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.