How far do you go on cheat days?

For me I will post part of my cheat day. But I really only have a cheat meal....if that makes sense. Today I ate out for lunch which I haven't done in a couple weeks. I was still under my calories for the day because I didn't eat my second snack.

Today I did really good. Whole wheat french toast with lite syrup, tuna and pita chips for lunch, an asian style salad for a snack, and a 90 calorie fiber one brownie. But when it came time for dinner, I was totally craving hibachi express! I bombed and ate around 1500 calories just for dinner! Now I'm feeling so guilty!

I usually do a cheat day on my weigh-in day (Monday) so that I have the whole next week to burn off any bad food that I had that day before my next weigh-in. Unfortunately for this week, my fridge broke and we haven't been able to keep ANY food in the house so we've been eating out all week waiting for the repairman to come :[ Needless to say...it has not been pleasant.

This would be my weekend! Ha ha I figure if I am good 5 days a week then 2 days just relax with it a bit then it is okay and it is working for me!

There is no such thing as a "cheat day." When you eat above and beyond your suggested calorie intake you are merely saving yourself from entering "starvation mode."

Your significant other cheats on you, you don't cheat on yourself.

That's my first answer to the topic question.

My second is, "all the way."

I just do a cheat mean, usually lunch or dinner. Im trying this thing of eating the same thing every day, which is working out well for me cause I know what my cals are and dont have to stress over what to eat...and I heard that repetition makes it easier to lose weight. I dont know...all I know is I figured out a no cook meal for lunch and a barely cook meal for dinner and the less time I have to spend in the kitchen the better.

Anyway, my cheat meal yesterday was a total fail, because I just wasnt in the mood to eat anything bad. I went out to eat, and got roasted chicken, boiled green bananas and cuban rice. It only put me about 200 over my usual cals for dinner, and I was still under my cals for the day, because I was so full I didnt have evening munchies to eat a snack like I tend to do.

But yeah, I think really, once you get into the mindset and mode of eating healthier, then planning to eat unhealthy kind of starts to backfire on you, cause you may find yourself not in the mood for it. I do think that Ill do pizza on my next cheat meal though...I havnt had any breads or stuff like that in a bit. Or maybe pasta. 4 cheese pasta. with alfredo sauce. Okay yeah maybe I havnt totally lost my taste for unhealthy foods LOL (and iced cream. ooh..now I want iced cream. hrmm...)

Damn you all. (lol)

I don't really like to use the word "cheat" when referring to food. There is nothing I consider food that is "not allowed," since I want this to be a permanently sustainable lifestyle. I occasionally do splurge snacks or meals, but I do plan them and log them and I generally stay a few hundred calories within my range (probably within what will eventually be maintenance calories.) I like to keep my splurges spread apart so most of the time I'm generally eating healthy food that will help me reach my goal.

Oh, and if I eat a whole batch of cookies, I log it and just figure it will be a day that won't get me closer to my goals. No big deal, as long as I get back on track the next day.

i wouldn't say I do cheat days but some days I eat 2400-2900 calories. However, I have been doing the 5:2 "fast diet" for 9 weeks and by eating < 500 calories for 2 days a week, I can pretty much afford to pig out occasionally and maintain my 30 lb weight loss. 5:2 is working for me!

I agree, log it the best you can. If you see how much you're eating on the cheat day.. it may shock you. I have a cheat day, but I log it and then I think.... oh that was the one thing I ate that really put my calories over the edge. Next time, I'll make a smarter decision.

Oh wait... this is about food? I was just logging into KIK... ah well.

Why bother being good all week if you're going to blow it all on a binge? Makes absolutely no sense to me and smacks of disordered eating. If you have a good relationship with food then you shouldn't feel the need to "cheat" especially not an all day binge.

Going over your calorie allowance one day is NOT blowing your entire week. You're joking, right? Do your research, talk to a physician, nutritionist.. SOMETHING! It seems as if YOU have a more unhealthy relationship with food than the OP (if you can't even splurge once in awhile.) Sad.

I agree with you to a point. Let's put it this way. If you're shooting for 1/2 pound of weight loss per week that works out to about 1750-1800 calories. Is it possible to exceed your calorie allowance by that much in 1 day? For me it is and it's way too easy to do so. So in effect I agree with you, but then again, I guess I feel that it's a bit healthier to indulge earlier, more often and in smaller portions rather than using a cheat day.

i do cheat meal not cheat day you can do a lot of damage with a cheat day

I got to about 7000-8000 cals in one cheat meal last week.

an entire batch of cookies sounds like disordered eating to me too. JM suggests allowing yourself 200 calories of "cheat food" each day but work it into your calorie allowance. wouldn't you enjoy a cookie or two all week instead of 20+ all at once?

Not to say I don't overdue it sometimes when I finally give into something I've been wanting... it's because I do this as well that I can say it's not a healthy relationship to food, at least not in that moment.

Jillian Michaels may think eating a whole batch of cookies is disordered eating, but I think giving yourself an "allowance" for "cheat food" like you're a 6-year-old is disordered eating.

I have a calorie target, and I have macro targets. As long as I hit those or get as close to them as possible, I will eat what I want. I eat way more than 200 calories of "cheat food" every single day, and I lose weight while I do it. I'd say that's a very damn healthy relationship with food.