Are Cheat Days A Myth?

My definition of a cheat day: a day in which there is no logging and you completely throw caution to the wind and eat whatever pleases you.

What I described can absolutely prevent weight loss. How do you know you didn't just sabotage your whole week during that one day of splurge? People like me with a very slight deficit can sabotage their weightloss having a no logging cheat day. You can have a cheat day as long as you log it accurately and ensure that you are still within your calorie goals for the WEEK.

For example, I stick to 1500 net calories. If I want to eat 1300 for 6 days so I can splurge and eat 2700 calories on Saturday, that's fine. It all evens out over the week, and that's what matters.

I think you need 1 cheat day a week to throw your body off so it can work more to burn. I normally cheat one day and then get back on track the rest of the week. Cheat days are not a myth to me. And a cheat day doesn't have to be a bad thing.

It really depends.

I purposely only eat 1100 NET a week so I can have my cheat/re-feed day of like 4000 calories on Saturday which equals out to about 1600 calories a day.

But if I were to actually eat 1600 calories a day and then ate 4000 calories on Saturday then I would gain not lose.

It depends how you want to do it.

My cheat day works for me and keeps me on track and its the way I like to do things but I make sure I am in a big deficit for the week.

They are good as long as you keep them reasonable. A meal is better than a whole day I think. They keep me sane and I do notice sometimes they help bust through plateaus a few days after. Also it is definitely a good idea to have a refeed if you are doing low carb.

Um yeah a 6000 calorie cheat day will slow you down. That can easily wipe out an entire week's calorie deficit.

Most people have cheat days more along the lines of 3000 calories, which is a bit more reasonable.

I don't have cheat days.... but then again, I don't eat at a stupid low amount and I fit in all my favorite foods with no issues when I want them. I am making a pizza tonight for example. I had fried rice for lunch. I have a burger when I feel like it... or cake. The key for me is that I don't have them all on the same day and I make sure they still "fit". It really is not all that hard.

To me, the weekly calorie goal is more important than each daily calorie goal. I shoot for an average of 2100 per day with a weekly goal of 14700 calories. I don't have cheat days per say. I do know that my Friday and often Saturday has a bit higher calorie intake because of my lifestyle. My wife and I like to go out for dinner on Friday evening. My team likes to go out for lunch on Friday. Denying these things would make the whole process harder. I can't not go out to lunch with my team for 40 to 70 weeks in a row. Nor will I tell my wife we aren't going out to dinner for 40-70 weeks. For me, it's not about a "cheat day", it's about living a normal life, which means going over goal sometimes.

What do I do? I account for this in the other days. I try to shoot a bit under target on Mon through Thur. Basically, I do this by not eating back exercise calories, which tend to be a nominal 200 to 250 per day. Put a few calories in the bank for Friday night. I try to make somewhat better choices than I used to, but not obnoxiously better choices. I'm going to have a glass of wine at the winery. I'm going to have a craft beer at the place that has 100 craft beers. I'm going to have a couple buffalo wings if we get an appetizer. I'm going to have birthday cake at a birthday party. This allows me to live life. I'll be able to do this for 70 weeks and for 700 weeks. I'm not doing something special or short term.

In practice, this means I net 1900 on most days and hit 3000 one day and maybe 2500 another. Effectively average 2100. I lose 1 pound per week. The only difference between now and maintenance is 500 calories per day on average. If you're going to eat something again in maintenance, learn to eat it now. If you're going to go out to eat and going to go to parties, do it now. If you are going to get together with the guys to watch the game, do that now.

I need someone to correct me if I am wrong.

But I once heard said that CHEAT DAYS are one the the worst things for a diet. IE, 6 2000 calorie days and 1 6000 calorie day dows you know good. Instead have 7 2500 calorie days. That's the path to success.

I'm sure there are people on each side of this coin. Just throwing it out for debate, as this popped up in my head today.

My opinion is that I don't think it matters. THAT SAID, I have no idea of nutrition or what it takes to properly experience long term weight loss.

Cheat Days a Myth? No. They DO exist.

Lol!

I believe that your overall average is what signifies that you're staying on target. You can be on target 6 days, then go over by several hundred calories on the 7th day, and completely blow your deficit. Every.Day.Counts., imo, and mathematically-speaking.

Like so many things in the world of diets, the problem with 'cheat days' is there is no one single definition.

Personally, it seems absurdly unnatural to eat exactly the same calories every day to me. High days and low days are normal (to me). It’s not cheating, it’s just life.