Cheat Days

I don't really cheat, but I plan for a treat. Like, for thanksgiving, I'll log a piece of pie, some stuffing and a glass of wine and then plane rest of my calories around that. I hit my calorie goal, had a treat, and won't feel cheated! Feel free to add me for support.

I don't. I fit what I want to eat into my calories.

You have 8lbs to go. Why would you want a cheat day to eat extra calories that would make you move further away from target? 8lbs you can lose in 2 months i.e the end is within sight.

I tend not to have them because id rather get to target, but if I want extra calories then I have them. I also exercise a reasonable amount so that gives me a stock of eat back calories if needed. If I want extra calories i.e a break then I try and attach it to a target and use it as a reward.

courtraines wrote: »

I guess my question is less of a cheat day where you eat whatever you want, but a cheat meal. Any advice there guys?

Plan ahead of time and budget calories for the food you want to eat.

I exercise twice a day six days a week, and follow a very strict 1100-1200 calories a day. On day 7, I eat whatever I want and at most go for a nice leisurely walk. Week 1 I had pizza and a bacon burger. Week 2 was waffles and dessert. Week 3 I went all French and had bread, cheese and fruit, this last week was spanokopita, mini quiches and strudel for brunch and a cheesesteak sub for dinner. I have been losing weight with this built in, and it is not only a great way to satisfy my cravings, but I know that if I cheat during the week, I don't get to have that whole day of cheat. For me, it works pretty well.

i try not to think of it as cheating, and i try not to go over my calories more than 400.

but usually i will have 1 meal per week where i indulge alittle. but i try to keep that meal under 1000 calories.

dont go cheat the whole day and eat 3000 calories. and don't deprive yourself to much during the week. that will cause you to binge.

i still have a cookie or piece of chocolate if i want. i just eat way less of what i want, and cut out things that are unnecessary.

if i want a burger i will eat it with whole wheat or no bun, and i will put less cheese/ more veggies like unions, and no condiments. this way i still get what i am craving.

moderation is key and you will find you dont need a cheat day or meal.

Personally, I don't think calling food a "cheat" is a good idea. That implies it's something bad or naughty, and there's all sorts of emotions attached to that. It's just a meal. It's a meal that has more calories than your average meal. Maybe it has more fat, more sugar, more whatever than you usually eat. But it's still just a meal. Eating it won't derail or negate any progress you've made. It will only delay reaching your goal, and depending on the size of the meal, probably only by a day or two.

Just keep in mind that when you go over your calorie allotment, that does cause a delay in achieving your goal. So obviously, you wouldn't want to do it every day. But if you think of it more in terms of "time til goal is reached" than "good" and "bad" then it's a much healthier and more rational approach.

i find if i just have one cheat day or meal per week, it doesn't hinder my weight loss efforts (sometimes it actually helps me lose).

however if i have a cheat weekend and beyond, i'm screwed.

just test your body and see how it reacts when you cheat for a whole weekend, then day, then meal, etc. every body is different.

I'm not really into cheat days. Maybe sometimes I'll have a bad meal, but usually turning it into a full day is a recipe for disaster!

I know this is kind of late but I actually was asking people about this this weekend because I just recently started a "diet" but having to stick to that started driving me crazy. So I've decided that one cheat day on a weekend is fine. You can either log it or not. Then you have something to look forward to. You seem pretty young...I'm 23. Theres no reason to cut yourself off and not allow the things you enjoy. I like sweets and alcohol so Saturday will be the day that I can have whatever I want. I've talked to a lot of people and all of them have still gotten to their goal weight when having a cheat day. I say whatever is going to make you happy.

I "earn" my cheat days.

I know there's a debate about whether or not it's a good idea to eat back exercise. But I'm a cyclist - and fairly fit at that - which makes it relatively easy to burn an awful lot of energy if I make the time to go for a solid couple of hours ride.

My normal daily target is about 7000 kJ (~1700 cal; sorry, I'm an engineer, I can't think in medieval units :-P ). I've gotten used to eating that kind of energy intake since I stated counting calories (in August), and come in a bit under target most days.

A couple of days a week, I go out for an hour on the bike before the family wakes up, and earn an extra ~4000 kJ (1000 cal). I use a power meter, so I have reasonable confidence in the numbers. That's a significant proportion of my daily feed. I can get by pretty easily without eating anything extra... or I can splurge a bit - which feels like a cheat - and still come in well under my corrected target. Even allowing myself to eat half of that back feels like a massive treat.

Weekend rides are even better. A couple of hours out with the bunch on a Saturday morning can earn me an extra ~8000 kJ (2000 cal) or more. More than a normal day's eating. Now, I'm not going to say it's impossible to eat that back (I know we've all been there), but it takes some dedicated gluttony :-D. So there's a few guilt-free cheats enjoyed on a Saturday afternoon, without coming close to my energy target.

I think the key is the sporadic nature of my exercise. A normal 7000 kJ day is still normal. If I did a ride every day, or even most days, then >10,000 kJ/day would my normal eating pattern and it wouldn't feel special. But since it's only a couple of times a week, it still works as a special occasion and can be a treat. "Hey, I've got 2000 kJ left today... what the hell, I'll have a 600 kJ beer after dinner. Hehe. Losing weight, eh?".

If there's a party or some other event planned, I can prepare for it by doing an extra morning bunch ride. Or by just doing my normal amount of riding, eating normally and saving up the energy credits.

This approach may not work for everyone, but I've dropped 8kg (~16#) since I started counting, in August. That was all about making my energy intake on normal days more realistic, learning what a sensible everyday diet looks and feels like. Something I spent 39 years doing wrong.

I thoroughly recommend being fit enough to ride a bike hard for a long time. It's a stunningly efficient way to burn a heap of energy ;-)

courtraines wrote: »

Hey guys! I was wondering about cheat days and how everyone feels about them when losing weight? Do you find them helpful? If so, how often do you have them?

Thank you!

I tried it once one evening. Gained 6 pounds and took 8 days to deflate. I now call it Fat Week so I never try it again.