POLL: Cheat Days

I just build treats into my day rather than have full days "off". I think it's important to be able to eat everything you fancy in moderation rather than depriving myself sometimes then going mad every now and again.

For me cheat days led to me demonising food and generally getting into a binge mentality, and it would totally ruin my deficit for the week. Now if I want something, I have it, and make it work in my cals and macros. For me its much more psychologically beneficial.

So the majority of you don't have cheat days. The reason why I ask is BC it seems that people are against it and there must be a good reason why.

Because cheat days turn into cheat weekends turn into cheat weeks.

I eat what I want, when I want. The only stipulation is that eat in a moderate calorie deficit. I had apple crumble lsat night, and will likely have it again today. That means I need to get my *kitten* into gear and go for a ride on my bike.

It all fits within my lifestyle.

You need to get this whole "deprivation" and "diet" mentality out of your head.

I don't believe in cheat days, but I do have a cheat "time." I stay on track with my diet all other times. My cheat "time" is Wednesday night at Church and I hit the desert table (very small portions of everything) and have a cup of coffee with my friends. I think that cheat "time" should be focused on other things besides the food, like being able to sit down at a table and indulge in what my girlfriends are eating. I look forward to the "cheat" AND the social thing on Wednesday night, but the food is not the focus. Also, every other month or so, I go out to lunch with my friend on MFP and that is our cheat "time" NOT cheat "day."

I don't call it cheat days. There are days, not many, where I do not watch my caloric intake as much as others. Could be a special occasion, could be something totally unexpected. Thanksgiving and Christmas are days I prefer not to log foods because I could never realistically know the exact calorie count, so I will just give it a quick add calories for the day.

One day never really "packed" on any pounds for me because the next day I went back to eating "healthy" foods and exercising.

PS on Thanksgiving I do a 5k walk in the morning that we call a Turkey trot with my old WW friends. It helps...LOL

Cheating implies that you get something without getting caught, or that you won't pay for it in the end. The body doesn't work that way.
You're better off eating that thing you want, being accountable and honest and not feeling guilty.
When I want a candy bar or whatever, I just pre-log it and decide if it's worth it calorie and macro-wise, or eat it anyway and plan to work it off later.
As long as I meet my protein and calorie goal, I pretty much eat whatever I feel like.
Having a cheat day where you eat way over your calorie goal is so counter productive to not only weight loss but a healthy eating lifestyle it's ludicrous.

I make sure every calorie counts and getting the most out of it as much as possible. I avoid fried foods even on my cheat days, small treats daily works for me.

For me it doesn't make sense to say I'm "cheating" on my way of eating.
I eat what I want to eat within reason every day.
What I want to eat has changed over the years though.
But I eat what I want. I eat pizza, chocolate, drink wine...
The type of pizza has changed a bit, the type of chocolate a bit too.

I don't have cheat days. I'm pretty good at planning for special meals and the treats that I occasionally want. I don't have a sweet tooth so that's really helpful for me.

The only time I really relax is when I go on vacation, but even then while I don't record my food I try to make decent choices. I've cruised and gone to Disney World this year and managed to maintain each week.

I don't have cheat days or meals. I don't eat snacks like chips, pretzels, crackers, etc or candy, cookies , ice cream. You get the picture. I have done this for 7 months and am only 9.6 pounds away from my goal weight. I just don't see the need for food like this now. I have 4 kids and a husband that haven't changed the way they eat either and it doesn't bother me to have it around and not eat it. But I guess for some they have to eat some in moderation or it would make them want it more.

So building it into you calories is best I guess?

I don't know if there is one "correct" answer. I have seen people here who say they eat whatever they want and they still lose, and there are people who gain/get stuck when they eat *one* extra cookie. and there is a whole spectrum in between.

Do what works for you. do you have self control? will one cheat meal/day remain as *one* or will it turn into a whole week/month/year. for me - I am into eating [what i preceive as] healthier foods, so i rarely eat out/junk food/candy anyway. do i never eat that stuff? no, i do every now and then. but i count the calories and make sure i stay within my goals. and i make sure (if i eat junk food /take out) to drink a lot of water. maybe i'll do a little extra exercise.

Like others have said, I don't do cheat days just make the foods I want fit, which is easier when you maintain on over 3K a day, but I didn't use cheat days to drop the weight either. The only thing I consider a "cheat meal" Is something I have no possible way of getting nutrition info for, like non chain restaurants and meals I didn't cook/know the ingredients of.

I just budget everything like money. If I know I'm going out of town and will be having dinner with friends, I load in some extra exercise that morning, and decide if I want to blow my extra earned calories on the garlic bread or a piece of cheesecake or more of my entree. I feel like what I'm looking for is a sustainable way to live, not a loss of weight; if I'm sustaining in a healthy way, and making wiser choices about my food, then my weight will, over time, even out to a healthier number.