Attn. Cheaters!!

It will set you back temporarily, but if you are eating right for the better part of the time, you will be fine.

I 'cheat' every day with things that fit in my calorie goal. Pie, ice cream...

Get off the wagon? Um... I don't know what you're doing, but I'm pulling the wagon, not riding on it.

It's like this, if you cheat, it's going to set you back, plain and simple. How much it sets you back is determined by what you eat, how much you eat, and how much you go over your daily calorie goal.

I'm not saying this works for everyone, but for me it does. I train like an athlete and I do not have cheat days. I watch my calories enough to make sure that at the end of the night, every night, I can afford myself a small snack. Normally I have a bowl of Cheerios, or Froot Loops.

That being said, this is what I told someone who said roughly the same thing you did about "I try to be active on weekends". To me, there's no such thing as being active on the weekends. I explained to this person that all it takes is making a few simple changes to accommodate exercising regularly. Whether it be going to bed 30 minutes later, or getting up 30 minutes earlier, there is always a way to get exercise into your daily routine.

Food is no different than any other drug out there. I've never heard a heroin addict say "If I don't allow myself to shoot up every once in a while, I'll fall back into it". The way someone explained it to me (which is what made the difference) is, you have to find something inside of yourself that goes beyond the standard "I want to lose some weight". It has to be more than that. There has to be a motivation to you that makes the benefits of diet and exercise weigh more than having cheat days, or just quitting all together.

That's just my opinion though, I wish you the best, and good luck with whatever you do.

I personally don't cheat. I usually work everything I want to have into my daily goals, and accept it if "life happens" and I end up at a function and going over my calories for a day here or there.

Maybe look at your goals weekly instead of daily? Maybe don't eat back as many exercise calories (if you follow that). As long as you're not starving yourself every day so you can go nuts on the weekend, it could work. Saving, say, 100 calories a day M-F would give you 500 extra on Saturday.

It all comes down to that scale... lol if you cheat and still pull off some great numbers than fantastic. If not, then you really have to decide how bad you want it. i think half the people on here are in the same position as you.

I'm in the planning for an event boat. I'll eat at a deficit if I'm planning to party later in the week. There are spontaneous situations that come up where I'll have to decide whether or not it's worth it for me to indulge. 99% of the time, I'll eat according to my goals, but there are times when I just have at it.

Someone yesterday told me that it must be "hard work" watching what I eat, going to the gym and just living healthier overall. It truly was a chore at first, but after 7 months of doing this it's more like second nature at this point.

I didn't start logging weekends until 6 months in, because that's when it started holding me back. I still indulge, but I track it. If I eat something that's not in the database I just give it my best guess.

Every day. A couple of cookies here, a bag of crisps there. If it fits into my calorie goal, I don't let myself suffer from wanting.

Don't even like the word.

How often do you allow yourself to cheat? And how bad do you cheat?

I don't call it "cheating" but always eat and drink more on the weekends. I just eat lighter during the week to offset it. On holidays and at parties I often don't worry about calories, but I don't stuff myself like a madman either. These occasions show a small gain, but it disappears quickly once I get back to my normal routine.

My question is whether you think that will set me back big time or not?

This depends on how much you go over. If you go on a crazy 5000 caloris a day binge for a week, then yeah, expect a pretty big set back. If you typically have a 500 calorie deficit and you go over goal by 800 calories, then you still only have a 300 surplus so even if you do it for a week you should gain < 1 lb of fat (though you may also have temporary water weight gain).

Enjoy yourself but don't go crazy. You'll be fine. Life is more enjoyable if you get to "cheat" now and then.

I'm not even sure. I guess it depends on what cheating is. I eat like a normal person, but I stay on the careful side. I avoid "bad" food and watch portions like a hawk.

But what is cheating? Is it pizza? Is it Doritos? I've done both of those in the past week. But in moderation.

If cheating is completely blowing it for the day? That happens rarely. Maybe once a month. If cheating is allowing myself something I want (but in moderation), then that happens several times a week.

By cheat do you mean over eat compared to calorie goal or just eat nice food?

I eat whatever I want as long as i'm within my macros and calorie goal - that's not 'cheating' that's good sense. I think it's next to impossible to stick to a 'diet' if it's all about abstaining from anything you want to eat...

I cheat all the time,