Has anyone been able to lose having one cheat day per week?

KM0692
KM0692 Posts: 178 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just curious if anyone here has been able to lose successfully (each week) while allowing themselves one cheat day per week?
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Replies

  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Define "cheat day".
  • neil_machen
    neil_machen Posts: 26 Member
    I tend to have a big cheat day on a Saturday where I do go on a bit of a wild one. I exercise five days a week so I think that the burn from those negates the extra Saturday calories. I have been consistently losing 2lbs a week
  • CarlaNB
    CarlaNB Posts: 38
    I don't think I have cheat "days" per say, but if I want cake, or wine, or whatever, and it fits in my allowance, I eat it. That being said, there are always a few days here and there that I am over, and I've been consistent at a pound a week!
    I hope this helps!
  • stephanieluvspb
    stephanieluvspb Posts: 997 Member
    Do you mean cheat day or gorge day, there is a difference.
  • DR2501
    DR2501 Posts: 661 Member
    Cheat meals for me not cheat days.

    As above, gorge days wouldn't work
  • runningagainstmyself
    runningagainstmyself Posts: 616 Member
    I lost 85lb. that way.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    I could for a while, when I was heavier and running a much larger deficit. I can't anymore. Now I log my "cheat days" and keep them at or around maintenance so that I don't wipe out the deficit I've created the rest of the week.
  • giggitygoo
    giggitygoo Posts: 1,978 Member
    Cheat meal? yes

    Cheat DAY..no
  • ShellyBell999
    ShellyBell999 Posts: 1,482 Member
    Lost a BF to cheat days once :sad:
    Probably shouldn't cheat :cry:

    Oh, you mean food?
    No such thing as a cheat day, just stay within your calorie goals.
    If you go over, then tomorrow is a new day :flowerforyou:
  • endermako
    endermako Posts: 785 Member
    I dont cheat. I eat whatever I want and keep to my daily calorie goal.
  • 1911JR
    1911JR Posts: 276
    Just curious if anyone here has been able to lose successfully (each week) while allowing themselves one cheat day per week?

    I don`t do the cheat day, that has never made sense to me.

    BUT.... I eat what I want and make it fit. Always have, always will. And if I go over on calories or something on an individual day, I could care less. If I want pizza, I eat it..... And yes, I lost about 60 pounds eating this way. But I also burn a lot of calories and eat "right" the majority of the time........

    So my advise is this, don`t worry about when or how you can cheat yourself, worry about what you can do good for yourself.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    No cheat day, over on calories is over. Planning for it only guarantees it is going to happen. Plus you tend to over do it on a cheat day versus a day you go slightly over.
  • jescamp9481
    jescamp9481 Posts: 126 Member
    I "cheat" sometimes more than others, it depends on what is going on in my life but I make sure to allow one overage day a week and never more then by TDEE.
  • spoiledpuppies
    spoiledpuppies Posts: 675 Member
    I didn't do this. Everyone's different, but to me that would seem to negate hard work I put in during the week. I guess I never found any food/treats to be worth it.

    Now, for maintenance (which I did for years with a past 50-pound loss, prior to my recent 40-pound loss on top of it), I found that I naturally would enjoy my weekends, and then make up for it during the week. It was never to the point of feeling deprived during the week, but I knew I was balancing things out and still eating pretty much whatever I wanted. For now, in maintenance, my trainer advises keeping a consistent calorie intake across days to make the most of muscle building. So for as long as I'm seeking particular goals with him, my days will be pretty level.
  • ravenmiss
    ravenmiss Posts: 384 Member
    Lost a BF to cheat days once :sad:
    Probably shouldn't cheat :cry:

    Oh, you mean food?
    No such thing as a cheat day, just stay within your calorie goals.
    If you go over, then tomorrow is a new day :flowerforyou:

    This.
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    Make it a cheat MEAL instead of a whole DAY, and you should still lose weight. Though is is entirely possible (hell, even easy!) to blow an entire week's deficit on one meal, so be careful with what foods you choose to cheat.
  • thingofstuff
    thingofstuff Posts: 93 Member
    I agree, "cheat days" can manifest themselves very differently depending on how much you choose to eat. I consider friday or saturday a cheat day because that's when I tend to party and drink an alcoholic bev or 2, have a small fries or some $1 menu thing on the way home late at night, but otherwise eat well all day every day.

    I think allotting the calories/exercise to eat a small treat more regularly is better than saving cheating for one day. Then you don't need to feel like you're missing out or restricting yourself. From personal experience, having a set cheat day in mind tends to lead to almost binge eating, or the "what the hell effect" where I justify one more thing or finishing something even if I'm no longer hungry because I don't want to wait another week for it. For lasting dietary changes, 80/20 (healthy, fresh, non-processed/treaty, carby, delicious) has worked best for me. If you know you'll be going to an event, party, or dining out, use that as a cheat day and write it off as a big treat to yourself, but otherwise don't budget a cheat day if there's not something awesome and social going on.
  • becs3578
    becs3578 Posts: 836 Member
    I have 2 or 3 mini cheats a week. I eat at my folks on Thursday nights and Sunday for lunch. They cook things I normally don't eat at home so I use that as the place I have those little cheats. But not an entire day.
  • KM0692
    KM0692 Posts: 178 Member
    Thanks all.
  • Mykaelous
    Mykaelous Posts: 231 Member
    My question for you is: do you want to go through all the effort of dieting and exercising only to end up wondering if that 1 cheat day a week has completely screwed up your goals and has caused you not to loose any weight 4 weeks down the line?
  • newdaydawning79
    newdaydawning79 Posts: 1,503 Member
    I lost over 50 pounds doing one meal a week where I ate anything I wanted and didn't track.

    (I gained it all back when I stopped doing it entirely and started eating fast food several days a week...which is to be expected.)

    I'm back on the wagon now though and still might do the one meal...might not either. Stuff happens! :D
  • ppatricia81
    ppatricia81 Posts: 23 Member
    I have a cheat meal not a cheat day, I check how many calories it is for maintenance and I will not go over those calories, if it does I make the portion smaller. If that still doesn't work ill go to the gym burn some calories.
  • sarahfishy
    sarahfishy Posts: 14
    I'm no nutrition or diet expert but I try to have a little of everything in moderation. Or else I'd go completely crazy on my cheat day.
  • louisekerry86
    louisekerry86 Posts: 58
    Not cheat days in the sense of just binging all day. But I have pizza/whatever I feel like one night a week/fortnight. Rest of the time I'm eating Low GI. I think its okay and normal to let yourself off for the odd dinner/lunch here and there. :)
  • TiffieLand
    TiffieLand Posts: 159
    I think cheat day makes me go crazy to eat all the things I want in that day because I can so I don't do that anymore. I can just eat whatever I want any day just keep it under my calories limit or workout to eat it.
  • galprincess
    galprincess Posts: 683 Member
    Nope....let me explain if I have a "cheat day" I will go over board and 1 day leads to another that's how I got here so this is what I do I allow myself a bit of everything I don't lie I weigh food measure liquids and allow a few treats a week I had 7 cookies today but had small breakfast and will have healthy lunch and dinner so its fine I don't feel bad and I feel great I can eat some treats. I would say allow yourself what you want but in moderation last week I chose pudding over wine and I really enjoyed it
  • logiatype
    logiatype Posts: 110 Member
    Only thing I add on my cheat days are Burger King Hershey Sundae Pies (on Saturday and Sunday). But I burn off those calories (310) and more since I go tot the gym on both days. I suppose I can't really call them "cheat days"... lol
  • Ukstorme
    Ukstorme Posts: 4
    To be honest - I allow myself a 'cheat day' but land up walking around the store looking for a treat and landing up not buying anything and sticking to the healthy meals because I just cannot bring myself to eat back all that hard work I have put in the last week. Of course my one allowance is wine lol - but once a week and nothing more!
  • chaivind
    chaivind Posts: 7 Member
    I have a cheat meal once a week. I have found that my weight loss actually stalls if I don't have the cheat meal. But I make up for this meal by eating lighter earlier that day and also working out that day. I also don't eat back 100% of my exercise calories for an additional buffer. I also find that I don't have an urge to eat bad during the week because I know that I have a cheat meal coming up in the next few days.
  • Sarahndipitydoo
    Sarahndipitydoo Posts: 6 Member
    No.. I thought I would and began allowing myself one cheat day a week and gained all of my weight back.
    I started allowing myself a cheat meal instead of an entire cheat day and lost/maintained a bit better. It's different for everyone though, I guess it just depends on your willpower and definition of "cheat."

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