Do you have a "cheat day"?

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  • __freckles__
    __freckles__ Posts: 1,238 Member
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    Just had pizza & feel disappointed with myself so if you can avoid these cheat days..the better you'll feel

    I don't understand this. I have pizza once a week and instead of disappointment I have immense feelings of happiness and joy.
  • PJPrimrose
    PJPrimrose Posts: 916 Member
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    I go over, but not binge out, on holidays. My weight goes back down a week later. I limit these holidays to major holidays, Valentine's day and Mother's Day. Oh, and my birthday :smile:

    A life without Friday pizza night sounds so sad :frown:
  • karenfallison
    karenfallison Posts: 30 Member
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    I have a "treat" day about every 1-2 weeks where I will allow myself to eat 1 (ONE) item of choice, I plan ahead and work it into my food plan for the day. It helps me to prefill my food plan allowing me to decide if I'm getting the most bang for my buck!
  • cheripugh1
    cheripugh1 Posts: 357 Member
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    I'm new to this site and new to fitness and healthy dieting in general. One constant I see among a lot of people's habits is that there is a cheat day where you either don't work out, or eat whatever you want, or both.

    I would be worried that this would make me fall back into old habits. I want to push through and try to keep on track as much as possible 7 days a week, but I also don't want to deprive myself of my favorite things, like staying in my PJs all day Saturday, and pizza. I know "everything in moderation"...but I would love to hear your stories, experiences, tips, advice, etc. on taking a day off every week. Have you found that it helps or hurts your progress?

    Well I eat pizza but reduced cheese and thin crust and not the whole thing lol OK my only cheat days, are special occasions, birthday, holiday those kinds of things. I try, TRY to maintain in my calorie limits otherwise and for that matter even on cheat days I TRY not to go over.

    I also do not eat back calories burned, I started out not and then did because I saw so many that did, and boy am I sorry so back to not.

    Good luck on your new life journey!
  • incantarix
    incantarix Posts: 35
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    I'm sure I will have days that I eat more than I wanted to, or things that have way more calories than I am normally eating, but I personally wouldn't ever schedule a "cheat" day, and here's why; I am addicted to food, and am a compulsive overeater. For ME, a cheat day would be like an alcoholic choosing one day a week to drink alcohol. That is a slippery slope for me. Additionally, I am trying to get away from associating food with reward. I am trying to remember how I got here in the first place. I don't want the feeling of fun and good times always associated with food. I have to relearn how to enjoy myself without food always involved.

    I know I will eat some junk once in a while, but I personally would be irresponsible if I started giving myself the leeway of a cheat day.
  • amberlilies
    amberlilies Posts: 41 Member
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    I have a cheat meal once a week that I strategically plan for a social event, but I'm still pretty thoughtful and conservative with my calories so I only go over a little and don't ruin all my hard work for the week.
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
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    As far as hurting progress.
    Let say you go overboard by 1000 calories on a cheat day. That is roughly 1/3 lb of calories. It may officially hurt the # on the scale a little bit, but mentally to allow yourself that freedom from the daily grind it could go a long way to keeping you on task.
    One reason why people get discouraged is they feel so restricted and dont enjoy food like they used to, but allowing a cheat every so often can help you actually stay on the path
  • EMPulseKC
    EMPulseKC Posts: 14 Member
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    There's no such thing as a "cheat day" to me. Occasionally, there are days that I go over my goal for whatever reason, but I try to keep those days limited to once or twice a month or less. When it happens, I don't sweat it because I know that overall I'm trying to eat healthy and exercise. One high calorie meal that puts me over for the day every now and then is not going to make me go off the rails because I stay disciplined enough to not make it a habit.
  • HollyKarlsen
    HollyKarlsen Posts: 21 Member
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    I had a cheat weekend about a month ago where I ate one meal on Saturday and one meal on Sunday where I totally went off the rails. It took me 2 and a half weeks of hard work to undo the damage :( I think if there's something you're really craving, you should make yourself earn it with exercise calories burned. That way you take care of the craving without having a setback.
  • MrsATrotta
    MrsATrotta Posts: 278 Member
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    I really wanna answer this bc I loveeee food and mostly food I shouldn't eat lol. I am not a fan of the "cheat day" and the reason is this kind of gives you 24 hours to eat all bad things/portions and that will easily make you fall into bad habits. We work hard to break bad habits and work in moderation. But ya know what? If I see something I want I eat it, I work it into my diet and make sure I pay attention to serving sizes etc. I had a piece of cheese cake the other day but I basically ate salad the rest of the day and when I put together my second salad really wanting something else I reminded myself I did indulge today and I'm not depriving myself everyday, I'm making my diet work for me not the other way around. So as far as working out... since I have gone soo long not working out on a regular basis I commit to working out at least 30 minutes everyday, but I don't really go hard on myself if I miss 1 day a week but any more than that to me is falling back into bad habits for me personally.
  • holothuroidea
    holothuroidea Posts: 772 Member
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    Holidays are cheat days for me. I won't log food, and I wont worry about what I'm eating. This happens 0-2x a month, no more.

    I will do a cheat meal once in a while, I stick to one meal per week and I DO count those calories.

    Psychologically, everyone is different. Some people are better at sticking to a strict routine and cheating would throw them off track, some people (like me) would go crazy and give up if they couldn't do a cheat meal once in a while. Do what works for you, but make sure that you don't skip logging your calories more than once a month. Keeping your cheats in check will make sure you don't blow your progress.
  • onefortyone
    onefortyone Posts: 531 Member
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    I haven't 'cheated' yet - I log everything, good bad and ugly, and have been WAY over on some days. To me, cheating is not logging it (or lying when you log it, or that trick where you 'finish' your diary day so it posts that you were under your goal, and then adding everything else afterwards), and not owning up, and not holding yourself accountable. This whole time I've been eating what I want for supper anyway - lasagne, tacos, steak, etc., so I don't feel the psychological need to go crazy or anything. I'm focused on healthy(ish) breakfasts & lunches, smaller serving sizes, and exercise.

    Having said all that, I am eating whatever food and whatever quantities I want on Tuesday night, because I'm having my wisdom teeth out on Wednesday morning and have to fast and then eat mush for a few days lol.
  • starciakathleen
    starciakathleen Posts: 6 Member
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    I kinda have a cheat day, but I go days I over eat and then the next day I under eat. I don't do this intentionally, but it happens. I do, also, when we have my step-daughter I don't work out. so every other weekend I don't work out, but I am trying to workout everyday. I only work 2 days a week, so I included in my work out and I am on my feet constantly moving for 8 hours straight. So in my opinion it all balances out.
  • paxbfl
    paxbfl Posts: 391 Member
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    I do a free day usually every two weeks. For me it helps me stay on track the rest of the time. But I'm still responsible for the calories. I don't log, but I know approximately how many calories I'm eating. So I divide up the extra calories over those two weeks so it doesn't mess me up. As others have said, I think it helps rev up your metabolism. Plus I feel so bloated and gross afterwards I am very motivated to stay on track.

    If this isn't your style, then don't do it. But I also wouldn't sweat it if you're a little over once a week or so. You will have those days, even if you don't plan an official free day.
  • watchhillgirl
    watchhillgirl Posts: 597 Member
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    I have a cheat meal not a cheat day. My husband and I usually go out to dinner on Friday nights and then the movies. We usually walk about 3 miles before dinner (there is a wonderful trail by the art museum!). I usually pick something like scallops or fish and sometimes squeeze in a desert. I feel better that I at least get a walk in before!
  • mccallp319
    mccallp319 Posts: 52 Member
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    I used to cheat every weekend and wonder why I wasn't losing weight. For the past two months, I cut out my cheat meals and decided not to have one until I hit a certain weight goal (175) . Currently I'm consistently losing 2-3 lbs a week with no set backs and getting closer and closer to my goal every week.
  • rayofsunshine2368
    rayofsunshine2368 Posts: 108 Member
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    Hi, I am not new to working out but I had the issue with loosing weight because of loving food hehe. well I am on a program you might want to look up its called the venus factor. I have stayed the same weight for a few years. I thought it was my age. however started last Sunday and I have lost 3 lbs already. count your calories and yes its not a cheat day its an eat up day to reset your hormone that stores fat called Lipton. Anyway it made sense what the Venus Factor said and had nothing to loose except the weight. anyway my calorie intake a day is 1000 calories and my maintance calorie to reset is 1700 calories. I can eat anything I want as long as I stay under my calorie intake. It does work. read blogs on youtube and research it for yourself. good luck. and make good choices
  • elyuma
    elyuma Posts: 11 Member
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    I do cheat every weekend but with some limit. Is funny that even after eating crap during the weekend i managed to keep losing.

    Now i do mountain biking 5 days a week 8 miles every days. about 800 calories per ride. Doing MTB it works with the biggest muscle of your body and require a lot of energy to recover. So far i have lose 30 pounds and working on my goal of 30-40 more.

    so far i have no issue by cheating on the weekend. is all depend on your activities. :-)

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