Cheat days... what do you think?

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Kellyfitness128
Kellyfitness128 Posts: 194 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
What do you all think about cheat days? Good, bad? I eat 2,000 calories a day throughout the week to lose weight (and I still feel hungry at night even with that amount) so by the time the weekend rolls around I'm craving a meal where I just let go of the self control. I think it helps me stay focused. Yesterday I had a cheat meal + drinks for dinner (about 2300 calories in food for the day and 4 alcoholic drinks), which was probably a bit too much but I feel ready to get back on track and conquer another week now. Do you think this will sabotage my progress? I'm in college and I've limited drinking to only one night per week but I refuse to give that up.. I enjoy a few beers to relax on the weekends. And I still keep the food pretty healthy even when I overeat a bit.
Do you have a cheat day? Or cheat meal? What would be an example of one?
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Replies

  • vismal
    vismal Posts: 2,463 Member
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    Cheat days and or meals or not special or unique. They simply change your overall calories for the week. Eating 2000 calories for 6 days and 3000 calories on your "cheat" day is exactly the same as eating 2143 calories a day. It all averages out. If you find that with your cheat day your weight loss stalls you simply must remove the cheat day, or reduce calories from the other days of the week. When you think of calories as a weekly average, the cheat day is just another day.
  • liftnlove_
    liftnlove_ Posts: 112 Member
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    Yes for cheat meals here!!! An example of a cheat meal for me would be all-out Mexican-food gluttony. Flour tortillas with butter dripping out of them... Chips and salsa... A Sprite to drink... A chicken quesadilla and a cheese enchilada... Ice cream for dessert. Then I get back on track and don't feel guilty about anything. :)
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
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    It could, but maybe it won't. You might want to consider upping your protein and fats if you are still hungry on 2000 cals. If this doesn't help, then consider eating 2100 cals.

    Otherwise, do a structured refeed day (hit protein min, as little fat as possible, and fill the rest up with as many carbs as possible to reach at or a bit above your maintenance calorie needs - if you're eating 2000 cals then 2500 is probably a safe maintenance estimate).

    I eat flexibly, but always within my calories. I am usually not hungry unless I overdo it on carbs or too many calorie-dense foods are eaten. This is another thing to consider, you may need more volume in your diet. Even more water helps.
  • ChrisM8971
    ChrisM8971 Posts: 1,067 Member
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    I think the occasional unrestricted day is a great idea for many to help them with adherence to their lifestyle change

    What I don't like is the term 'cheat day' because it suggests that you are doing something wrong or something you should feel guilty about and that should not be the case
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    It's not cheating. It's overeating. And drinking.

    And it counts.

    I think if someone wants to do it, they should!

    But if you're going to do it every week, you should probably factor it in and deduct those cals from your daily allowance on the other six days. :)
  • cecesquats
    cecesquats Posts: 166 Member
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    It could, but maybe it won't. You might want to consider upping your protein and fats if you are still hungry on 2000 cals.

    i agree with this. 2,000 calories is a pretty good amount of food for a day.
  • Kellyfitness128
    Kellyfitness128 Posts: 194 Member
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    I like the structured refeed day idea. I'm vegan and have been eating a higher than "normal" carb diet- around 70/20/10 ratios more or less for the past few months. So, lots of fruits, veggies, and starches. I've been upping my fat a bit though to bring my carb ratio more toward 50-60% in the past couple weeks just because it keeps me fuller longer. I don't think increasing fats much more than that is a healthy idea though.. I'm all about a low fat diet. I think I'm going to give the refeed idea a shot.. And just to note, I drink at least 3 L of water a day.

    Thanks for the advice everyone!
  • Kellyfitness128
    Kellyfitness128 Posts: 194 Member
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    It could, but maybe it won't. You might want to consider upping your protein and fats if you are still hungry on 2000 cals.

    i agree with this. 2,000 calories is a pretty good amount of food for a day.

    According to an average day I get about 55g of fat and 56g of protein, which fits right into my recommended amounts. 2,000 is a good amount for a lightly active person, but I run 9 miles three times a week + walking to campus and back in addition to light weight lifting and walking on the days in between. So, I'm a very active person!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    It's not cheating. It's overeating. And drinking.

    And it counts.

    I think if someone wants to do it, they should!

    But if you're going to do it every week, you should probably factor it in and deduct those cals from your daily allowance on the other six days. :)

    I agree with this. I've never called it a cheat day, and I don't really do it anymore, but when I first started I found it easier to sustain if I was somewhat more strict on 6 days and then had one day where I could have a more indulgent meal, whether it be ordering pizza or a favorite restaurant or a potluck. I'd estimate calories (usually counting with any accuracy wasn't possible) and try to factor it into my weekly deficit, so that I'd just eat a bit less on other days or (more often) cover it with exercise calories from other days in part, as well as eating a bit less for other meals that day. For me having the day to look forward to helped me, and I think it can't hurt to let yourself eat some more calories on one day if that's what you like to do, but I didn't think of it as going crazy or completely ignoring the numbers that day.
  • lizzybathory
    lizzybathory Posts: 229
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    I'm supportive of the idea, depending on how it's executed. I have some friends who always plan one really delicious big meal on their shared cheat day - a big ol' steak, or something like that. I think this is fine, as long as you're still tracking everything and not undoing all the work you've done all week. But if your cheat day turns into a binge-a-thon full of raw cookie dough and an entire case of beers, then it's probably going to hurt you quite a bit, haha.

    Going over your calories one day a week is certainly fine, but I'd try to still keep it healthy-ish and make sure you still have an understanding of what it is you're eating on that day.
  • caracrawford1
    caracrawford1 Posts: 657 Member
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    I only feel hungry on 14-1500 a day if I don't get enough protein, and I workout ALOT. You can look at my diary. Yesterday it suggested I eat 2132 cals but seriously I wasn't about to eat aalmost 1000 more cals the equivalent of another big meal. I wasn't hungry so there was no point in just eating. So you may want to consider upping your protein if being hungry on that many cals is making you want to binge/leaving you hungry.I do not have cheat meals, but I do fit treats into my budget. I am perpetually under budget so this hasn't been a problem.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    I don't believe in the word "cheat", when it comes to my eating choices. It makes it appear that I'm doing something wrong. If I want to eat something, I eat it. I DO try to fit this into my caloric allowance, but if I happened to go over its more of a log it and move on philosophy.
  • Outwardlycalm
    Outwardlycalm Posts: 75 Member
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    I don't call it my cheat day. I call it a free day, if I feel like it. I pretty much eat anything I want one day a week, like Sunday football. Drinks and chips etc. I don't always take them. I do find that in the MFP state of mind I still don't lose control and get too far off. I cut back during the day and up my exercise if I know I'm going out to eat or to a party or something. Just keep track of your weight and/or measurements. If it starts to interfere with your progress, cut it out until you can afford it again. Good Luck!
  • marquishagetaka
    marquishagetaka Posts: 322
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    I call it cheat day, but when the week ends, it all balances out.
  • marciaholland77
    marciaholland77 Posts: 85 Member
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    For me a cheat meal would be eating out at a buffet and eating breads and desserts but I would have a salad for my main meal....
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    It depends what is meant by it. If its all in as part of the calorie controled diet over a period, then thats up to you. For me its a bit too much of a temptation to have a regular cheat day. If it balances out then id rather have the calories spread through the week.

    For people who want to let rip days without calorie counting on a weekly basis then, its just all counter productive to the rest of the diet. Its like you havent let go of the old ways of eating and want to run them both in parallel, but they undermine the changes you made.

    I am coming round to the idea of a reward meal based on reaching specific targets though.
    Guess I will sort it when I come to it.
  • shabaity
    shabaity Posts: 792 Member
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    I don't really do cheat days I'm more in the eat what I want in moderation camp, mmm homemade french dip. And should I happen to go over one day its not that big of a deal I'm usually between 500-2000 below my weekly goal anyways.
  • LaReinaDeCorazones
    LaReinaDeCorazones Posts: 274 Member
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    Yes for cheat meals here!!! An example of a cheat meal for me would be all-out Mexican-food gluttony. Flour tortillas with butter dripping out of them... Chips and salsa... A Sprite to drink... A chicken quesadilla and a cheese enchilada... Ice cream for dessert. Then I get back on track and don't feel guilty about anything. :)
    Omg sounds sooo good, except no chicken. ..Mmmm I want a churro now

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