Cheat days for women?

kristikuiken
kristikuiken Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all! So I've been reading up on cheat days but most of them are written by men working on muscle gain. I'm a 5'9 woman at 145 pounds (21%BMI) looking to drop down to about 125/130 and lose muscle specifically on my lower half. I've been eating a very healthy 1200 cal per day diet (plain oatmeal with fruit, plain Greek yogurt, chicken, vegetables, rice, etc.) but I've plateaued. Are cheat days a good idea for me? And if so, should I do them once a week or once every two? Your opinions are greatly appreciated!!:smile::flowerforyou:

Replies

  • salembambi
    salembambi Posts: 5,585 Member
    yes go eat whatever you want today

    seriously

    eat
  • MsBetteDavis
    MsBetteDavis Posts: 118 Member
    I don't really have cheat days but I do cheat whenever I want. It should be said that I'm 5'3'' and 121 lbs, so I can afford to cheat more often than other people can because I don't have a weight loss goal, just maintenance. For me, I have to allow myself to "cheat" because I tend to get a bit OCD about things, and if I started measuring everything that I ate all of the time, and counted every single calorie/macro, I would go crazy.

    Plus, I quickly calculated your TDEE and it says yours is about 2070 and your BMR is 1503. (http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/), so you can definitely afford to cheat, since you're eating under your BMR. And frankly, having cheat meals/days would help compensate for you eating only 1200 cals.
  • BombshellPhoenix
    BombshellPhoenix Posts: 1,693 Member
    Wait? You want to lose muscle or fat? At 21%...is that really BMI or BF?. If BF%, you could dip a bit lower in BF and might see improvement in your...lower half (which is?). You can't spot reduce and losing muscle is a bad idea.
  • BombshellPhoenix
    BombshellPhoenix Posts: 1,693 Member
    My womanly cheat day is staring at all these men and women's sox packs and mooscles :love:
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    Just raise your calorie goal and enjoy a treat every day.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    WHY do you want to lose muscle?
  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
    Lose muscle? What now? If you think you are over muscular, you aren't. People, especially women, don't get muscular without trying very hard to do so.

    To answer your question, if you want to lose weight, then cheat days should be used very sparingly. Cheat days are not magical. If you eat 1500 calories 6 days a week and have a 3000 calorie cheat day, you are doing the same as eating 1715 calories every day. I prefer to eat foods I enjoy every day and work them in to my calories. That being said, If it helps you to eat lower calorie all week and have 1 big day of eating, that's fine too. The body doesn't really care and will handle it all pretty much the same. Just make sure your cheats aren't so bad that they wipe out the entire weeks calorie deficit. If your weight loss stalls, cheats are the first thing to eliminate.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    If you want them, you should have them! See how it works. You can always change later. :)

    Do what you want. Be happy. :)
  • kristikuiken
    kristikuiken Posts: 3
    wow! thank you so much for all the positive advice and critique! I really appreciate the quick response. In response to the muscle thing, I'm trying to slim down after playing 5 years of volleyball and rowing crew so I'm a little bulkier in my legs and butt than I'd like. But nothing that a good amount of cardio won't alter! I'm definitely eating and not starving myself but I really want to push myself to get to my ideal body type. Thanks again for all the comments!:smile:
  • beastmode_kitty
    beastmode_kitty Posts: 845 Member
    I dont have a cheat day, just a treat meal once a week. I watch what I eat the rest of that day and for sure plan around it. Helps curb me from binging on food.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    wow! thank you so much for all the positive advice and critique! I really appreciate the quick response. In response to the muscle thing, I'm trying to slim down after playing 5 years of volleyball and rowing crew so I'm a little bulkier in my legs and butt than I'd like. But nothing that a good amount of cardio won't alter! I'm definitely eating and not starving myself but I really want to push myself to get to my ideal body type. Thanks again for all the comments!:smile:

    I hope you know that you might not be able to get to your "ideal" body type. Body type is largely genetics and the sooner you accept yours the better off you will be. The very thin, slender legs of a certain model or movie star might not be obtainable or healthy for you. I know they aren't for me. Losing muscle usually results in a poorer physique not a better one. You'll be left with weird pockets of fat storage, possibly lose skin, weaker bones, etc. I also wonder how much of your legs is actual muscle and not fat, or a mix of the two. Can you post pictures?

    1200 calories for a woman who is 5'9" and rather on the low side. Are you eating your exercise calories? I am also 5'9" and eat 2000 to lose.
  • AmyG1982
    AmyG1982 Posts: 1,040 Member
    I do cheat meals once a week. A whole cheat day would derail my entire week. I eat pretty "clean" throughout the week so that one meal lets me give in to my pizza and ice cream cravings ;) I'm losing weight steadily with them I just make sure that day doesn't go over my maintenance calories
  • SemperAnticus1643
    SemperAnticus1643 Posts: 703 Member
    lose muscle specifically on my lower half

    WHAT?!
  • ruby_red_rose
    ruby_red_rose Posts: 321 Member
    I can only do a cheat day once every couple of weeks. If I do a cheat day more frequently, I end up not losing weight. I find it is good for my mental health, and I usually still drop a pound or half a pound on the weeks when I cheat.
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    WHY do you want to lose muscle?

    Yeah...why, why why????
  • bellaa_x0
    bellaa_x0 Posts: 1,062 Member
    wow! thank you so much for all the positive advice and critique! I really appreciate the quick response. In response to the muscle thing, I'm trying to slim down after playing 5 years of volleyball and rowing crew so I'm a little bulkier in my legs and butt than I'd like. But nothing that a good amount of cardio won't alter! I'm definitely eating and not starving myself but I really want to push myself to get to my ideal body type. Thanks again for all the comments!:smile:

    I hope you know that you might not be able to get to your "ideal" body type. Body type is largely genetics and the sooner you accept yours the better off you will be. The very thin, slender legs of a certain model or movie star might not be obtainable or healthy for you. I know they aren't for me. Losing muscle usually results in a poorer physique not a better one. You'll be left with weird pockets of fat storage, possibly lose skin, weaker bones, etc. I also wonder how much of your legs is actual muscle and not fat, or a mix of the two. Can you post pictures?

    1200 calories for a woman who is 5'9" and rather on the low side. Are you eating your exercise calories? I am also 5'9" and eat 2000 to lose.

    agreed.. i'm a 5'10" female and while i am in the process of tweaking my macros right now, i eat close to 1900 cal/day. maybe you need to reassess your calorie goal.. it doesn't matter whether or not those 1200 calories are "healthy," it doesn't sound like nearly enough.
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    your goal puts you in the underweight category. I strongly consider re-evaluating.

    As a 5'9" teen, on the lowest end of healthy weight range, you should be eating a LOT more than 1200 just to maintain.
  • Happymelz
    Happymelz Posts: 536 Member
    Troll toll?
  • stillhere1981
    stillhere1981 Posts: 119 Member
    I'm really struggling with why someone with a 21 BMI (if that's really what she meant) would feel like they need to lose weight.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    wow! thank you so much for all the positive advice and critique! I really appreciate the quick response. In response to the muscle thing, I'm trying to slim down after playing 5 years of volleyball and rowing crew so I'm a little bulkier in my legs and butt than I'd like. But nothing that a good amount of cardio won't alter! I'm definitely eating and not starving myself but I really want to push myself to get to my ideal body type. Thanks again for all the comments!:smile:

    I would love to have a volleyball player's lower half. I'm perfectly willing to accept that it isn't every woman's dream body, but I doubt that losing muscle will help your physique. I think the fact that you aren't playing anymore will take care of that for you, though.

    In the meantime, give this a read, particularly #3: http://www.t-nation.com/training/7-things-to-steal-from-competitors

    "Even if symmetry is at stake, a smart competitor will bring up the parts that are lagging and maintain the parts that are well developed. (Ladies, if you think your legs are "too big", the dumbest thing you could do is try to atrophy your entire lower body.)"

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