cheat days?

I'm a fan of saving some calories for the end of the evening so that you can have a nice treat for all your hard work during the day.
If you deprive yourself of everything you use to eat, you'll end up craving all day and feeling guilty when you binge out. Keep it within your calories and you're good.

Cheat days don't work for me on a weekly basis. It is way too easy for me to fall off the wagon that way. And, left to my own devices, I can consume 3000 calories by noon on a day when I'm not counting!

One reasonable cheat meal a week works better for me, but even that seems to be a bit much. I think one treat a week, which does not fit into my calorie goals, may be a better way to manage things for me.

I don't have a cheat day. I add healthy snacks to my diet as part of my calorie budget. Things like Thinkthin protein bars or Arctic Zero Ice Cream (150 calories) a pint. I eat at the same time every day. Your body gets use to a routine. If you incorporate cheat days, I believe you're body gets confused and requests the same amount of calories the next day. Which starts a bad habit and/or makes the next few days after harder to deal with?

This is just my own opinion and experience. Other people could be okay with it and not have this issue.

If I'm going out for a nice dinner (not a chain place) I'll save some calories the day before and make up for it the day after. Most studies say a weekly average is the most important thing.

If your husband wants to have a cheat day then let him. You can do what's right for you. Go ahead and have a few wings and a beer; just log it and adjust your other meals accordingly.

I say to myself "no sweat, no sweet". No cheating when eating chocolate If I am under my calorie goal, so I check calories in the evening, and see what I can "afford" to eat. Working out a little bit would be a good change in your routine, together or not, and would allow you both some "cheating" almost every day.
Anyway, "whatever you feel like" is never a good option. It is easier to get used to new healthy rewards, same or more tasty, and you won´t feel so guilty.

I do not have "cheat" days I have "free" days - where I do not track. I do not go crazy "overeating" but I do save that day for a glass of wine or 5 :drinker: but I feel like if we don't allow ourselves a time to splurge then we will feel deprived and fall off the wagon. MY free day is Sunday after my weigh in and then I am back to tracking on Monday! :bigsmile:

I just log "Free Day" with that calorie total and click "DONE" for the day. So it's a mental break too - a break from all the careful logging.

My first few free days were total gluttony but I found that I felt like crap, so these days I moderate myself fairly well. But if I want something, I just have it. No guilt.

:happy:

I prefer to think of myself having a free meal once a week. I don't feel that I am cheating if I fit it into my calories and have worked hard. A free whole day is a bit too much for me. I think if I never gave myself a free meal, I would feel too restricted and want to quit. For me it is about overall lifestyle, not that I can never have ice cream again.

I have a really high day occasionally (and always log it), I do this to learn how to work around it and still lose. So I don't consider it a cheat, I consider it practice.

i think the difference here is the mindset. i used to have cheat days, or i would eat something bad for lunch and when it came time for dinner i would be like... ehhh screw it, my day is already shot. that's when i was restricting myself too much, either cutting too many things out of my diet or having too low of a calorie goal. i still go over from time to time, but it's pretty rare.

editted to add: we have pizza at least once a week, i will not pass up on a burger and some cajun fries from five guys if my hubby suggests it and still stay within my calorie goals (most of the time)

Cheat days do not work for me at all. They turn into cheat every days. I have a hard time going back to making healthy choices after I have a cheat day. I do better with balance so I try to eat mostly healthy with treats sprinkled throughout.

I think you have to have a cheat day once in a while. I feel so deprived if I don't have one of my guilty pleasures once in a while. I do have to say that I pay for it afterward though. We went out to dinner this week and I had two glasses of sangria, ordered an appetizer, entree and a rich decadent chocolate mousse dessert and coffee. i was up with an upset stomach in the middle of the night and felt like complete crap the next day. What I try to do is still eat everything I love in moderation. I can't live a day without chocolate in some form so I have a kashi bar or sugar free jello pudding, etc. I still get frozen yogurt with my kids but since there are so many self serve places where you pay by weight I can control the portion size and I eliminate toppings. That way I still feel satisfied instead of deprived all week. It's so hard but counting calories seems to be the only thing that works for me in getting rid of those last few pounds. For the longest time I was at a plateau with just exercise 5-6 days a week. As soon as I started logging my food the pounds seemed to start to melt away. So I think once a week to eat without caring if I go over my calories is fine as long as I get back on track the next day.

I also won't make a new recipe unless it comes with nutritional information. If I'm craving blueberry scones I search the internet for a healthier version for example so i get what I'm craving at a fraction of the calories, then it's a win win. Cooking light is a great magazine/website for lower calorie versions of some great comfort foods....even chicken pot pie and desserts.

I love "cheat days" and mine is Sundays... having said that - it's not really a "cheat" cause I log what I eat and as long as my weekly average is still on or under my target then I'm happy!
Has worked well for me - I keep my high carb goodies for Sundays... and have chips and gravy for lunch!
Whatever works for you - at the end of the day - if you're still losing weight and logging what you eat - there is no issue as far as I'm concerned.

for me what worked werent exactly cheat days, but days where i would eat HEALTHY portions of not so healthy or things i usually shouldnt be eating. for instance mine were sundays and those were days i would go visit my family who would cook anything from healthy to horrible food. lol so it was up to me to portion control like crazy. you can still have "cheat days" without truly cheating on your diet. for a little i tried just a 'cheat meal' where i had one of my favorite fatty foods once a week or so. do what feels right and what feels like it wont derail your progress.

So my husband and I are attempting a lifestyle change. We are starting slow by doing portion control first then integrating more and more changes. My question is regarding cheat days- my husband says they are necessary. I feel HORRIBLE whenever I do have a cheat day, because it makes me feel weak. Nutrition wise, is this cheat day smart or not?
I appreciate all input!! Thanks

If your husband is ok with his cheat day you should be ok with yours.

Take a warm bath light a few candles . . . throw on some jazz.

Enjoy yourself!

This is YOUR time.

I am going to do one free meal a month. Out to eat or take home, either way. Hot Deli Food and Concession Food count as out to eat. Even a BK Garden Salad or a McDonald's Parfait. Mmmm.

And parties/holidays/ect. are free also. Say you go to thanks giving dinner; go all out! Don't make yourself depressed over everyone's heaping holiday plates and feel like you aren't enjoying the holiday to the fullest (hah, see what I did there?) Or say it's your best friend's baby shower and not only is there a spinach artichoke dip but there's also cake, ice cream, and 7-up sherbet punch. Take a bit of each!