Cheat Day

cmsincla
cmsincla Posts: 41 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm in between on this one...are dieters allowed one cheat day a week?

Replies

  • Just_Jon
    Just_Jon Posts: 108 Member
    Yes, typically I will set aside one day a week to eat an entire chocolate cake. With whipped cream.

    :)


    Seriously, you can "cheat" all you want. It's your life, your diet. Eat what you think you need to eat to maintain your health.
  • janessanessa
    janessanessa Posts: 299 Member
    I typically reserve my rest day as my "cheat day". I try to not overdo it, but I use this day to eat out, or have something I normally would deny myself, in a reasonable portion, without feeling bad about it, or beating myself up over it. I don't count calories that day, or I wouldn't ever have a cheat day.
  • myurav
    myurav Posts: 165 Member
    I usually judge it by how many calories I have left in the week - if I have a lot left, I don't mind doing a cheat day because it still fits in my calories for the week. And it adds some variety :)
  • SailorKnightWing
    SailorKnightWing Posts: 875 Member
    If setting aside a day to eat whatever you want helps you reach your goals and maintain it as a lifestyle then do it. I don't, I just make sure everything I want fits into my goals daily.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    I'm in between on this one...are dieters allowed one cheat day a week?

    Define "Cheat Day".
  • meltedsno
    meltedsno Posts: 208 Member
    I can't just "cheat"...it's that habit that led me astray. Instead, if I CHOOSE to indulge a little, I up the steps on my treadmill (or outside, depending upon the weather)... it's a habit that I am trying to develop for when I eventually reach my goal. If I want to partake in a few goodies, I better be prepared to work a little for it. It has taken me way too many years to figure this simple process out and thus far, it has worked great for me... there is just something about the word "cheat" that makes it sound so illegal... if you plan accordingly, you should be able to eat whatever you want and stay within your limits.
  • amandatapar
    amandatapar Posts: 246 Member
    I don't do moderation well in regards to unhealthy foods. I just stay away from them, it makes my life easier. I have 4 kids and a husband that still eats all kinds of stuff but it has gotten easier every day to ignore the stuff I don't need. So no I do not give myself cheat days .I am really focused on my goal and I feel so much better with my new life style as it is so no need to even go back.
  • Mcgrawhaha
    Mcgrawhaha Posts: 1,596 Member
    i lost all my weight in 11 months, having 1 crazy high calorie day EVERY OTHER SATURDAY!
  • Flabulousss
    Flabulousss Posts: 106
    I don't use words like "allowed" or "cheat", as I'm the one who decides what I do--guilt free! As long as you're losing weight, do whatever you want.
  • amybm76
    amybm76 Posts: 2
    I have read that it is good to throw in a high or low cal day to confuse your metabolism, it seems to work. It said that your body can adjust to what you have coming in about every 3 days or so, so if you throw in a high day and follow it by a low day it does not know what you trying for instead of the same thing everyday.
  • SeriousBen
    SeriousBen Posts: 41 Member
    Had a birthday party today and my first cheat day in 6 weeks. I'm guessing in the 3000-3500 cal range (lots of sandwiches, cheese and cake). I feel like crap and guilty and I'm not happy at all. I much rather be hungry than feeling like that.

    It will not happen again before Christmas.
  • Ignaura
    Ignaura Posts: 203 Member
    Saturday is carb up day. I eat carbs with every meal and have dessert after lunch... Chocolate ice cream is my favorite.
    I used to do one cheat meal a week a few months ago and it worked fine for me too. I believe having "cheat" meals hel[s keeping me sane and makes this new lifestyle way easier.
    However, if you're gonna feel bad or guilty about it, don't do it.
  • Rainyday816
    Rainyday816 Posts: 29 Member
    I'm so glad I'm not the only one that does this - I do a "free day" about once a week, but I don't call it a "cheat day" because I'm still trying to make good choices, I'm just letting myself have things I usually don't. I guess it's because I'm one of those people who is trying to make a "lifestyle change." To me, that means that I have to get used to portion sizes of unhealthy food, and "free days" help me practice that. If you told me six months ago that I would buy a pint of Ben and Jerry's and NOT eat the whole thing in one sitting, I probably would have though you were crazy, I would never have that kind of self control. But yesterday, during my "free day," I bought a pint and only ate a cup or so (which yes, I know is still more than one serving, but it's still an improvement), and put the rest in the fridge for next week. And then I checked the scale the next morning and there was absolutely no change from the day before! In a perfect world, I'd never eat junk food, but eating junk one day a week is still a huge improvement over eating junk seven days a week!
  • MaiLinna
    MaiLinna Posts: 580 Member
    If setting aside a day to eat whatever you want helps you reach your goals and maintain it as a lifestyle then do it. I don't, I just make sure everything I want fits into my goals daily.

    That's what I do. I want cookies that day? Cool, gonna eat a spinach salad for lunch to save myself enough calories to eat a couple.
  • notreallychris
    notreallychris Posts: 501 Member
    Probably already been said, but don't use a whole day to cheat. Just cheat on a snack once every other day. or so Then you won't feel the need to cheat for a day. A whole day of cheating could really throw you off.
  • Becky5pal
    Becky5pal Posts: 9
    You 'go off' your diet. You 'cheat' on your spouse!:happy:
    At least that was what Weight Watchers taught us decades ago!
  • getitamb
    getitamb Posts: 2,019 Member
    I don't consider it cheating if I have the calories left over. I just readjust what I'm eating. And when I'm full, I stop eating. But I love my sweets.
  • mrincredible93
    mrincredible93 Posts: 146
    I prefer the term "reload". I usually have one reload meal a week when I don't pay attention to serving sizes, macros or calories. Usually doesn't even qualify as a "cheat" when it gets balanced against my deficits for the whole week.
  • organic0gf
    organic0gf Posts: 87 Member
    I think cheat days are counterproductive. If I have been in control for several weeks and "cheat", I have ended up going totally crazy and it overflowed to the next day and the next.... Now, when I want something too high in calories to ADD to my daily food allowance, I substitute. Like... a big bowl of popcorn with a little butter for dinner with a glass of carrot juice. Stuff like that. IMO it's better to replace a meal than to add to an already full menu for that day. Hey, it ain't gonna kill anyone to skip a healthy meal for something "forbidden" and it works for me. I only do this for stuff that I Jones for besides my meals.. like a piece of cake, buttered popcorn, chips and hummus.. etc.
  • dunnodunno
    dunnodunno Posts: 2,290 Member
    I just allow some of my favorite foods into my diary throughout the week & tweak where necessary.
  • Gee_24
    Gee_24 Posts: 359 Member
    Nope. Everything I eat is within cals apart from one day in the 70 days Ive been on this, where I ate a Sunday dinner at my sisters and went up to 2000.

    This month I have been really into chips and chocolate. I have been eating them constantly, within cals, and losing. To make up for it I've been walking more.

    My only " cheat " is when I don't eat breakfast or lunch and have a HUGE dinner because I know I cant resist a huge portion of my homemade stew or lasagne. But I always log correctly and again, stay within calories.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I don't do that. I try never to go over my calories or much over/under where I ought to be on fat, sugar, and the like.

    However, I "allow" what others would call bad foods at least a few times per week. It's no big deal for me to have frozen custard on Sunday afternoon along with meals of eggs, loads of veggies, salmon, and quinoa that day.

    I look at every day like that, although of course I'm not going to include a Snickers bar in every day, either.
  • _EndGame_
    _EndGame_ Posts: 770 Member
    I don't have "cheat days"

    I do, however, eat foods you wouldn't generally consider healthy, I just make sure they fit into my daily calorie allowance.

    Also, what I do, is do extra exercise on days I know I want to eat like a crazed beast of the night. It's a fool proof technique.
  • catita1025
    catita1025 Posts: 46 Member
    Nope...I also don't care for the word "cheat." I've had to re-learn how I approach eating in general due to medical conditions, so I pretty much stay within guidelines I need to follow. Note, though, I didn't say "rules"...but guidelines. It's made a huge difference for me! :)

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