Cheat Days

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oklagirl
oklagirl Posts: 24 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Should I be logging my cheat days?
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  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
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    I would, personally. You're not doing yourself any favors by having a whole day of ?? Intake that could potentially ruin your deficit.

    I don't do cheat days though. I just practice a moderate deficit and cut nothing out of my normal routine. So, there's really nothing to cheat
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
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    I log everything. But I don't call days where I eat a lot "cheat days".
  • clambert1273
    clambert1273 Posts: 840 Member
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    I would, personally. You're not doing yourself any favors by having a whole day of ?? Intake that could potentially ruin your deficit.

    I don't do cheat days though. I just practice a moderate deficit and cut nothing out of my normal routine. So, there's really nothing to cheat

    This... don't deprive yourself and you won't have them :) I logged thanksgiving for fun (about 2500 calories) and enjoyed every dam bite lol

    Alot of us on here regularly have wine, ice cream, chocolate, cake or just about whatever we want :)
  • _TastySnoBalls_
    _TastySnoBalls_ Posts: 1,298 Member
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    Should I be logging my cheat days?

    why wouldn't you? and i hate the term "cheat days" this isn't a test. if you go over on one day, cut back the next day. yes, it's that simple.
  • Rage_Phish
    Rage_Phish Posts: 1,507 Member
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    when i have a "Cheat day" it usually is going to an event and drinking/ eating whats there. i dont intentionally plan cheat days. But wh when im going to a party or a night our im gonna drink booze and eat the good food.

    I will log my breakfast and lunch, but generally not the fun stuff at night (since often i dont even know what ill have till i have had it)


    these nights dont happen that often (although more foten with the holidays), so i dont sweat them as much
  • calliekitten9
    calliekitten9 Posts: 148 Member
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    The only time I don't log is when I am sharing a bunch of different appitizers or eating "family style" where trying to figure out every item is problematic.
  • paleojoe
    paleojoe Posts: 442 Member
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    Log everything... and if you can't quite figure out how much is in certain food use the "quick add" calories feature and use your judgement. None of this will work until you become honest with yourself about what you are and are not doing.
  • stefaniemazz
    stefaniemazz Posts: 179 Member
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    Eh, I don't log my cheat days, I cheat every Saturday and I have been losing weight.

    I got by TDEE -20% which is about 1600 calories for me, I eat about 1300 during the week and then on Saturday, I make up for all the calories I didn't eat during the week.

    So it's like a re-feed day.

    Works for me.
  • paleojoe
    paleojoe Posts: 442 Member
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    Eh, I don't log my cheat days, I cheat every Saturday and I have been losing weight.

    Great that it works for you... others do not have the same luck.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    How else will you know your calories intake of you don't log everything. Also what are you cheating against. If you're depriving yourself so much you need to cheat you're not doing it in a sustainable way.
  • stefaniemazz
    stefaniemazz Posts: 179 Member
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    How else will you know your calories intake of you don't log everything. Also what are you cheating against. If you're depriving yourself so much you need to cheat you're not doing it in a sustainable way.

    This is the way I look at it.

    Saturday is a day me and boyfriend have our date nights.
    We will go out for Dinner and I will eat whatever I want, we will go home and watch a movie together and share a bag of chips.
    During the week, I wouldn't be able to fit that into my calories while I'm trying to lose.

    I don't deprive myself at all during the week, I eat bacon every morning, I will have some chocolate or icecream at the end of the day if it fits into my macros. I eat pasta probably 3 nights a week.

    But Saturday is my day to eat some junk without thinking about logging it.
  • oklagirl
    oklagirl Posts: 24 Member
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    Thank you all for the advice. I guess I call it a cheat day cause I ate the stuff that I normally would not eat in trying to reach my fat loss goal. I don't say weight cause I'm trying to gain lean muscle. Anyway, I do enjoy the occasional fried or sweet stuff but on this particular day we had an office lunchon and at this time it seemed impossible to be acurate about what I ate but I see that having an idea of what was consumed is better than not knowing at all...Thanks again for the suggestions.
  • Vex3521
    Vex3521 Posts: 385 Member
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    Yes. Logging what you're eating on the positive times should carry over to all the time. I think calling it a "cheat" and hiding it (by not logging) sets you up to guilt yourself and keeps a negative relationship with food going. I log it... If I'm over, I'm over and I don't punish myself.
  • zainabel83
    zainabel83 Posts: 32
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    I log every darn thing I eat, its a pain, but I like being meticulous and knowing what I have ingested, it also makes me think about what I am eating and I try to remember it for logging rather than mindlessly put things into my mouth. Basically, when I think about what I eat, I eat less.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    yes, log them and own them…

    A better strategy to cheat days is to eat what you want…pizza, ice cream, hamburger, etc and just fit it into your day…then you do not have the guilt of blowing out your calories for the day and you staid in a deficit or ate at maintenance…win, win
  • SamanthaD1218
    SamanthaD1218 Posts: 304 Member
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    I don't understand the concept of "cheat days." I have to agree with ndj1979 - if you want to eat something that's higher in calories, just do it and make it work with the rest of your day. Setting aside a "cheat day" seems like a way to excuse bad choices. In relationships you don't get "cheat days," nor in school or at work. Just eat what you want and be responsible by logging it.

    (I'm not trying to sound like I'm on my high horse here, haha. I just had a week of horrible eating and no logging and saw a weight gain! But I'm trying to be more responsible for my intake, so for me it works best by not excusing the bad choices by calling them "cheat days" or a "cheat week." I know that some people give themselves "cheat days" every now and then and it's a great system for them. Whatever you think works the best for you is what you should do - just my opinion! Happy holidays!)
  • DR2501
    DR2501 Posts: 661 Member
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    I don't have a cheat day, but friday and saturday nights are cheat nights and I always log them
  • stefaniemazz
    stefaniemazz Posts: 179 Member
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    I don't understand the concept of "cheat days." I have to agree with ndj1979 - if you want to eat something that's higher in calories, just do it and make it work with the rest of your day. Setting aside a "cheat day" seems like a way to excuse bad choices. In relationships you don't get "cheat days," nor in school or at work. Just eat what you want and be responsible by logging it.

    (I'm not trying to sound like I'm on my high horse here, haha. I just had a week of horrible eating and no logging and saw a weight gain! But I'm trying to be more responsible for my intake, so for me it works best by not excusing the bad choices by calling them "cheat days" or a "cheat week." I know that some people give themselves "cheat days" every now and then and it's a great system for them. Whatever you think works the best for you is what you should do - just my opinion! Happy holidays!)

    I'll tell you why this "fitting it into your calories" doesn't work sometimes.

    Because if I want to go out to a restaurant on the weekend, most meals around over 750 calories, me and my boyfriend get a starters etc, so your saying I should starve myself all day and then go out to eat just so it fits into my calories?


    Cheat days WORK, a lot of people on here seem against them, but I've lost 9 pounds so far, I've went down a pant size, and I've lost inches, and I have a cheat day every Saturday and I don't log it.
  • Pamstimelines
    Pamstimelines Posts: 79 Member
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    I log it so I can see what it is and how much I've consumed so maybe the next time I "cheat" I won't be tempted to cheat even more. knowledge = wisdom = good choices or something like that.
  • velvet4899
    velvet4899 Posts: 16 Member
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    I have a cheat day every Saturday, I usually log it and I've continued to lose weight. Best thing is don't deprive yourself of something or you may just over eat to compensate for that craving.

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