Cheat days, I hear they are good for your diet?

I "cheat" once a month, not once a week. By cheat I mean I consume more calories than normal... like 500+ than I usually allow myself.

If I did this every week, I would probably never lose anything.

As for eating "bad" things, I do this anytime I WANT to within my calorie goal. For the past week I have been "bad", but not too bad. I plan on getting everything back on control. It's hard to eat right when you are driving around in nice weather

They are good if you are very close to your goal or are at goal. For those who are obese or overweight, they are unnecessary because the body holds a lot of energy stores so it doesn't "worry" about running out. What I don't like about cheat days is that it assumes that you are not eating enough the other 6 days or not eating food you like. Eat enough tasty good food all the time and you shouldn't need a cheat day. Since becoming paleo/primal, my relationship with food has been based on fueling it like a machine to be able to reach lifting goals. I know that if I stuff my face with pizza and doughnuts for one day, my body will not like it at all and I won't reach those weekly goals. But that is just me. Other people who still feel the need for those types of food find one day a week to be able to eat them a psychological release.

It depends what you mean by a cheat day and how often you do it. If you mean a treat once in a while or enjoying a meal slightly over your budget but close to maintenance then why not? If you mean take a day a week to eat anything and everything you've ever wanted and totally blowing your budget then it probably isn't going to be good. Why work all week to eat at a deficit if you're going to eat it back on a cheat day? 3500 calories is a pound and I know I could totally eat that much in junk in a day.

Why undo what you have done. Plan your days so you can have a little of the foods you like.

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I read a lot of posts. I am seeing people saying cheat days kept to once a week are good for your diet. I have not done this and am wondering what other peoples thoughts are on the matter. To cheat or not to cheat? We are talking about food here LOL

Personally, if I cheat, I can sometimes struggle to get back on track. I have come to the conclusion that, sod it, I'll stick with what I am doing as it is working and I feel very well and when I get to my goal I can have a cheat day or two then.

What are you cheating against? If you have to so called cheat its showing you that your diet is not sustainable

if you feel tired of your diet..and your will power is :drinker: . do the cheat day thing. if it keeps you sane and on plan the rest of the week..it can work. I say do whatever works to keep your willpower strong.

I think I do best when I cheat about once a month or so. When I get on a good roll (eating well for days), it becomes harder to cheat because I don't want to break the cycle or mess things up. Eventually, cravings get the best of me, though. I just don't let it trip me up.

I cheat once every 3 weeks where I stuff my face with all the sweets I want(donuts, ice cream, cheesecake, etc etc) and I follow it with a day of no eating at all. On my cheat day, I probably hit about 10k cals. I'm fairly lean and at a carb deficit every day so my cheat day kick starts my metabolism and leptin levels. If you're not eating at a deficit, there really isn't too much need for a cheat day unless you need it to keep mentally sane.

I do a cheat meal once a week, but it's more for my sanity than my diet.

I've been told by numerous people that allowing yourself a "cheat" day once in a while is great for your metabolism.

I've been on a very strict deficit for the last three months, and one day I allowed myself 2,000 calories instead of 1,200. I mostly had to, because I went to a birthday party where there was absolutely nothing healthy to eat. I wound up eating Pizza Hut to my hearts content, and chips with ranch dip. On my weekly weigh-in, I was down 3lbs which was more than the .05 ounces from the week before.

I've heard it gives your metabolism a boost, because our bodies become adjusted to the deficit after a while.

I'm not a scientist though, but I know that it didn't blow my diet - it seemed to help it!

Exactly . It's not surprising to look much more lean and to weigh less after a cheat day. Your muscles get filled up with carbs again, your leptin levels increase and your metabolism gets a kick. You'll burn more in the long run.

My cheat days are when I get together with friends or family occasions. But I consider a cheat a food that I normally don't get to eat day to day, like fried chicken or a burger and fries. I eat an appropriate portion and don't go all out and destroy my deficit I've sacrificed all week to build. I don't plan them but am happy when the occasional opportunity arises to let loose a little.

My husband are training and loosing weight together. Having said that...we will not give up our Friday night Papa Murphy's pizza. Instead of the "meat lovers" now we get the "vegi delight"- light on the sause and on the cheese. It works for us.

I'm gonna go ahead and chime in on this because I've had 3 different levels of cheating...

For the first few months of my journey, I was scared ****less to cheat, so I did it only once every 2 weeks. Yes, I lost weight at a steady pace (2 lbs per week), but it began to taper off the closer I got to my goal. My exercise regimen had also gotten more intense so I had to increase my calorie goal. Around that time, my body and mind was learning to balance itself out from the calorie increase. In that time came a stall AND the holidays... the holidays being the main culprit, I found myself having Balls-To-The-Wall Cheat Days. And this actually worked out really well for me for a while, but again, it eventually started not liking that.

These days, what works for me is having a major cheat *meal* accompanied by some cheat snacks or possibly dessert (so something like a third of my eating day). And I've usually burned over 1,000 cals for the day in my workouts so it doesn't feel as bad. The reason for this is because now when I cheat for more than one major meal in a day, it wreaks havoc on my system. TMI ALERT -- I literally end up having to make trips to sit on the porcelain throne a couple times during the night. I know this because of things like family visits and mini day vacays.

I'd say that all these different levels of cheating are what help keep my metabolism in check, keeps it guessing. My eating habits are a lifestyle change, but let's be real... life is short! So am I going to stress myself about allowing some indulgences here and there? Hell no. I'm also an IIFYM type of eater to help me stay sane on the daily . As long as you get your macros in, you will be fine .


So I guess when it comes down to it (and you might not want to hear this... or you might want to, idk lol)... you must experiment with your body, find out what it likes and what it doesn't like. For some people, a full on cheat day is golden for them. For other's, it may be only a cheat meal, cheat half day, or cheat biweekly sort of thing. Anyway, no matter what yours is, I hope you figure out what your body needs!