Cheat day

Hi i have just started dieting and i am a big person with a few things to ask.
My allowance is 1960 calories a day and i probably have on acerage 1400 a day isually i weigh myself in the mornings but i weighed myself yesterday night and i had put 2 pounds on since sunday.
Also today was my first cheat day and the first time i have ever been over my calories will this affect me and how often should i have a cheat day? Thanks for helping

Replies

  • jamiebxo
    jamiebxo Posts: 116
    Concerning the 2 pounds you've put on, unless you consumed 7000 calories over your TDEE, you won't have put on 2 pounds in actual weight/fat. It's likely water retention. Make sure you're drinking enough water and lower your sodium intake. Also, this will sound disgusting but if you haven't had a bowel movement for a few days or so, that's where the extra weight might be coming from.

    As for the cheat day question, it'll only affect you if you massively went over your allowance. Just eat less and exercise more tomorrow to work it off and it should even out. It's upto you how often you have a "cheat day" but personally I think you'd be better off incorporating the foods you like into your daily lifestyle but moderating how much of it you eat so it fits in with your calorie goals instead of having a full blown "cheat day". I used to have cheat days and I'd feel miserable afterwards because I was restricting myself 6 days a week and then going all out on this one day. It never affected my progress but it still made me feel guilty. Adding in the foods I like to my daily lifestyle and exercising moderation over it is so much better for me, I now don't have the need for a cheat day and I get to eat what I want without feeling guilty for it because I'm still under my calorie goal a lot of the time. But if you are gonna stick with the whole cheat day thing then I'd recommend once a week.
  • fredgiblet
    fredgiblet Posts: 241 Member
    Don't weigh yourself every day, your weight fluctuates to a very large degree depending on what you've eaten and drank and whether or not you've used the restroom recently.

    Weigh yourself once a week at most, try to do it consistently in the same manner, such as after using the restroom first thing in the morning on your weekend.
  • Sunitagt
    Sunitagt Posts: 486 Member
    Hi i have just started dieting and i am a big person with a few things to ask.
    My allowance is 1960 calories a day and i probably have on acerage 1400 a day isually i weigh myself in the mornings but i weighed myself yesterday night and i had put 2 pounds on since sunday.
    Also today was my first cheat day and the first time i have ever been over my calories will this affect me and how often should i have a cheat day? Thanks for helping

    I weigh myself every day, but you have to be sure you're weighing in at the same time and in the same conditions. For most people, in the morning after they wake up, in the nude typically, after using the toilet. You just have to understand that your weight fluctuates every day, every week, every month, etc. Being up does not mean an 'actual' gain, just like being down may not mean an 'actual' loss, it's the overall average of a downward trend that you're looking for which is why most people recommend weighing in once a week only. Most just can't objectively look at the weight they see on the scale as a single data point in the overall big picture, but that's all it is.
  • RhysWill_I_Ams
    RhysWill_I_Ams Posts: 245 Member
    Hi i have just started dieting and i am a big person with a few things to ask.
    My allowance is 1960 calories a day and i probably have on acerage 1400 a day isually i weigh myself in the mornings but i weighed myself yesterday night and i had put 2 pounds on since sunday.
    Also today was my first cheat day and the first time i have ever been over my calories will this affect me and how often should i have a cheat day? Thanks for helping

    I have a cheat day every 10-14 days and tend to just go absolutely mad with it but try to be as strict as possibly rest of the time that way you have something to work hard towards.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    I am not a fan of cheat days….I prefer to make room in my diary for what I want and then maintain my deficit, eat to maintenance, or go a little over….the only exception to this, for me, is thanksgiving, other holidays, birthdays, and/or special occasions…

    so if your maintenance level is 1960 then I would plan a day where you eat what you want but eat to 1960 or a little over...
  • I would not weigh yourself everyday, your weight will fluctuate due to water weight. I weigh myself once a week, or once every two weeks. Also, I agree with the other post. Cheat days did not work for me, so now I add little bits of cheat into my meals. For instance, I LOVE chocolate, so I allow myself a dove chocolate whenever I am feeling the urge.. or I will make healthy chocolate peanut butter protein cookies! hope this helps!