Cheat day wo

lgeren
lgeren Posts: 45
edited September 23 in Food and Nutrition
So I declared yesterday a cheat days.Sundays are so hard to plan my meals & exercise b/c we have church & then always go out for lunch afterwards. And then dinner is either with our small group (which there is always something yummy but unhealthy to eat there) or we do dinner out again with friends. So anyways, yesterday we went to Olive Garden & after looking at their "Garden Fare" menu with their "healthier" options, I said "forget it, today will be my cheat day this week." Even their "healthier" options weren't really healthy. So after the whole day of eating & having minimal exercise, I calculated everything up this morning & have decided that this will not be happening even once a week, possibly not once a month.

I can't believe how horribly I used to eat! I didn't even come close to allowing myself the portions that I used to eat, yesterday. I cut myself off with one breastick at Olive Garden, ate a lunch portion & still didn't finish my plate. I was disgusted with numbers. I was quite frankly disgusted at myself.

So am I the only one that isn't going to give herself a cheat day once a week? I do not want to fall off the bandwagon all for one day. Luckily I didn't gain anything from yesterday but then again it was only the first time I hadn't counted my calories.

Replies

  • catherine1979
    catherine1979 Posts: 704 Member
    You are not alone! I don't do cheat days either. But that being said, if I want a square of chocolate or a cookie, I don't deny myself those things on occasion. For me personally, cheat days are a gateway back to binge eating.
  • Nurse_Christy
    Nurse_Christy Posts: 276 Member
    I don't have a scheduled cheat day. I have been doing this for about 5 weeks and have gone over my calories twice. The last time was this Saturday, when I really felt the need to take a break from counting and just eat what I wanted to for 1 meal, not all day. I think sometimes I just have to take a break, otherwise I won't stick with this change. I don't feel the need to schedule it though, especially not as frequently as once a week. I'm aiming for no more than once a month, if that.
  • yellowfairy
    yellowfairy Posts: 207 Member
    My "cheat" days are only on specfically planned date nights with my husband. For example-last night we went to Red Lobster. Now, I went WAY over on calories, but I am not beating myself up-because we had an awesome date night. We don't do that but once a month-once every other month? It isn't a "ton", so I consider that ok.
  • tiffsNEWlife
    tiffsNEWlife Posts: 145
    I don't give myself a cheat day either. Basically I eat what I want but in moderation. If I want a cookie, I eat A cookie. But only one and I count it. I try not eat that bad, but if it happens on occasion I make up for it. I feel the "cheat" day allows us to make a gateway to binge eating. So, if I work on it daily I feel I can really make a lifestyle change.
  • ChubbieTubbie
    ChubbieTubbie Posts: 481 Member
    I do 'cheat' days, but on those days I still limit myself to only my maintenance calories so there will be no gain, but no loss for the day. I find it much easier to eat healthily at work, so on weekends when we're out and about and we eat out and stuff, I just try to keep it within reason and not overdo it...it is nice to have 2400 calories sometimes rather than 1400!
  • lgeren
    lgeren Posts: 45
    I think you both are right, a cheat day is a little much but taking a meal off or even snacking on something I've been craving doesn't sound so bad. I was WAY over my calories yesterday & I didn't even overeat, that's the sad thing. I just didn't make smart choices when I ate. I honestly had no idea how much fat, calories, & carbs were in a LUNCH portion of fettuccini alfredo (no meat). YUCK. It just makes me sick to think the things I put in my body & didn't even flinch about doing.
  • BethanyMasters
    BethanyMasters Posts: 519 Member
    I used to do cheat days. Pretty sure that's part of the reason I hit so many plateaus before among other things.

    I don't even really have cheat meals really. I'll have a healthy meal with maybe one element that I would consider cheating.

    For example we made what my boyfriend calls pizza burgers. Basically we make pizzas on hamburger buns and heat them up in the oven.

    I made mine with whole wheat bun, tomato sauce, turkey pepperoni, mushroom, pineapple and low fat all natural mozzarella cheese. The cheese was my cheat since I try really hard not to eat it between the calories, fat and my lactose intolerance.
  • BioShocked89
    BioShocked89 Posts: 330 Member
    Yesterday was my first and last cheat day. My boyfriend and I were on a long car trip with his dad to Lexington, Ky. We had a good breakfast [filling and low cal/fat] before we left. But the drive was so long, eventually we all got hungry and decided to eat at Wendy's. His dad was impatient with us trying to decide what we could eat, so he encouraged us to have a splurge day. This was bad enough, as we already had plans to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings, that evening. Our lunch alone was 460 cal and 16 fat for a Chicken Fillet + 410 cal and 20 fat for a medium fry. 870 calories and 36 fat. Pretty much half my day gone in one meal. And that took up the slot we had planned for Buffalo Wild Wings. I ended up 900 calories and 53 fat grams over. Add that on with zero exercise= a very very bad day. I felt bad emotionally, and physically. An occasional splurge day is NOT worth missing out on my final reward goal: A trip to Indianapolis. Lol.
  • dlaplume2
    dlaplume2 Posts: 1,658 Member
    I haven't given myself a cheat day. I don't think I will. for me it would spread out into other days if the situation presented itself.

    I know I will eventually hit a day where I totally blow it for calories, but I am trying to avoid it at all costs and when it does I will have to wing it.

    I guess I should make a plan.
  • DeBlue
    DeBlue Posts: 254 Member
    My love life is keeping me fat! He lives in another city so when he is here we spend a lot of time together. He is not an exerciser so I have to fit in what I can early in the day, then rush back. He feels bad if I'm not enjoying the same foods so I try to have smaller portions with him (better than before but still bad), and then there is the occasional alcoholic beverage I don't bother with when its just me.

    I know what needs to be done, but it is so hard when I see him so infrequently. It is totally me responsibility but I'm at a loss how to best handle this challenge without ruining our limited time together. Yikes!
  • JoJo1953
    JoJo1953 Posts: 182 Member
    I have found out that 1 day of cheating leads to another and then the weight gain finally catches up with you. That is what has happened to me so now I'm fighting my way back to losing 20 lbs. AGAIN!!!!!! I just joined MFP in hopes of doing just that and by reading everyones success stories its just the motivation I need.
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