Cheat Day?

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buibear88
buibear88 Posts: 23 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ive read in several books/magazines that its ok to allow yourself a "cheat day" or a break from your diet one day a week. I've been considering doing this but I wanted to see if anyone else does this and if they think its a good idea first.
Now when I say cheat i dont mean that I will go to Baskin Robbins and eat myself silly lol. I just mean maybe at the family dinner on Sundays I'll get seconds or have ice cream for dessert. Your thoughts?
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Replies

  • UpToAnyCool
    UpToAnyCool Posts: 1,673
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    :wink: i totally do this only because i won't make healthy changes long term if i think i have to live the rest of my life w/o certain foods. that said, props to those of you that don't ever cheat. i just don't know how you do it! :blushing:
  • sandollar1977
    sandollar1977 Posts: 10 Member
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    A cheat day is ok as long as you have the ability to jump right back on track. If you can't handle the urge to cheat more than the one day, then maybe wait a bit longer before introducing the cheat-time back in to your diet. Or start out with 1 day a month or every 2 weeks and allow yourself a special meal or dessert....but I would avoid seconds....you want to still be careful with your portion size....
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    I incorporate treats into my regular eating plan - I'm not talking about a piece of cheesecake every day, but rather a no-sugar-added hot cocoa regularly, or a bowl of frozen yogurt once a week, and a piece of dark chocolate one a week or stuff like that. I find I'm much more likely to stay on track if I plan the treats in a structured manner as part of an overall healthy day rather than having one whole cheat day - that's just likely to knock me off track. But... everyone's different, so you have to figure out what works for you.
  • Sigra
    Sigra Posts: 374 Member
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    In all honesty, you could probably cheat every day with this way of eating, as long as you worked all the calories off before the day was up. That's probably how I would go about it. Allow yourself to eat what you want, but do it on a day you can work most of it off.

    This isn't a "you can never eat fast food again" it is a "get out of the habit". - When eating, just make sure to make the right decisions!

    ^_^ Best of luck.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
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    Try it out and see if it works for you. I personally don't really have much need for a cheat day- I log everything and if I want seconds, I get them and log it, even if it puts me over. But I'm pretty laid back about my diet- not everyone can be like that. So if what you need is a day to not count calories to destress and learn how to control your portions with out the red line numbers stabbing you in the eye like you did something wrong, then I say go for it.
  • kri5tin
    kri5tin Posts: 23
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    I usually do a cheat meal or snack rather than an entire day; however, I still get a good work out in. An entire day can really throw off your goals if your not carfeul.
  • Bigpelly8
    Bigpelly8 Posts: 504 Member
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    I think it's a good thing to throw you metablosim a shock or two once in a while. Nothing wrong with that!
  • Hitsujikai
    Hitsujikai Posts: 111 Member
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    Whilst I agree with cheat days in principle I have seen first hand what happens with regular cheat days.

    A friend of mine used to eat quite well during the week and allow himself to 'cheat' on the weekends, this was a disaster for him as he completely undid all the good work he'd done throughout the week and he'd gain weight. He's a big guy, I'd estimate about 23 stone at the time and 25 stone now, and this completely destroyed his self confidence to the point he has given up on himself in all aspects of life.

    Personally I have a cheat meal once a month, going to the pub with friends and having whatever I feel like (but still exercising so that I have the calories for it) as a reward for doing so well the rest of the month.
  • NightOwl1
    NightOwl1 Posts: 881 Member
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    I think your idea of a cheat day is completely fine and a good idea. Where people get in trouble with cheat days as when they use it to scarf down Wendy's Triple Quarter Pounders or all you can eat wings. Cheating like that will undo a lot of good work you do over the week. But if you want to have your favorite meal or an extra desert that puts you a couple of hundred calories over for the day, I think that's completely healthy.
  • sing1998
    sing1998 Posts: 38 Member
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    absolutely necessary to avoid burn out! i do it twice a week when i'm at my goal. eat healthy as i can the other 5. nachos and cookies on my cheat days!
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
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    I've heard it's very good to have a cheat day. Not only to keep from feeling deprived but to keep you metabolism 'guessing'. (not good with words).
  • sharonuk10
    sharonuk10 Posts: 277
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    I do not do so called cheat days... I incorporate the things I enjoy in to my everyday eating. I still eat out too. Not all the time but maybe once a month. I have chocolate, ice cream and other goodies as my calories will allow.
  • Kendra7107
    Kendra7107 Posts: 122
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    I have always allowed myself a cheat day or cheat meal and I still lose regularly. Like the other poster, I can't imagine going my entire life without some of my favorite foods. If I know that on the weekend, I'm doing something special and I can eat whatever I want, I feel 100% better and it motivates me the rest of the week.

    It is a lifestyle change but who wants to live life without an occassional fattening meal at Olive Garden or Krispy Kreme Donut. That is no way to live. :-)

    When I have my cheat meal or day I eat whatever will satisfy me and if I stick to my goals the rest of the week, I don't see any weight gain at all. However, I will say that I weigh on Friday mornings before the weekend (weekends are harder for me and I usually have my cheat meal then) so by the time I weigh again, it's been almost a week. I have never had my cheat meal Sunday night and then gotten up to weigh Monday morning.
  • marvshan17
    marvshan17 Posts: 6
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    I have attempted "cheat days" in the past and it completely messed me up. I couldn't seem to get back on track. "Cheat days" do boost your metabolism however so if you feel like it wont mess you up in the long run i don't see anything wrong it!
  • AsaThorsWoman
    AsaThorsWoman Posts: 2,303 Member
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    I think it's a good thing to throw you metablosim a shock or two once in a while. Nothing wrong with that!

    Yes, our ancestors have done this for aeons.
  • Kendra7107
    Kendra7107 Posts: 122
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    I forgot to add that I didn't incorporate my cheat meal into my routine until I was into my routine a month or so. I need to keep the momentum up for the first month to get on track and feel secure. I don't think you want to have a cheat meal after only 4 or 5 days of eating well. :-)

    Just my two cents and what works for me. :-) Good luck!!
  • championnfl
    championnfl Posts: 324 Member
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    I use the method of a healthy lifestyle. Don't cut anything out, just eat in moderation. Instead of not having candy bar will instead eat only half,this way body still will get the cravings[which is all about low blood sugar levels] satisfied.
    Everyone has there there own method,just to me having a cheat day signals to the body not to keep even blood sugar levels and have swings of up & down which in turn makes you crave and eat more!
    Body doesn't know that its a cheat day,just knows its getting a different food supply. The key to a weight loss control is keeping even blood sugar level day to day.
    Suggestion, Google "Glycemic foods" Blood sugar levels body interaction with foods will be amazed at what you learn.:wink:
  • CasperO
    CasperO Posts: 2,913 Member
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    Calories in - calories out. If you do a 500 cal a day deficit throughout the week, and you get to saturday morning 3000 calories under for the week,,, and then you go have the Hardees mongo-burger lunch and then the big Fettucine Alfredo at Olive Garden for dinner (why not, it's 'cheat day'!) then you can easily put those 3000 calories back and pretty much destroy your progress for the week.

    Personally I do a 'cheat meal' once a week, but I try to make it more about enjoying a really exceptional QUALITY of food, and not think about indulging in a huge quantity of food. I might go to Red Lobster, but I'll have the grilled feast o' goodies, not the lobster linguine with cheese sauce. I'll go a little over, but nothing nuts.

    It has worked for me. That treat keeps me from feeling deprived.
  • countjackula
    countjackula Posts: 99
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    Ive read in several books/magazines that its ok to allow yourself a "cheat day" or a break from your diet one day a week. I've been considering doing this but I wanted to see if anyone else does this and if they think its a good idea first.
    Now when I say cheat i dont mean that I will go to Baskin Robbins and eat myself silly lol. I just mean maybe at the family dinner on Sundays I'll get seconds or have ice cream for dessert. Your thoughts?

    Of course it's okay to allow yourself a "cheat day" or a break, for psychological reasons if nothing else. It certainly won't hinder your goals to any significant degree!

    That said, your body doesn't NEED a cheat day. It sounds like what you're doing is having more of a cheat "meal", which is much better. Having a little bit extra dessert on Saturday evenings is a safe way to go... but the real danger of cheating at all is the fact that high-fat/high-carb stress to your body will make it more difficult to resist additional cheating. I'm sure most of us have dealt with it in the past -- how just one trip to the dessert table suddenly becomes two, then three, then a cheat week...

    Be aware of that and avoid the pitfalls. :smile:
  • Yarnpiggie
    Yarnpiggie Posts: 181
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    One of my employees and I were talking about this very thing yesterday. Last year I didn't do any cheat days and I lost over 60 pounds. However, I stopped losing 7 months ago (so yeah... 60 pounds in 6 months...lol) I decided that this year I am not going to deprive myself of the food I love, but just limit how often I have it. He said that he used to do cheat days and would find that by the end of the day he had eaten 8000 calories, so he limits himself to cheat meals. (not that you couldn't do 8000 in one meal i suppose...lol)

    I think you need to figure out how to best balance it for you.

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