do you plan a cheat day?

hooah_mj
hooah_mj Posts: 1,004 Member
edited September 23 in Health and Weight Loss
There's been a lot of talk about planning a cheat day and I am wondering if anyone has had successful weight loss with this type of strategy....(naturally, a single cheat meal sounds more acceptable to me).
Does calorie/fat intake matter and do you "make up" for the increase before and/or after?

I'm finding it very difficult to keep the family away from take-out, esp when it's my favorite most of the time!:noway:
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Replies

  • mandavann
    mandavann Posts: 38 Member
    I try to eat as clean as I can every day and allow myself a cheat meal (and sweet treat) on Sundays.
  • AliciaJade93
    AliciaJade93 Posts: 122 Member
    What i do is have a cheat day, but i eat like a packet of crisps and maybe some take out, then i exercise using the Wii fit and dancing and generally more fun ways to work out. It works for me :)
  • staceyb_2003
    staceyb_2003 Posts: 396 Member
    nope mine generally just happens a few days before my time of month like today for example
  • togden
    togden Posts: 324 Member
    I guess I cheat everyday ... I love my 2 oreos a day for 140 cals ... but i ensure my sugar numbers are under and i work out each day.
  • Ltlmis
    Ltlmis Posts: 9 Member
    I have some food issues, so a cheat day is not really an option for me. I have had a real hard time climbing up on the bandwagon after such plans in the past, and I find my day-to-day food has a tendency to get squirrelly enough without me giving myself permission to binge!
  • bluespring
    bluespring Posts: 201 Member
    Hi ya.
    I AM planning a cheat day....SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!
    And I don't want any of that fake-chicken/turkey-crap-shaped-like-a-chicken-wing either. I want a real, meaty deep fried chicken wing with real sauce and real ranch dressing!
    :bigsmile:
    hahaha
  • sarahTV
    sarahTV Posts: 65 Member
    My 'cheat' is eating something I wouldn't normally have, but I still exercise and alter the rest of the day to 'try' to stay under my calorie goal. Sometimes I go over by a little, but if I do, I work out longer/harder the next day or couple of days to compensate and I'm even more strict with my food to cancel it out. After doing that a couple of times, it's not as fun to cheat b/c I just kick my own *kitten* for it.

    Tonight we're going out to eat (Japanese) which I consider my 'cheat' but I've already calculated what I'm going to eat and I have been good all day so that it'll work out.
  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
    Yes. I am a strong advocate of the cheat day (which I prefer to call the free day). I lost around 30lbs in 12 weeks, back when I first got serious about getting fit, and I took a cheat day on most of those weeks. I have changed it up recently and do more like 1 or 2 free meals per week instead of a whole day.

    I still remember my first ever cheat day. I went to burger king and ordered a double whopper with cheese, fries, and diet coke. I took about 3 bites of the whopper and felt full. But I decided to eat the whole thing anyway. I felt like total crap for the rest of the day. I don't recommend forcing yourself to eat when you're full. That was pretty dumb.

    It's actually quite interesting how hard it actually is to have a big splurge meal once your body is in the habit of eating clean.
  • AndreSF
    AndreSF Posts: 84 Member
    Friday is my typical "cheat day"... going out with the family, etc., however, I try to make "clean" choices even then. Don't mind being over the cals level a bit on those days, but not splurging too much either. Ice cream after restaurant meal is the worth I do on those days.

    Good luck!
  • FutureMsFit
    FutureMsFit Posts: 21 Member
    Cheat day? I would think that would defeat the purpose of learning to live a healthy lifestyle, but that's just me. For every 3500 calories you don't eat you could potentially lose a pound. I was eating well over 3500 calories a day before 1/1/11. Maybe you could "plan" what you're going to be eating when "cheat" and see how many calories you're potentially going to eat and see if it's worth it to you. Example: My boyfriend and I have date night religiously every two weeks on Friday night. I know where we're going to go for dinner because that's the same place we always go. I know what I'm going to eat and while it's not "diet food" I know I can estimate my calories for that meal and plan the rest of the day accordingly. I'm not sure that helps or hurts...you can find the nutritional content for most restaurants online so if you're going to Olive Garden, Applebees, Ruth's Chris...and you know possible what you'd like to eat...then you could plan the rest of the day to stay inline with your goals.

    While I say the above, I will tell you this...I was on the Adkins diet for 4 months about 8 years ago and I lost 60 lbs. It was extremely hard not to eat carbs...but for one hour each week I would eat whatever I wanted...I still lost the weight...all the carbs I wanted in an hour didn't seem to throw me off...

    I think you'll get out of "this" what you put into it...if you want to "cheat" then you'll probably go back into a unhealthy eating lifestyle. and I don't mean YOU and in YOU I mean that as in anyone who does it.

    I'm going to be so hated after this =) hated but honest =)
  • iknowicaniknowican
    iknowicaniknowican Posts: 48
    I plan a meal once a month that is not on plan . For me it is important to have that meal once a month. It helps keep me focused and to not give in to temptations since I know I will be having a meal of my choice soon. Cindy:heart:
  • 6Janelle13
    6Janelle13 Posts: 353 Member
    I plan my cheat days, meals or weekends. If i have too many, my weight loss stalls out, but i haven't found a great balance for going out of town to see family and friends and having full control of my meals. I do make the best decisions possible but it doesn't always work out.

    when it is just for me, I put my unhealthiest meal of that day in my planner so i know where I stand and try to balance the rest. For tomorrow I am making blue cheese burgers. I know that is likely a 500 to 700 calorie commitment. I know my sodium will be high too. My goal will be to have breakfast and lunch/ snacks be low and to consume lots of water. I want to enjoy my food and my life I just can't blow it too often. I guess it depends on how much weight you have to lose and what your goals are. Mine is to find a balance in food so that I can lose weight and maintain that weight loss while balancing what I love to eat and my social eating/drinking with others.
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
    I don't really plan a cheat day but I know that inevitably I will have one on the weekend when my husband and I go out. So I keep to my plan during the week and if we end up going out and I eat too much I don't beat myself up about it. So far it hasn't really hurt me :)
  • myukniewicz
    myukniewicz Posts: 906 Member
    tonight is my cheat meal (normally its every Saturday). Japanese Steak House, here i come!!!

    i watch what i eat during the day, and make sure i exercise, that way i can splurge on my dinner :) and i have lost 12 pounds so far, so it's been working for me :)
  • kbairdphillips
    kbairdphillips Posts: 275 Member
    I usually go over my calories one day a week by about 400 or 500, but i work out hard that day and even harder the next day. On other days I'm under my goal by 200-300 calories. It balances out and I think it keeps me on track. It allows me to not be so obsessive about what I eat.

    Plus, on the days that I do go over, I enter everything in my diary and when I complete my entry, it will still say I will lose a little weight if I continue to eat like that every day for 5 weeks. So as long as you don't go overboard or binge, I think it's ok to have a cheat day.
  • vickyplum
    vickyplum Posts: 193 Member
    Hi

    I dont have a cheat day I have a half a day off!!!

    Mine is a Monday afternoon onwards I get weighed on a monday at 230pm at my fitness class
    after I get home I eat what I want wether it be sweets or take aways!!

    I have lost a total of 2stone 9lbs (37lbs) in just over a year(55weeks)!! so if I can take weight off and have
    some time off from my regime then why cant others!!
    The reason it works for me is that if I feel as if I am on a diet all the time I lose heart and motivation!!

    This gets me by!!!

    Good luck with everyones journey!!
    We can do this
  • outersoul
    outersoul Posts: 711
    I don't plan a cheat day, I kind of play it by ear. However I do work off what I eat on the unplanned cheat day.
  • teach1975
    teach1975 Posts: 15
    I do-then I am motivated the rest of the week!! Usually Sat. or Sun..It works for me, but may not work for all. I guess I am not as worried about it being unhealthy, better than 7 unhealthy days!!:)
  • hooah_mj
    hooah_mj Posts: 1,004 Member
    SO MANY GREAT MINDSETS!
    I very much appreciate the thoughts put into making this a real.

    I hadn't thought about changing my "weigh-in day" to coincide with a "free" meal...the two would certainly help to keep things in focus. Normally, I use the Monday scale day to keep me from cheating (too much on the weekends).

    I tend not to thoroughly enjoy any weekend "free meal" (BTW, I love that term much better), since I usually weigh-in on Mondays. I know it's better to keep things real and develop healthier habits, but I never imagined that it's more about the food than it is about the workout (for me & esp bec' I'm getting older) in weight loss.

    I'm moving to a new phase, as of today...exactly what that encompasses, I haven't completely figured out....
    One thing is certain, I need to make friends with food...not love it so much & not hate it, either. Thx All :flowerforyou:
  • RebeccaM2386
    RebeccaM2386 Posts: 102
    I don't really have a cheat day but sometimes I cheat on a meal like last night but I did some extra exercise to make up for it
  • emilycorriveau
    emilycorriveau Posts: 3
    I never plan a cheat day- I don't bounce back from eating badly for a full day to eating healthier and smaller portions. I just eat what I like but in smaller portions. We'll see how it's been working when I weigh-in on Monday. :)
  • Nigel99
    Nigel99 Posts: 498 Member
    I haven't really had a cheat day yet, though some might say I've cheated here and there. I'll still eat ice cream, and chips, and things like that here and there, but portions are single serving, and I always stay within my sodium/fat/sugar goals...so I'm not overindulging on anything yet. I don't have all that much to lose, and once I hit my goal, I'll probably allow myself to have a "bad" day now and again, but I don't plan for it now.
  • Lisa__Michelle
    Lisa__Michelle Posts: 845 Member
    The whole point of a cheat day is no planning. I only use a cheat DAY though when I am in a plateau. It is good to have a cheat MEAL once every week or two but I would only do a cheat DAY for when I am stuck in a weight loss rut.

    I usually do a cheat meal once every two weeks. I was stuck in a plateau for a month and someone suggested a pig out DAY. I did it and I started losing a lot. It sped up my slowed metabolism.
  • alliegator89
    alliegator89 Posts: 42 Member
    I always have one cheat day a week. I actually just had one yesterday. I ended up going REALLY overboard and felt like crap when I worked out today. I think it is good to have a day where you aren't too restrictive and let yourself give into a craving, but don't fill yourself up with fat, sugar and alcohol like I did. I have actually ready studies that say that it is easier to maintain a diet if you have one day a week where you let yourself either eat a big piece of cake or have a rich meal. Trying to deprive yourself completely makes it harder to stick with your meal plan.
  • hooah_mj
    hooah_mj Posts: 1,004 Member
    Alrighty...ya'll have convinced me that we gotta allow ourselves a little something and planned is probably better.
    I'll try it, but I'm really freaky about over doing it.

    I'm going to aim for Saturday & workout with that free day/meal in mind...thanks all :flowerforyou:
  • madijo41
    madijo41 Posts: 367 Member
    one cheat meal per week Early Saturday morning. Count the cals after and eat less during the rest of the day.
  • Hunnieshadow
    Hunnieshadow Posts: 41
    I don't do a whole cheat DAY, but I do have a day in the week were I will eat one "bad" meal. I'll eat super healthy that whole day work out a half hour extra and then usually my hubby will take me out to a nice dinner, or we'll order a pizza, or a burger. It doesn't seem to harm my week because I'm usually under 50-100 calories a day anyways.
  • VictorVegaJr
    VictorVegaJr Posts: 31 Member
    Not gonna lie, sundays are my cheat day/ meal. We always go out to lunch after church on sunday to some restauraunt. Like today, we went to cracker barrel and I enjoyed my country my breakfast. But all things considered, Im usually so stuffed from that meal, I dont eat anything for the rest of the day so I guess its not TOO horrible.
  • ladylu11
    ladylu11 Posts: 631 Member
    On Sundays we have our family dinner at noon time after church. Because of the big meal I do not eat dinner so I use that time on Sunday evenings for my dessert day! I have whatever dessert I want and enjoy every bite. Usually by Friday I am ready for another dessert but I never give in because I like having something to look forward to. If I were to give in dessert Sunday would no longer be something special. Plus I get a lot of satisfaction from not giving in to temptation.
  • phitme
    phitme Posts: 124
    I plan my cheat meal. I used to do a full day but found that it really wasn't necessary. I usually take dinner out as my cheat and include a dessert. I have a cheat meal once a week but keep it controlled & make sure it is something I absolutely want. I don't waste those calories on fast food or a chain restaurant.

    My current fave is a local cantina with the absolute best food! I order chips & queso & a margarita. Then I get ONE fried fish taco. They are absolutely to die for. IMO, something like that is worth it. Then I usually hit up my local coffee shop that also happens to serve ice cream. I get a small and enjoy every bite.
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