Cheat weekends

telepneff
telepneff Posts: 71 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've read a couple of contradictory things about this so just wanted to see what the general consensus is.

I have really only been concentrating on my diet for about a month now and since joining here I have read up on the best way to lose weight the healthy way (I'm in no rush).

I'm attempting to eat TDEE-20% which during the week I find difficult to hit but at the weekends I full on binge (mainly because I'm out or have friends over and can't plan in advance what I will have). I go over my daily calorie allowance by quite a lot. What I want to know is if this is ok?

Can I eat at a deficit of my TDEE-20% during the week and eat back those calories at the weekend?

I have worked out what my average daily calorie intake has been over a week and it comes out roughly what it should be (I was over this week just gone because of easter but it was still lower than maintenance).

My diary is open but I've only been concentrating on doing it this way for just over a week.
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Replies

  • pinkshiningstar
    pinkshiningstar Posts: 141 Member
    My rule of thumb is to enjoy a cheat meal, not a cheat day or a cheat weekend.

    My cheat meals are usually a trip out to a restaurant, or enjoying a slice or two of pizza with my salad... but not a trip to a buffet complete with cheesecake for dessert. For some people, that might work. I know for myself that it doesn't and I like to stay relatively on track. I know when I have gone over more than I would like, when I weigh in the next week, it shows, and my hard work the week before is basically wasted. But that's just me. :wink:
  • FatGuyNL
    FatGuyNL Posts: 23 Member
    I would recommend to anyone to avoid cheat weekends. I think a meal or even a day is great for some, but if you give yourself a weekend you will really shovel in some crap and stunt your progress.

    I know first hand, since I started I've had some cheat weekends and you really feel like crap afterwards, and I doubt the yoyo-ing is doing your body any good.

    I also find that junk food is like a drug, once I wean off of it I'm good to go but the first day giving up is hard. So I find when I had a cheat weekend (as opposed to a meal or a day) it felt like I was "addicted" again and very hard to cut it out again - and as a result, sometimes my cheat "weekend" would spill over to Monday, Tuesday, and even Wednesday sometimes.

    That's just my experience with it though.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
    cheat weekends = vacations!!!

    Can I have on please?!?!?!?

    Otherwise f you "cheat" for a whole weekend it's much harder to get back on the horse.

    Cheat days or meals are good for your diet as long as you don't over do the frequency of them.

    I don't call them cheat meals. I just call it eating. Cheat makes me think of diet, and i'm changing my life, not my diet. :)
  • telepneff
    telepneff Posts: 71 Member
    Thanks guys!

    I think cheat was the wrong word. I don't mean cheat as in eat crap. I will eat relatively well every day but I will still have chocolate if I fancy it on a weekday (IIFYM style).

    What I meant was is it ok to eat more on weekends and less on weekdays? Because that's what I seem to be doing naturally.
  • emeraldeyes_bc
    emeraldeyes_bc Posts: 200 Member
    There aren't supposed to be cheat weekends, that's totally counter productive. 7 days a week and you're cheating 2 (maybe 3 depending if you're counting Friday?) days?? You're just spending 3 or 4 days detoxing just to start over again.

    The idea is to have 1 cheat meal. We sometimes reward ourselves with a day, but definitely not always..
  • IsabellaGiano
    IsabellaGiano Posts: 158 Member
    Thanks guys!

    I think cheat was the wrong word. I don't mean cheat as in eat crap. I will eat relatively well every day but I will still have chocolate if I fancy it on a weekday (IIFYM style).

    What I meant was is it ok to eat more on weekends and less on weekdays? Because that's what I seem to be doing naturally.


    Yes, you can do that as long as your average weekly intake is within your goal.

    I mean... if you should eat, say, 2000 a day, you can eat 1800 a day for 5 days, and then have 2000 plus the cals you didn't eat in the week, in the weekends.

    It is that that you meant?
  • elbaldwin0525
    elbaldwin0525 Posts: 159 Member
    My advice: do whatever works....cheat meals, day, weekend...whatever works to see that youre reaching your goal and keeping your sanity. I personally prefer a refeed day being that Im on lowER carbs and refeed's doesnt make me gain as much water weight as a cheat day would



    Refeed days are basically the raising of carbs and the lowering of fat....basically
  • telepneff
    telepneff Posts: 71 Member
    Thanks guys!

    I think cheat was the wrong word. I don't mean cheat as in eat crap. I will eat relatively well every day but I will still have chocolate if I fancy it on a weekday (IIFYM style).

    What I meant was is it ok to eat more on weekends and less on weekdays? Because that's what I seem to be doing naturally.


    Yes, you can do that as long as your average weekly intake is within your goal.

    I mean... if you should eat, say, 2000 a day, you can eat 1800 a day for 5 days, and then have 2000 plus the cals you didn't eat in the week, in the weekends.

    It is that that you meant?

    Yes, that's what I meant.

    I'm supposed to have 1700 a day but would rather have 1500 Mon-Thurs then 1950 Fri-Sun.

    Also, if this would still work for weight loss, would this have an effect on my metabolism?
  • asdowe13
    asdowe13 Posts: 1,951 Member
    Eat food, make them fit, I eat what I want, when I want and make them fit into my daily calories, working on fitting my macros.

    cheat/tʃit/ Show Spelled [cheet] Show IPA
    verb (used with object)
    1. to defraud; swindle: He cheated her out of her inheritance.
    2. to deceive; influence by fraud: He cheated us into believing him a hero.
    3. to elude; deprive of something expected: He cheated the law by suicide.

    Whether you track a daily total or a weekly total it doesn't matter, a deficit is a deficit, maintenance is maintenance, bulk is a bulk.

    Food is fuel, food is good, get it in yah.
  • asdowe13
    asdowe13 Posts: 1,951 Member
    Thanks guys!

    I think cheat was the wrong word. I don't mean cheat as in eat crap. I will eat relatively well every day but I will still have chocolate if I fancy it on a weekday (IIFYM style).

    What I meant was is it ok to eat more on weekends and less on weekdays? Because that's what I seem to be doing naturally.


    Yes, you can do that as long as your average weekly intake is within your goal.

    I mean... if you should eat, say, 2000 a day, you can eat 1800 a day for 5 days, and then have 2000 plus the cals you didn't eat in the week, in the weekends.

    It is that that you meant?

    Yes, that's what I meant.

    I'm supposed to have 1700 a day but would rather have 1500 Mon-Thurs then 1950 Fri-Sun.

    Also, if this would still work for weight loss, would this have an effect on my metabolism?

    No your metabolism will continue to work!
  • asdowe13
    asdowe13 Posts: 1,951 Member
    There aren't supposed to be cheat weekends, that's totally counter productive. 7 days a week and you're cheating 2 (maybe 3 depending if you're counting Friday?) days?? You're just spending 3 or 4 days detoxing just to start over again.

    The idea is to have 1 cheat meal. We sometimes reward ourselves with a day, but definitely not always..

    Detoxing from what??
  • emeraldeyes_bc
    emeraldeyes_bc Posts: 200 Member
    for every day you cheat, you need 3 clean days to counteract it and get you back to where you were before you cheated.
    Obviously Not the case if he's still eating clean, just more of it.
  • MickeyCastello
    MickeyCastello Posts: 269
    I lost my weight giving myself a cheat day every Friday. I still do it and maintain just fine. You just don't go too wild though.
  • suremeansyes
    suremeansyes Posts: 962 Member
    I eat double my regular calories on Saturday, and Sunday is even a bit higher as well. M-F I eat at a lower amount.

    My husband and I have been doing this for like 6 years now, he lost 100 pounds and hasn't gained a single pound back (he doesn't track or count calories at all). I gained some weight back because I stopped tracking my weekend calories (well I stopped tracking completely) and it is easy to overdo it. I could easily put away 4000-5000 calories on a Saturday if I don't track.
  • asdowe13
    asdowe13 Posts: 1,951 Member
    for every day you cheat, you need 3 clean days to counteract it and get you back to where you were before you cheated.
    Obviously Not the case if he's still eating clean, just more of it.

    What's eating clean?
  • suremeansyes
    suremeansyes Posts: 962 Member
    for every day you cheat, you need 3 clean days to counteract it and get you back to where you were before you cheated.
    Obviously Not the case if he's still eating clean, just more of it.

    What's eating clean?

    When you wash your hands before eating a hamburger.
  • asdowe13
    asdowe13 Posts: 1,951 Member
    for every day you cheat, you need 3 clean days to counteract it and get you back to where you were before you cheated.
    Obviously Not the case if he's still eating clean, just more of it.

    What's eating clean?

    When you wash your hands before eating a hamburger.

    Well then consider me an unclean eater!
  • Deipneus
    Deipneus Posts: 1,861 Member
    My rule of thumb is to enjoy a cheat meal, not a cheat day or a cheat weekend.
    It keeps expanding. I never heard of cheat weekends until just now. Next up: Cheat Weeks and Cheat Months. :drinker:
  • sweetpea03b
    sweetpea03b Posts: 1,123 Member
    The thing is..... if you've got enough of a deficit from your 5 day work week to lose 1 lb (3600 calories)... you can MAINTAIN during the weekend without it hurting you. However, if you are going OVER maintenance on the weekends... you're eating into all that work you did during the week. Bottom line is... you won't drop a lb until you get to that 3600 calorie mark... regardless of how long it takes you to get there (1 week.. 2 weeks... whatever)... but in my opinion... if your cheat weekend is doing away with all that work you did during the week...what's the point?
  • Ilikelamps
    Ilikelamps Posts: 482 Member
    "hey honey do you mind if i make out with someone else while i go on a business trip, im good MOST of the time but I just need to let loose for once"


    what
  • telepneff
    telepneff Posts: 71 Member
    My rule of thumb is to enjoy a cheat meal, not a cheat day or a cheat weekend.
    It keeps expanding. I never heard of cheat weekends until just now. Next up: Cheat Weeks and Cheat Months. :drinker:

    I know! I really didn't mean cheat, I used the wrong word!
  • JoshTheGiant
    JoshTheGiant Posts: 176 Member
    What I like to do is make a list on my phone anytime I crave something that is "bad" during the week. Then on my "cheat" day, which is Sunday, I eat the list I made but within very small and reasonable portions.

    For instance, If I am really craving my Grandma's Penne & Vodka sauce, I make it and only have one small bowl to put away my craving. If I am craving a Sicilian rice ball with fresh self-grated Locatelli cheese and fresh Mozzarella, I will have half a rice ball and that's it. I can do this without going crazy in calories but it takes a ton of discipline.

    When I played ball in college our Nutritionist encouraged a, "cheat day" as long as the portions are controlled.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I have worked out what my average daily calorie intake has been over a week and it comes out roughly what it should be (I was over this week just gone because of easter but it was still lower than maintenance).

    If you are still lower than maintenance then you should lose fat. Not as quickly as if you 20% deficit every day, but a deficit = loss.

    I recently read an articleabout a study that showed of the people in the study, those that had the most long term success at weight loss "dieted" (i.e. carefully restricted calories) during the week but were much more lax on the weekends.
  • suremeansyes
    suremeansyes Posts: 962 Member
    "hey honey do you mind if i make out with someone else while i go on a business trip, im good MOST of the time but I just need to let loose for once"


    what

    Good thing my food can't think or talk. My carrots don't get upset when I eat chili cheese fries.
  • JoshTheGiant
    JoshTheGiant Posts: 176 Member
    "hey honey do you mind if i make out with someone else while i go on a business trip, im good MOST of the time but I just need to let loose for once"


    what

    Good thing my food can't think or talk. My carrots don't get upset when I eat chili cheese fries.

    +1 For leading post of the day
  • Galatea_Stone
    Galatea_Stone Posts: 2,037 Member
    "hey honey do you mind if i make out with someone else while i go on a business trip, im good MOST of the time but I just need to let loose for once"


    what

    Good thing my food can't think or talk. My carrots don't get upset when I eat chili cheese fries.

    You know, the problem could easily be solved if you let your carrot dip into the chili cheese fries once in a while. A little chili cheese carrot fries is good for the soul.

    OP, all that matters is that you maintain an overall deficit. You can't be expected to be perfect all the time.
  • suremeansyes
    suremeansyes Posts: 962 Member
    "hey honey do you mind if i make out with someone else while i go on a business trip, im good MOST of the time but I just need to let loose for once"


    what

    Good thing my food can't think or talk. My carrots don't get upset when I eat chili cheese fries.

    You know, the problem could easily be solved if you let your carrot dip into the chili cheese fries once in a while. A little chili cheese carrot fries is good for the soul.

    OP, all that matters is that you maintain an overall deficit. You can't be expected to be perfect all the time.

    My carrots can get their own chili cheese fries! These are MINE! I'm a selfish eater.
  • jpolinisse
    jpolinisse Posts: 149 Member
    I am now craving chili cheese fries.
  • Galatea_Stone
    Galatea_Stone Posts: 2,037 Member
    "hey honey do you mind if i make out with someone else while i go on a business trip, im good MOST of the time but I just need to let loose for once"


    what

    Good thing my food can't think or talk. My carrots don't get upset when I eat chili cheese fries.

    You know, the problem could easily be solved if you let your carrot dip into the chili cheese fries once in a while. A little chili cheese carrot fries is good for the soul.

    OP, all that matters is that you maintain an overall deficit. You can't be expected to be perfect all the time.

    My carrots can get their own chili cheese fries! These are MINE! I'm a selfish eater.

    No, you really should try it. Boil, then shred then mix right in. You'd never know the carrots were there.
  • suremeansyes
    suremeansyes Posts: 962 Member
    My carrots can get their own chili cheese fries! These are MINE! I'm a selfish eater.

    No, you really should try it. Boil, then shred then mix right in. You'd never know the carrots were there.

    Wait, this went from innuendo into actual carrots in my chili cheese fries. :sad:

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