a cup of froyo after. Nomnomnom! :D I wouldn't bother working out more the next day or anything. I consider it cheating because I'll be going over my daily cal by about 500-700 and having food I don't normally have.
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    I sometimes go over.. I never have "cheat days" unless we mean alcohol. That can go way over. I eat what some would call "cheat meals" almost every day, while staying within my calories. This is perfectly acceptable. I never do exercise to balance out eating. Sometimes I'll eat less on a day following going far over my numbers because my body has plenty of nutrients still digesting. On such days I mostly concern myself with getting in proteins since I probably didnt eat 2 days worth of protein. The body isn't on a 24 hour clock, so, this makes sense. If I don't lose weight one week because I went on vacation or attended multiple parties, so be it. I'm always taking more steps forward than I am backwards and that is what everyone should strive for. Just dont lie to yourself.


    OP, I think your approach is optimal and way better than the stupid stuff a lot of people do. I hope you indulge sometimes besides your 1 "cheat" a month.

    I never cheat.... I reward success with moderated indulgence... quote me on that

    heres another

    My finish line is death, and theres no need to race towards it.. What I mean is I'm doing this forever and Id rather be happy forever than stress about tricvial BS for teh rest of my life... But, that never happens.. Those people always fail..
  • LaurenLouG
    LaurenLouG Posts: 65 Member
    I guess my "cheat days" are the days that I go out drinking with friends, but, like you, I leave room for it in my diary.

    I exercise enough to earn my drinks and I'm careful not to go over. If I happen to go over my calorie goal, I work a little harder or eat a little less the next day.

    I'm in this for life, it's important to not feel deprived.

    It's all about balance.
  • DalalMutar
    DalalMutar Posts: 97
    I'm thinking I'll let myself go up to 2000-2200 cal a day once every two weeks. It's probably good for my metabolism and my mental state.


    Yea, some consider cheating is to eat more calories than they normally do. I think it is also to eat unhealthy fatty stuff that i'm not supposed to eat when i'm trying to lose weight but within my calorie limit. You know, things like french fries, tempura shripms, pastas, etc. but in really small amounts. Don't know if that's good though but haven't gained weight really.
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    I exercise enough to earn my drinks and I'm careful not to go over.

    the problem with this is people like me who can drink 2000 calories easily.... i cant get into a habit of trying to balance that out.. ill train myself into the ground.... its a pretty dangerous habit for a lot of people... they use exercise as an excuse to never fix bad eating habits.... like if you have 400 calories to eat icecream but instead you overindulge and eat the ehole pint... doing it with the mindset that you can just do some more exrcise.... its a practice of enabling yourself and when it gets out of control it leads to very bad things and epic failures... huge binging sessions, bouts of depression, you name it....

    am I saying you're one of these people? no.... you're priobably one of those people that just feels slightly guilty.... but when it gets outta whack its devastating... its never a good suggestion
  • jaxxie
    jaxxie Posts: 576 Member
    I do enjoy my social life, so I guess we have to 'install' this on days we are likely to drink or eat more.
  • jdhoward_101
    jdhoward_101 Posts: 234 Member
    It wouldn't feel like a cheat day if i didn't go over! I have an isane love of junk food; this whole lifestyle change has been very difficult for me. I think i would give up altogether if i didn't have a day where i throw caution to the wind and allowed myself to eat two rasberry jam doughnuts in a row followed by some double stuffed Oreos :p

    Also, having one day a week where i gorge myself silly keeps my boyfriend off my back, (he doesn't get the whole healthy diet thing because he eats like a horse and never puts a pound on). He gets worried if i stick to it too vigorously, bless him.
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
    I pass my daily calorie limit some days, but (so far!) I haven't passsed my weekly limit, even when it was my birthday week. I make sure I do enough exercsie to cover any alcohol I want (but it has reduced considerably) and have switched the occasional lager to the occasional G&(slimline)T - the rest is white wine.

    I find it a mental struggle to look at red numbers on an individual day, or to see the red bit above the line however.....
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    no, never.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    I've been having a cheat meal once a week for the past couple of months. I've already lost 60lbs and just need to shift a few more, so my personal trainer suggested the cheat meal idea. He said he swears by it. And he is someone who was once overweight.

    I decided not to log my cheat meal otherwise I would try to stick to my 1500 calories. I usually make something myself, like a lasagne and a cake, or chicken pie and apple crumble. I always do it on a day I've exercised and I never eat back exercise calories anyway. So I doubt I go over my daily allowance if you include exercise calories. I much prefer to make my own food for cheat meals as the one I've I had a take-away and some wine I felt sick all night. This Sunday I'm going to a baby shower at a hotel so I imagine there will be cakes so I'll use that as my cheat meal, and in a couple of weeks we're going out for drinks (if my MIL can babysit) so that will be my cheat that week!
  • DalalMutar
    DalalMutar Posts: 97

    OP, I think your approach is optimal and way better than the stupid stuff a lot of people do. I hope you indulge sometimes besides your 1 "cheat" a month.

    I never cheat.... I reward success with moderated indulgence... quote me on that

    I try to cheat whenever i feel like it specially that i'm not too far away from my goal weight. Long time ago it was a cheat every week. Not i'm more patient i suppose. But i love what you said "rewarding success with moderate indulgence"
  • DalalMutar
    DalalMutar Posts: 97
    I guess my "cheat days" are the days that I go out drinking with friends, but, like you, I leave room for it in my diary.

    I exercise enough to earn my drinks and I'm careful not to go over. If I happen to go over my calorie goal, I work a little harder or eat a little less the next day.

    I'm in this for life, it's important to not feel deprived.

    It's all about balance.

    This is exactly what i do. I think the whole idea is to balace your in-take and out-burn
  • DalalMutar
    DalalMutar Posts: 97
    its a pretty dangerous habit for a lot of people... they use exercise as an excuse to never fix bad eating habits....

    I've been on diet for 8 months now and lost 31 kgs so far. It's killing when you stay this long missing your old eating habits (all the pizzas, deep fries, junk food, soft drinks, etc) I agree with you. Eating habits are hard to change! I don't think i changed them. I've probably learned to resist them only. When they come back they come back stronger than before!
  • DalalMutar
    DalalMutar Posts: 97
    It wouldn't feel like a cheat day if i didn't go over!

    I agree. And maybe this is why people who follow this approach are, let's say, less guilty. Because it didn't FEEL like a cheat day/meal.
    Good to know you've some support. I'm into this with my sister and we're kind of driving each other crazy with how-much-calorie-does-this-have thing :/
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
    I never have 'cheat' days, because I'm not on a diet. I do however, make room in my diary for treats once in a while so I don't feel deprived and feel like I'm on a DIET. When I first started MFP, I'd have a blizzard once a week, usually on a Friday after a good day of working out and it's worth it. I still do that once in a while, but it's been too cold to eat ice cream.
  • DalalMutar
    DalalMutar Posts: 97
    I find it a mental struggle to look at red numbers on an individual day, or to see the red bit above the line however.....

    I like how you consider week calorie limits instead of individual days. Puts off the pressure. I worry even about individual meals! I'm kind of obsessed.
  • MaureensFreshStart
    MaureensFreshStart Posts: 102 Member
    I have a cheat day once a week where I meet friends for either lunch or dinner. I probably go about 500 over my regular daily limit, and get right back on track the following day. I might add a little extra exercise for the next two days as well, figuring on the whole, it will even itself out.
  • DalalMutar
    DalalMutar Posts: 97
    I much prefer to make my own food for cheat meals as the one I've I had a take-away and some wine I felt sick all night.

    That would be healthier. Good idea for cheating. "You cook your cheating meals".
  • MarineCodie
    MarineCodie Posts: 256 Member
    If you're only doing ONE cheat meal a MONTH I really don't think it matters if you go over your calorie limit. To answer your question, yes, I go over my daily calorie limit. I used to go WAYYY over but have since been able to control myself and only go over by 100-500.
  • MaureensFreshStart
    MaureensFreshStart Posts: 102 Member
    I never cheat.... I reward success with moderated indulgence...

    Perfect, I like that one! :)
  • GamerLady
    GamerLady Posts: 359 Member
    I never have 'cheat' days, because I'm not on a diet. I do however, make room in my diary for treats once in a while so I don't feel deprived and feel like I'm on a DIET.

    ^This^
    I just don't deprive myself of treats, if it's within my calories I eat it. Though I do not eat bread, pastas, potatoes, corn, rice, so it makes it a lot easier for me I guess to have sweet treats everyday if I want to. I gotta have ice cream everyday lol.
  • tomcornhole
    tomcornhole Posts: 1,084 Member
    I have been doing cheat day on Saturday for the past year of weight losing. Eat whatever I want in any quantity I want. I average 4,000 calories on cheat days. My normal goal is 1920 cal / day. Although lately they have not been as epic.

    I acknowledge the concern that this is not an ideal approach for everyone for long term weight loss / maintenance, but it works for me. Not sure how long you have to do something before it is the new baseline, but a year seems sufficient for me to say I have changed. Maybe 10 years is a good measure of longevity. We'll see.
  • 748marie
    748marie Posts: 61 Member
    Fridays are my cheat day. but I cheat smart! When friday comes around I want pizza and Icecream (which I never keep in the house even though I have kids). My husband and I usually split a large thin crust veggie pizza, super super super light cheese. Then we go to yogurt mountain (self serve lowfat yogurt buffet) and I get maybe 1/4-1/2 cup of chocolater ice cream with about 150-200 calories of toppings.. That way I am satisfied but don't over do it. Whether I go over calories or not depends on my morning or afternoon but when I go over I don't sweat it. I have been doing this since November and have lost 21lbs.. never gained. I still have 19 to go but this way I am not constantly saying No to myself!
  • DalalMutar
    DalalMutar Posts: 97
    If you're only doing ONE cheat meal a MONTH I really don't think it matters if you go over your calorie limit.

    ;D
  • toomuchbootyindapants
    toomuchbootyindapants Posts: 811 Member
    A "cheat" day would typically be maintenance (2200-2400) to about 500 cals more for me. I don't want to throw out all of the week's hard work...but 500 extra cals isn't gonna hurt me too badly once a week if it keeps me sane and committed to eating well all week.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    When I was losing I never had planned cheat days. I do moderation instead. But if there was a special occasion (like a holiday) and I wanted to eat more I'd eat up to my TDEE. I've only eaten over TDEE twice in the past 6 months.
  • DalalMutar
    DalalMutar Posts: 97
    A "cheat" day would typically be maintenance (2200-2400) to about 500 cals more for me. I don't want to throw out all of the week's hard work...but 500 extra cals isn't gonna hurt me too badly once a week if it keeps me sane and committed to eating well all week.

    I'm in this insanity. I cook a lot of delicious low calorie healthy food. But still! I miss Macdonald's people! Lol
  • clairelindy
    clairelindy Posts: 68 Member
    I HAVE A CHEAT DAY EVERY SUNDAY AS ITS THE ONLY DAY THE WHOLE FAMILY ARE TOGETHER SO WE HAVE A THREE COURSE MEAL
    I TRY TO LOAD MY PLATE WITH VEG BUT I DONT GO WITHOUT ANYTHING AND I DONT WORRY ABOUT IT AFTER.

    WE DO GO FOR A EXTRA LONG WALK AFTER DINNER SO I FEEL GOOD ABOUT THAT
    I LOOK FORWARD TO MY CHEAT DAYS AND SO WHAT IF I GO OVER ASLONG AS I GOOD THE REST OF THE WEEK.

    I AM TRYING TO HEALTHY AS WELL AS LOSE WEIGHT AND IT SEEMS TO BE WORKING SO I WILL STICK WITH IT FOR NOW
  • majope
    majope Posts: 1,325 Member
    My take: food is food, so if it fits into my daily goals it's not cheating. And since I don't deprive myself of things I like, I don't feel the need for meals or days where I go over my calorie limit--although I have a few times when we went out to eat and I hadn't planned for it.
  • KAR1959
    KAR1959 Posts: 4,336 Member
    I don't have cheat days. But I do indulge here and there. My goal is a healthy lifestyle that I can stick with forever. Therefore, I no longer beat myself up over a slice or two of pizza, eating out once or twice a month or once a month family dinners. My goal is no mindless eating and no binge days and stay within my caloric limit the majority of the time.

    Also, when I know I'm going to go out or have a treat I kick up my workouts.

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