So, how far do you go on a cheat day?

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  • cleanandlean2012
    cleanandlean2012 Posts: 71 Member
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    I use James Duigan's Clean and Lean programme, which advocates one free meal per week. Not really determined by calories, just an opportunity to thoroughly enjoy your favourite meal / treat without guilt. The main considerations are:
    1. Enjoy then best....for instance if you love pasta carbonara, then don't get a ready meal version, either make a yummy version or go to a restaurant.
    2. Enjoy it slowly - savour the moment. If you love chocolate - don't eat it on the go, in the car etc. Make sure you realise you are eating it and enjoy it.
    3. No guilt!!
    4. Don't eat anything that makes you feel ill / uncomfortable. Realise through changing your eating habits, that your tastes change and adapt the free meal accordingly.

    My free meal would typically be a curry from an amazing restaurant and either an ice cream or some chocolates. It would mean that I can be up to 1000 calories over, but that said, the remainder of the time, I am between 1000 - 1300 per day.

    Hope this helps
  • rotill
    rotill Posts: 244 Member
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    I have perhaps 10 cheat days through the year, most of them for social occasions, such as Christmas and birthdays. For times like that food is such an important part of the ritual, I choose some days of discomfort afterwards in order to gain the social bonding.

    Other cheat days are for instance when I travel, and we end up in a place with seriously delicious food I know I may never be in a position to taste again. Then I eat it, and ask no questions. Also, when in places with a seriously good tradition for cakes and desserts, such as Bologna or Vienna, I take one day and eat something I have really lusted for. A particularly memorable day was spent tracking down tiny bite-sized cakes in Bologna, to try as many as possible in the time I had given myself for splurging! Which meant a lot of running between cafés, so I got some cardio in as well ;-).

    Anyway: This cuts down the number of cheat days, but maintains the pleasure of food, both social and cultural, which is important to me. It also brings back some of the original meaning of days like Christmas and birthdays, when eating all you wanted to your heart's content really was something special.
  • kitsiekitty
    kitsiekitty Posts: 166
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    I try not to have cheat days, cause I know i will undo so much work if I do. Instead, and because my family eats out and celebrates every single thing so often, I try to make up by still tracking, and keep my going over within a mximum of 100- 200 cals and no more. If I go over, I go over. I make up for it by going back to a normal routine the next day, and cutting out any of my treats (chocolates, milk tea etc.) for awhile. :D
  • kendzini13
    kendzini13 Posts: 36 Member
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    So a normal day for me should be around 1500. On a cheat day, I can get up to around 4000... Those are my super greedy hungry days... They also tend to be offset by a 1200-2500 cal burn (nice long road cycle), and generally only happen that badly every three months. An more frequent cheat day goes over by about 1000...
  • LeanneGoingThin
    LeanneGoingThin Posts: 215 Member
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    I try to keep 'cheat days' around maintenance, but I'd rather avoid them altogether.
  • zenalasca
    zenalasca Posts: 563 Member
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    My cheat days always used to be a result of me making a batch of cookies or cake or something and eating all of it in one day. Now, they are a result of eating too much at work (I work at Max Brenner), binging on chocolate I bought or bread night (free Baker's Delight goods!! :love: ). Therefore, I try to avoid doing baking or even having enough flour, butter and sugar to make dough. I also avoid bread night by not being at my hall on Wednesday nights! And when I do volunteering or go to events at uni, there's often lots of food I'm tempted by (I once had 800 cals worth of tim tams cause I like them so much). So I don't go to too many events. And as for work... Well. I only have the skim milk drinks and try not to have too much... :ohwell: But IF I do, I go for long runs and log calories into the next day, then go to bed extremely late so that I skip breakfast and wake up at lunchtime.
  • mcibty
    mcibty Posts: 1,252 Member
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    I don't really consider it a 'cheat day', but a more relaxed one. My partner doesn't do a 9-5 like me, so we get one day a week together on Sundays and that tends to mean something nice for breakfast, a couple of beers or a glass of wine, and something nice for dinner. That doesn't mean I eat everything in sight, or go out of my way to eat junk, but if it happens, it happens. Usually end up eating 1,500 - 1,800 when we're being 'good' or 3,000 when we're being really naughty.
  • pennelope515
    pennelope515 Posts: 369
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    I don't have cheat days. I find ways to have the food I want while staying under my calorie goal. When I am having starving days, I try to opt for high protein foods. I also will have a little more for breakfast if I am feeling extra hungry to help me from over eating throughout the day.
    I don't like the idea of cheat days. I want to be able to be healthy forever, so for me it means finding ways to enjoy food without going overboard.
  • mlogantra76
    mlogantra76 Posts: 334 Member
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    A little history. I maintained a 120 lb weight loss for 8 years. I deprived myself a lot, trust me. Didn't eat my own birthday cake, etc... Anyways, 1.5 years ago, I started "splurging" but then it became really binging. It was only 2 days a week but I ended up gaining 30 ish lbs. I did continue a lot of healthy habits that I had learned which explains why I didn't gain more. I was not exercising much at the time as I had to give up running due to bad knees and didn't replace it with anything. Anyways, next thing I know I find myself going form a size 10/12 to a size 16/18. I was not happy. Found mfp and Zumba :) January 2nd and have been losing. For the month of april and may, I tried a cheat meal. Although I did limit myself and I didn't binge, it was very very borderline. By the end of the May, my body had reached a point where I was undoing my clean eating and hard work during the week. And, I was not journaling on that day. My current plan, is to save those "meals" for once a month with my 1st one starting when I lose these last 10 lbs. I do not plan on going back to not eating a Birthday meal, Christmas, or Thanksgiving. But, on the other hand, I'm not going to eat myself sick just because its the weekend. Its a gray area. Everybody is different and you have to find what works for you.

    Edited to add that I currently eat 1700 or so calories. I exercise A LOT so am considering bumping that up. I find that if I eat too little, I don't have energy to fuel my workouts and my willpower tanks.

    Instead of my typical treat meal at a restaurant this weekend which is a gourmet cheeseburger and onion rings from a restaurant(not McDonalds type), my husband grilled a lean beef patty, I used a 80 calorie bun, and I had some sweet potato fries baked in the oven. It took care of my craving and was under 400 calories including the ketchup! Yum. I eat low carb so having the fries and bun were a treat.
  • rlinaresv
    rlinaresv Posts: 108
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    Hi there,

    You know everytime I hear or read anything related to the "diet" word I know something is fundamentally wrong. The whole idea behind getting healthier is to "find" a sustainable way of living and that includes drinking, eating and exercising. I've been overweight my whole live (almost 40 years) and trust me, I have been able to lose weight significantly (20 kilos or more or 45 pounds or more) at least 3 times before finding MFP. Once depriving myself from eating, then I used dieting pills (the worst) and last by having a gastric ballon. In all three I gained back what I lost + more. Last December I was at my biggest (130 Kilos) and I was really dissapointed at myself knowing I gained back all the weight I lost no more than 3 years ago. I knew I had to do something different, some "sustainable". I found MFP and it sounded right to me what was all about. Then I started reading and doing my own research, understand (or kind of) of what TDEE is and that every body is different. Long story short, I have lost more than 30 kilos (around 70+ pounds) since January 7 and I feel that this time I'm not coming back to "fat". I know how my body reacts and what I need to do to keep the weight off. In my case I need to fuel my body and by fuel I need to eat, I love working out but I also love to drink (I'm not an alcoholic tho). So, I don't have cheat days, I just sometimes go above my allowance and sometimes I just go under. The thing here, at least you have a medical condition, is to get a life style that suits your needs but also allows you to be healthy. If you deprive yourself from eating you definetely are going to lose weight but unfortunately you are going to get it back once you stop. Fuel your body but also work out. That will increase your metabolism which bottomline regulates how you burn your calories.

    I log everything, if it is complicated because too many things I just add quick calories (between 2000-3000) depending on the amount of alcohol and food. Sometimes even more (4500 cal). I just like to record everything because that way I understand my body. Remember, the trick for most of the guys that have managed to shredd the weight and keep it off is "EAT and WORK OUT" If one day you are above, is ok just get back to track. One step at at time

    Hope it helps
    Cheerrs
  • msjames1999
    msjames1999 Posts: 528 Member
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    I don't have any "cheat" days.
  • sukatx
    sukatx Posts: 103
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    I don't even call it a "cheat day". It's in my plan to have one day a week where I don't think about losing weight. I don't exercise and I don't count calories on that day. I feel like if I called it "cheating" I'd be giving myself permission to go way overboard. Since it's part of the plan, it's not cheating.

    Yesterday, for example, we went out to eat to celebrate Father's Day. I got biscuits and gravy for breakfast, which is huge in calories. Normally I order an egg white omelet and fruit when we go out for breakfast. Not a really big deal since it's a once-a-week thing. But if I'd "cheated", I'd have given myself the go-ahead to get lunch at a drive thru, plus an ice cream sundae, and then when we went out for dinner I could have gone even farther.

    BTW my dinner was grilled salmon, broccoli and rice pilaf. Even on my day off, I don't go overboard.
  • femmefae
    femmefae Posts: 65 Member
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    No cheat days...maybe a cheat meal once a week (if that). I can KILL some chic-fil-a though.
  • genofreek
    genofreek Posts: 75
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    I don't cheat regularly, but every now and then I just need to take the day off and not panic about the calorie count of something I really badly want. Once I've had my curly fries or whatever, I'm usually good and I eat reasonably for the rest of the day. That's not always the case, but I've found that if I allow myself to let loose every now and then, it's not really rebelling, so I'm less likely to want to go crazy!

    I don't think I've gone over 2500 on any given "cheat day" yet so far. :)
  • gensteele1
    gensteele1 Posts: 60 Member
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    Just remember that we didn't all gain weight because of one me, just as one meal won't make all of the weight go away. You are only human and just continue to live your life as you would and if you want it, eat it. Move on, don't harp on it. Good luck!
  • o2bADyer
    o2bADyer Posts: 208
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    Moderation is the key...allow yourself a treat, not an entire day! You don't want to regret it later. Good luck! :wink:
  • ahviendha
    ahviendha Posts: 1,291 Member
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    as i get closer to goal weight, i have less wiggle room for calories. my cheat days are usually within my calorie allotments. i just eat crap instead of lean meats and veggies.
  • Kita328
    Kita328 Posts: 370 Member
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    On the days that I have had a cheat day its usually just a cheat meal, not the whole day

    Same- I know that it is easy to get into a funk and have a whole day- but I know for me knowing I had a moment of weakness is easier to recover-mentally- from than a day of weakness.
  • Nooshkabob
    Nooshkabob Posts: 5
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    I rarely plan a cheat day, but I know when I'm craving something it's usually because my body needs it - so usually I'll eat it even if it means going over my limit (and usually then some) but I balance it out by doing more exercise on those days. Sometimes its a few hundred over, on a really bad day then a thousand but it all balances out in the end! One cheat won't make much difference, as long as you usually maintain a healthy lifestyle :)
  • majica8
    majica8 Posts: 210 Member
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    I feel really guilty if I have a cheat day so I try not to anymore. The only time I will is for special occasions. For example it is my brother's birthday (twins, they are 30) on Thur and we are going out for a family meal on Friday night. I will probably skip breakfast or lunch, and/or go for an extra long cycle and then I won't care what I eat when we are out. I still won't go that crazy, but I expect I'll have a dessert :) Also having a family party on Saturday with pork, apple and stuffing rolls plus other nibbles. Again I won't go crazy but I expect I will be over for the day.

    I also have treats other times. I just got myself a cheap (so low-ish in sugar and fat) plain chocolate bar. I'll treat myself to a few squares a night probably. At 60-80 cals it's hardly anything but still feels like a treat and is enough.

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