How Many Calories Can I Have On a Cheat Day?

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Replies

  • mamadon
    mamadon Posts: 1,422 Member
    I have been doing it once a month for over a year. I always log it, and eat whatever I want for one day. It has never hurt me a bit.
  • ZombieEarhart
    ZombieEarhart Posts: 320 Member
    I had a cheat day when I possibly consumed nearly 6000 calories, in the next 2 days I gained about 7 pounds, my initial thought was weeks worth of hard work gone in 1 day, but a couple more days later my weight dropped back to the original weight, and then I was happy to see I hadn't even gained at all, this was all in under a week, and by the end of the week I even lost some weight, where I thought I would at least go through a full week week without losing.

    I wouldn't worry too much in counting calories on a cheat day, if you going too then, its hardly a cheat day at all, just enjoy yourself, and reward yourself and eat as much as everyone else does, just don't do it everyday.

    This. Even if you ate 8000 calories in one day you wouldn't wipe our your entire weeks work. The biggest problem with doing it is that it might lead you to continue on the same path. Just as your body can only lose weight so fast, it can only gain so fast, most of those calories are going to end up as number 2. I would suggest doing it once so you will stop thinking about it, and see over the course of a few days if it levels back out for you. You will most likely gain some water weight but it should fall right back off.

    I don't think this is good advice. Eating 8,000 calories in a day certainly can wipe out a week's worth- if I did that I could be as much as 6,000 calories over for the week, combine that with the concept of having a "cheat day" every week, and that leaves you with no deficit. And our bodies are pretty good at extracting nutrition from food, I'd like to see some science to back up the idea that most of those calories would go to waste.

    Either way, unless your daily goal is 4,000 calories, 8K in a day is pretty extreme.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    One of the reasons I'm so glad I discovered the IIFYM crowd...no such thing as cheating. You get your nutrition on and hit your calorie goals...you don't get extra credit for more broccoli...so IIFYM (and calories) have some ice cream or cake. I don't need a special day to have some particular food that is perceived as being "bad."

    Yesterday I had a glazed doughnut with my coffee in the break-room as we celebrated a co-worker's retirement. It was pretty tasty. I also had one egg and 3 egg whites scrambled and some oats earlier that morning. At lunch I had a cup of my homemade charro beans with half an avocado, a serving of quinoa, and 4 oz of grilled chicken breast. For a snack later that day I had about 250 grams of mixed vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, grape tomatoes) and 4 Tbsp spicy red pepper humus as well as an apple and 30g of almonds. Last night for dinner I had 6 oz of salmon, a serving of brown rice pilaf, and 50 grams of asparagus. I had some xoxoxo dark chocolate for desert.

    Having said all of that...how relevant was my doughnut? And why would I need a special day to have a doughnut?
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    You have to do what works for you, personally I do NOT have Cheat days, Cheat meals, Cheat anythings. If it won't fit in the diary, It's not going in my mouth. It's NOT a diet...It's gotta be a LIFESTYLE change.

    I plan my meals in advance, I work in the fast food, junk food, chocolates/treats whatever and keep within my calorie goals. I don't feel deprived if I can 'have my cake & eat it too" and it FITS in my stats.

    Good luck in whatever you end up doing :drinker:

    So you'll never eat over 2000 calories (or whatever your TDEE is) on Holidays? It's sad.

    For me those 'cheat days' are a part of life. They'll happen. Just don't go nuts and be careful the next few days. I haven't seen any permanent damage from any of my 3000 cheat days, personally (TDEE is 2000 or so now).
  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
    One of the reasons I'm so glad I discovered the IIFYM crowd...no such thing as cheating. You get your nutrition on and hit your calorie goals...you don't get extra credit for more broccoli...so IIFYM (and calories) have some ice cream or cake. I don't need a special day to have some particular food that is perceived as being "bad."

    Yesterday I had a glazed doughnut with my coffee in the break-room as we celebrated a co-worker's retirement. It was pretty tasty. I also had one egg and 3 egg whites scrambled and some oats earlier that morning. At lunch I had a cup of my homemade charro beans with half an avocado, a serving of quinoa, and 4 oz of grilled chicken breast. For a snack later that day I had about 250 grams of mixed vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, grape tomatoes) and 4 Tbsp spicy red pepper humus as well as an apple and 30g of almonds. Last night for dinner I had 6 oz of salmon, a serving of brown rice pilaf, and 50 grams of asparagus. I had some xoxoxo dark chocolate for desert.

    Having said all of that...how relevant was my doughnut? And why would I need a special day to have a doughnut?

    Spike days have nothing to do with IIFYM. We use spike days so our bodies will not get used to eating low calories, not as an excuse to eat a doughnut.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    ALL OF THEM
  • GetSoda
    GetSoda Posts: 1,267 Member
    you won't know until you try
  • morehealthymatt
    morehealthymatt Posts: 208 Member
    One bad day isn't going to make you overweight, just like one good day isn't going to make you skinny.

    Answer to your questions...ALL OF 'EM!!
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    ^ these people understand
  • CallMeRuPaul
    CallMeRuPaul Posts: 151 Member
    I usually have a cheat meal a couple of times a week. I try not to have cheat days. but eat as much as you want and enjoy it, try to log it in and move on.
  • Redheadllena
    Redheadllena Posts: 353 Member
    I used to do cheat days and just go hog wild on them...like, eat myself sick (almost). I quickly learned I didn't even like cheat days for that reason, I always overdid it. SO I would say find small ways to enjoy things you like in your day-to-day lifestyle, then you won't need to feel like you're denying yourself anything and have to "cheat" :)
  • brianalynnx
    brianalynnx Posts: 25 Member
    I want to clarify that I don't believe in cheat days because I don't think there's anything to cheat on - it's just a lifestyle.

    That being said, I think the purpose of the cheat is to have what you want and just enjoy it. But as I don't do the cheat thing my thought is just have something, enjoy it, log it, go on with life.

    I agree! This is not a diet, it is a way of life. While I understand what you guys mean by "cheat day", I simply can't stand that term! If you think you can go your whole life without eating any junk you crave, you are probably only fooling yourself and setting yourself up for disappointment. Treating yourself is a normal, as long as it's in moderation. If you want to designate a day for your treats, I completely understand! I personally just like to have my treats as I crave them or on special days, log it and move on!
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    if youre gonna cheat cheat right at least 1000 that would be a minimum goal
  • bsenka
    bsenka Posts: 33
    Calories are practically irrelevant on cheat days. Eat as much as you want to. It's an important part of getting the maximum progress.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    Oh my.


    Well first of all I don't think you need a cheat day unless somehow that improves your long term compliance while not significantly slowing down weight loss.

    For everyone mentioning high calorie days for metabolic reasons I really don't think that's going to do much unless you're already lean.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Calories are practically irrelevant on cheat days. Eat as much as you want to. It's an important part of getting the maximum progress.

    How so?



    ETA: just realized (or actually was told by the DYEL dude above) the post may be sarcastic - I hope so.
  • benlambrou
    benlambrou Posts: 42 Member
    If you really want a number than I would simply check what your basic calorie goal is to maintain your current weight and not your deficit goal number. This will give you 500+ calories. Also try to do some exercise and eat those calories back also. This is for getting an reasonable number value.

    Main thing is just eat what you want in moderation. Like tomorow for valentines we are going out and instead of getting a full order of cheese fries we will only get a half order and for desert we might go get icecream but just get a small size of whatever i want. Main thing is not to worry about it, as long as you are on the right track the days you get alittle relaxed on diet will not hurt and is good practice down the road on food moderation. I only do cheat meals and never make a day of it also. you can really get out of control for an all day event but a meal you will still try to make wiser choices or atleast for me it is.
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    One of the reasons I'm so glad I discovered the IIFYM crowd...no such thing as cheating. You get your nutrition on and hit your calorie goals...you don't get extra credit for more broccoli...so IIFYM (and calories) have some ice cream or cake. I don't need a special day to have some particular food that is perceived as being "bad."

    Yesterday I had a glazed doughnut with my coffee in the break-room as we celebrated a co-worker's retirement. It was pretty tasty. I also had one egg and 3 egg whites scrambled and some oats earlier that morning. At lunch I had a cup of my homemade charro beans with half an avocado, a serving of quinoa, and 4 oz of grilled chicken breast. For a snack later that day I had about 250 grams of mixed vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, grape tomatoes) and 4 Tbsp spicy red pepper humus as well as an apple and 30g of almonds. Last night for dinner I had 6 oz of salmon, a serving of brown rice pilaf, and 50 grams of asparagus. I had some xoxoxo dark chocolate for desert.

    Having said all of that...how relevant was my doughnut? And why would I need a special day to have a doughnut?

    Spike days have nothing to do with IIFYM. We use spike days so our bodies will not get used to eating low calories, not as an excuse to eat a doughnut.
    It doesn't quite work that way.... The effects on leptin are not as dramatic as once thought. It's more of a psychological boost than physiological.
  • sarahtebazile
    sarahtebazile Posts: 3 Member
    I don't refer to those days (or meals) as "cheating." You get out of dieting what you put into it. I also don't like the connotation of "cheating," which is negative. Dieting is not a punishment but rather a(nother) way one takes care of his/herself.

    Opinions among dieters vary concerning breaking the limit on one's daily caloric allowance. Some dieters won't budge with the daily limit, while other might be more flexible. I personally feel that a surplus every now and then doesn't hurt. If/when a day ends with net calories (calories intake minus calories burned) being too high, I don't consider this a loss (or rather gain) unless it brings my total, weekly net calorie average over its limit.

    Overall, in my experience, rigid rules aren't realistic and possibly lead to negative selftalk.
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    If you really want a number than I would simply check what your basic calorie goal is to maintain your current weight and not your deficit goal number. This will give you 500+ calories. Also try to do some exercise and eat those calories back also. This is for getting an reasonable number value.

    Main thing is just eat what you want in moderation. Like tomorow for valentines we are going out and instead of getting a full order of cheese fries we will only get a half order and for desert we might go get icecream but just get a small size of whatever i want. Main thing is not to worry about it, as long as you are on the right track the days you get alittle relaxed on diet will not hurt and is good practice down the road on food moderation. I only do cheat meals and never make a day of it also. you can really get out of control for an all day event but a meal you will still try to make wiser choices or atleast for me it is.
    2-5g/kg of lb for carbs is a good start. You can lower fats and protein to have a little more carbs if you like. That being said, I would cap at 2000 OVER daily intake in calories.
  • lindeyrae1028
    lindeyrae1028 Posts: 17
    It is very difficult to say how many calories are allowed on a cheat day. Like it has been said already... it depends greatly on your net calorie intake for the week as a whole.

    I have none, zip, zilch, nada, NO WILLPOWER!! If I allow myself that slice of cheesecake I will start YEARNING for it, hardcore. I am weak and buying one slice at the store will lead to an entire cake... all the while my mindset is that I can ration it out throughout the week... and in two days I have devoured it.

    So rather than Cheat days I have a little "naughty day". I have a serious sweet tooth. ChocolateCoveredKatie.com is a wonderful website. She gives healthier versions of bad for you treats. I LOVE the chocolate chip cookie dough dip. It is made with chickpeas and has all the sweetness with very little guilt. When I want my naughty day I will have healthier versions of bad foods and I get my fix without returning to my old evil ways!

    If desserts aren't your thing... you can crave your pizza cravings (for instance) by making them homemade and doing that alone saves tons of calories. I like to make a batch of pizza dough and divide it into balls for portioning, freeze individually so I can thaw and use whenever I have a craving. I can roll out and make myself an entire personal pizza and I know that the dough is 175 calories (for instance) and I just keep track of the toppings. As a matter of fact I made myself a pizza for dinner. Instead of red sauce I used garlic infused EVOO and topped the pizza with an ounce of goat cheese, half an apple sliced thinly, red onion and a couple tbsp of mozzarella cheese. It was divine and only about 350 calories. I added a side salad of raw spinach, 2 tbsp feta and 1 tbsp dried cranberries with raspberry walnut vinaigrette (Ken's dressing). Very filling and very "naughty feeling" dinner for just under 500 calories!!
  • Supertact
    Supertact Posts: 466 Member
    Eat as much as you want. It's up to you.

    If I eat something 'unhealthy' I am still within my daily calories and trying to hit my macros as best I can.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    Some folks are asking why you would have to wait to have a doughnut. That's actually a good example for me. The ones I'd love to eat every other day are like 450 calories, but not the kind of calories that do much for my hunger other than to make it come on faster after I've eaten said doughnut ;) I really don't have 450 calories to spare a day to get hungrier to boot, lol.

    But they are super yummy, so I do like having them once a month or whatever. I still have to eat all the filling stuff I normally eat, though. I can't do that doughnut and skip a meal for it, as some of y'all will surely understand (it would royally screw with my appetite). The doughnut is an extra that I do allow myself occasionally, but limiting how often I can have an extra is part of the lifestyle thing, imho. I do have to limit it! But not cut it out entirely, no.

    And no, I'm not eating a half of one of those doughnuts and IIFYMing it. The cream would squirt all out... just no ;)

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