Do you make up for "cheat" meals?
lemonsurprise
Posts: 255 Member
So to all you maintainers, especially the ones who manage it without logging - if you have an event, meal out or just fancy a treat and suspect or know you have gone over your cals, do you make up for this in the following days?
If I go over I always try and make it up afterwards, or save up calories for the night, but I'm still wanting to loose weight rather than maintain.
Or do you just carry on as normal in the following days? Obviously these meals, events etc wouldn't be a regular thing.
Thanks
If I go over I always try and make it up afterwards, or save up calories for the night, but I'm still wanting to loose weight rather than maintain.
Or do you just carry on as normal in the following days? Obviously these meals, events etc wouldn't be a regular thing.
Thanks
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I just carry on. And know that sometime soon I won't be hungry, or will have less of an appetite etc. I don't exercise more before over indulging. But then I don't plan "cheat" meals.0
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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.
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It's not cheating if you make it up later. That just makes it something to be punished for. That being said, when I cheat I don't eat an entire pizza and a whole chocolate cake. I still try to make good decisions. I just don't deny myself an enjoyable meal out with friends or special occasions by saying "Oh, I can't eat that guys, it won't fit in my Calorie Count today".0
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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.
This is my take on it as well. Well, except the part about steaks
But the idea is the same!
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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.0
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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.0 -
If I know I'm going over one day I might go a little under the day before. But other than that, I let the scale dictate if I need to make overall changes. As in - if I'm in my target weight range, I don't let one day dictate the next day.0
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I make up for it later. My calendar or weekly chart will tell me how much exercise or if I need to eliminate a couple hundred calories. I do not do this in one day. You will not gain by doing this.
Remember you have to eat over your maintenance 3500 extra calories to see 1 pound of weight gain or 1750 for .5 pound of weight gain.
THIS IS JUST ME: I have a spreadsheet that shows my calorie intake, exercise and BMR and shows weight loss or weight gain for the week. Because I have this chart I never over eat for the week..
Because I am totally weekly (I can see if a change is needed) and I weigh in every two weeks it evens out.0 -
No. I am a newbie to maintenance & fluctuating .4 to .8#'s from goal. Close enough. I have to figure out the maintenance thing but my point is still valid. Burn it then eat it or back up I go. Actually really looking forward to new daily calorie goals whatever they may be. I am hungry.0
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how is it a cheat if you make it up??
I'm so confused by this concept.0 -
I fluctuate because of sodium intake, women's issue and of course the "stuff" in still in my body that I have not eliminated (you catch my drift).
I stopped watching these fluctuations because it drove me crazy. But I am now low sodium and lots of water and has made a huge difference. Exercising almost stopped all the crazy fluctuations due to hormones.
I stopped weighing daily.. It drove me crazy insane!!0 -
I don't "cheat"; I eat. Sometimes I eat a little more than I burn, and sometimes I eat a little less.0
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I don't consider nights out or high calorie meals as cheat meals. They're just days that I eat more than usual. I lower my intake I have several of these days in a week, or a lot of events planned.0
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I just used "cheat" meals to state the times you go over, or think you go over your calories.
Thanks to those who answered!0 -
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.
Yeah, exactly. "Cheating" in weightlifting parlance is a very specific overfeeding meal to maximize growth after exercise stimulus. It's not the same as "blowing my diet OMG Cookie Monster YOLO nomnom."
Yeah, you should definitely track it if you eat more than usual at once. That's presumably why we're here, yes? And then correct for the imbalance later to stay on-goal. It's not hard or anything to freak out or especially worry about, just fix it.
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90/10 Rule
I just carry on0 -
cheat implies bad and I don't believe in bad foods....just eat what you want and fit it into your day ....0
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cheat implies bad and I don't believe in bad foods....just eat what you want and fit it into your day ....
^This. And feeling like you're "cheating", and the subsequent feeling that you need to "make up for it" can create an unhealthy relationship with food. We aren't perfect, nor should we strive to be.0 -
I realize to be normal you will fluctuate some high some low. If it became I habit I would address it. The only thing I have to adapt for is high salt I feel grossly bloated and then find I do add more water to help flush it out0
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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.0 -
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.0 -
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...0 -
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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.
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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.0
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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..0 -
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?
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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..
How is it easier to get back on track just because your eating at a deficit???
Also...you are in the maintenance forums....0 -
What? My words are misunderstood. Leaving forum.0
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