The idea of Cheat Days doesn't make sense...

Once you realise that food is a fuel, not a hobby, once you've broken that emotional connection to food (I've been good I'm going to have some oreos as a reward), you will no longer feel the need to "cheat".

I can honestly say I look at a big mac, or a piece of cake, or a can of Coke and go "yuck" when I think about what's in it, how it will make me feel etc. I don't even see these things as food anymore.

I don't think we could be friends.

I'm so over the attitude that being a healthy weight requires one to consider food as nothing but "fuel" - that's bull$hit. Food is social. Preparing it is a hobby, an experiment, a delight for many. Serving food we prepare to those we care for is an act of love as old as humankind. And most of all, food is good. I derive a good deal of joy from a beautifully-prepared meal. Food delights me, comforts me, reminds me of places I've been and people I've shared a meal with. Food is nostalgia and community. I've been in some of the poorest villages in the world, and what did they offer me when I arrived? Food. We didn't share a language, but we communicated through smiles as we ate together.

Food is only fuel? Ha. Look at your healthy friends - do they enjoy eating? The only friend I have who does not, who regards food as fuel and looks down on us mere mortals who actually enjoy a slice of cake, has been battling anorexia since she was 13. My friends who are a healthy weight (and always have been) are among the greatest lovers of good food I know.

As I lost weight, and as I maintain (2 years now), I did not break any emotional chain to food. Instead, I learned to respect the emotional connection and remove the shame you and others with your attitude project on something that keeps us alive but also has the potential to bring us happiness. I don't eat to soothe emotions or cure boredom like I used to; these days my life is way too full to need food to fill that void. I certainly learned more about food as fuel, and if you speak to me when I'm training for a race, you'll see that my meals are planned more for performance than anything else.

But to deny that food tastes good and has a purpose for human beings beyond mere fuel is, in my opinion, sad.

"People who love to eat are always the best people."
-Julia Child

I think we could be friends, though.

ok, i see your point.

but... you need to look at the numbers. if i am in a 5600 calorie defecit for the week , and i eat an extra 500 calories one day, because i feel like enjoying myself and dont plan on denying myself everything every day for the rest of my life... i still have a 5000 calorie defecit. i am still doing pretty darn good AND i am enjoying myself. not only that but after a week of defecit, or two or three... i start to feel this gnawing hunger. and having a day where i eat at maintainance helps with that. even if i "cheat" by 500 calories i am still not gaining any weight. in fact, if i am 50 calories under here, 100 calories under there, 18 calories here all week long, i might still be at a defecit for the day, because your body doesnt only care about what you ate today...

i guess what i am saying is.. it is about a big picture, not just right now. this weekend i am going out to chinese food because i have been craving it like a crazy person for a week, and i wont care because my big picture is great, and i give myself a break.

having said all that... i honestly very rarely have to have a cheat day... every few weeks or so i let myself go over. only because i eat what i want every day and dont have any off limits foods... so i make things fit regardless of their status as a diet food. in fact i avoid diet foods for the most part, hate em. i live my life how i want, food wise, just in moderatin and with obsessive tracking because thats how i roll. and i plan ahead if i want a treat so i dont have to "cheat"

and anyway i dont cheat. cheating implies a winner or loser, and see... in this game... i am a loser. ;P

You go girl!

I recently came to the conclusion that it is completely, utterly and in all other ways absurd to consider eating something I KNOW and has been PROVEN TO BE damaging to my health as a "treat."

"Oh yay I deserve some cake now LULZ!" invariably meant "Oh yay I deserve fatigue, a sudden breakout of acne, and stomach problems for four days LULZ!"

WTF? Why do we think that unhealthy stuff is somehow "a treat?"

Completely mental, most people.

i HATE the term "cheat day" ugh! you're only cheating youself and making yourself feel guilt and shame at the same time. We all have days where we make less than stellar choices, but can we please agree to STOP using the term CHEAT DAY!!

I recently came to the conclusion that it is completely, utterly and in all other ways absurd to consider eating something I KNOW and has been PROVEN TO BE damaging to my health as a "treat."

"Oh yay I deserve some cake now LULZ!" invariably meant "Oh yay I deserve fatigue, a sudden breakout of acne, and stomach problems for four days LULZ!"

WTF? Why do we think that unhealthy stuff is somehow "a treat?"

Completely mental, most people.

And how exactly is something like ice cream or some cookies or 2 slices of pizza damaging to my health?

If it's not, that's fine for you. Do you consider them unhealthy?

If I ate those things, however briefly yummy and flavorful they might be, I would have all the reactions I listed, and then some.

Once I put cause and effect together for things like that - again, for ME - I realized that I was some sort of insane, thinking of these items as some sort of reward. They invariably made me feel like crap, and my goal (if I have one here) is to maybe provoke someone else into self-realization, as applicable.

TBH I don't feel the need to cheat in the classic sense anymore. YMMV of course. If I do have a 'cheat day' it's just a day that I don't log to MFP.

I recently came to the conclusion that it is completely, utterly and in all other ways absurd to consider eating something I KNOW and has been PROVEN TO BE damaging to my health as a "treat."

"Oh yay I deserve some cake now LULZ!" invariably meant "Oh yay I deserve fatigue, a sudden breakout of acne, and stomach problems for four days LULZ!"

WTF? Why do we think that unhealthy stuff is somehow "a treat?"

Completely mental, most people.

Not sure what you mean by damaging to my health...were are talking about a regular piece of cake and not a box of rat poison, right?

If cake is bad for your health personally, well then, here :flowerforyou: I feel for you and I'll have an extra piece in your honor.

But if you're just labeling food good and bad based on the fact that you "know" it's been "proven"...well, I'll just play some Russian Roulette with this loaded triple layer cheesecake over here.

Oh baby, cheesecake...

Yeah, I'm just speaking to my own experience, mindset and epiphany (see my previous reply). Maybe someone will recognize a connection, maybe not. As far as labeling, I could quote a crapload of articles about insulin resistance and obesity and yadda yadda etc etc etc, but this thread doesn't need to go there. People's physiologies are different enough that it'd be pointless anyway.

It's not the cheesecake so much as I miss pizza and beer - you can have those for me as well :drinker:

I recently came to the conclusion that it is completely, utterly and in all other ways absurd to consider eating something I KNOW and has been PROVEN TO BE damaging to my health as a "treat."

"Oh yay I deserve some cake now LULZ!" invariably meant "Oh yay I deserve fatigue, a sudden breakout of acne, and stomach problems for four days LULZ!"

WTF? Why do we think that unhealthy stuff is somehow "a treat?"

Completely mental, most people.

And how exactly is something like ice cream or some cookies or 2 slices of pizza damaging to my health?

If it's not, that's fine for you. Do you consider them unhealthy?

If I ate those things, however briefly yummy and flavorful they might be, I would have all the reactions I listed, and then some.

Once I put cause and effect together for things like that - again, for ME - I realized that I was some sort of insane, thinking of these items as some sort of reward. They invariably made me feel like crap, and my goal (if I have one here) is to maybe provoke someone else into self-realization, as applicable.

TBH I don't feel the need to cheat in the classic sense anymore. YMMV of course. If I do have a 'cheat day' it's just a day that I don't log to MFP.

Well if you relate certain foods with issues you personally experience that still isn't a reason to knock others that do want to eat those things. Maybe you can't understand why some people leave room for ice cream or treats but that doesn't mean it's wrong.

WTF? Who knocked who? Take things personally, much?

Lighten the **** up.

I look at my macros as more of a weekly thing. After all, I only weigh once a week (if that).

So if I go over one day because I had an extra treat (I have a treat of some sort pretty much every day), no biggie. I don't consider it cheating, just consider it all part of the process.

In June 2012 I weighed 262 lbs. I started a new regimen - eat healthy six days a week (lots of veggies protein and good fat, minimal carbs), walk one hour a day six days a week, and sunday? Sunday is "Free day". I don't call it "cheat" day because I'm not cheating on anything. It is not cheating to allow yourself to indulge occasionally.

I've had my free day religiously for the past two years, and I've lost 114 lbs. I'm about 18 lbs from goal. There were times, especially in the beginning, where my free day saved my *kitten*. Sitting there wanting pizza so bad... I didn't have to tell myself "oh after you lose your 130 lbs you need to lose you can have pizza", I could just say "in a few more days you can have pizza". If you eat healthy all week, one day will not mess you up - at least that's been my experience. Nowadays my cravings aren't as strong, it usually doesn't feel like "oh my god I HAVE to have a pint of Ben and Jerrys" - more like "gee, some Ben and Jerrys would be nice". But its never more than six days away. I can wait six days

It's important to note that free day does not mean binge day. It's not "hurry up and eat all you can its sunday". I just eat what I want. I also look at it as training for once I hit maintenance. Right now I log pretty religiously, but one day I'd like to not have to log, to be able to just listen to my body, and eat like a normal person instead of someone who's had food issues since age 11. So I practice on sundays

For example, last sunday I woke up and was craving McDonalds. I went down and got an egg mcmuffin meal, stopped at Starbucks and got a pumpkin spice latte, and came home. I ate the sandwich and the hashbrown but didnt want the OJ so i put it in the fridge. I drank half my latte and that was enough, so I put that in the fridge too. A few hours later I had a granola bar. Dinner came, and we ordered out italian - salmon over seafood risotto with garlic bread and gnocchi chicken soup. I ate 3/4 of the entree, one breadstick, and a third of the soup, and was satisfied. It wasn't "oh it's free day eat it all cos we have to wait six days before we can do this again!". It's just not like that anymore for me, it hasn't been for a long time. I am learning to eat when I"m hungry and stop when I"m full, even when I don't have my MFP calorie limit to adhere to. Later that night I had about a cup of Ben and Jerrys. That's a typical free day. As long as I stay to my plan the other six days, I lose weight no problem eating this way.

I don't understand all the animosity towards people who choose to have free/cheat days. If it works for them, what does it matter to you? Maybe for YOU it's "sabotaging the diet". For me, it's just another tool I use to get and stay healthy.

Oh, and after I eat meat and veggies and fats all day? I have an ice cream sandwich smeared with cookie butter for dessert. I save 200 calories for it each night.

The dieting life is hard, yo.

Because I'm eating like an ascetic on most days, which is fine. I don't mind living on salads, cottage cheese, egg whites, and rice cakes 90% of the time, when I'm just at home. Food has become very functional for me this year - something to be counted and tracked, not really enjoyed.

But I don't want to sit in a corner munching on cucumber slices on girls' night out or at a nice restaurant or a family barbecue. To me that's part of keeping a healthy relationship with food: enjoying it when it's great, and minimizing its importance when it's just day-to-day living. So I plan that for particular events I will allow myself to go over my daily calorie goal.

I do track everything, though. To me "cheating" would mean not logging. That's just being in denial about your behavior.

It's perfectly fine to have a cheat meal or even day and actually your body wants it too. It's not okay to deprive yourself of some sort of meal you want. One meal/One day isn't going to kill you and it isn't going to stunt your weight loss. It's healthy to indulge every now and then and your body needs that sometimes to stay on track and get thrown off from the norm. If you never eat some of the things you want or crave then you just end up eating around your craving and you've done more harm than good. Treat yourself my friend!

This question comes up sometimes and it's a bit idiotic. Cheat day? You probably mean cheat MEAL, so we will go with that.

Because on thanksgiving I'm not going to run around with my food scale weighing every little thing I put into mouth. Because there are occasions where it makes sense to not count. I think you're so hung up on the wording you miss the big picture. Food isn't meant to only be enjoyed in small portions your entire life. You aren't meant to be afraid of eating because on a certain holiday when you want to eat with your family you might go over your calories.

Life is about living in balance. Most of us here have had the same problem. We eat too damn much. We like food. There's a social component to it along with just how good things taste. Food is part of life. But when we have that proper balance and only eat junk in moderation (or just eat in excess) then what is the problem? Specifically, what is the issue with eating what you want on Christmas with your family? Is the memory you want to have of that occasion one where you kept saying "no" to trying things your mom made because you just couldn't go over your calories? There are times that are meant to be care free. Be that! Life is balance

Thank you! Well Said! This is my idea of a "cheat meal" (although I don't really consider it cheating… as in I'm doing something wrong). One where I just allow myself to eat (obviously in moderation) without going around weighing and measuring and where I don't have to say "no" to something just because it might mean going over in calories. And yes, typically those meals will revolve around holidays and other special family events. So "cheat meals" are not something that happen every week (or even every month) for me. I still manage to fit in the occasional "treats" into my daily calorie goal and I don't think twice about it. So… to the original question… yes, these kind of cheat meals makes perfect sense to me in keeping with a lifestyle change.

I must tell everyone something I don't have cheat days. So sad. Yep everything has it pros and cons. Even cheat days.