What do u people think of "cheat days"?

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DrFancyNancy
DrFancyNancy Posts: 14
in Food and Nutrition
do u guys have a cheat day? How often? Do u set a ceiling for your calories on that day? I myself have a cheat day and I lose weight too.. But I feel guilty about it :(
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Replies

  • ashley0616
    ashley0616 Posts: 579 Member
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    I don't have full on cheat days, but I might have a cheat meal or two every so often. I really found that back when I was strictly following a diet from a nutritionist, the weeks that I splurged once on say Chipotle or a burger I actually lost more weight than the weeks I didn't. It's good to toss your body a curve ball every so often, but I think a cheat day is a little overboard for me at least. I would get knocked way too far off course.
  • Nelly711
    Nelly711 Posts: 52
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    I have "cheat" times. I have to have them or I will fail miserably!!! There is nothing wrong with it. I still lose. I'm sure I would lose more if I was strict with my diet, but right now, it's workin for me and I'm going to keep doing it!
  • McDougal416
    McDougal416 Posts: 74 Member
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    Definitely don't feel guilty about it! I have a cheat day 1 or 2x a week and still lose weight. I don't have a cap on my cal's, but I TRY not to over eat that day. But, its basically me eating foods that I NORMALLY don't eat..but what I don't want to give up. You gotta remember..its a life style change, not a diet. If you diet, when you go off the diet your going to gain back the weight..but if you do a life style change...you won't gain anything back because there is nothing to change.
  • crystal10584
    crystal10584 Posts: 334
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    my cheat was last night... I went to chili's but still got chicken fajitas with no tortillas or the side items. I simply asked the waiter to not bring them so i wouldn't be tempted. It felt like a real cheat... but I stayed within my calorie budget.
  • RisRis85
    RisRis85 Posts: 28
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    I think they're great when you are on a highly restrictive diet. My friend is a body builder and she has to have cheat days, other wise she kind of goes looney. It keeps you sane, mixes up your metabolism, and keeps you on track! I think its very healthy!!
  • LizzieBee17
    LizzieBee17 Posts: 123 Member
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    For some it maybe fine. You could probably work it off. However, for somebody like me, cheat days are a big fat NO.... I tell people like this ONE cheat day for me is like a crackhead stopping at one rock...lol
  • Sasha_Bear
    Sasha_Bear Posts: 625 Member
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    I don't have cheat days either every now and then if there is a treat I may want I just have it, but I do try to keep it within my allotted calories.
  • misslyssx
    misslyssx Posts: 87
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    I have some cheat snacks. But to be honest, I know if I cheat too much I will probably get completely off track, so I stay pretty strict in general. But of course it doesn't hurt, just in my case I will probably fail if I do.
  • randi50
    randi50 Posts: 112
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    I don't cheat, to me the word cheat means you are doing something bad. Do I splurge occasionally, yes! I had a strawberry milkshake this weekend and it was divine! :) It is good to give in and splurge once in awhile :)
  • Enigmatica
    Enigmatica Posts: 879 Member
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    I don't care for the idea of a regular "cheat day". Life presents plenty of opportunities for us to make choices on a minute by minute basis. I guess I don't even believe in the idea of "cheating". To me it's about choosing whether to stay within planned limits or not. If I choose *not* there's no cheating about it. It's simply a decision I made, and it's up to me to correct it later if it's going to have an impact.
  • Sasha_Bear
    Sasha_Bear Posts: 625 Member
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    For some it maybe fine. You could probably work it off. However, for somebody like me, cheat days are a big fat NO.... I tell people like this ONE cheat day for me is like a crackhead stopping at one rock...lol


    CTFU:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
  • MyNameIsNotBob
    MyNameIsNotBob Posts: 565 Member
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    I don't have set days where I "cheat," like every Friday or anything like that. But when events pop up that revolve around food (and there are a lot of them), I try to be reasonable, enjoy the treats, and then get back to making healthy choices the next time it's mealtime / gym time.

    I'd say it evens out to once a week or once every other week. Most days I still stay within my calories.
  • Daisy374
    Daisy374 Posts: 539 Member
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    I don't really have 'whole' cheat days.. except maybe my birthday or a holiday. But I let myself eat something if I am craving it or have worked really hard that week. If it is something like dinner or going out with friends for an evening, I just try and eat healthy during the day, then let myself get what I want when I go out. You shouldn't feel guilty... we have to live and enjoy sometimes!!
  • bikinikillaer
    bikinikillaer Posts: 30
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    I don't stress about "cheating" or even make it feel like a bad thing. Like others have said, if it's your life-style change, then you can happily eat something a little more indulgent once in a while, and just ENJOY it, without feeling like there's now a penance to pay.

    Especially when it comes to having a few beers out with my boyfriend. Yea that's a TON of calories, but I really enjoy good, craft beer, so I'm not going to feel bad about sharing that with him. :)

    I splurged on a Five Guys burger the other day, but I've been eating so well lately that it was hard to even finish the thing. :) I think that's a pleasant side effect of living/eating better - your body is better equipped to take care of itself, so you won't WANT to over do it.

    Good luck and happy living!
  • amfmmama
    amfmmama Posts: 1,420 Member
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    I do not do a cheat "day" I do a cheat meal. All day is too much for me. But I usually do a cheat meal that I will really enjoy once a week or every two weeks. I agree with some of the others, I think it actually helps weight loss.
  • LiL_MisS_C
    LiL_MisS_C Posts: 332 Member
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    If I was to give myself a cheat day it would turn into a CHEAT WEEK! lol. So instead, I treat myself to an extra snack at the end of day and use some of my calories left over. That seems to work best for me. That way I make sure I don't go overboard! :)
  • kim_mc
    kim_mc Posts: 321 Member
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    I try not yo have entire days that I cheat or just eat whatever I want. I never plan to eat bad for the day. But if there is a birthday party or something like that I will plan of having a piece of cake or a slice of pizza at the party and I know that's ok. And sometimes I do slip up and ruin my day altogether. But I don't really ever plan on cheating all day long. To me, it's a glimpse of how I used to eat and that's just a tease to me. Makes me want to eat that way all the time again!!
  • carribear
    carribear Posts: 32
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    I eat out every Wednesday but I make sure to plan ahead and make sure I don't go over. My real "cheat day" is on Sunday. If I'm really craving something I'll save it for that day but I also try not to go to crazy. Its just the day I put the measuring cups away and try to eyeball it. I think cheat days are good cause we need to learn how to eat just that right amount. I know after a month of doing MFP if I eat to much I feel sleepy and sick. My friend made fun of me the other day cause we had pizza, I ate two slices then complained that I was sick. He thought it was funny cause we use to be able to split a large and leave nothing left,lol. Cheat days also help us keep on track cause we don't feel like we're missing anything. All for cheats day in modernation :)
  • KhollerSA05
    KhollerSA05 Posts: 39 Member
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    The key about a diet is moderation. Cheat Days ar all about no moderation. While I understand that there are days when you are gonna go postal if you don't have a cookie or your schedule that day has you in a position where you healthy choices just aren't avaliable. BUt when that happens you have to find a trade off. For some it may be a Bacon cheeseburger for lunch equals a trade off of steamed veggies for dinner.

    We're all going to have days when we fall off so to speak, but you get yourself back up and on before you fall back into your bad habits. You can also combat poor dietnot only wi decisions by adding additional exercise, Don't go crazy, but if you now that it's the weekend and you are going to spend all day at a theme park maybe get up a little bit early so you can get in an extra 20 mintes of cardio in just to raise your heart rate or maybe if it is your weight training day push yourself to do that extra set just to give your metabolisim the extra boost it needs.

    Ultimately your success is going to depend on the choices you make. If you think about it as a trade rather than a cheat then not only will you not have that overwhelming feeling of guilt at the end of the day or at the end of the week when you step on the scale, but you have used the most important tool that you have which is your ability to make better decions when it comes to your health. Not even personal trainers eat 100% healthy 100% of the time, but it's all about knowing what you can trade off to keep yourself on track.
  • live2smyle
    live2smyle Posts: 592 Member
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    I dont set up days of "cheating" at all. Who would I be cheating besides myself? If I am going to eat something that is going to be high in calories, or sodium (salts a biggie with me) I adjust everything else to accomidate that during the day. A lighter lunch, oatmeal for breakfast etc. I fit it in. Life happens, we cant be perfect everyday. So if I go over a bit im ok with it, to go over all day in a cheat day?? No way.

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