Cheat day AND a cheat meal?

dictations
dictations Posts: 199
in Food and Nutrition
Every Saturday I eat whatever I want, all the junk food I please.
Plus, every Thursday, I have a lot of chicken nuggets/fries from McDonald's.

Lets say I eat totally healthy and workout and do everything right besides these 2 exceptions in the week- these really won't slow down my progress, right?

Replies

  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
    Well, if you've been doing it and have been satisfied with your progress, then it should work fine. You'll probably slow down as you get closer to your goal, but that happens with everyone.
  • JenMc14
    JenMc14 Posts: 2,389 Member
    Well, that depends. If I was "eating all the junk food I wanted", I bet I'd get to 5000 calories. (I can pack that crap away). And, what do you mean by "lots of" nuggets/fries? We'll say a 10 piece nugget and medium fries. That's 850 calories. Let's assume you're eating "normal" the rest of the day and all other meals total 1000 calories. Between those two days, you're at 6800 calories. If you eat 1200 calories the other 5 days, that's 12,800 for the week. Let's assume you burn 2000 calories a day through regular life and exercise. That's 14,000 calories burned for a 1,200 calories deficit for the week. That deficit = approximately a third of a pound a week lost, so slow progress, but progress nonetheless. While a cheat day and a cheat meal may not cause tons of weight gain, it can affect your loss progress.
  • dictations
    dictations Posts: 199
    To be specific, 20 chicken nuggets + medium fries, when I'm losing WATER weight and eating like this, I lose .7-1lb per week, but it slows as I try to lose actual FAT.

    And I barely eat 400 calories when I have that cheat meal, so I'd hope it wouldn't add up TOO much- and I do little things (taking stairs, walking a lot) to try to offset it.
  • SmartAlec03211988
    SmartAlec03211988 Posts: 1,896 Member
    Well, I eat 6,000 calories every Friday and I'm down 81 lbs. So it could work.
  • Skinny_minny_mo
    Skinny_minny_mo Posts: 1,272 Member
    it could and should if at the end of the week, you are still at a deficit in terms of in and out :)
  • kelly101386
    kelly101386 Posts: 389 Member
    I allow one day a week to say to hell with my calories and it seems to be working :D
  • shinesunfish
    shinesunfish Posts: 93 Member
    You're on the low end of normal weight for your height, I would recommend you stop worrying about "losing," and start focusing on exercise and strength training. You might even gain weight, but it will look better/toned, which from your goals is what I gather you'd like. Instead of thinking of certain foods as "cheat" foods, just eat them in moderation when you want them. Eating 20 chicken nuggets and a medium fry is a lot of food to be getting all at once, is it possible that you are not eating enough quaility foods throughout the week and then spending all of your calories on junk? And if your "cheat" meal is only 400 calories... that sort of makes me wonder how many calories you're getting in normal meals. Ultimately, your weight and statements here make me a little concerned about your health, I would reccommend looking at the foods that you are eating and maybe trying to strike more of a balance, and be sure you're getting all the nutrition you need! Also, try to exercise (not just cardio, either) every day, even if it's just for a little bit! Best of luck!
  • missshyeviolett
    missshyeviolett Posts: 310 Member
    Nobody should eat 20 McNuggets. Ewww. Eat something awesome, you know, like a Nacho Bellgrande :P

    But really as long as you're losing and you're OK with the rate, why not.
  • purple4sure05
    purple4sure05 Posts: 287 Member
    I'm all for eating whatever you want, but I've found that I can eat whatever I want on a daily basis in moderation and still fit it into my macros. 10 chicken mcnuggets is only like 400 calories. Why not eat that one day, and the fries another day, and stay within your calories every day? That's just my personal preference. I never have cheat days because I can even fit 320 calories dessert cakes into an average day if I try hard enough, though it's not a common practice. Cheat days would destroy me personally because if I could eat whatever I wanted for an entire day, I'd be stuffing my face with every unhealthy food possible for the complete 24 hours. It's all a matter of what helps you stay on track, and how overboard you go on your free reign cheat day.
  • zytah
    zytah Posts: 153
    I have a cheat day/meal every week. as it turns out, most of my cheat day/meals come out to be pretty reasonable calorie, fat, etc. wise. I guess when you try and stay consistent with new eating habits it rubs off on you even when you want to eat bad for a day. lol
  • susanswan
    susanswan Posts: 1,194 Member
    I wouldn't be concerned about your health, either.
  • dictations
    dictations Posts: 199
    I eat 1400-1500 calories every day besides cheat meal/cheat day, it's just that the McDonald's fills me up so much that I don't feel hungry for the rest of the day. The thing is, I still have fat to lose, so wouldn't I have to eat at a deficit and still worry about losing to get rid of the fat?
  • shinesunfish
    shinesunfish Posts: 93 Member
    Oh, I understand now! I thought you were saying that your "cheat meal" was only 400 calories! :) Eating junk food every once in a while shouldn't be a problem if you aren't exceeding your intake on those days, but if you want to lose those last few a bit faster, it might be a good idea to cut back on the amount that you're eating? Maybe 6 nuggets and a grilled chicken wrap instead? :)

    I'm no expert, but from what I understand building muscle also burns fat; a single session of cardio will burn more calories at once, but an hour session of strength training will burn 100 more calories in the next 24 hours than if you hadn't. It'll also boost your metabolism in the long run, which will help with those not-so-healthy meals. If you're worried about not-toned areas, but not overall weight, that might be a good thing to look into.

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