"cheat" day???

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Chanellie
Chanellie Posts: 23
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys. I was wondering if having one day to eat outside of being healthy was ok. For example, If I ate well and stuck to MFP Sunday- Friday and ate what I wanted to on Saturday, would that be ok? BTW, I'm a vegetarian so I don't eat that bad...lol... I may eat some fried foods on Saturday if that's ok...lol... What do you guys think?

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  • kelika71
    kelika71 Posts: 778 Member
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    Cheat, free, whatever days (picky people here as to what it's called) work for me. I'm good Sunday-Friday, like you're mentioning. Now, Saturday morning, I stick to the usual. Lunch and dinner...they're treats, sometimes. It just depends on what's happening that day, where I'm choosing to eat from and if weight loss is still progressing.

    It's an individual thing. Try it and see if it works. Be forewarned, changing your lifestyle to being good 6 days a week, can wreak havoc on the system for that one day. Some get sick, crampy and a real mess.

    Good luck.
  • auntiebabs
    auntiebabs Posts: 1,754 Member
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    It works for some people but not for others.

    Once trigger foods get into my system I just want more... and for me this approach makes it harder.


    But day-to-day I don't keep strictly to my lose 1 lb/wk calories. It stress me out too much and I need to follow a plan i can stick with.
    I gave myself a range the bottom of being lose 1 lb/wk and the top being what the maintenance calories for my goal weight would be. That way I'm moving in the right direction and I'll get to my goal eventually. (The slower you lose the more likely you are to keep it off. So they say)

    If triggers aren't your issue. As long as you weekly total come somewhere in the bottom half of your range you should be just fine.
  • 3LittleMonkeys
    3LittleMonkeys Posts: 373 Member
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    It is an individual decision. I won't do them. For a couple of reasons.

    First, there is strong possibility it would set me up for derailment. If I do eat something I wouldn't normally eat (like going out for the kid's birthday and having pizza, I am physically ill. My stomach and intestines, not to mention my mind are messed up for days. This is even with making fairly healthy choices of what was offered.

    Second, for me this is a lifestyle change,not a diet. Now that is not to say if I know I am going out or having a special occasion happening, I won't plan ahead for it.

    Having said that, I don't plan to have a cheat day, off day or whatever you want to call it. Not a good idea for me personally. But for some, it works.
  • TiffanyW1014
    TiffanyW1014 Posts: 614 Member
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    I have done cheat meals not days!! It has worked so far for me but I will say that I workout harder if I know i'm going to cheat so it all balances out. Good luck!
  • TripleJ3
    TripleJ3 Posts: 945 Member
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    I think it all depends on you. Can you have one day where you eat lots of junk but then go back to your normal eating the next day?
    I just fit everything I want into my calorie goal and if I need to then work out more than usual to help cover.

    To me a free or cheat day would be a day I'm not tracking or going to care. If I'm out of town for a day or two for a girls weekend or DH and I get away by ourselves, then I'll try to make the best choices and not over eat but not going to feel guilty if I don't lose that week. But thats an occasional thing. I have 3 kids so its hard to get away :laugh: .

    I don't do the one day a week thing because I'd rather spread it out through the week or have one big meal out of the norm instead of the whole day.

    You can always try the one day a week thing to see if that works for you.
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
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    I don't do "cheat" days, but I do have days of increased caloric intake :bigsmile:
  • nmoreland
    nmoreland Posts: 183 Member
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    I don't have a specific cheat day per say, but I do allow myself to eat out every once in a while. I am working on the life style change, but I also know that I can't cut anything out of my life, otherwise I will end up binging on all junk food. If I know I am going to have something that is not low in calories, I do plan for it and will have fewer calories throughout the day and make sure to get a good work out in.

    As long as you track your calories, I feel that it is OK to go over the calorie goal every once in a while, as long as it is not by too much. If you don't pay attention, that one cheat day can override all the calories that you were careful about during the week.
  • bbygrl5
    bbygrl5 Posts: 964 Member
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    yep! It's great to have the mental health day from all the calories in/out counting too!! I tend to have a free day/meal about once every 1-2 weeks. I haven't lost weight every single week, but I have lost a total of 91 pounds, so you can still have these days and be successful. :)

    It just so happens today is a free day for me and it makes me less stressed to completely relax from this every now and then. :)

    The trick is one meal or one day only.... you have to get straight back into it no matter what!!!
  • bentobee
    bentobee Posts: 321 Member
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    That's what I'm doing now. It helped me break a platueu I had, so I'm just keep it up. I maintain an 800-1000 calorie deficit six days a week and then one day I try to eat ALL my calories. I haven't actually been able to eat them all though - but I can get within 200, and that's close enough.
  • Tisha247
    Tisha247 Posts: 849 Member
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    Whether or not to have a cheat day is a personal decision. If you want to lose good amounts each week - don't cheat. If you want a steadier more sustainable weight loss - cheat. Myself personally don't want to feel judged if I have a slack week, this is my journey, no one else's and we all do things our own way. I open my diary to all my friends, I don't see the point in hiding it.

    At the moment I'm trying to lose weight fairly quickly (all within the range suggested) so I'm trying to sick to my allocated calories but I'm sure later on when I've been dieting for quite some time, things will slow down for me and I'll take it easier. Best of luck to you on your journey. Don't forget this is YOUR JOURNEY.
  • Chanellie
    Chanellie Posts: 23
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    I don't really eat junk food per say, I just love tater tots! lol. I am serious about my weight loss though. I want to look great for my birthday which is July 1st. I really need to lose 75 pounds in all and I know that's a journey in itself and I know that it will take much dedication so I will think twice before eating those tater tots and red velvet cake... two of my weaknesses.:smile:
  • WeatherGurl1129
    WeatherGurl1129 Posts: 36 Member
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    I will usually have a cheat meal, but not a whole day. It keeps me sane because if I had to stick to my calories everyday then I would get stressed out. And being stressed isn't good for weight loss, either. Plus, I've heard/read somewhere that having a cheat meal can be good because it revs up our metabolism by reminding our bodies that we're not starving or on survival mode all the time.

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