How often do you have a cheat day?

There is no point doing a diet where you can never ever ever have the foods that you want as ultimately you're going to fail. We all have foods that we like to eat, social gatherings to go to etc it's just about weighing up what's worth it and what's not. For example, I am terrible for wanting something sweet after dinner and last night I was sat there obsessing over the malteasers that I knew were in the cupboard but I resisted. However, Thursday is my best friends birthday and she wants to go out for burritos and there is no way I'm skipping those bad boys - I love them! So I'm just doing more exercise and trying to cut down a little leading up to it. Still having my treat but managing the effect.

That being said I am a massive foodie and love: Thai food, Burritos, Fried Chicken, Peanut butter ice cream, Steak, Roasted garlic potato mash, pizza etc. The list could go on and on.

This!

I don't restrict myself from things I love. I make them fit into my daily targets so that I am not deprived and eat a 1200+calorie kebab. Try focusing on foods you enjoy, that are also mixed in with fitting your daily targets. It needs to be something you can do for the rest of your life, it's not a diet.

I am also trying to make this a lifestyle change and not a diet. My refrigerator has gone through a transformation, I am cooking way more than ever so I can have better control over what I am eating. But I still like to have a little ice cream once in a while and drink a few beers or cocktails over the weekends. I went out to brunch for my daughters birthday yesterday, and had eggs benedict. For me, I need to be able to do this and allow for those moments.

I would look into a IIFYM (If it fits your macros) approach. This way you are eating foods you like, but in moderation. It helps to avoid binge eating and huge cheat meals.

I don't plan cheat days since they happen all by themselves. You can't avoid social occasions or other circumstances where it's very hard if not impossible to stay within your limits. There seems to be something like that at least every other week. Those are my cheat days. I don't stress over them. I just try to make up for them in the next few days to balance them out over the week.

I don't plan cheat days since they happen all by themselves. You can't avoid social occasions or other circumstances where it's very hard if not impossible to stay within your limits. There seems to be something like that at least every other week. Those are my cheat days. I don't stress over them. I just try to make up for them in the next few days to balance them out over the week.

Same with me. There tends to be one day of the week, generally Friday or Saturday, when I'm sitting down with friends and family and think, seriously??? Why in the world would I pull my calorie counter out now?!? I only eat until I'm full and drink lots of water like a good girl, but the point is to really enjoy my food and the good company and such. I generally log it afterwords and find that I'm just under maintenance because I was good the rest of the day, which is perfectly fine with me.

Just don't give yourself the kind of cheat day where you say, "I'm going to pick out as much calorie filled food as I can and sit down and eat it all by myself in one sitting so that I can stay sane". Trying to be healthier should not make you go crazy like that, and can ruin all of your progress. But don't miss opportunities in life where you just need to enjoy yourself and live a little

Once a week or once every 8-9 days , I eat cookies, pizza, ice cream, etc . ends up being about 6kcal - 7kcal.

I still lose weight at about 4-5 kg / month.

But keep in mind my exercise intensity is a lot higher than most, since I do crossfit, strength training, and HIIT/ TABATA workouts usually all in one go(2 hour - workouts daily). If I don't work out this intensely I wouldn't lose any weigh by eating 7kcal of carb and fat once a week.

so it won't work for everyone.

Experiment and find if your body can handle cheat days given your current deficit and life style.

We went out for my husbands birthday over the weekend and he loves Mexican food. I find that yes, I did "cheat" but I still made better food choices than I would have had I not been counting. My cheat days are more in control than they were before I joined MFP. I used to just be like, "well eff this I'll eat whatever I want I'm already cheating" and now I can reign it in a little more. For example, my "cheat" meal was half of a vegetarian taco salad, two margaritas, and a sliver of cake. It put me over, but not enough to make me feel like crap about it.

My husband and I do exactly the same thing. It's our sauna night. So during the day we eat healthy, carefully within our calories, and then once work is over it's free time. I've actually found that I don't eat as much as I ever plan to eat. It juts helps keep me on track during the week knowing "I can eat that on Friday". And then, of course if there is a party or other social event, I can move my "cheat day" until then.

Since I've moved to FInland I've watched all the slim people at my work and see that they don't gorge themselves when we go out, but they also don't always choose a green salad with fat free dressing and a small glass of wine. They accommodate treats and good food for those social times, but really pay attention to what they're eating the rest of the time.

I'm never going to succeed at this if I keep beating myself up for eating too much pizza, so why not plan when and where I will allow myself more flexibility in my eating?

I go over my calories 1 time a week. It's usually saturday, when I'm all day at home and there is delicious cooking going on, sometimes I just can't avoid it. So I give myself a little break. I make up for this in the next week.

1000lb kebab? Are you american?

I don't plan cheat days since they happen all by themselves. You can't avoid social occasions or other circumstances where it's very hard if not impossible to stay within your limits. There seems to be something like that at least every other week. Those are my cheat days. I don't stress over them. I just try to make up for them in the next few days to balance them out over the week.

This! I don't have cheat days as such (don't like the term) - and I acknowledge that I have to balance this improved health game with simply living and enjoying my life. If I know it's going to be a high day (birthdays, meals out etc) I do a bit more exercise and try to balance the meals through the rest of the day. But I don't sweat it - it doesn't happen enough to make a real significant difference.

I don't plan cheat days since they happen all by themselves. You can't avoid social occasions or other circumstances where it's very hard if not impossible to stay within your limits. There seems to be something like that at least every other week. Those are my cheat days. I don't stress over them. I just try to make up for them in the next few days to balance them out over the week.

yeah I agree , i couldnt plan a cheat day , too much temptation , i will just keep going as long as possible until a ' Who really gives a F*** " day comes along , with my family that will be at least once a fortnight , so i allow one day and then get back on the wagon again and try to adjust the next few days .

I don't have cheat days because a) these days I eat what I want, just less of it than I used to, and b) it seems defeatest to me to diligently log your foods all week only to possibly blow it on one day when you have no idea what you are actually eating.

I understand 'cheat day' or 'cheat meal' to be a meal that is not logged on here, hence my comments above.

If you are only two weeks in and already having problems perhaps the changes you made to your diet have been too radical, too quickly? You want to eventually get to a point where eating healthy foods is totally normal and you aren't having daily cravings for the things that got you to the point where you needed to join MFP!

ETA: I have logged every single thing I have eaten on August 2013. Including days when I ate way more than I had planned.

My bf and I cheat once a week, but for one meal rather than a full day's worth of food. As long as we maintain portion sizes, it makes us feel much better about our food plans. Like other users, we try to make our regular meals as tasty as possible, and vary everything as well.

1000lb kebab? Are you american?

How dare you. You want a piece of America?