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MyFitnessPal Community

Cheat days, yay or nay?

SEJ721

I've always heard that you should allow yourself a cheat day or really, more of a cheat meal to indulge yourself and to keep the cravings at bay. What do you think bad idea or good idea? If you do this how often do you do it. I nfeel like once a week may be too often maybe bi-weekly or even monthly?

Replies

Laughter_Girl

Yay! Every two weeks seems manageable for me, but you have to do what works for you. On my cheat days, I always track what I eat, and I don't go overboard. That's usually my day to eat a really yummy dessert (Cold Stone Creamery).

fattymcrunnerpants

YAY!!!! It keeps you sane, OMG it keeps you sane.

sarahwilson12

Definitely! I agree - it does keep you sane. I find that as long as I have an overall deficit for the entire week, it's beneficial. Essentially, I count for 6 days a week, but am always under & try not to eat all my exercise calories back. Then, on my "cheat" day, I also track & try not to go too far over. Then, at the end of the week, I still lose weight due to the consistent deficit.

XTSH

YAY!!!! It keeps you sane, OMG it keeps you sane.

Qft.

skinnybythanksgiving

For me a horrible idea. For you? Only you know.

indianarunner76

Heck yay!!!!

RaggedyPond

I read this as chest days... and the answer is yes.

supergirl222

100% yey, have one once a week, i feel it speeds up my metabolism. A cheat day for me is going out to dinner, having a bottle of wine, some bread, ordering the special, dessert and coffee. Just once a week though.... it all tastes so yummy

SerenaKitty

That depends. If you have a history of yo-yo dieting and disordered eating, I would not recommend it. It is a personal choice though, and greatly depends on the individual.

czechwolf52

Meh. I'm patient enough and I can just wait until I have to do something (birthday dinners, weddings, a dinner with friends, holiday) so about once a month I go over. Other than that I can pretty much fit anything that I want to eat into my daily budget, and if I want more I'll exercise to earn it. I'm also on the last 10 or so pounds so I really need to keep my calories in check to keep the scale going down.

I just fear if I intentionally set aside a day a week, in addition to the other things I already do, I could regain my weight, and I'd rather not do that.

Invictus000

It depends on the person. Some people can manage it and some people can't. If you have a problem with moderation then maybe it's not for you.

For me, I cheat usually every couple of days, but I always schedule it into my eating plan for the day, which means I watch my calories and my macros and check what I want to cheat with and make sure I still am below my goals for the day. Like today there were so many things I was craving thanks to stress and I was having a tough time with it so I had a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup (just one) and voila. My cheat. But it kept me from eating any number of other not-so-great things that wouldn't have inevitably put me over just about everything.

chezjuan

Personally, I eat everything in moderation and don't have planned "cheat" days or meals. If I am going out to a restaurant or a party, I try to work it into my day as best as possible.

I do, however, let life happen and go over my calorie goal or don't worry about my macros on occasion (birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.).

SLLRunner

I've always heard that you should allow yourself a cheat day or really, more of a cheat meal to indulge yourself and to keep the cravings at bay. What do you think bad idea or good idea? If you do this how often do you do it. I nfeel like once a week may be too often maybe bi-weekly or even monthly?

Not for me. I allow myself what I want as long as I stay within my calorie allowance each day.

oldholden

More like cheat things - I am approaching this with the attitude that you can eat anything you like as long as you are honest and accurate with what you record and are aware of how much you can consume. If I feel like a chocky bikkie or two I have them, record them then adjust my daily intake to keep on track. It's all about portion control and not restricting what you eat. All the other diets have not worked for me, sure I lost the weight with the "Super Shake" but let's face it they are not a regular food item and you soon slip into the old habits again. This time I am using "real" foods, including so called "cheat items" but trying to limit portions - wish me luck

MrsCZM138

Personally, I eat everything in moderation and don't have planned "cheat" days or meals. If I am going out to a restaurant or a party, I try to work it into my day as best as possible.

I do, however, let life happen and go over my calorie goal or don't worry about my macros on occasion (birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.).

This is exactly what I was going to say. +1

shoesforme

I cannot afford to do cheat days; 1 day of cheating puts me back 4 days. NOT worth it. I guess you must also ask yourself if you are on a "diet" or if this is part of a lifestyle change.

Sharrybash

I personally have a "treat meal" if you want to call it that, i do save an exercise for it, but as a reward after I have weighed in I normally have something a bit more calorific than I normally would.
The massive downside to this is, if you do have a bad week and gain, it can cause you to eat a lot more than planned?

It depends on the person to be honest

Phrick

Personally, I eat everything in moderation and don't have planned "cheat" days or meals. If I am going out to a restaurant or a party, I try to work it into my day as best as possible.

I do, however, let life happen and go over my calorie goal or don't worry about my macros on occasion (birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.).

This is exactly what I was going to say. +1

DR2501

I have cheat meals also, Fridays night and Saturday night are cheats and I have what I want. As said, it keeps me sane.

This won't be forever, just while I'm losing. Once I'm at a weight I'm happy with I'll eat what I want in moderation.

Phrick

I have cheat meals also, Fridays night and Saturday night are cheats and I have what I want. As said, it keeps me sane.

This won't be forever, just while I'm losing. Once I'm at a weight I'm happy with I'll eat what I want in moderation.

Why would you do that? Why not spend your "losing weight" time as a time to learn HOW to "eat what you want in moderation?" If you think you're going to diet yourself thin and then magically just "know" how to eat everything in moderation, I fear you have another thing coming.

Wilhellmina

Nay! It takes me too long to undo the cheat day again, causing my weight to stall instead of losing. I can have a cheat hour perhaps so now and then, but a whole day does too much damage for me. Besides I enjoy the foods I eat, so I shouldn't see why I should have a cheat day.

feadzy

I have them kind of.
Once or twice a week I get something, that is not that good for me (like candy or.. anything ;P ) but I'll make sure it fits within my day.
Sometimes I go over my calories, but thats okay. I'll log it, to keep track and try to make it up a bit during the week.
Also on holidays or celebrations, I let myself go over board but I don't know if I will handle it the same way in future times.. felt so ****ty after christmas

louiseoxford

I agree with the people who say it depends on you and how controlled you can be with yourself! If I have a cheat day then I usually fall off the wagon all together and really go crazy with food (turns into a cheat week). However, a meal out or 'cheat' meal (pasta bake or similar) once every couple of weeks works for me, I then don't deprive myself completely but don't allow myself to go completely out of control. I also find bad food makes me feel sluggish and horrid which makes me crave more bad food, it's a horrid cycle and I just have very bad willpower when it comes to food, once I cheese I just can't stop!!

Try and figure out what's best for you, try cheat days and see how you get on!

dannibefit

Yay for proper cheat meals!! ..nay for cheat days.

pgn301

Yay, if it fits within my Macros for the day I eat whatever I want in moderation of course.

DR2501

I have cheat meals also, Fridays night and Saturday night are cheats and I have what I want. As said, it keeps me sane.

This won't be forever, just while I'm losing. Once I'm at a weight I'm happy with I'll eat what I want in moderation.

Why would you do that? Why not spend your "losing weight" time as a time to learn HOW to "eat what you want in moderation?" If you think you're going to diet yourself thin and then magically just "know" how to eat everything in moderation, I fear you have another thing coming.

Because I want to. If I want something in the week or I'm out, I have it, then adjust accordingly. I just stick to a loose schedule as above because it works for me.

NatalieG525

I'm having a cheat meal tonight. Spicy pulled pork in burger buns. But I've stayed within my calorie limit for the rest of the day, as I don't believe an entire cheat day will be helpful to my goals

encho

Hah! People who admit to have cheat days seem to have worse stats, based on their ticker. So no cheats for me, thanks!

angelamangus1

Personally, I eat everything in moderation and don't have planned "cheat" days or meals. If I am going out to a restaurant or a party, I try to work it into my day as best as possible.

I do, however, let life happen and go over my calorie goal or don't worry about my macros on occasion (birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.).

^^^This!

Same here. I fit food I love into my day and if I go over I go over.

sunnshhiine

I allow myself one cheat meal ever week. not a cheat day... just one cheat MEAL per week. I don't always use them though.