Do you have a "cheat day"?

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Replies

  • AlysonG2
    AlysonG2 Posts: 713 Member
    I have a cheat meal once a week now. It really keeps me in check to have that to look forward to every week. I didn't have one for about the first month though. I really think it would have derailed me in the beginning.
  • 3P0X
    3P0X Posts: 302
    I have them often

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  • angelarene626
    angelarene626 Posts: 32 Member
    I say having a "cheat day" is essential to anyone trying to lose weight. Otherwise, I think you would lose your mind and end up binging from all the depravation. I actually have a "cheat weekend" because my friends love to go out day and/or night and I don't feel like restricting myself at parties, restaurants, etc.

    Plus, I usually don't do that badly on the weekend anyways. I guess Sunday is my only real cheat day because I do bootcamp class on Saturday mornings...I workout Mon-Fri, so I still get in 5-6 days of exercise each week. But on Ssaturday or Sunday, I eat whatever pasta, bread or potato dish I want. Yet, I still don't eat that heavy because all the dieting during the week really shrinks my appetite, so I get full pretty quickly. I haven't had any real trouble losing weight so far. Plus all the muscle I build during the week counteracts any real damage I might do during the weekend as well :)
  • Ivana_KillerBody
    Ivana_KillerBody Posts: 56
    An entire 24 hrs :)
  • Ivana_KillerBody
    Ivana_KillerBody Posts: 56
    Yes, and according to the 4Hr Body (book I'm following); it is actually good to do cheat day once a week to boost your metabolism so it doesn't go into hybernation mode. You will notice it takes about 2-3 days to drop to the pre-cheat day weight, but then it's downwards significantly again. . .
    Would this be a whole days worth or just 1 meal??

    Yes an entire 24 hrs
  • LosingItForGood13
    LosingItForGood13 Posts: 182 Member
    After tracking for 259 days a cheat day every week as helped I didn't have cheat days when first started didn't want to derail my progress
  • supermodelchic
    supermodelchic Posts: 550 Member
    Yes I have one cheat meal , and it is a healthy clean cheat meal...Like Chipotle salad with extra chicken & brown rice :smile:
  • Premadonna22
    Premadonna22 Posts: 2 Member
    My cheat day is on Saturday...after a few snacks, I'm done for the rest of the week
  • ProudAirforceWife
    ProudAirforceWife Posts: 38 Member
    I call them TREAT days. Yes, I have them and they really help me stay on track. I usually have them on a Friday or Saturday where I am a little bit more relaxed but I still don't go over board and I record everything, even if I have to guesstimate and add quick calories. Also, I am not dieting, I am changing my lifestyle and eating habits. I think "diet" and "cheat" are bad words. Cheers!
  • Chrissy8172
    Chrissy8172 Posts: 29
    I don't have an entire cheat day, but I may have a cheat meal once during the week or a "cheat treat" with one of my meals (i.e....actually eating regular noodles/potatoes with my chicken..mmm carbs). I think I could just do too much damage if I took an entire cheat day haha
  • Ftw37
    Ftw37 Posts: 386 Member
    I do not have cheat days. Eating like that got me fat in the first place. I have modified the way I eat, for now, and for the rest of my life.
  • Bounce4
    Bounce4 Posts: 288 Member
    I take one day off from exercise each week. Once in a blue moon it is two days.

    I generally have a cheat day once a month. Those days are usually significantly over calorie for me. It doesn't hurt my weight loss.

    This month has been bad. I've had a day a week that is over calorie but not to the extent my above cheat day was. Four birthdays and Easter. I gained weight. I can't do that much cheating.
  • leasugar45
    leasugar45 Posts: 1
    Its today :) but i feel guilty as hell.
  • airangel59
    airangel59 Posts: 1,887 Member
    No, no cheat days or cheat meals.
    I work what I want to eat, within reason, to my daily diary and arrange food around that meal.
  • dsb188
    dsb188 Posts: 121 Member
    I used to have one every Sunday. I stopped not because I was gaining weight because I was losing weight but it would take me all week to get back down to my weight and lose. It was just frustrating looking at the scale and seeing my weight go up knowing full well that it was water weight.
  • WallyH4EverVersion
    WallyH4EverVersion Posts: 172 Member
    I don't consider it a cheat meal or cheat day. I consider it a high calorie meal that may put me at maintenance or a few hundred calories over.

    I eat what I want. I enjoy a few high calorie meals a few times a week and sometimes, even manage to have them fit into my daily calories. I may not eat nothing else but I make it happen. Life is way too short and this is a lifestyle change to think of things as a cheat meal or cheat day. That sounds hectic! LMAO!!!

    Eat things you like that are reasonable calories most days and you will be able to have that high calorie meal more often then you think without thinking of it as cheating..... I never feel guilt. lol

    Makes life a lot easier IMHO.

    THIS
    Yes, I never call it cheating as it is a life style change .
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,706 Member
    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?


    I don't even think of cheat meals or cheat days, because there is nothing to cheat with. I eat a fairly natural diet and eat whatever I want within my deficit.
    Today I had a two cup shrimp cocktail with avocado and saltines, a large fish filet with rice , salsa and slaw, a large cannelloni for dessert and a mango-chile popsicles after that.I ate my daily 1200 calories plus 26 calories from my exercise. All that also included breakfast and several cups of coffee and espressos. I feel I ate extremely well for my taste and do not need more calories just to eat delicious food. But I realize that everyone's mileage varies.
  • Yagisama
    Yagisama Posts: 595 Member
    Cheat day? I had a cheat year! ;)
  • wriri7_x
    wriri7_x Posts: 94 Member
    I don't have a cheat day but I do have a cheat MEAL. I used to have a cheat day but the guilt after was too much so now I have a cheat meal once a week.
  • lawwang
    lawwang Posts: 24
    I don't anymore.

    I used to have a cheat day because I was under the impression that you had to have one to keep your metabolism up and prevent your body from going into "starvation mode", which I'm pretty sure is just broscience and unlikely to be true.

    BUT a cheat day would work well for someone who has (unhealthy) cravings to satisfy to keep a diet on track.
  • KaleeCat
    KaleeCat Posts: 152 Member
    Only when we have company or if I'm feeling particularly "weak", which isn't all that often. Maybe once a month or so?
  • rayofsunshine2368
    rayofsunshine2368 Posts: 108 Member
    as I said here before you have a hormone called Leptin its what help burns your fat. you have low calories and maintance calories. you should eat your low calories and excercise to help burn fat then your body needs to reset. its called an eat up day. eat only to your maintance calories for one day to rest it. watch you loose weight. I lost 4lbs my first week.
  • rayofsunshine2368
    rayofsunshine2368 Posts: 108 Member
    you have the right idea....
    :wink:
  • march1987
    march1987 Posts: 1
    I went out of town this weekend and all my meals were cheats. I feel bad but I'm going to get back on the wagon tomorrow.
  • tealgrove
    tealgrove Posts: 36 Member
    I don't have a cheat day but I will allow myself to have something special if I feel like it and NOT feel guilty about it. I just didn't think I would be able to handle a "cheat" on my schedule. It felt weird to me. It works for many people I just couldn't trust myself with it.
  • WisheeNY
    WisheeNY Posts: 72 Member


    BUT a cheat day would work well for someone who has (unhealthy) cravings to satisfy to keep a diet on track.

    This is me. I ate like a pig for 15 years and have only been on my journey to a healthier lifestyle for a month so I get strong cravings for greasy, sugary or salty high calorie foods. I figure giving in to that for one meal once a week or every couple weeks and then going right back to eating within my macros and working out is better than letting those cravings build up, feeling frustrated and then just ending up binging and never going back to healthier eating which is what has always happened in the past every time I've tried to lose weight. One day soon I hope to be able to eat my cheat meal AND have it fit into my macros lol.
  • chloematilds
    chloematilds Posts: 111 Member
    I dont have a cheat day since I dont really restrict.foods. I just mind the portions.
  • cassie4animals
    cassie4animals Posts: 23 Member
    I have an "eat up" day where I can eat 1600 calories. It's more calories than I usually eat and it supposedly helps to reset my metabolism (we'll see - just going off what the doctor is saying at this point). I find that it helps me to control myself and not overeat, but I do get to feel like I'm cheating. The program I'm on allows me to do this on Wednesday and Saturday.
  • velvet_violence
    velvet_violence Posts: 51
    I'm heavy enough to still be allowed a lot of calories per day but lately when I have tried to cheat I find what I actually get through fits into my daily calories (though the macro is usually pretty off).
  • GreenIceFloes
    GreenIceFloes Posts: 1,491 Member
    I don't have a planned cheat day. However, I do end up going overboard with calories every now and then because of going out drinking with friends, parties, family dinners etc. So I find it easier to just call that particular day my cheat day, instead of planning to eat over my limit on one particular day a week or whatever.

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