cheat meals

millerma720
millerma720 Posts: 1
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been going at it for a little over a week now i have been counting carbs. however it has been a bumpy road, i have had terrible cravings some i have given in to but once i do i go right back to my diet where i left off. but i am still having cravings. like i want subway bmt with salt pepper and oil or i want taco bell or pizza or chocolate, you know the things high in carbs that aren't good for you. i was just wondering how many people do like a cheat meal where maybe you don't go and eat all day what ever you want but maybe you take a get something that isn't on your list of things to eat. but you go right back on to your diet right after. I was thinking about fridays for a month make it a one cheat meal day like write all my cravings on little pieces of paper if i have say three cravings for the same thing then put it on three different papers and then draw from a bag and then go get that and only that. I am really wanting to lose weight but i just keep having these cravings I think that i am over the "carb flu" for the most part. and i am wanting to get the gastric sleeve done because i am hungry all the time and once in a while i want to eat something bad but not over do it, if that makes sense, i also plan on seeing an addiction counselor for my food addiction.

Replies

  • stepfordexwife
    stepfordexwife Posts: 24
    I don't have cheat meals. If I want pizza I have pizza I just make sure I stay within my calorie goal for the day. A calorie deficit will always result in weight loss. Just learn moderation. If you'd usually eat half a pizza just have 2 pieces and make sure to log it. If you want taco bell go online and find out the calories for what you'd like and integrate it in. This isn't really a "diet", it's a life style change. You are teaching yourself how to eat because if you don't you are just going to gain all the weight back when you come off your diet and start eating the way you did before.
  • Donald_Dozier_50
    Donald_Dozier_50 Posts: 395 Member
    I don't have cheat meals. If I want pizza I have pizza I just make sure I stay within my calorie goal for the day. A calorie deficit will always result in weight loss. Just learn moderation. If you'd usually eat half a pizza just have 2 pieces and make sure to log it. If you want taco bell go online and find out the calories for what you'd like and integrate it in. This isn't really a "diet", it's a life style change. You are teaching yourself how to eat because if you don't you are just going to gain all the weight back when you come off your diet and start eating the way you did before.

    Agree with this reply
  • Blueseraphchaos
    Blueseraphchaos Posts: 843 Member
    If you're constantly hungry, maybe you have your calorie level set too low. The more weight you have to lose, the more you can eat and still lose weight, and your stomach should start to shrink down, so to speak,so that you aren't constantly hungry, since you reduced your calorie intake in a doable manner.

    As for cheat meals, if i really want it, i eat it and try to aim for at least my calorie goal for the day. Some days, i completely throw my macro goal out the window. (Or this entire month, since i got married and had too many leftovers from the wedding.)

    To learn more about what a reasonable calorie goal looks like for you, check out http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/#results and put in your stats (height, weight, gender, activity level). You could also find the sexypants link in the beginners thread here, but i don't have that one to link to at the moment.

    Good luck, hope some of this helped you
  • marywells1420
    marywells1420 Posts: 8
    I do do cheat meals, if only because I am limiting myself to lower carbs. I am allowed one meal a week with higher carbs but it must fit in with my calorie limit. I however stay away from fast food if at all possible but will try and make do with a home made meal if its something I really crave.

    I also try and make whatever it is I'm making as healthy a version as possible or eat less of it and add veggies to fill me up rather than gorging on my craving lol
  • Uselessly_Irrelevant
    Uselessly_Irrelevant Posts: 58 Member
    I don't have cheat meals. If I want pizza I have pizza I just make sure I stay within my calorie goal for the day. A calorie deficit will always result in weight loss. Just learn moderation. If you'd usually eat half a pizza just have 2 pieces and make sure to log it. If you want taco bell go online and find out the calories for what you'd like and integrate it in. This isn't really a "diet", it's a life style change. You are teaching yourself how to eat because if you don't you are just going to gain all the weight back when you come off your diet and start eating the way you did before.

    Beautiful. Done. End of thread!

    As far as urges go, I have huge problems with impulse control - this may seem obvious but it really took a long time for me to actually "get" but urges come and go and you don't have to act on them. Seriously, I'm not being snarky. I think writing down your urges and acknowledging them is a great idea. But at the same time, recognizing that you have a desire for pizza and incorporating it into your diet (while not acting on the OMG I NEED PIZZA NOW urge) is a healthy route to go. Good luck, stay strong! And just remember, when/if you do give into an urge or impulse, don't beat yourself up. You're human, you didn't "ruin your diet" and you weren't "bad" - you just ate a little more than you needed to that day and you will try not to keep doing that. :)
  • rosewarrior_101
    rosewarrior_101 Posts: 10 Member
    I must say that i agree with the concept of cheat meals, I am sorely tempted sometimes, and yes, I do give in. But I have always logged in whatever I eat. The other thing is that when we are entering these cheat meals, there is a tendency to try and downplay the portion size or the variety to try and convince ourselves that we are staying within our calorie goals. This should be avoided at all costs. After all, we are responsible for our own health.
  • JourneyingJessica
    JourneyingJessica Posts: 261 Member
    I lost 130+lbs that way. Once a week I have a higher calorie, normally higher carb meal plus dessert. I look at calories as a WEEKLY goal verses a daily goal. As long as I stay under my weekly goal it's good in my book.

    I've been at this a bit over a year now, and with as much as I needed to lose, I needed to have the ability to not feel deprived. Once a week I know I can have whatever I've been craving.

    Good luck!
  • annehutson2
    annehutson2 Posts: 29
    I cheat for parties and eat my fill of all the bad stuff. I have cravings but I find ways of substituting other items...I liked salt and vinegar potato chips so I got a mason jar and filled it with cucumber slices and vinegar and garlic cloves and it curbs that craving. I craved mexican food so i baked a spaghetti squash and filled it with some black beans and tomatoes and green onion and some enchilada sauce and hot sauce and a little sour cream and I used a flavorful cheese to tie it together, and my calories were within my limit. I fall off the wagon at times but I climb back on real fast. I eat for nutrition and health now and it seems second nature most of the time.
  • MsHarryWinston
    MsHarryWinston Posts: 1,027 Member
    I don't do cheat meals. I just figure out what I want to eat and make it fit my calories. Like, tonight I'm having buffalo wings at work. I really want wings so I've made a giant spinach Caesar salad (4 cups of spinach, fresh parmasean cheese, croutons, Caesar dressing,) and 9 hot buffalo wings. By the time I'm half way through the salad I'll probably be so dang full that it will feel like I've got 900 hot wings instead of 9! Plus spinach caesar salad? DELICIOUS! And last night I had chicken fettuccine alfredo AND DQ icecream cake. If I felt like I wasnt allowed to eat certain foods when I wanted to eat them I would get REAL stabby real fast. And I'm too cute for jail.
  • RMNPHike
    RMNPHike Posts: 89 Member
    Wow - 130 lbs lost! Obviously it worked for you not to deny yourself totally the things you wanted. I find that if I eat really healthy, whole foods, I lose my cravings just about completely. That said, I am not trying to do "low carb" particularly. Low added sugars, yes, but the natural sugars and carbs in fruit, vegetables, legumes and whole grains are very satisfying and don't lead to cravings or "cheating". I look at this as how I plan to eat for the rest of my life, not just until I lose the weight. I have done just about every "diet" and the weight just comes back when the diet ends. So I think you have to do something you can live with long term.
  • persistentsoul
    persistentsoul Posts: 268 Member
    I lost 130+lbs that way.  Once a week I have a higher calorie, normally higher carb meal plus dessert.  I look at calories as a WEEKLY goal verses a daily goal. As long as I stay under my weekly goal it's good in my book.  

    I've been at this a bit over a year now, and with as much as I needed to lose, I needed to have the ability to not feel deprived.  Once a week I know I can have whatever I've been craving.  

    Good luck!

    I agree with this. I chose low carb for medical reasons. I found after sticking to it strictly for a week all real strong cravings went away. I then chose to give myself a couple of months sticking to low carb before adding in occasional high carb meals. I think telling myself that I can have high carb foods stops me rebelling against myself  and stops me focusing on wanting things just because I have told myself I can not have them. Instead I tell myself I can have whatever I like as long as I feel safe to do so. For me personally I feel safe keeping certain foods reserved for treats. For me a treat is something I have occasionally once a week or less. I feel safest sticking to having treat meals out so there are built in boundaries on portions. If I have things at home I tend to eat too much and get myself in a mess. I also feel safest having those treat meals with others rather than alone. I think it is just about what works best individually.
  • myrtille87
    myrtille87 Posts: 122 Member
    I don't have a cheat day in terms of going totally nuts and eating a massive takeaway or something.

    But at least one day per week I eat what I want (whilst still carefully measuring everything) and end up a few hundred calories over my goal (eg: 1,900 instead of 1,500). This might be because I have dessert, or wine, or just a bigger more indulgent dinner.

    It still usually fits within my weekly goal and I'm still eating far less than I used to on a typical day - generally my net calories on a "cheat" day are close to maintenance.

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