Do you have a cheat day?

Options
cubeinthesky
cubeinthesky Posts: 3
in Food and Nutrition
A few years ago I lost about 40 lbs using weight watchers. Then I figured out that the caloric amounts MFP was recommending were about the same as points except free, so I've switched to this. Weight Watchers obviously has that built in cheat day of points that you can either divvy up for a treat every day or use all at once for something special, which I've kind of counted as a total of 1 day extra calories that I can use on MFP. I've recently heard that people who have a cheat day lose a lot less weight than people that don't - but then you also hear that people who don't have a cheat day end up failing at their diet because they are too restrictive. I get that a cheat day shouldn't be an all out binge fest but I do use one day a week to eat pizza, pasta, have some alcohol, etc. My Mom only does 1 cheat meal a week, and that's it. Then I have a friend doing the slow carb diet where you eat all the carbs you can stomach until you get sick apparently, 1 day a week. Bottom line, is a cheat day ok? For anyone that's had long term success - do you have cheat days?

P.S: on the same vein as this, I've also read that you can go over your calories per day whenever you want, as long as you subtract that amount from another day allowance somewhere in the week. Is this true?

Replies

  • bnsnwldwmn
    bnsnwldwmn Posts: 38
    Options
    Others are probably more knowledgeable to me, but a generally accepted idea is to have a proportion of 80/20 "good" foods to "cheat" foods. How you divvy that up - whether it's allowing yourself a small "cheat" everyday or having one or two "cheat" meals a week - is up to you.

    Personally, I don't like to think of it as cheating; it creates the wrong stigma. Instead, I just build in a treat everyday. Some days I have something I consider a treat (sweets, candy, a beer, junk food, ice cream), other days I don't, but I log everything accordingly. This allows me to feel less restricted while maintaining a moderate diet.

    That's another thing to consider: everything in moderation.

    Hope you get more responses!
  • sjchristofferson
    sjchristofferson Posts: 3 Member
    Options
    I suppose it depends on the person, but I *need* a cheat day (or sometimes just a cheat meal) to stay on track, otherwise I will go nuts and binge. Even on my cheat days, I try to get in at least some sort of exercise and typically just have one meal that I am not so strict with. Of course, this past weekend was really 2 cheat days (girls night out on Saturday and Super Bowl Sunday) but made sure to get right back on track starting Monday. I gained a pound over the weekend but I've already lost it :) I've only been using MFP for a few weeks now, but when I was getting in shape for my wedding about 6 years ago, I counted calories and always factored in 1 day a week of a cheat meal/day. Like you, I was still able to reach a healthy goal with the cheat day. For some people, they just can't have a cheat day because it throws them off entirely (all or nothing approach), whereas I need that day to keep me on track!

    As for the going over calories one day and making it up the next, I suppose that could work, though I couldn't answer definitively whether or not it's a good idea - again, I guess it depends on the person! If I went over one day and restricted the next, I would probably be pretty hungry the next day, causing me to binge again at a later date, so it would just be a yo-yo. Then again, there are some days where MFP tells me I am under my calories (or even not eating enough!) but I am perfectly full. I suppose you should listen to your body on that one :) Good luck and congrats on the weight loss!
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
    Options
    Do you have the app? The way I handle it is that I go under calories early in the week or on heavy workout days and "save" those calories for Friday and sometimes Saturday. Friday I usually have a bottle of wine and sometimes have pizza too. Your weekly average is much more important than any one day, which brings me to the app question. Under the nutrition tab, you can go to "weekly" and it will show you what your average cals are so far and how many cals each day was on one page. You can do it on the website by looking at each day but it's less convenient.

    Bottom line: Calorie deficit=weight loss. It doesn't matter if you do 5:2 which is where you eat at maintenance 5 days a week and get all of your deficit on 2 days eating almost nothing, or have a 3000 calorie day balanced by a 1000 calorie day, or eat exactly the same number each day. Do you want a small treat every day? Or would you prefer to save those calories for booze and pizza on one day a week?

    TL;DR: Log everything, cheat or not, and make sure that you hit your weekly goal.
  • Kr1ptonite
    Kr1ptonite Posts: 789 Member
    Options
    I pretty much never have cheat days/ meals. They is nothing wrong with them, but just not for me.
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
    Options
    Others are probably more knowledgeable to me, but a generally accepted idea is to have a proportion of 80/20 "good" foods to "cheat" foods. How you divvy that up - whether it's allowing yourself a small "cheat" everyday or having one or two "cheat" meals a week - is up to you.

    Personally, I don't like to think of it as cheating; it creates the wrong stigma. Instead, I just build in a treat everyday. Some days I have something I consider a treat (sweets, candy, a beer, junk food, ice cream), other days I don't, but I log everything accordingly. This allows me to feel less restricted while maintaining a moderate diet.

    That's another thing to consider: everything in moderation.

    Hope you get more responses!

    This is also true. It's not cheating. There is no such thing as a "bad" food. Guilt, embarrassment, hate etc should never be associated with food. Hit your calories, get enough protein and enjoy.
  • RockWarrior84
    RockWarrior84 Posts: 840 Member
    Options
    every day as long as it fit into my daily intake. :drinker: :drinker:
  • jrcrmr
    jrcrmr Posts: 31 Member
    Options
    Do you have the app? The way I handle it is that I go under calories early in the week or on heavy workout days and "save" those calories for Friday and sometimes Saturday. Friday I usually have a bottle of wine and sometimes have pizza too. Your weekly average is much more important than any one day, which brings me to the app question. Under the nutrition tab, you can go to "weekly" and it will show you what your average cals are so far and how many cals each day was on one page. You can do it on the website by looking at each day but it's less convenient.

    Bottom line: Calorie deficit=weight loss. It doesn't matter if you do 5:2 which is where you eat at maintenance 5 days a week and get all of your deficit on 2 days eating almost nothing, or have a 3000 calorie day balanced by a 1000 calorie day, or eat exactly the same number each day. Do you want a small treat every day? Or would you prefer to save those calories for booze and pizza on one day a week?

    TL;DR: Log everything, cheat or not, and make sure that you hit your weekly goal.

    I agree with this. Especially the app part... I wish we could get that information on the website as well. I look at it by week anyway...because it's not good to weigh yourself every day and look at every day as a vaccuum; our bodies are way more complicated than that. A week is not the be-all end-all...but it does give you a better perception
  • SmartAlec03211988
    SmartAlec03211988 Posts: 1,896 Member
    Options
    I don't call it a cheat day, because one day a week where I don't log or weigh anything and eat whatever I want is a part of my lifestyle.
  • lola_rd
    lola_rd Posts: 5 Member
    Options
    I have to agree with those that don't call it "cheating". Be accountable for every piece of food/beverage you eat and ask yourself if it was worth it. If it was, awesome and continue on your journey. If it wasn't, learn from the event and continue on your journey. A little something I learned from a diabetes prevention/weight loss program. The great thing about programs like MFP is that you can track everything, so you can decide if that higher calorie food is something you want to have!
  • celinelavigne
    celinelavigne Posts: 4
    Options
    As long as you have a calorie deficit at the end of the week, you will still lose weight. It takes 3500 over your weekly allowance to gain one pound. Same goes with loosing weight. I don't have a specific cheat day but I do include some of my favorites, in moderation, on days where I have less energy to resist. I make up for it by exercising or lowering my calories for the other meals. For me, "cheating" is kind of like saying "dieting" but it is all about changing your lifestyle. I lost 20lbs doing that (before I got started MFP).

Categories