Logging "cheat" days

Kitty7814
Kitty7814 Posts: 52
in Motivation and Support
Last time I was trying to lose weight I didn't log my "off" or "cheat" days. This time I decided I was going to log them, no matter how painful it was, and make every effort to estimate for meals I got that I didn't make and couldn't find calorie information for. The first few weeks this has been incredibly irritating. I would feel like I completely derailed my hard work throughout the rest of the week and get depressed that I had no idea how I was going to maintain once I got to my goal weight.

This week was my 3 year anniversary, so I asked hubby to pick what we would have in advance. I logged my steak potatoes and beer in advance and then all week would check the weekly (which you can apparently only see from your phone?) and made sure that I was balancing out for the week. Last night, I drank more than I allotted for, and I had cheesecake which our waitress gave us for free : (

The awesome? I checked the weekly this morning after plugging in my armband I was actually under for the week and have extra calories today! woot! So if anyone is going through the same thing, let me say that this feeling that I'm going to average the net calories recommended this week is AWESOME and worth the last three weeks of beating myself up over the off days. I'd highly recommend logging "cheat" days.

Replies

  • coppertop_4
    coppertop_4 Posts: 258 Member
    REPORTS at the top of the page on the website will show you the week too.

    Great job! Thanks for sharing. I always log my cheats. OWN it if I'm going to eat it!
  • trisH_7183
    trisH_7183 Posts: 1,486 Member
    Same here. I log the good bad & ugly.In fact,we ate out yesterday.Came home ,logged it in & had 40 calories to spare for the day.

    I usually know where we are going ahead of time,makes it easier to check their site,menu & nutrition.Hope to show a loss soon,but if not.....maybe next time.
  • TaraRichardson913
    TaraRichardson913 Posts: 157 Member
    Yikes, I hate admitting to my cheat days- especially buffets!! But it is a great idea to still log them and learn, right.
  • AstroRocket
    AstroRocket Posts: 119 Member
    I always log mine, but I don't really think it's cheating if you treat yourself lol
  • aquarabbit
    aquarabbit Posts: 1,622 Member
    I am currently over 400 calories today over because we had a party for a friend of my husband's and mine and then Jack in the Box after. I still logged it! For me, the first step towards my goals was not only being honest about them, but knowing that my journey was not going to be perfect. I will have days like this and I will admit to them. I love the quote "your body doesn't ignore cheat days". I say that to myself when I don't want to log something. It is definitely worth being completely open about what I eat.
  • JudieJudes
    JudieJudes Posts: 174 Member
    I log everything that passes my lips :smile:

    That way you can take a measured view if your scales/silhouette are not changing the way you thought they should :flowerforyou:
  • Mantha18
    Mantha18 Posts: 25 Member
    I log everything as well. Though it is really hard to estimate take-aways so I'm sure I undervalue sometimes. When I have a cheat day I try to follow it with 5 or 6 days of being under my goal. I'm a shift worker so I don't have a set week, my 'weekend' could be Tuesday and Friday lol so instead of looking at the week on the app I just try to keep an eye myself (and using the reports function mentioned above) to look at the last seven days and balance that out.

    I have to admit sometimes it is really hard to admit to everything I've eaten, especially on cheat days. I find it easier to be completely honest with my diary knowing that no one else will see it. I can be completely honest and don't try to hide things because I'm embarrassed.....I think this helps me because I used to underestimate my eating quite considerably and just admitting what I eat has really made a difference and reduced my intake of snacks (particularly chocolate lol). I can imagine this won't work for a lot of people though. One of my friends needs to admit everything to us as it makes her feel more accountable. So to each their own lol.

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