Cheat or "Free" Days/ Rewards

Options
2»

Replies

  • kimberlyblindsey
    kimberlyblindsey Posts: 266 Member
    Options
    I agree with other posters on here that a whole cheat day can wreak a whole lot of havoc. I also prefer to keep calorie/macro allowances for a piece of chocolate or a cookie if I'm really craving it and save the cheats for special occasions like drinking with friends, weddings, and other celebratory events.
    I do however reward myself with a new piece of exercise equipment, like I am buying a kettlebell in a few days and saving for some other more spendygear, that seems to be a win/win for me.
  • Blueseraphchaos
    Blueseraphchaos Posts: 843 Member
    Options
    I have found that the longer i watch my calories, the less hungry i get for junk. Or overall, i guess. If i do eat junk, i find I'm usually hungry soon after. But i don't really watch what i eat in terms of not allowing certain foods or whatever. I eat what i want, and i log everything beforehand so i can check where it fits into my calories; if a whole serving doesn't fit, i scale back. On most days, I'm under calories anyway, so on a weekly basis, i could have a couple splurge days and still be under my calories for the week. Some weeks i have splurges, most weeks i don't, because the progress i see is worth much more than going over calories for something i want to binge on.

    Edited because autocorrect is hard.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Options
    How many of you allow yourselves an occasional cheat (not sure if that's a good word for it but I'm going with that) day? What does that look like for you in terms of what you can or can't eat? Or do you reward yourself once in a while with a treat? How often do you do that and what is your reward?
    I don't cheat because my my eating habits are not a game, and I don't reward myself with food because it's a trigger for me. However, I do eat treats and I mostly work them into my calorie goal for the day, or I go over my calorie goal once in awhile when there are lots of treat choices and don't worry much about it.
  • ebbingfat
    ebbingfat Posts: 117 Member
    Options
    I don't plan my "cheat" days, I just have them as I want them or as occasions arise. I personally don't believe maintaining a rigid diet, because I intend for the changes I'm making to be permanent. I have no intention to abstain from "unhealthy" or calorie-dense food for my whole life, so I'm not going to do it now either. If I go to a birthday party, I'm going to have the cake. If I go to a fair, I'm going to get some cheese curds. Some days I go over my limits, some days I eat sugary or fatty foods. I just do my best to make sure that the majority of the time I'm eating healthy.

    Tonight, for example, is the Minnesota Food Truck Fair. There's a bunch of really, really great food trucks that operate around the Twin Cities, and today they're all gathering in one location and having special prices on some of their food. Some of these trucks have some of the most unique and tasty food I've ever seen (for a reasonable price), and there are so many trucks I want to try. I plan on going around dinner time, and I know that I'm going to blow well past my calorie limit. But for me, that's ok, because I know I'm not doing this every day. This is a fun event for me, and I don't want to miss out because I'm trying to count calories.

    That's my philosophy on "cheat" days. I don't ever really plan them, nor do I use food as a reward for fitness related goals. I used to, but then the more I thought about it the more I felt like that reinforced the idea that eating healthy was a struggle and that if I struggled through long enough I could reward myself with "real" food. So instead I've started rewarding myself with other things. New running shoes, some flowers, a house plant, etc. That way, I'm not placing so much value in "bad" foods. Food can just be food, while the lasting objects can be lasting rewards.
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
    Options
    No "cheat" days for me. But, I do allow myself "maintenance" days as needed (so far, only 2 in the last 2 months). I will gladly allow myself to eat 400-700 calories more on those days, which is generous enough (like, that's a whole meal more, or some alcohol or a luxurious dessert or whatever), but still not "weight gain" territory.

    But...I never call it cheating. I know, semantics, but for me, I don't care for the connotation it gives me (like, a free pass to go back to old, fatty fat ways).
  • captmel
    captmel Posts: 29 Member
    Options
    I normally don't have cheat days, but I usually have a not so healthy meal on sunday, complete with dessert. Today I went completely overboard and I so regret it now. Too much chocolate. Too many calories.....
  • doIdaretoeatapeach
    doIdaretoeatapeach Posts: 26 Member
    Options
    I've only been working on my appetite re-education program for about 2 months, so maybe I'll change my mind later, but - yes, I'm planning cheat days. I'm okay with calling it anything, but the concept is an eat whatever I want day. I'm doing this based solely on personal preferences and things that have worked or not worked in the past.

    The reason this seems to be working for me so far is that I'm better at delaying gratification than at moderation. Some foods can be a little too triggery, and I don't trust myself to have a tiny bit every day. It's easier to tell myself I can have it, but not until X date. And on X date, I can have as much of (whatever) as I want. I'm trying to limit this to every 2 weeks, because when I tried 1X/wk (without MFP) that one day slid from Sunday to starting Saturday evening to Saturday afternoon to Friday.

    On the plus side, the longer I control food intake day to day, the less I can consume at one time. Plus, given 2 weeks, the craving for whatever often goes away. And as others mentioned, the longer I eat good food, the less I crave junk. Yesterday was cheat day at a German restaurant. I kept telling myself it was okay to order whatever I wanted, but that wound up being grilled salmon with sauteed squash and German potato salad. And I took half of it home.

    At the moment, MFP has me set at 1210 calories to lose 1 lb/week, which leaves very little room for any kind of treat. The weight's been coming off kind of fast, so the daily calories might be a little low, especially combined with trying to stay a little below the recommendation to account for an upcoming cheat day.

    Short summary: yes to cheat day by whatever you want to call it, because I'd prefer to tell cravings that "yes, you'll be indulged, but not until X day in the future."
  • scb515
    scb515 Posts: 133 Member
    Options
    If I'm seeing a friend I haven't seen in a long time, or going to a special event like a wedding, I eat the food available and don't get hung up on it. However, I make sure I stop when I feel full, and I make an effort to do more exercise that week than I normally would.

    I wouldn't have a 'cheat day' for the hell of it, there has to be a good reason.
  • Tracey_B_72
    Tracey_B_72 Posts: 1,021 Member
    Options
    No "cheat" days for me. But, I do allow myself "maintenance" days as needed (so far, only 2 in the last 2 months). I will gladly allow myself to eat 400-700 calories more on those days, which is generous enough (like, that's a whole meal more, or some alcohol or a luxurious dessert or whatever), but still not "weight gain" territory.

    But...I never call it cheating. I know, semantics, but for me, I don't care for the connotation it gives me (like, a free pass to go back to old, fatty fat ways).

    ^^^^^^^ This.

    Right now I'm having pause time, basically I've gone into maintenance for a couple of weeks before I kick the last few lbs *kitten*. I dont want to gain anything and I've always thought cheat days are just cheating yourself, I'd rather save calories for things throughout the week and make sure I come in for my weekly total.
  • Swiftlet66
    Swiftlet66 Posts: 729 Member
    Options
    "Cheat" meals are any pre-made foods I treat myself to at bakeries, the store, or at a restaurant. Today, I had a "cheat" meal of spring rolls with peanut sauce and steamed custard buns; cheat meals include family meals too because I usually don't have time to eat with family so the days that I do get to eat with them, I'm not so anal with food.
  • daniellee725
    daniellee725 Posts: 24 Member
    Options
    The plan I'm following (Chris Powell's carb cycling) allows for a reward day (1000 more calories than you generally have on a normal day) per week. I think having it is fantastic. It helps me to say no to temptation throughout the week, because I know I can always have it on Sunday. For me it's easier to have a day of not being perfect because I can't really do small cheat meals intermittently because it will lead me to binge. I'm not great at moderation, so I like having a whole day to not worry about a diet. (Only works if you keep it within reason, no 10,000 calorie cheat days or anything)
  • xXBabyBelleXx
    xXBabyBelleXx Posts: 110 Member
    Options
    This weekend has been a couple of cheat days. I went out in town last night with my girlfriends. So I stayed within my calorie allowance for food but did go over with alcohol. Today I've completely written it off, as hangover equals lots of sugar and lying on the sofa. Tomorrow I will be back on the plan for at least another month or more until I go out again. Do I feel like I've let myself down - not really, as it was a fantastic night and I felt a milon bucks in my new smaller dress! :-)
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    Options
    In two years I have gone over my calories maybe a half dozen times, never than more than a couple of hundred. If this really is a sustainable lifestyle change, I have no need to cheat. I'm getting all the food my body and soul needs.
  • cece5300
    cece5300 Posts: 48
    Options
    I don't have whole "cheat days" because I would do some serious damage, but I will indulge occasionally. Last night I had a giant snickers bar and some Pringles and it was amazing and so worth it. I work out 7 days a week and I figure, I'm trying to do a lifestyle change. I think about the rest of my life and there are going to be days when I have candy or junk food, I personally couldn't see the rest of my life nibbling on sugar snap peas on days when I'm craving a darn snickers bar. I just reached my goal weight and throughout the past few weeks I've still had occasional pieces of deep dish cookie cake and brownies and peanut butter cookies. It's all about moderation.
  • Chris_Pierce
    Chris_Pierce Posts: 267 Member
    Options
    For a while I was eating a big deficit 6 days a week and focusing mainly on hitting my fat and protein goals, the 7th day (refeed) I'd still work out normally, but I'd eat at maintenance or a little over. These days usually involved pizza, thai or Mexican food, lots of it. I'd still hit my macros though. I always eat whatever I want, as long as I can fit it into my goals, I'm lucky because I don't ever feel the urge to eat an entire pie or a jar of peanut butter. Over all I really like the concept of refeeds. It does a lot for your mental well being to be able to say," no, I will treat myself at the end of the week" and then stick with your diet. And it worked well for me, since I wanted to lose weight. One month I lost nearly 10 pounds while making improvements on my lifts.
  • socialdchic
    socialdchic Posts: 170 Member
    Options
    I rarely have cheat days, when I do it makes me feel like crap and its so much harder to get back on track, not worth it imo

Categories