interesting info on "cheat days/meals"

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Replies

  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    I call BS. People without weight issues, people that don't ever log their meals or count calories - most of them eat more on holidays than regular days. It's called living - you have to be flexible or it's just never going to work. So, you lose the weight and you're never going to enjoy a big family meal at Thanksgiving anymore? You'll be over there weighing out your green beans or counting out 3 pieces of chocolate that you can fit into your calories...or being miserable the day before and/or after by hardly eating to "make up" for one day of indulgence? Screw that. If it's Thanksgiving or Easter, I'm eating whatever I want. A few days a year, or even a couple days a month, shouldn't derail your weight loss/maintenance. If having one day of high calorie foods makes you give up and just continue to eat that way after the holiday has passed, then I'm sorry but you're just weak.

    Flexibility is what life is all about. In our diets and elsewhere.

    I agree but not totally...

    I think the issue here is not just holiday's and weekends I think it is more about "weekends" as there are a lot more of those.

    If you allow yourself more calories on the weekend...every weekend you will have issues.

    Why not just eat what you want as long as it fits. For example tomorrow I might want ice cream...if I have room I will eat it...if I don't have room I will make room (maybe even take out my chocolate bar).

    And I think this has some merit. Consistency is key. If you cut out your favorite foods or limit them you are asking for trouble imo.

    If I want pizza I will eat pizza and I am in goal...even while in a deficit my main goal if it was an outing was maitenance...based on weekly numbers and I did not ever go over my deficit goal...for an entire year (except 8 days on vacation which were done on purpose with drinks and during christmas holidays...) but even those 2 weeks didn't put me over my average deficit..

    I eat 1650ish calories M-F and 2000-2200 on weekends, with one "fat weekend" a month where I still log, but go over my weekly goal. I do this because, during the week, I'm at work and I don't have any desire to go get pizza and there's no ice cream in the fridge at home, so I don't want it. On weekends, I don't cook and I never have. My husband and I eat out quite a bit. I stay under my weekly goal and end up averaging about 1810 calories per day (my TDEE-10%). I have absolutely no problem getting "back on track" on Monday and I don't go hungry during the week in an attempt to save up for "cheating" on weekends. I eat more on weekends simply because that's my lifestyle. We're hardly ever home to cook, even if I wanted to (which I don't). I haven't had a single problem doing this. If people work their indulgences into their week and eat the same amount of calories each day, that's awesome, but I'm living proof that my way doesn't cause weight gain and it hasn't caused any problems for me. Staying under weekly goals is key. Who says staying under that goal each week isn't being consistent? I'd be way more likely to give up if I restricted myself on weekends and had to order off of some "healthy" menu at a restaurant instead of getting what I want and enjoying myself while staying under my weekly goal and losing weight.

    It really doesn't matter if people think what I do is a good idea or not; I know that it's what's best for me. And I'm nearly at my goal, which is a great bonus. I'm not saying my way is the way everyone should do it - I'm saying this article is making it seem as if any flexibility in your diet is going to lead to weight gain. It's crap. The problem comes in when people let these indulgences lead them to huge binges as if they can't control themselves around food. I don't have that problem. I love food, I enjoy food, but it doesn't control me.
  • KylaDenay
    KylaDenay Posts: 1,585 Member
    I call BS. People without weight issues, people that don't ever log their meals or count calories - most of them eat more on holidays than regular days. It's called living - you have to be flexible or it's just never going to work. So, you lose the weight and you're never going to enjoy a big family meal at Thanksgiving anymore? You'll be over there weighing out your green beans or counting out 3 pieces of chocolate that you can fit into your calories...or being miserable the day before and/or after by hardly eating to "make up" for one day of indulgence? Screw that. If it's Thanksgiving or Easter, I'm eating whatever I want. A few days a year, or even a couple days a month, shouldn't derail your weight loss/maintenance. If having one day of high calorie foods makes you give up and just continue to eat that way after the holiday has passed, then I'm sorry but you're just weak.

    Flexibility is what life is all about. In our diets and elsewhere.

    That's the problem. Many people are weak. People who cut out their favorite foods never learn how to eat them in moderation. So once they have them they eat a hell of a lot more than they should. Learning to eat everything in moderation is key and plays a big part in self control.
  • aliwhalen
    aliwhalen Posts: 150 Member
    I don't like the term 'cheating' either. I feel like it's more cheating yourself if you can't enjoy all the deliciousness that exists in the world simply because you're trying to maintain your weight.

    I'm starting to use the calorie cycling or zigzag method, this is only week one, but it makes sense to me. Some days I eat less, other days I eat more. I still have the same deficit at the end of the week as I did if I ate the same calories every singe day. I don't think I'm 'cheating' today by eating 1800 calories, and being loyal to my weight loss on my 1200 calorie days. It's just a matter of finding a method that's sustainable to you while eating at an overall deficit, right?
  • Annesoucy1957
    Annesoucy1957 Posts: 125
    I. had lost 60 pounds bringing me down to 125, felt good, could have a cheat day since. i did so good, well one day became seven days over a period of 2 years. Lost back 21 working on the 9 and not planning on going tjat route again.

    I do enjoy regular or holiday meals with family and friend it is just that the portion are within my calorie count. You know 3 spoon of mashed potatoes taste good the 20th one does not taste any better.
  • skyekeeper
    skyekeeper Posts: 286 Member
    bump
  • mayfrayy
    mayfrayy Posts: 198 Member
    cheating doesnt mean you eat that slice of pizza, or a cupcake. by definition it is when you eat over your tdee.

    scientifically this study holds merit because eating large enjoyable meals affect your brains pleasure center leading to the psychological need to eat more.
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
    I wonder if the people who didn't have cheat days were more inclined to substitutions every day. The example I see a lot on MFP is dark chocolate for milk chocolate and other candies.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    You know 3 spoon of mashed potatoes taste good the 20th one does not taste any better.

    Totally. I just wish it was that easy for me! It just takes more to be really satisfied sometimes.
  • Dol10
    Dol10 Posts: 48 Member
    Not sure why there even had to be a study on this, it's common sense. If you're more strict about what you eat, constantly, you're obviously going to maintain your goals. If you have occasional cheat meals, then of course, you're not going to be more well off than the person who is always maintains a strict diet. Derp.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    I call BS. People without weight issues, people that don't ever log their meals or count calories - most of them eat more on holidays than regular days. It's called living - you have to be flexible or it's just never going to work. So, you lose the weight and you're never going to enjoy a big family meal at Thanksgiving anymore? You'll be over there weighing out your green beans or counting out 3 pieces of chocolate that you can fit into your calories...or being miserable the day before and/or after by hardly eating to "make up" for one day of indulgence? Screw that. If it's Thanksgiving or Easter, I'm eating whatever I want. A few days a year, or even a couple days a month, shouldn't derail your weight loss/maintenance. If having one day of high calorie foods makes you give up and just continue to eat that way after the holiday has passed, then I'm sorry but you're just weak.

    Flexibility is what life is all about. In our diets and elsewhere.

    That's the problem. Many people are weak. People who cut out their favorite foods never learn how to eat them in moderation. So once they have them they eat a hell of a lot more than they should. Learning to eat everything in moderation is key and plays a big part in self control.

    I think a lot of people use their calorie limit as a crutch. And logging in general. It's supposed to be a useful tool, but it turns into the only thing keeping people from going absolutely crazy and stuffing their face full of donuts. Building up self-control is SO important and I'd think, that by the end of the weight loss (if done in a healthy manner), that self-control should be pretty strong. We spend all this time learning to control ourselves, but what happens once we hit maintenance? This is why people put all the weight back on. They have this minset of, "I'm on a diet. I can't eat this or that. Oh, look, I'm at my goal weight. I look awesome. I don't need to pay attention to what I eat anymore. Yay! Let's to go Krispy Kreme for breakfast every day this week to celebrate!" Where's the control you built over those weeks, months, or years of weight loss? This is why I'm going to continue being flexible on weekends and just focusing on staying under my weekly goal. I'm not doing anything now that I don't plan on doing forever. My weekends have always and will always consist of eating meals out. I just pay more attention now and I don't eat 5000 calories on Saturdays. I still get to indulge, but I have the control to not let a couple of days a week completely throw me off from reaching my goal.

    I found losing weight really hard until I stopped being so damn strict with myself. I've never stuck to a diet as long as I've stuck to what I'm doing now, and it's working SO much better and I'm SO much happier. People need to build up their control so they CAN be flexible. You can't be strict all the time - that's when things like eating disorders and obsessions begin to develop.
  • stephe1987
    stephe1987 Posts: 406 Member
    Well, holidays are just a few days out of the year, while weekends are 104 days a year. Even just one cheat day a week is 52 days a year. I can understand why some people fall off the wagon with so many chances to mess up!

    As for holidays, I don't think you need to bring your food scale especially if you've been weighing your food for a while and/or understand that a portion is a handful of food and not a plateful or a big bowl of food. Limit yourself to 1-2 plates for the day and you'll do fine. Even if you go slightly over it's just one day and you'll have weeks to make up for it before the next holiday. I also think if you're not used to having cheat days during the year, your appetite won't be as big and you won't want to eat so much anyway.

    I like the 80/20 rule. 80% healthy, 20% indulgent. This allows you to still eat the things you enjoy, but in small amounts. Stay under your calorie goal. Your appetite will get smaller and you won't be tempted to binge because you can still get your chocolate/pizza/whatever else you enjoy fix. It's something maintainable that you will be able to continue even after you reach your goal.

    Another thought about cheat days... how much are you allowed to go over by? Because MFP overestimates calories burned (and people generally underestimate how much they eat) so the green numbers will be artificially high. If you add up the previous six days' green points as the number you're allowed to go into the red by, the red number will be maybe twice as high as it should be. You can still lose weight but it will be slower and won't be shocking if you get stuck at the same number for a while.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Building up self-control is SO important and I'd think, that by the end of the weight loss (if done in a healthy manner), that self-control should be pretty strong. We spend all this time learning to control ourselves, but what happens once we hit maintenance? This is why people put all the weight back on. They have this minset of, "I'm on a diet. I can't eat this or that. Oh, look, I'm at my goal weight. I look awesome. I don't need to pay attention to what I eat anymore. Yay! Let's to go Krispy Kreme for breakfast every day this week to celebrate!"

    I'm skeptical that this is so common.

    I think it's less a matter of self-control and more a matter of awareness. For me logging forces me to be aware of what I'm eating, and it's pretty easy not to be. When I lost weight before I never decided "whee, I'm off the diet, I'll go nuts." That's obviously stupid. But I stopped keeping track so carefully and made up for it by the fact that my exercise at the time was pretty intense. And then for various reasons I stopped exercising and didn't realize that I was continuing to eat more than my reduced maintenance. And then I gained back some and figured it didn't matter if I was more indulgent since I already needed to lose some and gained more and so on. Much more gradual, and at no time really an issue of self-control or its absence or some prior perceived lack of donuts or whatever that led to a craving. Just carelessness.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Not very surprising to me. Honestly it just comes down to maintaining your focus on your health in the long term. It's not very surprising to me that the more you make excuses for why it's okay to divert your focus (e.g., it's the weekend so it's okay), the more likely you are to deviate more and more. Not saying you can't or even shouldn't deviate from your plan from time to time, but just that I'm not surprised that people that strictly adhere to their routine have an increased chance of long-term success than people who are less strict.

    This seems right to me, but the way it's phrased in the write-up it's not at all clear whether it's "people who pay attention to what they eat only on the weekdays maintain less well than those who pay attention always," which seems completely obvious, or "people who have a plan that allows them to eat more on the weekend (within limits) maintain less well than those who eat the same number of calories, or close to it, every day." If the latter I would be surprised, but the write up seems to conflate the two.

    But this is similar to the whole "cheat meal" thing, which is a term I hate, but also which seems completely unclear as to what is meant by it. I used to do a "treat meal" (which I assumed was the same thing, without the perception of "cheating" when you set the rules so it can't be if planned). But that meant flexing my calories so that I'd eat a bit less on other days to have some extra on the weekend when I'd go out to dinner, so I could have a more indulgent option or dessert. It didn't mean ignoring my plan at all. Now I mostly don't do that, but I still tend to schedule my longer workouts on days when I go out to dinner (which I do at least once a week), so as to have more flexibility. The study write up seems to suggest that's a bad practice, but it does not at all mean that I'm less aware of what I'm eating throughout the week than if I was eating the same number of calories each day.

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