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

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  • silentKayak
    silentKayak Posts: 658 Member
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    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.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    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. :)

    Yo :)
  • _whatsherface
    _whatsherface Posts: 1,238 Member
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    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!
  • CupcakeDefeater
    CupcakeDefeater Posts: 113 Member
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    I don't have cheat days as a regular thing. Especially whilst I'm trying to get the main bulk of this weight down.
    I had a wedding to go to which was a weekend affair for a load of friends I hadn't seen in ages, I had that weekend off. Totally. I planned for that weekend, allowed a gain if that was to happen and very strictly made myself go back onto plan on the Monday. I didn't think of it as heading really as I knew I was gonna be totally off plan. You know what I found out? I no longer wanted all the crap from before. I drank too much alchohol but from a food point of view I probably stayed way under my calorie limit, didn't track do can't be too sure lol! I lost 7lbs that week.

    I think if I had a cheat day every week I personally wouldn't be able to stop eating all the rubbish that got me fat in the first place. So for me I have to just say no - a word that I now find quite comforting when it relates to food as I sure couldn't say it before! :)
  • cincysweetheart
    cincysweetheart Posts: 892 Member
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    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.
  • lioness0408
    lioness0408 Posts: 12 Member
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    I'm under a dietician at my doctors and even she says if you fancy a treat once a week or so then go for it even as far as a take a away meal
    She says otherwise it just gets boring ive been on my diet 5 weeks now and had one treat which was a meat and salad wrap from the kebab shop ohhhh and it tasted so good
    But i was straight back to my diet the next day
    As they say a LITTLE of what you fancy once in a blue moon never hurt anyone
  • kimondo666
    kimondo666 Posts: 194 Member
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    I must tell everyone something :D I don't have cheat days. So sad. Yep everything has it pros and cons. Even cheat days.
  • RommelMathew
    RommelMathew Posts: 44 Member
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    Cheat days for me are days when I would eat some of my favorite high-calorie foods that I could no longer eat ever since I started MFP. Apparently, I would exceed my calorie limit for the day (usually by 1000 or more). On these days, I would expect to really gain weight the day after.

    To make up for this and get back on track, I try to exercise or be strict with my intake for a few days. I also have this rule for myself that I can only have at least 2 to 3 cheat days a month because anything greater would result to a fitness backslide.

    I read somewhere that we need to indulge once in a while to keep our sanity and I believe this is true.
  • funchords
    funchords Posts: 413 Member
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    I don't do "cheat" days. I stay with eating at the amount of calories I need to maintain my current goal weight. However, when I'm going to take a vacation or go out to dinner for a special occasion I make the choice to eat whatever I want. The next day or the day I arrive home from vacation I go right back to eating the amount of calories I need to maintain my current goal weight. I don't call that cheating I call that living!
    It occurs to me that it's different for someone who has reached their goal. For example, when I went on vacation, I was worried about being distracted and stressed over my daily calorie goal so I temporarily set my goals to lose 0.5 lbs instead of 2 lbs.. This gave me 700 more calories in a day and I felt more relaxed knowing that I had some more leeway. I set it back to 2 lbs/week when I got back from vacation. (This worked very well, BTW)

    But since you're already at your goal -- do you still run a deficit or do you try to get all of your calories in?
  • lemonlime006
    lemonlime006 Posts: 27
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    I eat try to eat very well on days that I have control over what I'm eating. Even when I go out, I prefer restaurants that I know I can get something healthier at, and I will suggest them in a group. Last week a friend had a going away party at Plucker's Wing Bar. There's not much in the way for healthy options, and I love the wings! So I had some wings and a beer. My "cheat" moments are those when I go out with others because I have something I wouldn't normally make or eat. I am a sucker for ice cream, so I'll make a protein shake with frozen fruit so it's frothy and like a smoothie. If I'm still wanting the ice cream later, I buy the ben & jerry's mini cups, so I'll eat one of those, and it's already pre-portioned and delicious!
  • fairygirlpie9
    fairygirlpie9 Posts: 288 Member
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    Everydays a cheat day! Oh wait . . . no I just eat when I'm hungry and that means all the things. I exercise too. Food depravation makes me go loopy!

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