Cheat days

carpaedeyum
carpaedeyum Posts: 13 Member
in Motivation and Support
Those of you that do cheat days....do you do this on a regular day? is it a planned "event focused" day..ie birthday, date, anniversary? do you log anyway? How do you approach it?

I'm considering adding fridays as a no log day just to give my head a rest each week.

Replies

  • jbuzzo58
    jbuzzo58 Posts: 5 Member
    Good luck with that. For me it's a slippery slope that I don't usually recover well from. I'm just trying to leave enough calories each day to enjoy a small treat.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    I do calorie spike days during competition prep. Usually every 14 days. They are still very controlled and usually higher carb, lower fat. Other than that I think it's better to raise calories slightly across the board and fit treats in.

    Cheats (aka calorie spike days) work for some people, but as a binge eater I would lose control.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    when i was losing, I never considered it a "cheat day"...but I did have days where I'd eat to my maintenance calories because it was a special occasion of some sort and I didn't feel like not enjoying myself as much as I otherwise would. i don't think of that as "cheating" though.
  • ckspores1018
    ckspores1018 Posts: 168 Member
    I can't have cheat days. Once I start I don't trust myself to stop, which leads to everyday being a cheat day.

    I save enough calories to enjoy the foods I want so I don't feel the need to cheat. If there is a special event I plan around it so that I have the calories to spend so I can enjoy it.

    If I screw up, then I screw up, track it and move beyond it. But, purposely scheduling cheat days defeats the whole purpose, for me.
  • ArtemisRuns
    ArtemisRuns Posts: 251 Member
    I guess you could call it a cheat day but I don't think of it that way. Mainly I have to keep myself sane and motivated. I don't go off into the weeds too deep, and sometimes it might be once a week or once every 2 weeks. I almost never eat above TDEE.
  • Susie_1
    Susie_1 Posts: 128 Member
    When I have dieted before, I always have a little extra or something really nice on my weigh day, after weigh in obviously :laugh: and this time I intend to do the same, I find having something nice to look forward too keeps me on the straight and narrow through the week, but never overdo it as that would be the end of me.
  • carpaedeyum
    carpaedeyum Posts: 13 Member
    when i was losing, I never considered it a "cheat day"...but I did have days where I'd eat to my maintenance calories because it was a special occasion of some sort and I didn't feel like not enjoying myself as much as I otherwise would. i don't think of that as "cheating" though.

    Reading all the comments and as a binge eater i really like this idea...it releases a bit of the pressure but doesn't abandon control which can be hard to get back...

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