How far do you go on cheat days?

I usually have a cheat day once a week. Some times I log on cheat days and sometimes I don't. When I log then I try to stay within 2000 to 3000 calories. However, when i don't log them I find myself eating wayyyyy too much and eating just to eat. My last cheat day I ate a whole batch of cookies...probably not the best idea, but I did it. I just want to know how far do you go on cheat days?
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Replies

  • glin23
    glin23 Posts: 460 Member
    If It's going to be a true cheat day I probably wouldn't log it at all. That said, if I had to hazard a guess, 3000 calories sounds about right. Of course I generally build in an allowance for sweets and such in my day so....
  • Snowwy11
    Snowwy11 Posts: 28
    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.
  • MsEndomorph
    MsEndomorph Posts: 604 Member
    I do a "cheat meal" twice a week. It doesn't necessarily mean I went over my calories that day - sometimes it's a super unhealthy meal but I burned a lot of calories that day - but it's something that's delicious and I don't think is super healthy. I can't afford an entire cheat day or I'd probably blow my entire weight loss for the week.

    As much as I DONT want to log it, I do. It keeps me honest. I'm really good at lying to myself :)
  • 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!
  • ApocalypticFae
    ApocalypticFae Posts: 217 Member
    About 500-700 calories over usually.
  • Loasaur
    Loasaur Posts: 125
    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.
  • siqiniq
    siqiniq Posts: 237 Member
    I don't do cheat days or cheat meals. I usually eat out on Saturday and Sunday, but I don't think of it as "cheating" because then it would mean I'm dieting, which I'm not. I'm changing my lifestyle, so for me that means I can eat out when I choose, and then fit the food into my allotment for the day. If I allow myself to "diet" and "cheat", I set myself up for failure. That doesn't mean I don't occasionally go over, but I try not to.
  • tanyalevan
    tanyalevan Posts: 182
    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! :)
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    I never really did cheat days. I logged everyday while eating at a deficit and I still do. I used to eat at maintenance for special occasions when I was losing weight still. Now I'm at maintenance all the time, so no more being allowed more calories for special days. :grumble: Sometimes if I know I've got something coming up where I'm going to want to splurge I'll save up some calories, say 100 every day for a week, so that I have a chunk to spend on something special.
  • NathanFronk
    NathanFronk Posts: 137 Member
    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."
  • TheEffort
    TheEffort Posts: 1,028 Member
    I usually log my "cheat meals" because it's when I eat-out and need to determine the calories I can afford.

    I won't do a cheat day.

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  • Dragn77
    Dragn77 Posts: 810 Member
    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)
  • Bobbie8786
    Bobbie8786 Posts: 202 Member
    I haven't had a cheat yet for this particular round of dieting but when I do, I will log every single bit of it. Just because you don't log it doesn't mean it didn't happen, you can't lie to your body. I got fat in the first place by lying to myself about how much I was eating. You know the typical fat person who says "but I don't eat that much," yeah, that was me.

    I am planning to have a "cheat" meal every 4 to 5 weeks but nothing insane. My last diet ended with a Disneyland weekend binge to end all binges (pretty sure we hit every restaurant in both parks and a whole lot of alcohol, ice cream, candy, etc). That got my head out of the game and 3 years later I am 80 pounds heavier. Maybe some people can deal with that but I have learned from experience that I sure can't.
  • librarianjenne
    librarianjenne Posts: 66 Member
    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.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    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.
  • Cinflo58
    Cinflo58 Posts: 326 Member
    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!
  • susanlouise
    susanlouise Posts: 18 Member
    I can't do cheat days - if I plan a cheat day I will obsess on it, and then allow myself to cheat more and more. It's one thing once in a blue moon to have a piece of cake, and another to plan to have a piece of cake once a month. It drives me crazy. I just have to get that stuff out of my mental landscape, or I live with cravings.
  • 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.
  • I am confuse...so I been recording my calories..I eat whatever I want just that I watch how much I eat and I drink plenty of water..I am also going to the gym ..3 days a week for 40 minutes..I exercise at home too 25-30 minutes almost every day... and well my end of the day entry report tells me I am entering starvation mode!..what.. to eat a minimum of 1200 calories a day..but dang I am not hungry ...I stop when I am full...I do not eat junk food..only once a week..on my fun day..Saturday night.lol. ;)..
  • RichOC
    RichOC Posts: 243 Member
    Oh wait... this is about food? I was just logging into KIK... ah well.