Is it good to have a cheat day??

I have cheat days - I call it 'off the wagon" - for special occasions.
I make the decision about when and how long for, and I enjoy it.
But I know I will have to pay for it and undo the damage afterwards.
The way I see it, two steps forward, one step back is still moving forward. Just depends how fast you want to get there!
You have to decide if it is worth it.
Good luck

I don't have "cheat" days per say. Every couple of weeks I have to up my calories for a day or 2 to get the scale moving again but I log every thing and stay within my calories. In 80 days I haven't had an all out eat what I want day yet, but I know its coming!

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For me diet is only part of my life. It's important but I don't think giving up either enjoyable food, drink or spoiling social events by obsessing over calories is either healthy or sustainable. So I wouldn't call a day (or a meal, or a weekend, or a holiday...) where I'm over calories a "cheat".

It's why the 5:2 way of eating suits me, 2 days a long way under calories and 5 days at a slight surplus. As long as things are in balance over time then I'm happy.

Has to be what suits you - there isn't one size fits all as regards compliance and sustainability.

I don't think I've ever gone over net 1500 calories in the past 4 months (well, whenever I've logged). I've had weekends away where I haven't logged, but the day I get back I'm back on track. Even those days I try to make healthier choices. This isn't a diet I'm on, it's a lifestyle change. Sweets are going to be a part of my lifestyle, whether I am losing weight or maintaining... Well, as long as I want them to be. I just need to learn to eat in moderation!

It really depends on the person. If you can do just do one "cheat day" then get right back to eating your calories then I would say once in awhile is fine. BUT if you are one of those people that that "cheat day" turns into a cheat week then I would say stay within your calories until you are able to just handle the one day once in awhile.

Once in awhile wont hurt you... I do it every so often to stay sane. I think I would go crazy if I couldn't have some pizza or takeout every so often. :laugh:

I log everything.. The good, the bad and the ugly. However in doing this I have found that even if I do allow myself a more relaxed day with food, I still keep it way more in check than when I used to give myself days of not logging food at all! Therefor the occasional days where I allow myself to eat less healthy choices, I am still keeping it under control and not blowing an entire weeks worth of hard work and dedication :-)

I do every now and then.............!!!!! Why not???? I just get back on track the next day......: )

I eat pretty healthy anyway and hit the gym min 4 times a week

I know me and I don't allow cheat days. Cheat days is how I got fat to begin with. :frown:

However...when things come up and I CAN'T exercise or I DON'T eat right, I don't have to stress about it.

I have a takeaway every Saturday night, or a nice meal out! Something like that gives me what I need to get through the week...sometimes on a run I will be like "the last leg, think of that cheat meal in a couple days time...!"

I think they're important, because we can't all be tight *kitten* angels.

I wouldn't really know if i consider it a 'cheat' day as such to myself but sometimes i'll have days usually at the weekends when i'm home from college at family when i'd be less strict on myself, say we might get a takeaway or id enjoy a roast with my parents and whatever, i'd still be mindful of my calories but i'd indulge a little more...i always feel it is easy to get back on track the next day though as i feel so much better with the way i eat now compared to how it used to be which was mindless eating really, do whatever works for you...eventually as this becomes a lifestyle change more to a diet you wont even regard them as cheat day as such anymore!

I think so, but it has worked out for me so far. Other people might have a different experience.

Ya know, I honestly can't understand why so many people are against indulging yourself for one single meal every now and then. As if one meal will make you blow up like a blow fish and all progress you're entire journey is lost. Maybe some people are bad at resisting temptation and a cheat meal isn't good for them. I don't know. But I know making a blanket statement like "all cheat days are a bad idea" is off the mark.

The term "cheat" in my eyes doesn't have any negative connotation like it does with some other people. It's a simple word to describe what you're doing. Any word would do. And in my instance, it means not worrying if you go over your budget of calories. This "you only cheat yourself" crap doesn't apply if you're taking the rest of your dieting/lifestyle changes seriously. I don't think white knuckling it and trying to have some kind of willpower to resist everything you want is healthy long term. Maybe you want to eat something and its more calories than you can work in on your day. Do you deprive yourself because you think one cheat meal will ruin all your progress? There's dieting...and there's living in a constant state of fear.

Your entire life doesn't need to revolve around calorie counting and trying to get full off of salad and beans. It's important to have something to look forward to. There was a post on the reddit r/loseit from a guy that lost more than a hundred lbs and still wasn't happy. He was sick of eating such small portions ALL the time and not being able to enjoy things he really wanted. Apparently, he didn't have a "cheat meal" either. There are those times when you want to eat something that'll just be too many calories to work in or work out. I'm not going to calorie count on thanksgiving. Just...no. That's my day and ill stuff my face with all the greasy crap I can fit because really. Calorie counting I'd eat a small piece of turkey and a mashed potato. No. That turkey wants me to eat it. Wouldn't wanna offend our dinner guest now would we?

I'll tell you what I do. You can do whatever you want, but this is just me and what I do with my pie hole. I have a "cheat meal" that is purely performance based. When I lose 5 lbs, I let myself eat whatever the hell I want. I try to make it so the calories wouldn't put me over my maintenance number, but if it goes over a little bit oh well. Simple as that. Been doing this for awhile and it works perfectly. You eat all the crap you want and your weight will fluctuate over the next couple days but even out again and you're back to eating healthy. You don't need to deprive yourself to lose weight. Sometimes, we need a break

I don't have cheat days because I look at this as living the rest of my life, it is not something that has a beginning and/or an end. If I want to eat something that is not "healthy" I do, I log it, and I deal with the consequences.

^^^^THIS

I'm not going to give up all the foods I love...I just try to have them less often. If you have a smart phone and the smart phone app, you can track your weekly calorie intake in graph form...I use this..I figure if I'm at or below my net for the week, I'm okay. I binged hard on Tuesday, but I've been at or below every other day and could still binge today (the last day of my week as it is Sunday in Japan) and be below...not going to, but I could.