curious for those with cheat day..

I have a cheat day but it's not that bad....I take a break from all workouts and I relax. I don't go over my Calories, on that day I might have a can of pop or a piece of cake but thats it.

None of the above so much.
I don't really deprive myself on a daily basis so I don't really have a
reason to "cheat".

If I'm going out for a good meal, I guess that could be considered a cheat day.
BUT, unless it's a small plate kind of place, it's rare I eat an entire plate of food. Though I'll admit,
I get offended if I go to a restaurant that serves me a trough of food, huge
piles of food on a plate pizz me off (I know, I'm completely irrational). That said,
if I workout beforehad to "offset" the meal, great, if not, no big whoop.

In sum, the less heady I make this whole thing to rationalize my choices,
the better off I am. I try to make food a non-priority in my life, I don't want to have a "relationship"
with it, beyond, food is good, I like it, I eat it, that's about as far as it goes.
But, it's a totally personal thing.

Hi Red,

I like to have one day a week where i don't count calories, I wont go crazy and eat loads of fast food. I might have a dinner that i would not normally have, ie a lamb souvlaki (kebab) for dinner. I might eat a couple of choc biscuits for afternoon tea, things like that. My theory (and its just a theory - probably far from the truth) is that you count calories all week, your body gets used to it, and your metabolism gets lazy. Throw one day of different food in there that you wouldn't normally eat and it kick starts your metabolism again.

However, exercising, i like to do each day, if i miss out, so be it, not a big deal for me, and not worried if i hit or miss.

These are my thoughts :-)

Karen

I'm during weight watchers so I don't cheat with my points. A day without exercise is cheating enough for me and it's usually Sundays

I take one evening a week where I go out and eat a meal without counting calories. I definitely exercise on that day and it hasn't effected my weight loss.

i have a cheat meal, not cheat day, once a week. i usually exercise that day but if not i don't sweat it! i still maintain portion control though & i either stay within my calories because i ate so clean the rest of the day or i only go over by 100 or 200 calories. i've read several different places that having a cheat meal helps keep your metabolism guessing.

I'm working on a cheat day... I havent really cheated, I just incorporate what I eat into my calorie count. Sometimes I go over, sometimes not. I have decided though that every so often I need a fatty day where I just eat whatever.
I havent really lost much weight but my weight has shifted so I guess I'm doing okay.

A cheat day for me is a day where I eat over my cals and don't exercise enough to compensate. Usually it's only 100 calories or so.

my cheats do tend to be extreme......eat/drink whatever. I usually exercise though......It is very rare that I don't get in some physical acticvity every day and if I am really prepared I'll do a major workout (like 2hours) the day of the cheat just to help compensate for what I'm going to do!! LOL

I do have small cheats though too here and there and I don't worry about those so much.

My cheat day is Saturday. The only thing that remains the same is breakfast and that's because I never did breakfast before. After that, I eat when I'm hungry and eat until I'm satisfied...not stuffed. I've found that I can't eat as much as I used to do. I don't log anything for Saturdays, either.

Exercise, I take off Saturdays, as well. I've noticed that it really helps my Sunday workouts. I have so much more strength to put into versus at the end of the week.

It's just one day and it's worked for me. Do I advocate it for others? No, because you have to use trial and error to find what works for you. Those that are doing nothing but clean eating, great!! It's not for me, though. I am human; therefore, I'm allowed to make mistakes. I will enjoy certain foods because there's no guarantee I won't have a heart attack or stroke. There are healthy people that die of heart attacks. So, my goal is to get healthier, but not to be 100% clean. I want to live a little on the edge.

Good luck!!

Hi there,

A cheat day is whatever you want it to be or whatever is a treat for you. As you can see above, a cheat day for everyone is different.

I usually base my cheat days around food. Mmmmmm FOOOOD! :-D So, I'll usually eat something thats usually off limits :-)

I have also heard that some people believe that having a cheat/free day helps them stay on track and prevents the sudden binge. Which sometimes, depending on the extent you go to during the binge, can cause more damage than the ocassional cheat day.

For me, cheating is more about the food than the exercise even though it is really about both. See, I can't really get a good workout in when I don't eat right...but I allow myself at least one meal a week where I don't bother with staying in my calorie limits. I also only exercise 6 days a week because our bodies need some time to recover. So, my "cheat" is normally a nigh calorie meal that I have on the day that I wasn't even scheduled to exercise anyway.

I feel like it has kept me on track when I schedule cheat meals because then I don't have binges and feel totally lost and depressed on other days. It gives me something to look forward to and work hard throughout the rest of the week for.

Hi,

I don't have a "planned cheat day". I eat whatever I like, and try to stay withing my calories, which I almost never manage. I guess most people would say I'm not dedicated enough, but I prefer to just cut portions of everything, so that I don't crave anything at anytime.
I still loose weight with my system, and that's what counts for me.

I started with MFP in August, and so far only had one day which I would call cheat day. That day I went out, had big dinner (instead of small one), and desert too and I was over for almost 1000 calories. I don't regret the day/evening nor the meal and desert. Best thing of all: I had a quite bad week and with that day I thought I messed it up totally, but next weigh-in I still had lost over 1 lb.

So that's my "cheat day"... once in a while, not planned at all, and if it happens, I don't regret, I enjoy and take a new start the following day.

MM

My wife and I have what we call "rest" days. It is not cheating when you take a break from dieting and exercise. In fact it is important to maintain a healthy weight in the long run. If you exercise, diet and have a calorie deficit for many days in a row you could end up lowering your metabolism and go into what some call "starvation mode".

I plan on eating more than my recommended calories for at least 1 day out of 7 and sometimes 1 out of 3 days. This gives my muscles a chance to grow and for my body to heal. I'm not advocating going overboard, but if you are down 2000 to 3000 calories for the week, you would have a difficult time gaining that back in 1 day.

On the days we eat heavy it feels like we are stuffing ourselves but if you stick to healthy foods, it is usually less than 200 calories over.

REST don't CHEAT :happy:

I don't like the word "CHEAT" I rather just enjoy a treat once in a while. Dark Chocolate is my treat but in moderation. A single Chocolate Bar can last me one to two weeks.

What I have done is cut out all of the fatty foods, and replaced them with healthy but enjoyable foods like Salmon, Mahi Mahi, and Halibut...

The word CHEAT means you are doing something bad, where treating yourself is something good as long as you have the will power to do it in moderation.

I monitor my food, exercise and weight daily; this allows me to understand what I can and cannot treat myself.

As long as I am staying within my food categories, fat, carbs, protein......

I eat those treats depending on my daily goals.

Cheers