Are "cheat meals" a good idea?

LisaSaysHi · January 2011

So hubby and I had a date night last night. I decided that dinner would be a good opportunity to cheat a bit and get in all the stuff I've been depriving myself of lately. Believe it or not, I actually read it's very healthy to have one "cheat meal" per week. Apparently it makes you cheat less during the week when you know you have that meal to look forward to. I don't know though...

I prepared myself all day for this meal. I ate very well during the day, making sure to be well under my calorie goal. I even squeezed in a workout to earn some extra calories. At dinner, I tried to do a good job with my choices, knowing that I wanted that chocolate cake for dessert! I had a nice green salad (I felt a little cheese and REAL ranch dressing wouldn't kill me) and trout with vegetables. But everything tasted so rich after all this dieting that the food just felt wrong to me and I didn't eat very much. I treated myself to chocolate cake for dessert but ate about half of it before my stomach starting cramping up in protest. I stopped at that point, a bit disappointed that I had not enjoyed the meal as much as I'd hoped.

I weighed myself this morning. Probably a very bad idea. I gained 0.6 lb, which is not too terrible considering. Still, it's quite demoralizing to think that one meal can set me back by a couple of days on my goals. Do I sound completely obsessive?

I'm just wondering what others think about "cheat meals". Do they work for you?

Healthyby30 · January 2011

The weight you gained was probably water. Drink extra water today and it should flush it out. I think a lot of people find that when they all out cheat, it doesn't agree with their bodies! Your body is used to taking in healthy, real food now! I "cheated" so to speak over Christmas and Thanksgiving by having a slice of pie or whatever. Those weeks I lost more weight than any other week. I think its good to keep your metabolism guessing as well as maybe keep some cravings at bay. I however, think that its easier for me to not eat something than to eat a little, b/c I always want more!

oneof9 · January 2011

You really shouldn't worry about having a cheat meal once in a while. I have and do. I don't don it one a week but maybe once a month sometimes twice. As long you get back on track the next day you are fine. Life is too short not to be able to enjoy life.
What's the point of living a longer life if you can't enjoy the stuff you like once in a while.

Black_Swan · January 2011

I definitely like that idea. I also leave my "cheating" to social events, or if there is something i really really crave, then i ask my friends to go with me (and have that damn cake). If you are dieting for a longer time, your stomach might be used to particular foods and not really interested in all the stuff they put in salads and cakes in the restaurants.

I had some fish, which i dont usually have, and it totally blew my stomach off. And it was just plain cooked fish...

Also i read lots of people who were dieting before Christmas and then ate like crazy on Christmas had problems with stomach, cause they were not used to that type of food anymore.

Your body is adjusting, and changing, also from the inside.
Good luck and dont worry, that little weight will come off soon:)!

NyteMirage · January 2011

Having a cheat day is what I do… I’m bad on Sundays… not terribly, but a little. Like the person a couple posts up said. It’s good to keep your body guessing. If you eat the same amount of calories each day your body gets used to it and you hit a plateau. So I try to add in a cheat the day after my weight in.

myofibril · January 2011

Cheat days / meals can be a good idea depending on where you are in your programme and what you want to acheive overall. The caveat is you don't go to crazy and empty the entire contents of your fridge down your throat and you get back to your programme straight away.

If you are obese then you can get away with a cheat day.
If you are overweight then a cheat meal every week will be fine.
If you are approaching normal weight then once every three weeks or so.
If you are approaching lean then forget about cheat meals althoghter and consider calorie or macro nutrient cycling.

Of course this is only a general breakdown so it really depends on the individual being honest with themselves and tracking their progress carefully. However, cheat meals can be a very good way of keeping you on track for longer than if you believe you are in a state of complete deprivation.

runningneo122 · January 2011

You really shouldn't worry about having a cheat meal once in a while. I have and do. I don't don it one a week but maybe once a month sometimes twice. As long you get back on track the next day you are fine. Life is too short not to be able to enjoy life.
What's the point of living a longer life if you can't enjoy the stuff you like once in a while.

I definitely like that idea. I also leave my "cheating" to social events, or if there is something i really really crave, then i ask my friends to go with me (and have that damn cake). If you are dieting for a longer time, your stomach might be used to particular foods and not really interested in all the stuff they put in salads and cakes in the restaurants.

I had some fish, which i dont usually have, and it totally blew my stomach off. And it was just plain cooked fish...

Also i read lots of people who were dieting before Christmas and then ate like crazy on Christmas had problems with stomach, cause they were not used to that type of food anymore.

Your body is adjusting, and changing, also from the inside.
Good luck and dont worry, that little weight will come off soon:)!

Read a book I see referenced on here often and I swear by since B4 joining MFP: Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto.
http://www.fitnesstipsforlife.com/burn-the-fat-feed-the-muscle-complete-review.html

Cheat meals are a good idea in this manner: You are trying to eat better but your body still craves things from time to time. The cheat meal/day is an opportuntiy to satiate that urge to make the transition to better eating easier. Also to keep your body guessing so as to avoid plateaus and the dreaded "starvation mode". I read somewhere once that the urge to eat chocolate has something to do with certain microbes or something in the body feeding off it and they send the signal to the brain. Pretty amazing!!

These days my cheat meal is maybe once a month and it is only a "cheat" in that I go over my calories... I still eat as healthily as I can at a restaurant. My choco "fix" now is the choco protein powder drink after my morning run. I can't remember how long it's been since I craved regular chocolate.

runningneo122 · January 2011

Cheat days / meals can be a good idea depending on where you are in your programme and what you want to acheive overall. The caveat is you don't go to crazy and empty the entire contents of your fridge down your throat and you get back to your programme straight away.

If you are obese then you can get away with a cheat day.
If you are overweight then a cheat meal every week will be fine.
If you are approaching normal weight then once every three weeks or so.
If you are approaching lean then forget about cheat meals althoghter and consider calorie or macro nutrient cycling.

Of course this is only a general breakdown so it really depends on the individual being honest with themselves and tracking their progress carefully. However, cheat meals can be a very good way of keeping you on track for longer than if you believe you are in a state of complete deprivation.

Well said!!

BoresEasily · January 2011

Cheat days / meals can be a good idea depending on where you are in your programme and what you want to acheive overall. The caveat is you don't go to crazy and empty the entire contents of your fridge down your throat and you get back to your programme straight away.

If you are obese then you can get away with a cheat day.
If you are overweight then a cheat meal every week will be fine.
If you are approaching normal weight then once every three weeks or so.
If you are approaching lean then forget about cheat meals althoghter and consider calorie or macro nutrient cycling.

Of course this is only a general breakdown so it really depends on the individual being honest with themselves and tracking their progress carefully. However, cheat meals can be a very good way of keeping you on track for longer than if you believe you are in a state of complete deprivation.

I really like the way you broke that down but I would love to know the reason behind the differences and if you're using scientific research or you're guesstimating. Either way I really like what you had to say and I agree that cheat meals are a great way to break or avoid inevitable plateaus.

carriep2010 · January 2011

I could not do this is I did not have a cheat meal every week !!!!

polo571 · January 2011

I have an interesting read on cheat meals from Tom Venuto. Check this out and make your own decision.

http://www.acaloriecounter.com/weight-loss.php#section1

Healthyby30 · January 2011

I have an interesting read on cheat meals from Tom Venuto. Check this out and make your own decision.

http://www.acaloriecounter.com/weight-loss.php#section1

Thanks for posting this, I saved it to my favorites so I can read over it

secostley · January 2011

I definitely endorse cheat meals. I personally have one cheat meat a week (usually dinner on Tuesdays). However, the cheat meal is a reward for staying strict the rest of the week. So I typically don't have one if i haven't been eating and exercising correctly.

I also try not to go overboard and gorge. Usually I take myself out to eat something that I normally couldn't/wouldn't eat normally. For example, I may have a steak dinner with a loaded baked potato, or I may get a pasta dish of some sort at Olive Garden. This week I had an omlettee at IHOP with a stack of pancakes.

Nice way to reward yourself for a week well done.

James_H · January 2011

I definitely cheat every so often, but the important things to do are:

- Don't give up just because you cheated once

- DON'T weigh yourself the day after! It's not exactly an accurate result because all kinds of things could cause a temporarily higher reading. (I won't go into what they all are...)

Weigh yourself once a week. And have a cheat day the day after your weigh-in, definitely not before!

runningneo122 · January 2011

I definitely endorse cheat meals. I personally have one cheat meat a week (usually dinner on Tuesdays). However, the cheat meal is a reward for staying strict the rest of the week. So I typically don't have one if i haven't been eating and exercising correctly.

I also try not to go overboard and gorge. Usually I take myself out to eat something that I normally couldn't/wouldn't eat normally. For example, I may have a steak dinner with a loaded baked potato, or I may get a pasta dish of some sort at Olive Garden. This week I had an omlettee at IHOP with a stack of pancakes.

Nice way to reward yourself for a week well done.

Hear here on the reward thinking.... Earn it!!

smuehlbauer · January 2011

I have decided to improve my life, I have made this a life style.
I eat healthy. As clean as I can.
I don't want to put crap in my body any more.
I don't do cheat days. A cheat day for me is a turkey burger.
Not worth it to me.

Sweet13_Princess · January 2011

I don't believe in a cheat meal once a week, but if you have a special event or have done really well all month, then eating one hearty meal won't go right to your hips. Just eat well that day, except for that one meal.

My fiance and I have given up eating out. We only do it on special occasions. We really appreciate the food more and can already see the weight coming off as a result. When we do it out, especially at a classy place, I think it's definately worth it to eat what you want. After all, you're paying all of that money for fine dining!!!!

Shannon

RMinVA · January 2011

"You didn’t get to choose your genetics, but you do get to choose your attitude and your behavior." - Tom Venuto

I completely agree that they are OK. However, I like to call them splurge meals: cheat meal implies that you are doing something wrong..

I do not agree with calling them a "reward" though. That can become a slippery slope...I know because I went down it this past year. I got away from everything that was successful in my initial weight loss and began to think in terms of "well, I did X, so now I can eat Y." Better to just treat it as a way of life and reward yourself with something other than food.

myofibril · January 2011

I really like the way you broke that down but I would love to know the reason behind the differences and if you're using scientific research or you're guesstimating. Either way I really like what you had to say and I agree that cheat meals are a great way to break or avoid inevitable plateaus.

It's essentially guesstimating based on what I know about this area. I haven't seen a scientific study of the affects of cheat meals correlated to different body sizes but I would be interested to see the results of one.

The reason between the frequencies of cheat days / meals given different levels of body composition is simple really. The more mass you have on your frame, the greater the number of calories you have to play around with, meaning less chance of exceeding your maintenance level calories for the week even with a cheat meal / day. I know some people say that having a cheat meal confuses your body's adaptive response promoting it to continue burning fat rather than stall but I don't really think that is the reason "cheating" on occasion primarily works. Your body is adaptive but not to THAT degree in my view where it can act upon a change in a single meal.

The reason it works is primarily (although not exclusively) psychological in my opinion. It gives you something to look forward to, meaning you tend to be stricter with your diet overall during the week, possibly also work out harder and therefore have a greater net calorie deficit over time then you would have done without the expectation.

I have an interesting read on cheat meals from Tom Venuto. Check this out and make your own decision.

http://www.acaloriecounter.com/weight-loss.php#section1

EVERYONE needs to check out that article. Not only for the discussion of cheat meals but for the clarity it brings to the overall subject of weight / fat loss.

rose1617 · January 2011

I am really strict on the weekdays and loosen up a little on the weekends (a little - I still don't do fast food, but I'll go out to dinner both Saturday and Sunday and be just fine). I find if I'm super strict on the weekends (3 weeks, but no more) I'll lose maybe 1 lb./week. When I loosen up I lose 0.5 lb/week. Since this is a long-term thing for me it doesn't bother me to only lose 0.5 lb.
If I am too strict for too long, my weight loss stalls.

BTW I am only maybe 20 lbs. (MAYBE... if I gain no muscle) from 12-15% body fat. So what works for some people doesn't work for others. As I get within 5-10 lbs., this may not work anymore, but for now it works just fine.

runningneo122 · January 2011

I found TV's book months B4 joining MFP and swear by it. I agree with msf74 and his "the real reason" thinking. The body may not be that responsive but, I'm not going to question something that works for me.

Are "cheat meals" a good idea?

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