how many cals should you eat on your cheat day?

irelandpringles
irelandpringles Posts: 9 Member
edited November 10 in Health and Weight Loss
how many cals should you eat on your cheat day?

Replies

  • kristishrider
    kristishrider Posts: 42
    I dnt have cheat days..... I did look at the candy the other day tho. If I really want something I eat it and keep it in my calorie limit
  • obscuremusicreference
    obscuremusicreference Posts: 1,320 Member
    kristishrider wrote: »
    I dnt have cheat days..... I did look at the candy the other day tho. If I really want something I eat it and keep it in my calorie limit

    Same. If I have an unexpected food event and end up with more calories, I log it and move on, but why would I intentionally cheat myself?

  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    It doesn't matter, you are cheating.
    Just log every crumb.
    Cheers, h.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    What ever I want and don't give it another. Tomorrow is a new day.
  • irelandpringles
    irelandpringles Posts: 9 Member
    obscuremusicreference wrote: »
    kristishrider wrote: »
    I dnt have cheat days..... I did look at the candy the other day tho. If I really want something I eat it and keep it in my calorie limit

    Same. If I have an unexpected food event and end up with more calories, I log it and move on, but why would I intentionally cheat myself?

    It's not intentionally cheating myself it's a day where I allow myself to eat something that I didn't allow myself to have during the week or to go out for a meal
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    Personally, I don't think having a cheat day makes sense because it means you can't eat as much on other days if you are going to accomplish your goals.
  • MysticRealm
    MysticRealm Posts: 1,264 Member
    What I try to do is eat a couple hundred less cals per day during the week (My daily goal is 1500), then on the weekend where I may want to go out or something I have more cals to work with. That way I still pretty close to my weekly goal calorie wise.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    What ever I want and don't give it another. Tomorrow is a new day.

    Dang phone. Impossible to edit. What ever I want and don't give it another thought is what I meant. Tomorrow is a new day
  • ImpracticalGirl
    ImpracticalGirl Posts: 59 Member
    I don't have cheat days. If I end up eating extra one day I make sure that week's overall is still in my calories goal. This approach kept me losing weight through the December rush of celebratory eating.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    When I'm in weight loss mode I try to keep my occasional cheat days within my maintenance calories. It's really up to you how you handle them, just be aware that if your weight-loss starts to slow down or stall then your cheats are probably going to have to be cut back.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    I don't have cheat days. I eat food I enjoy to eat every day. If I need to eat at maintenance for whatever reason then I do so while eating hte same way I've always eaten.
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
    Cheat Days are a VeryBadIdea.

    No -- really.

    Slippery slope to binge eating.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,304 Member
    SergeantSausage wrote: »
    Cheat Days are a VeryBadIdea.

    No -- really.

    Slippery slope to binge eating.

    Well I guess that depends what people mean by a cheat day - sure, if they mean stuff themself silly for 24 hours once a week, that could be a binge eating issue.

    If they mean they eat 100 or so less on weekdays so they can have a planned treat or restaurant meal or decadent desert on the weekend and can still fit within weekly allowance - no, not a slippery slope to anything.
  • Bexyf
    Bexyf Posts: 42 Member
    paperpudding wrote: »
    SergeantSausage wrote: »
    Cheat Days are a VeryBadIdea.

    No -- really.

    Slippery slope to binge eating.

    Well I guess that depends what people mean by a cheat day - sure, if they mean stuff themself silly for 24 hours once a week, that could be a binge eating issue.

    If they mean they eat 100 or so less on weekdays so they can have a planned treat or restaurant meal or decadent desert on the weekend and can still fit within weekly allowance - no, not a slippery slope to anything.

    Well previously before I got pregnant I lost 75lbs having cheat days....don't think I slipped anywhere!
  • FRiNADA
    FRiNADA Posts: 67
    what's a cheat day?
  • savvyfantastic
    savvyfantastic Posts: 112 Member
    This question is basically entirely impossible to answer because it depends entirely on your concept of a cheat day and how it fits in with your goals. Psychological break from eating a boring menu, is it a carbohydrate refeed when carb cycling, is it just that it's the weekend and you like to be social and go out for breakfast, lunch and dinner?

    The only thing I would suggest though (and agree with some posters above) is be careful about cheat day not becoming binge day. The last thing you want is one day of the week that you look forward to, put on a pedestal, and then on the day have a GIANTSENSEOFURGENCYANDNEEDTOEATALLTHETHINGSBECAUSEITISYOURONEDAY, and then afterwards feel guilty. Nobody needs to feel that way.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    I keep my weekly calories within my target defecit ...hence yesterday when I was over by 300 means nothing because I'm still under my weekly goal by 600

    No cheats

    Just logging and attention
  • misskarihari
    misskarihari Posts: 104 Member
    edited January 2015
    Yesterday I had a "true saturday" which for me means some snacks/sweets and homemade pizza. I estimate I ended about 2500 for that, compared my normal 1700. There was a time when sweets, snacks and soft drinks only was allowed once a week in limited portions.. I try to bring that back.
  • lawlifehanna
    lawlifehanna Posts: 90 Member
    savvyfantastic wrote: »
    This question is basically entirely impossible to answer because it depends entirely on your concept of a cheat day and how it fits in with your goals. Psychological break from eating a boring menu, is it a carbohydrate refeed when carb cycling, is it just that it's the weekend and you like to be social and go out for breakfast, lunch and dinner?

    The only thing I would suggest though (and agree with some posters above) is be careful about cheat day not becoming binge day. The last thing you want is one day of the week that you look forward to, put on a pedestal, and then on the day have a GIANTSENSEOFURGENCYANDNEEDTOEATALLTHETHINGSBECAUSEITISYOURONEDAY, and then afterwards feel guilty. Nobody needs to feel that way.

    THIS. There are good reasons for a "cheat" day, which I wouldn't even call it when it's just about going to a restaurant and being social with others. You probably aren't going to stay home eating your weight loss food (whatever it may be) for the rest of your life, so you might as well start learning sensible food-related socializing right now.

    I also agree with posters talking about weekly calories instead of daily. There will be fluctuations, because life. It's the weekly amount that matters. Of course, fasting and being miserable all week just so you can have a huge binge isn't healthy. I mean the posters that say they eat maybe 100cals/day less during the week, so they have the 500 extra calories to work with during the weekend if they go out etc.

    Related to the issue of weekly vs. daily calories, I used to previously use a calorie tracking site that automatically divided all exercise calories by 7, for every day of that week. I think it was a smart system and I would still use it if there weren't other, really annoying parts to it (like not being able to add foods if something wasn't in the database).
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    irelandpringles wrote: »
    obscuremusicreference wrote: »
    kristishrider wrote: »
    I dnt have cheat days..... I did look at the candy the other day tho. If I really want something I eat it and keep it in my calorie limit

    Same. If I have an unexpected food event and end up with more calories, I log it and move on, but why would I intentionally cheat myself?

    It's not intentionally cheating myself it's a day where I allow myself to eat something that I didn't allow myself to have during the week or to go out for a meal

    But you can still do that during the week, fit it into your calories, and lose weight. Cheating/cheat days gives a negative connotation to certain foods.
  • irelandpringles
    irelandpringles Posts: 9 Member
    savvyfantastic wrote: »
    This question is basically entirely impossible to answer because it depends entirely on your concept of a cheat day and how it fits in with your goals. Psychological break from eating a boring menu, is it a carbohydrate refeed when carb cycling, is it just that it's the weekend and you like to be social and go out for breakfast, lunch and dinner?

    The only thing I would suggest though (and agree with some posters above) is be careful about cheat day not becoming binge day. The last thing you want is one day of the week that you look forward to, put on a pedestal, and then on the day have a GIANTSENSEOFURGENCYANDNEEDTOEATALLTHETHINGSBECAUSEITISYOURONEDAY, and then afterwards feel guilty. Nobody needs to feel that way.

    Hahaha you've got it right on the head i recon thanks a mil for the response :)
  • irelandpringles
    irelandpringles Posts: 9 Member
    lawlifehanna wrote: »
    savvyfantastic wrote: »
    This question is basically entirely impossible to answer because it depends entirely on your concept of a cheat day and how it fits in with your goals. Psychological break from eating a boring menu, is it a carbohydrate refeed when carb cycling, is it just that it's the weekend and you like to be social and go out for breakfast, lunch and dinner?

    The only thing I would suggest though (and agree with some posters above) is be careful about cheat day not becoming binge day. The last thing you want is one day of the week that you look forward to, put on a pedestal, and then on the day have a GIANTSENSEOFURGENCYANDNEEDTOEATALLTHETHINGSBECAUSEITISYOURONEDAY, and then afterwards feel guilty. Nobody needs to feel that way.

    THIS. There are good reasons for a "cheat" day, which I wouldn't even call it when it's just about going to a restaurant and being social with others. You probably aren't going to stay home eating your weight loss food (whatever it may be) for the rest of your life, so you might as well start learning sensible food-related socializing right now.

    I also agree with posters talking about weekly calories instead of daily. There will be fluctuations, because life. It's the weekly amount that matters. Of course, fasting and being miserable all week just so you can have a huge binge isn't healthy. I mean the posters that say they eat maybe 100cals/day less during the week, so they have the 500 extra calories to work with during the weekend if they go out etc.

    Related to the issue of weekly vs. daily calories, I used to previously use a calorie tracking site that automatically divided all exercise calories by 7, for every day of that week. I think it was a smart system and I would still use it if there weren't other, really annoying parts to it (like not being able to add foods if something wasn't in the database).

    Yeah very true, have to be realistic you cant stay within your daily limit all of the time! Thanks for the response:)
  • Susieq_1994
    Susieq_1994 Posts: 5,361 Member
    While I won't get into the pros and cons of cheat days... If you don't want to lose ANY of your progress throughout the week, whatever your deficit may be, eat at maintenance on your "cheat day" and no higher.

    If you've "banked" an extra couple hundred of calories by saving 100 calories a day from your calorie goal (which is already at a deficit, so deficit calories minus 100), you can go over maintenance by the amount of calories you have "banked" without reversing any of the progress that your original deficit was set to give you.

    If you have a very large deficit... You can probably still go whole-hog without completely reversing your progress for the week, but I don't recommend that, as that's more like a binge day than a cheat day!

    And as for my personal opinion... I would prefer a "cheat meal" or a treat meal, as I call it, over an entire day... Because it gives me less room to go really calorie-crazy, which I can be bad about ;) I usually try to work everything into my calorie goal without ever going over, and reserve those "treat meals" without caring about calories for really special occasions (my birthday, my husband's birthday, our yearly anniversary. The End.)

    In the end... Do what works for you! All the best. :)
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