Do you make up for "cheat" meals?

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2

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  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    You have to consistently override your body's ability to maintain energy balance by either under-eating (to lose weight) or over-eating (to gain weight). You don't just pack on the fat because of one meal...that's not the way your body works.

    You're going to be a lot better off if you can step back and look at your diet as a whole and from a big picture POV rather than drowning in minutia.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    edited December 2014
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    I keep a small deficit to make up for the days when I eat over... whether you call those 'cheat' or not.

    I'm a bit confused though, if people are eating at maintenance and don't make up for overeating some days, how are you not gaining? By cutting calories when you reach a certain weight? And wouldn't that be the same thing as 'making up for it'?

    I mean, my relationship with food isn't the best anyway, or I wouldn't be here. And all the 'naturally thin' people I know (ie, the ones who have a good relationship with food) will make up for overeating one day by eating less the next couple days. It sounds healthier to me actually than saying 'oh it's ok to just overeat from time to time, I'll just lose weight again when I gain weight'.

    Just IMO.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    I keep a small deficit to make up for the days when I eat over... whether you call those 'cheat' or not.

    I'm a bit confused though, if people are eating at maintenance and don't make up for overeating some days, how are you not gaining? By cutting calories when you reach a certain weight? And wouldn't that be the same thing as 'making up for it'?

    because one day of overeating is not going to ruin a deficit, maintenance, etc...
  • snoringcat
    snoringcat Posts: 131 Member
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    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    Notreadytoquit wrote: »
    Some days I'm hungry and unsatisfied. I need a treat but at 1200 calories I have to burn it hopefully before I eat it. On occasion I will do some "fine tuning" to my food/exercise diary to justify my caloric overage. A very few times in last 6 months I freaked out & didn't log it ... I am only fooling myself as I didn't lose or gained those weeks.

    You're maintaining on 1200 calories? That's just wrong.

    Not necessarily. When I hit my target weight of 117lbs, my BMR at my age & height will be just over 1,000. Add a sedentary job to that & you're not going to be going much over 1200 to maintain.

  • odddrums
    odddrums Posts: 342 Member
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    I usually carry on, but I'll still think about "saving calories" if I know a big meal is coming, mostly because I'd like to be okay with over indulging and not feeling poorly if I do [mentally and/or physically]. I also tend to eat less the day after a large meal or "cheat day" because I'm less hungry, like after a night of impromptu beer and pizza with friends on a weekend I may skip breakfast the next morning because I'm simply not hungry.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    I am not eating maintenance. I am around 35 to 40 % deficit. This is why I can quickly get back on track.

    I would be hanging out in the "Maintenance" forums if I were in maintenance. I would feel silly advising someone of something I am not doing or have done my self.

    On the other side, if a person is in maintenance they did do these kinds of things as well and have experience with this..
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    gia07 wrote: »
    I am not eating maintenance. I am around 35 to 40 % deficit. This is why I can quickly get back on track.

    I would be hanging out in the "Maintenance" forums if I were in maintenance. I would feel silly advising someone of something I am not doing or have done my self.

    On the other side, if a person is in maintenance they did do these kinds of things as well and have experience with this..

    What?
  • Joanjett88
    Joanjett88 Posts: 87 Member
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    gia07 wrote: »
    I am not eating maintenance. I am around 35 to 40 % deficit. This is why I can quickly get back on track.

    I would be hanging out in the "Maintenance" forums if I were in maintenance. I would feel silly advising someone of something I am not doing or have done my self.

    On the other side, if a person is in maintenance they did do these kinds of things as well and have experience with this..

    How is it easier to get back on track just because your eating at a deficit???

    Also...you are in the maintenance forums....
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    What? My words are misunderstood. Leaving forum.
  • michellemybelll
    michellemybelll Posts: 2,228 Member
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    JoRocka wrote: »
    if it's a cheat it's not supposed to be made up.

    Then it's not "cheating"

    but I don't really dig that idea anyway- it creates a negative connotation to something that should be simple to handle and not an issue. Now. For certain events- I KNOW are coming- holidays are a good time frame- I'm significantly more diligent about my calories- and I tend to be more anal retentive about 'going over' or carrying more deficit- but I don't go crazy with it.

    I dine out regularly with my SO- we do not live togehter- and we both really enjoy steaks- so it's a thing we do at least 2x a month- and one of those is all you can eat brazillian- which is pretty much 2 hours of meat consumption.
    I know this happens- so I tend to be VERY conservative through the day with what foods I am willing to consume- so yes- I eat light on days I know I'm going to have big meals- but I never try to 'make up' for it.

    And as Sabine says- just carry on.
    One day dieting - as we all know- does not make you skinny.
    One day of feasting- as we all apparently do not know- does not make you fat.


    lol! i can't believe the censored a.nal
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Guilt and obsession aren't the way to be a happy maintainer.
    Enjoy your meal and move on.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,472 Member
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    I eat whatever I want and whenever I want, I just work it off. its easy.
  • brdnw
    brdnw Posts: 565 Member
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    If i go out to dinner w\my gf, i usually try to do a little more cardio the next day (just like maybe run 2 more miles in addition to anything i was planning on doing) to offset some of it. But still it's not like i'm ordering cheesecake and fried appetizers so my cheat meals usually aren't so terrible that i feel too guilty if i don't run the next day
  • getstrongkaylen
    getstrongkaylen Posts: 137 Member
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    Nope... I have it, move on, and get back on track! It's not cheating if you make it up!!(:
  • VegasFit
    VegasFit Posts: 1,232 Member
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    My normal weekend cheats I don't make up. I tend not to log them either. When I had more weight to lose I did. I exercise on the weekends too so I don't have too much guilt about it. If I know I have an event coming up I add a little extra cardio in the week leading up to it.
  • littleburgy
    littleburgy Posts: 570 Member
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    I have a deficit during the week because the weekends usually are PAR-TAY
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    michellemybelll wrote: »
    JoRocka wrote: »
    if it's a cheat it's not supposed to be made up.

    Then it's not "cheating"

    but I don't really dig that idea anyway- it creates a negative connotation to something that should be simple to handle and not an issue. Now. For certain events- I KNOW are coming- holidays are a good time frame- I'm significantly more diligent about my calories- and I tend to be more anal retentive about 'going over' or carrying more deficit- but I don't go crazy with it.

    I dine out regularly with my SO- we do not live togehter- and we both really enjoy steaks- so it's a thing we do at least 2x a month- and one of those is all you can eat brazillian- which is pretty much 2 hours of meat consumption.
    I know this happens- so I tend to be VERY conservative through the day with what foods I am willing to consume- so yes- I eat light on days I know I'm going to have big meals- but I never try to 'make up' for it.

    And as Sabine says- just carry on.
    One day dieting - as we all know- does not make you skinny.
    One day of feasting- as we all apparently do not know- does not make you fat.


    lol! i can't believe the censored a.nal


    LOL_ yeah I was like dafuk????

    whatever glad you knew what it meant though!!!

    and also dafuk on 40% deficit?

    what the holy crpa!!!
  • karenlwashburn
    karenlwashburn Posts: 123 Member
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    I exercise more to fix the accidental over indulgence. Usually I plan out in advance the possible over eating so it won't effect my diet at all.. went to black tie event at 11am so I exercised at 6am for an hour etc.. I knew I'd be too full for any lunch so that wasn't a problem then I had a normal dinner. Balance is best.
  • FitnessTrainer69
    FitnessTrainer69 Posts: 283 Member
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    1 cheat meal, dont worry about it. Multiple cheat meals a week, then you might want to make up for them.

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