This 'cheat day' I hear about...

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glypta
glypta Posts: 440 Member
in Food and Nutrition
...is it just wishful thinking? Or does it actually give the body a kick up the rear? And if we do have one, how often are we talking? Weekly (oh please, oh please, oh please :flowerforyou: )? Monthly?

What're everyone's thoughts on it?

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  • HealthyJess88
    HealthyJess88 Posts: 199 Member
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    I heard that if you have a 'cheat meal' a week then you let yourself eat those things you've been craving (cos if you don't, you'll go mad with longing and start to obsess or something)..but one meal isn't enough to ruin an entire week's work the way a whole day of cheating might.
  • Sparklewolfie
    Sparklewolfie Posts: 271
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    This really depends on the individual. If you know that you are unable to control yourself, I suggest not having a cheat day.

    I personally DO have what I call a "Calorie Spike Day" where I eat more calories, but that does NOT mean I eat candy and cake and cookies ALL DAY. I plan it into my day so I AM going over my limit (though usually still within my "maintain weight" caloric limit). This week is going to be my grandpa's birthday, so I am going to have cake. I will eat healthy at breakfast and lunch, then have a decent-sized slice of cake at dinner and not worry about it :smile:

    The idea behind raising calories for a day is so your metabolism does not slow down. I am not 100% sure how accurate that is, but I know that I need a day a week to treat myself and for those days when friends invite you out or something or you have an event or party :drinker:

    Sometimes I just eat a little more at every meal so it really is a whole day thing. Sometimes I just eat a big treat at one meal. Depends what works for you!
  • Cina04
    Cina04 Posts: 609
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    I have a cheat day weekly - I have them on Sundays which is also my officially weigh in days.

    This is the day the family and I can go out to eat at a nice restaurant and just enjoy our meal. Or I'll kit that candy bar as I'm checking out at the register.

    I don't worry about cals because some days I don't eat all of my excerise cals during the week so when it comes to Sunday I know I'm covered =) But I don't go SUPER crazy. Instead of ordering a dessert that my husband doesn't want to share, we stop at Mc D's on the way home and get a small ice cream cone.

    In the middle of the week we still tend to get pizza or fast food like Burger King but I either which my servings or order something better than what I would usually get and skip the fries & soda
  • Cytherea
    Cytherea Posts: 515 Member
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    ...is it just wishful thinking? Or does it actually give the body a kick up the rear? And if we do have one, how often are we talking? Weekly (oh please, oh please, oh please :flowerforyou: )? Monthly?

    What're everyone's thoughts on it?

    A lot of people have very different thoughts about it.

    Here's the thing. This is supposed to be a lifestyle change. Which means that you shouldn't need a whole cheat day to eat what you want. If you really want a cheeseburger, or a piece of cake, or whatever your weakness is, you should and can have it- in moderation, and if you plan for it. So if I know I'm going out with friends to a restaurant or something, I plan the night before exactly what I am going to eat for dinner. And then I plan the rest of my day around it. So if that means eating extremely healthy (veggies, etc.) for the rest of the day, then that's what I do. And if I need a few extra calories, I'll do a good workout in the morning to gain some back so that I can eat a little bit more and not have it affect me.

    You shouldn't be depriving yourself of the things that you love. Even once you've lost weight and are in maintenance mode you still need to follow the plan for how much you eat per day. So if you want to work that little piece of chocolate in there, by all means, do it!

    But I think having a whole cheat day, or even a meal, is very easy to let get away from you and it CAN hurt you. If your cheat meal is fettuccine alfredo?! You're in trouble. Or one of those huge gourmet burgers? Those have more calories/fat/etc. than most of us eat in 2 days. And once you've eaten a bad meal, it is so easy to think, well, I've already screwed up, so who cares, I'll just not track and eat whatever the rest of the day. And then you'll have put yourself back quite a ways. It just isn't worth it to me when it is so easy to fit in whatever it is that I want to eat (within reason, of course, lol).

    As for it kick starting your body, there is something to this but not as much as you might think. A solution for when you've hit a plateau is called "zig zagging." Basically, you up your calories some days but reduce them other days, so you aren't eating the same amount any day in a row to throw your body off and start up the weight loss again. The main point in doing this though, is that you are STILL EATING THE SAME AMOUNT OF CALORIES over the course of the week. You aren't eating a lot one day and going back to normal after that. You're still eating the same calories as you do every week, just some days get more and some get less.
  • Ellem86
    Ellem86 Posts: 204
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    I agree with the ideas around "cheating" and for me it works well. I don't really have a designated day though, if I really really want a takeaway curry or whatever I will have it and then just either work out more over the next few days or lower my calories a bit x
  • loopybec2002
    loopybec2002 Posts: 313 Member
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    I have a day where I give myself a break once a week I never go over 1700 cals on my cheat day and I have 1200 on a normal day. If I depreive myself of things I start to get bored so I allow myself to have what I want. When I first started on this plan I cut out all greesy foods I cut out one of my favs which is chinese then when I ate it again I had terrible stomach pains and was on the toilet most of the night so I have decided nothing shall be cut from my plan all together because when I have reched my goal weight if my diet hasn't changed to much I am just having more veg and less sweets it will be easier to maintain this than having a plate of veg everyday.
  • SymphonicSilence
    SymphonicSilence Posts: 13
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    I set my "cheat day" for a Sunday.
    For me, it's just a break from being so crazy strict with myself (although I still eat healthily, I just allow myself a little leeway) and it helps me a lot, personally.
  • rach40
    rach40 Posts: 4
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    cheat days rule!!! i think its a must , im on a high protein diet 6 days a week and i eat whatever i want on my day off, usually saturday take away day!!!! it helps me a lot!!!! ive still managed to lose 10lbs in 3 weeks of fat and not muscle... and on my cheat day i really do eat !!!
  • Beth720
    Beth720 Posts: 661 Member
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    I set my "cheat day" for a Sunday.
    For me, it's just a break from being so crazy strict with myself (although I still eat healthily, I just allow myself a little leeway) and it helps me a lot, personally.

    +1 It is also good for the metabolism to zig zag your calories. Personally I call my higher over day a "splurge" day since I'm really not eating junk, which t me "cheat" implies.

    And like a few others have said, it doesn't mean that I eat fast food and candy and cake and stuff. It just means I'm not as strict about my calorie intake. For me it *is* Sunday because at church we have coffee hour which usually has healthy things (hummus,veggies, etc.) in addition to sweets. I do usually allow myself ONE cookie or sweet thing. Yesterday I was about 250 calories over my 1200 - but it was still below my BMR.

    That said, I do work things I love into my daily meals. Example, most days I leave in room for 1, 2 or 3 of the Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Cups. 3 is only 180 calories, and they're definitely a healthier option to Reese's (no preservatives, etc.). If I find myself craving a slice of pizza, I build that in and get ONE from a local pizzeria. Ditto Chinese food (I also don't go with the fried options anymore). I've learned the hard way in past experience that if I deny myself things I love, THAT is when I'll fall off the wagon in a big way. But by allowing myself to have them ON OCCASION and WITHIN CERTAIN CONFINES, I'm much better able to stay on track in the long run.
  • Tasha1476
    Tasha1476 Posts: 220
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    I agree, that since most of us are here chasing a lifestyle change, not a diet.. that the word "cheat' even makes it sound like we are forcing ourselves to do something we hate and get one small day of happiness a week/month whatever.

    I have been going at this pretty regularly since June, and have lost 32 lbs. But the way I have lost those lbs is by never depriving myself of the things I want. Since I used to be quite the emotional eater, I have to take that extra 5 or 10 minutes to see if want pizza because Im lonely or scared or whatever the case may be. However if there is no reason it could be emotional, and I really just want pizza, I eat it... That's not a cheat day, thats a normal day. I FIRMLY believe (at least for me) that since this is a personal change that I want to be a PERMANENT change, I have to be able to incorporate foods I have always loved..

    However , on my journey I have found that I LOVE things and crave th ings I never even knew I really liked that much. I would rather eat pineapple than just about any candy bar... I adore zucchini and some days I come home craving nothing more than some refried beans and jalepenos...

    On the last day of the month, I dont count calories , but thats not to say I really eat any different than I would the other days.. The main reason I do this is because some day I dream to be good enough at approximating to not count calories at all.

    in the end to have a cheat day or not is something only you can decide for yourself... the rest of us can only say what works for us
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    I eat the things I crave when I crave them, just in moderation.

    I can undo weeks of hard work with one bad day of eating. I don't believe in a cheat day, unless I'm prepared to not lose weight (and possibly gain) that week.

    So, I save up calories/points if I'm craving something really gooey and have it within my allowance. Or I have a smaller portion.

    There's no reason to have to have a cheat day if you treat this like a lifestyle more than a diet. I mean, it IS a diet in that you're trying to be healthier and lose weight, but at the same time, you need to learn to live with it for the rest of your life. If you never want to eat anything "bad" again, then don't eat it now. I refuse to live that way, though.
  • Sezmo83
    Sezmo83 Posts: 331 Member
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    I have a "cheat" day once a week. If I don't have my "cheat" day I find I'll eat really badly while if I have the one day off calorie counting I have no problems whatsoever sticking to it the other 6 days of the week. Doesn't mean I sit and eat junk all day but a meal at Burger King or Pizza Hut is fine. As time goes on I find I want the junk less and less so it works out fine. Stupidly, I prefer eating healthily but it's so much more convenient to eat badly. Sigh.

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