I want an all out Cheat Day!

I am craving so many foods that I have taken out of my diet...I want a cheat day! Full Blown eat anything I want to and as much as I want to. The only problem with that is that I think if I were to go and try to have a cheat day, I would evaluate how many calories are in this and that....and would probably feel like crap afterward. I hate it when I argue with myself. What to do? Do you allow yourself a Full Blown Cheat day??

Replies

Jokenmit

Every time I hit a 10 pound goal, i get to have a cheat meal...but i try to work it into my day. I haven't really "removed" anything from my food plan, just how and when I eat it.

Lysander666

I have three days a week when I go over my cals. Count them, three. All planned.

The key to success at weight loss is low deprivation. You have to have things you like or you will fail. I've always hit my weight goals as well.

TheRealParisLove

The key to success at weight loss is low deprivation. You have to have things you like or you will fail. I've always hit my weight goals as well.

There isn't just one key to unlock weight loss. We are all different and different strategies work for different people. I'm an all or nothing kind of person. Moderation doesn't work for me, because I always go over board.

The problem with my kind of personality is that it leads to burn out. I've learned to just keep switching things up. I was vegan for a year, I did the Body For Life Challenge for most of 2003-2004, I participated in a body building physique contest, took up Yoga and Pilates for a couple of years, and now I'm pursuing cycling as my current fitness hobby to keep myself in shape.

I don't know how to do moderation. The best I can hope for is frequent life style alteration.

stephysmile03

I found that when I allow a cheat day i have several of them and have a hard time getting back to eating right. I begin to crave them all over them. That is where I am now. The end of the school came and went with lots of junk food included. I ate it here and there...way more then I should have and gained 5 pounds in a matter of days (That drives me nuts!) Now I am back to fighting off cravings and making up the ground I have lose. Need all the motivation and support I can get. Tomorrow is another day and time to start over again.

leeanneowens

I have a cheat day every week. I don't stuff myself but I do eat things that I love even if they are higher in calories that day.

kitka82

My friend and I split a cupcake the other day --still within our calories...

I had a Starbucks Frap the other night and remained a little under.

Plan you days and treat yourself!

Heck, if you want to, you could allow yourself a cheat everyday.

You'll find you won't go craving everything under the sun if you don't strike it from your daily life.

During the week I pretty much eat the same thing at work. When I come in in the morning I log my meals for what I'm going to eat that day, and if I'm craving a sweet treat I plan and work it in.

That way at the end of the night you're not depleted of your calorie allowance and craving something.

Solid advice. I eat pretty much the same thing on weekdays. On the weekends I eat what I want, as long as it fits in my calorie range, I get enough protein, and keep working out.

kitka82

Every time I hit a 10 pound goal, i get to have a cheat meal...but i try to work it into my day. I haven't really "removed" anything from my food plan, just how and when I eat it.

Your ticker pic is cracking me up lol

natasa26ca

Hmm i've noticed that when i reduced the amount of sugar in my blood and kept it low throughtout the day i didnt have any cravings.
So now i try to keep low blood sugar everyday and its been working for far.
I am on my 6th day without any cravings which to me is almost impossible cause i use to have cravings every day.
Really bad cravings too.
So i am so pleased they are gone.

musenchild

I agree with many who have said to work things into your daily goals; it has helped me figure out what normal portions are and realize that they are just as satisfying.

That said, I do a splurge day once a week where I eat whatever I want and don't log. What I don't do is eat everything in sight just because I'm not logging it. I just let go of thinking about calories, don't log, and eat exactly what I want. I have much better control during the week by saying, "that doesn't fit today, but I can have it on Saturday."

A couple of times when I've really felt burnt out I upped my calories to maintenance for the week.

I'm sure this wouldn't work for everybody, but for me, so far so good.

Mmmmona

That's called binge eating.

paradisochick

I planned a cheat day on my birthday. I worked my way through 5,000 calories, broke a plateau, and enjoyed the hell out of it.

It quashed all my carb cravings, and I posted my first loss in three weeks. I went straight back to a 500 calorie deficit the next day and have since lost another 10 pounds.

Just plan it, set a limit if you want to (maintenance, maintenance + 500, whatever you want to). Just plan, and explicitly tell yourself 'my goal today is to satisfy my cravings so I can continue with my weight loss tomorrow and beyond'.

You shouldn't feel guilty about food.

I like this.

JDBLY11

I am craving so many foods that I have taken out of my diet...I want a cheat day! Full Blown eat anything I want to and as much as I want to. The only problem with that is that I think if I were to go and try to have a cheat day, I would evaluate how many calories are in this and that....and would probably feel like crap afterward. I hate it when I argue with myself. What to do? Do you allow yourself a Full Blown Cheat day??

I can't have totally uncontrolled cheat days or it totally derails me. I just have to fit in foods I like into my daily calories. I also have one day a week where I do maintenance calories.

kindasortachewy

I have cheat meals about once a week or once every two weeks - If I do a full day I'd get totally sick. Allowing a cheat meal lets me still go out to dinner with family or friends and not have to worry about it

cmeiron

Don't deny yourself any food at all. think of your lifestyle choices as all the food is there, available, and in front of you. 80% of the time, you do the right thing becuase it's the right thing and you want to be healthy. But, 20% of the time, you reach over the veggies, to the Ben & Jerrys and have at it.

The only way to find success at this is to not call this food bad and that food good. It's just food. It does not contain charateristics of good or bad. that is a consruct that you have made up in your mind, but it's not real.

Eat all the food.

^^quoted for truthiness.

larodriguez02

I don't cut out my favorite foods, i limit them . I cut out things I can live without, if I want something I have it, in moderation. I still have dessert a few times a week.

doctorsookie

I give myself one day a month to go nuts and I get one cheat 'meal' a week. It helps me feel less deprived while still staying on track.

Mcgrawhaha

i have an all out cheat day every OTHER saturday... started this in september, been doing this routine from the start, and ive lost 71 pounds in 8 months... works for me... aaahhhhhhh yes, tomorrow happens to be my day!

heres what i do tho... i still log! i log the entire day... maybe so i can see what i ate, or how bad it was, or maybe so i can attempt some damage control at the gym the next week... i dont know why i log it, i just do!

i dont feel guilty about it, its a planned day for me, its part of the program i built for myself, around my life, around my family... its in my plan and it works for me... so why feel guilty?

i jump right back on board the next day, actually coming quite a bit under my goal for the day, being so bloated from the cheat day...

and yes, i do call it a cheat day... i dont play word games... diet / lifestyle change... cheat day / binge day / free day... what ever... whatever floats your boat.

sometimes, you just need a day to go a little crazy... mine happens to be tomorrow, and im starting it off as i always do... with a lemon filled donut! yay me!

auteurfille22

While I, like many others here, believe in not eliminating any specific foods from my diet in order to make sure I don't go crazy, sometimes, I just want to go crazy. Sometimes, I don't want to think about portion control. Having a little chocolate daily doesn't make me not want to have a whole gigantic bar of it every once in a while. So I have all-out Cheat Days. I don't plan them or schedule how often they'll be. I just sort of play it by ear. If I see that I'm well under my average on a week, I let myself eat whatever I want on occasion. I log it all, though. I feel more guilty for not logging than for logging and seeing how badly I did. Just do it if you really want to! Log everything, and move on. If it makes you feel better, try and exercise a lot the day before you do it and eat a little less the day before so going over on the cheat day is not so detrimental. But it won't damage your progress if you overall have a calorie deficit.

Diamond05

I say no to an entire cheat day, especially if you're trying to lose weight but that's doesn't mean to cut what you like completely. Have 2 or 3 treats over the week in moderation, it should help you satisfy those craving.

spaghetti93

i kind of had one about 6 months ago around christmas, and i felt terrible afterward. like, could not move because I was so full. I dont even want to know how many calories I ate that night (a holiday party) but i know it was in the thousands. Maybe pick a few foods to cheat on, just your absolute favorites, but if you let yourself eat anything, you might regret it. for days. But if you're craving for example, pizza, burritos, cake, ice cream, etc... why not just have one of each for the next couple of days? I think you will be more satisfied and able to enjoy each food more than if you ate them all at once, and it might make your cravings go away for longer.

MinimalistShoeAddict

I am craving so many foods that I have taken out of my diet...I want a cheat day! Full Blown eat anything I want to and as much as I want to. The only problem with that is that I think if I were to go and try to have a cheat day, I would evaluate how many calories are in this and that....and would probably feel like crap afterward. I hate it when I argue with myself. What to do? Do you allow yourself a Full Blown Cheat day??

On April 20th I consumed 7041 calories. Tomorrow I will consume at least 4500 and eat a 16oz steak, entire large pizza and more. My weight has been stable (at goal weight) for months.

Eat whatever you want. Just make sure the day can be fit into your weekly macro targets and your progress will not be harmed at all! If I eat 6000 calories on one day, I just eat less on other days that week.

Even when I was losing weight last fall I sometimes would enjoy such high caloric days with the foods I love. During my cut I ate pizza, ice cream and candy. Some days I ate a lot! I just made up for my cheat days on other days during the week. Every week I ate near my caloric target. My weight loss graph correlated extremely closely with my targeted caloric deficit over time.

My bodyfat percentage is now about 10% and I am getting stronger and faster every month.

IIFYM you can eat whatever you want and have success!

piratesaregrand

Today I have eaten

1 large Pizza Hut pizza
1 strawberry magnum ice cream
Some coconut ice and chocolate covered hokey pokey
2 strawberry frosted pop tarts
1 peanut butter kitkat

And I do not care.

This is the first time in months I have let loose and eaten whatever I felt like. Tomorrow ill be back on deck.

I am sad I didn't buy candy corn while at the store. It was the first time I've seen it in New Zealand

MinimalistShoeAddict

Takeru Kobayashi is 173 cm (5 ft 8 in) and his weight as 58 kg (128 lb).

His "cheat" days include:

64.5 hot dogs with buns in 12 minutes (Nathans 2009)
93 hamburgers in 8 minutes (Krystal Square Off 2008)
13 grilled cheese sandwich in 1 minute (GroupMe Grill 2012)

How does he stay lean and fit? He just eats less on other days to make up for his stomach training days when he eats a lots!

Eat whatever you want. As long as you burn as many calories as you burn each month you wont gain weight.

I personally track my caloric intake over a weekly period. If I am way over one day I just eat less on other days to compensate. Good luck!

Poprocket_2012

I try to fit my cravings into my day without going over on calories. It helps that I haven't taken anything out of my diet - I just changed the amount I eat of the calorie-dense stuff.

Yep pretty much this, except i had to take bread out of my diet as i have a wheat allergy so i miss that sometimes

Justjamie0418

I was doing cheat days on the weekends which was stalling ot my weightloss ( I think) because weekends are my rest days. What I have been doing over the past couple weeks is allowing myself a candy bar or ice cream or whatever it is I am craving here and there throughout the week and keeping it within my calories. I have finally started losing again!

If you DO binge on some crazy amount of bad-for -you food, expect to gain some water weight at least. Sodium stacks up fast in these types of food, but within a couple days and good water intake it should go back down unless you eat over 3k your maintence.

I find even if I get something I totally wouldnt normally eat like, Sushi, I am still under or at my maintence so it makes me feel better. It would drive me CRAZY though to not log my food. I am kinda funny about logging.

Jokenmit

Every time I hit a 10 pound goal, i get to have a cheat meal...but i try to work it into my day. I haven't really "removed" anything from my food plan, just how and when I eat it.

Your ticker pic is cracking me up lol
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LOL thanks it always makes me giggle ]

MinimalistShoeAddict

bump

benchenryce

Cheat days are horrible... if you go in a deficit on M - S with a 300 calorie deficit each day. and get on a caloric surplus on your cheat day that exceeds 1800 you will have no weight loss. ( or more unlikely. ) if you want to have cheat meals. just have a IIFYM diet.

Scottmcteare

Don't deny yourself any food at all. think of your lifestyle choices as all the food is there, available, and in front of you. 80% of the time, you do the right thing becuase it's the right thing and you want to be healthy. But, 20% of the time, you reach over the veggies, to the Ben & Jerrys and have at it.

The only way to find success at this is to not call this food bad and that food good. It's just food. It does not contain charateristics of good or bad. that is a consruct that you have made up in your mind, but it's not real.

Eat all the food.

This is how I operate and I have lost 45kgs this year 80/20 you just can't be good all the time

jetlag

I am craving so many foods that I have taken out of my diet...I want a cheat day! Full Blown eat anything I want to and as much as I want to. The only problem with that is that I think if I were to go and try to have a cheat day, I would evaluate how many calories are in this and that....and would probably feel like crap afterward. I hate it when I argue with myself. What to do? Do you allow yourself a Full Blown Cheat day??

This is exactly why I haven't eliminated anything I want from my diet.

No, I don't have full blown "cheat days" because that's called bingeing. If, however, I really, really want a piece of cake, I have one. Just not the whole cake and not every day (to quote Jillian Michaels, which is not something I often do). I thoroughly enjoy it, feel no guilt, and try to build it into my calorie quota.