Cheat meals or days - good or bad?

I think it depends on how you tend to do the day after. I really love having one day a week where I get nice and full -- just not hungry, I mean. That actually makes me less hungry for a few days, so it works out beautifully. But if it stirred up too many cravings or made me eat more later, I wouldn't do it.

I'm not even running much of a deficit, btw. I just still notice it and get hungry pretty much if I'm running one at all, lol. My cheat days have helped me feel satisfied for many more days than their extra calories could hurt. My averages are actually lower, because I'm not hungry all the time.

My steak gets angry when I sneak off with pizza. Cheating is wrong.

I'm sorry pizza but it was never to be. Steak demands my undivided loyalty and is way sexier than you anyway :P

I think they are important. Write down the things you crave throughout the week, or two weeks. Eat those things on a specific day. I am not saying to eat 5000 calories, but eat them until you don't feel hungry. As you progress in your plan, your stomach gets smaller, and you just can't eat the amount that you use to eat. If you need them to stay on track, and not completely give up, by all means, have them. JMO

Not a fan of the concept of "cheat" meals or days, from a psychological perspective. To me, "cheat" implies two things: 1) there are rules and you're breaking them, and 2) the way you're eating now is a temporary approach while you lose weight, and when you hit your goal weight, you'll be "done" and can then resume "normal" eating. (And then the weight comes right back on!)

As far as #1 goes, that's a problem for me because when I get tired or have had a bad day, I get rebellious and breaking the rules sounds like fun. So, by trying to remove the idea of "rules" from my eating, I'm less likely to self-sabotage.

#2 is what I've really done differently this time around, lifestyle change rather than diet, and it's working. There are some meals where I know I'm going to be way over calories, and that's okay, that's part of life. I try to make reasonable choices during them, but if I choose to have something really decadent, I savor every bite and know that I'll need to bump up my exercise the next few days. It's not about cheating, it's about balancing.

I used to have cheat days before, only to end up super guilty at the end of the day. So I just have cheat meals like once a week nowadays.

I guess it depends on the person, but I think there's nothing completely wrong with it. I usually just eat whatever junk I fancy that time because what usually happens is that if I deprive myself of eating, say, pizza, I just end up eating my healthy dinner + pizza (because everybody knows that my willpower is very inconsistent).

Well part of the problem in my case is that I have had a binge-eating disorder in the past, so I definitely use food for reasons I shouldn't. Basically it started because of restriction and feeling really hungry. So eventually I started to get so hungry that I would binge. Then I started to gain weight so I began to purge my binges.

I was bulimic on and off for about a year. I have completely stopped purging as a behavior. I haven't done it for many many many months, but it's kind of hard to go from eating a 8,000 calorie dinner to a 500 one. lol

The main thing for me is that I know how bad bulimia is for the body so I will never do it again. I may and will overeat, but I will never purge it. Never. I would rather be 400 lbs. than ever be bulimic again.

Sorry for the tmi, I just wanted to explain why I have cravings to cheat and eat large amounts of food.

That's more than a "cheat meal," that's a full blown disorder. If I were you I'd get help for that. I was seeing a therapist who specialized in eating disorders and it helped tremendously. For me a "cheat" is having peanut M&Ms at the movies, not an 8000 calorie binge.

My steak gets angry when I sneak off with pizza. Cheating is wrong.

I'm sorry pizza but it was never to be. Steak demands my undivided loyalty and is way sexier than you anyway :P

I'm sorry, Pizza. We had fun together - no, really, it was fun - but I think we both know it was never really a serious relationship. I feel like we've both grown since those heady days, and, in the process, have grown apart. I still like you, just not in that way. Hopefully, we can still be friends.

Interesting conundrum..... Personally, I advocate a cheat meal occasionally. It allows me to keep cravings under control. HOWEVER, My starting point is to eat whatever I want within my calories. That way a cheat meal is rarely needed, and usually called upon when eating out or staying away for work - it then becomes a neat way of plastering over a difficult situation. Also, I will then keep an eye on my weekly targets and try to align that. That way, a 'cheat' meal or day is not even relevant. However, with you having suffered the ED, I would not necessarily advocate this because I don't know the background to it, particularly as you also say on your profile that you have always struggled with your weight. I would have hoped that your therapist would have dealt with this issue with you, but since you ask the question, I am guessing not. My honest advice would be to contact your therapist since any ad-hock advice from a forum is likely to undo all the good work that they have done for you.

Thanks for all the input everyone. I decided that I'm not ready for cheat meals yet. I need the structure and control of being accountable.

Good decision. I hope it goes well for you.