Cheat days? Or cheat meals?
quickjeff
Posts: 31 Member
How do you guys feel about cheat days or cheat meals? Today is my 15th day on a strict clean diet. I'm already down 6lbs. I don't want to mess with my progress but I do crave pizza or a burger or something in that nature!
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I just include them in my day and make sure it fits my calorie count.
I had a Krapfen for breakfast. A sort of German doughnut. Some know it as Berliner.0 -
I don't believe in "cheat days" because you're really just cheating yourself. It's fine to indulge every once in a while, but I still keep myself accountable for the calories I've consumed. I just experienced this yesterday. lol One of my biggest set-backs is stopping at a gas station w/an empty stomach and caving for their junk food.0
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Just eat what you want and make it all fit in.0
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So have a burger.
I slightly undereat during the week so I can loosen the reins a bit on the weekends. It works really well for me.0 -
Velum_cado wrote: »So have a burger.
I slightly undereat during the week so I can loosen the reins a bit on the weekends. It works really well for me.
I am trying this out right now in maintenance. So far so good!0 -
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If you're craving red meat, have a lean cut of steak- satisfy your craving and keep at it! I listen to my cravings, no sacrifices but making better choices is giving me great satisfaction . Lifestyle not diet 0
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If it fits into calorie goals for the week, just go for it. I've had a million "cheats" since starting and I've still lost 82 pounds.0
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How do you guys feel about cheat days or cheat meals? Today is my 15th day on a strict clean diet. I'm already down 6lbs. I don't want to mess with my progress but I do crave pizza or a burger or something in that nature!
I hate the concept of strict diets with cheat days or cheat meals. My observation is that those who have that type of mentality toward weight loss seem to binge more and have bad feelings about food/themselves.
I feel it is better to just say that food is food, have some of what you like on a regular basis and work it into your calorie goal or decide that it is worth exercising more to eat that kind of food. Of course you can eat larger portions of lower calorie foods than higher calorie foods but it isn't cheating to eat something. It is possible to plan and eat a hamburger or pizza and consistantly lose weight.0 -
Congrats on your current weight loss. Definitely have a day where you treat yourself but stay within your caloric daily limit. I had a meal at Applebee's yesterday and the caloric value was under 600 calories.0
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I ate fast food last night and yes the calories were 85% of my calories for the day and I just fit it in so I could eat it. Although it was not "clean" food per se I guess I would call every Friday my "dirty" day.
You have to enjoy your food every day. If it entails a burger, pizza on a certain day of the week go a head and enjoy. You will know what works for you if it a meal or a day of eating "dirty" LOL0 -
How do you guys feel about cheat days or cheat meals? Today is my 15th day on a strict clean diet. I'm already down 6lbs. I don't want to mess with my progress but I do crave pizza or a burger or something in that nature!
I hate the concept of strict diets with cheat days or cheat meals. My observation is that those who have that type of mentality toward weight loss seem to binge more and have bad feelings about food/themselves.
I feel it is better to just say that food is food, have some of what you like on a regular basis and work it into your calorie goal or decide that it is worth exercising more to eat that kind of food. Of course you can eat larger portions of lower calorie foods than higher calorie foods but it isn't cheating to eat something. It is possible to plan and eat a hamburger or pizza and consistantly lose weight.
This is how I feel about it too. I don't assign moral value to my food. It's all just food and it all has its place in a healthy lifestyle.
Like some of those above, I follow IIFYM. So I focus on getting enough protein and fat, I get a few servings of fruit/veg, and then if I want pizza, a burger, or a cupcake I have it. I don't spend one second feeling bad about it. I've been maintaining this way for 2 years-- no guilt, no binging, no need to "cheat."0 -
I set goals to avoid sugar 5 days a week. That seems to be my weakness - once I start eating it, I crave it and nothing else. Avoiding it seems to keep my diet on track. However, 2 days a week, I let myself indulge - but I fit it in my calorie count. For me, it's all about moderation and learning how to control cravings. It's not my "cheat day," but just the day I have a treat. And because I'm keeping it within my calories for the day, it's really not a cheat, is it? It's the healthy lifestyle I feel I can maintain long term.
- Good luck!0 -
Days when you have exercised are great for fitting in your "cheat" IMO. You have extra calories to work with, at the end of the day you'll be able to meet your goal AND have that pizza.
Also try logging it ahead of time, or at least blocking out a certain number of calories with the "quick add calorie function" so you can pace yourself during the day.0 -
I try to not think of any kind of eating as cheating. Anything is allowed as long as it fits my deficit. When I learned that I was not satisfied with my daily allowance I upped my excersice. Try to find a balance where you can sustain the lifestyle over a long period of time. (perhaps the rest of your life ) 0
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I eat what I want every day
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Cortneyrenee04 wrote: »I eat what I want every day
Yup! Clean = not being on my floor lol0 -
If its part of your plan then have that extra bonus food on he basis you know its extra calories. If you think its a free pass, then think again as your body still counts it as calories. It can be beneficial just by giving you a bit of a respite, but its at a cost.
Much better to fit it into your plan and much better to earn it through extra exercise imo.0 -
I would eat the burger if I wanted it, but I'd make it fit in my calorie allowance for the day--either by limiting my calories for other meals or doing enough exercise to make up for it or only eating 1/3 or 1/2 of the burger. For instance, tonight is date night for my husband and I, so I know I'll be eating more calories with dinner than I usually do. To make up for it, I had a very light breakfast and will have a very light lunch. I know I'll still be about 200 calories over (I already chose what I'll order and got the calorie counts for it) so I'm going to make sure I do enough exercise to burn off those 200. And if I don't finish my meal tonight, I'll have a bonus deficit that I wasn't anticipating.0
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Having something you want even if it's not in your clean plan is fine but a cheat day rather than cheat meal is effectively a day off rather than a treat.0
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melimomTARDIS wrote: »Velum_cado wrote: »So have a burger.
I slightly undereat during the week so I can loosen the reins a bit on the weekends. It works really well for me.
I am trying this out right now in maintenance. So far so good!
That strategy has been the biggest key to my weight loss, I think, and now that I'm more or less in maintenance, it's still working really well. 0 -
I have lost 40lbs and don't have cheat days. I eat what I want. Yesterday, I went a little nuts with homemade tacos. I went over by 900 calories. However, when looking at it weekly, I am still on track to have a weekly deficit. So i don't really care.0
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This is all great information. Thanks so much for all the comments! I guess I have always been used to the low low carb diet higher protein, with lower calories. I was going for the 2lbs per week. It just still doesn't make sense to me by eating a bunch of pizza which is mostly carbs and still be okay as long as I stay in my calorie allowance.
I guess I'm a bit confused on this. 0 -
This is all great information. Thanks so much for all the comments! I guess I have always been used to the low low carb diet higher protein, with lower calories. I was going for the 2lbs per week. It just still doesn't make sense to me by eating a bunch of pizza which is mostly carbs and still be okay as long as I stay in my calorie allowance. I guess I'm a bit confused on this.
proof positive in my diary... I had pizza hut the other night lol I had a cupcake too I am down over 5lbs in a week (water but I will take it).
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Being that I don't demonize food, I don't really consider having a burger "cheating". Having a burger or a slice or pizza or whatever can very easily fit into a well balanced and healthy, nutritious diet.
Why make this harder than it has to be...I really don't get it.This is all great information. Thanks so much for all the comments! I guess I have always been used to the low low carb diet higher protein, with lower calories. I was going for the 2lbs per week. It just still doesn't make sense to me by eating a bunch of pizza which is mostly carbs and still be okay as long as I stay in my calorie allowance. I guess I'm a bit confused on this.
Weight control (whether to lose, maintain, or gain) is about energy balance, not carbs or whatever. A calorie is simply a unit of energy...your body requires XXXX amount of energy per day to function and maintain the status quot. When you eat more energy than your body requires, that excess energy is stored for later use as body fat. When you consume less energy than your body requires, that difference has to be accounted for...so your body dips into your energy reserves (aka body fat) to compensate...thus you burn that fat and lose weight. When you consume a balance of energy you maintain your weight.
The reason low carb "works" is 1) you lose a lot of fluid weight early on in the process...most of this is your glycogen stores as well as excess water necessary for metabolizing carbohydrates. 2) Many carbohydrate rich foods are also calorie dense...so when you cut carbs, you are cutting calories whether you realize it or not.
Also, a higher protein intake has a positive effect on TEF (Thermal Effect of Food...essentially the energy required to digest and metabolize your food)...it's not huge, but you burn a few more calories just eating a higher protein diet.
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cwolfman13 wrote: »Being that I don't demonize food, I don't really consider having a burger "cheating". Having a burger or a slice or pizza or whatever can very easily fit into a well balanced and healthy, nutritious diet.
Why make this harder than it has to be...I really don't get it.This is all great information. Thanks so much for all the comments! I guess I have always been used to the low low carb diet higher protein, with lower calories. I was going for the 2lbs per week. It just still doesn't make sense to me by eating a bunch of pizza which is mostly carbs and still be okay as long as I stay in my calorie allowance. I guess I'm a bit confused on this.
Weight control (whether to lose, maintain, or gain) is about energy balance, not carbs or whatever. A calorie is simply a unit of energy...your body requires XXXX amount of energy per day to function and maintain the status quot. When you eat more energy than your body requires, that excess energy is stored for later use as body fat. When you consume less energy than your body requires, that difference has to be accounted for...so your body dips into your energy reserves (aka body fat) to compensate...thus you burn that fat and lose weight. When you consume a balance of energy you maintain your weight.
The reason low carb "works" is 1) you lose a lot of fluid weight early on in the process...most of this is your glycogen stores as well as excess water necessary for metabolizing carbohydrates. 2) Many carbohydrate rich foods are also calorie dense...so when you cut carbs, you are cutting calories whether you realize it or not.
Also, a higher protein intake has a positive effect on TEF (Thermal Effect of Food...essentially the energy required to digest and metabolize your food)...it's not huge, but you burn a few more calories just eating a higher protein diet.
Yes to all of this.0 -
I don't believe in "cheat days" because you're really just cheating yourself. It's fine to indulge every once in a while, but I still keep myself accountable for the calories I've consumed.
This is my approach. I consider my calorie goals to be an average I want to hit. If I'm a bit over one day, and a bit under the next day, that's fine, as long as it all evens out in the end.0 -
I don't do cheat days or meals. I do sometimes bank calories during the week so I can go out drinking on a Friday or have a delicious greasy brunch on Saturday or whatever, though. And every now and then I'm just over on calories and don't sweat it too much -- soon enough I'll have a day where I'm under for no particular reason, so it all balances out.0
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I don't think you can have a bunch but 2 slices should easily fit into your calorie count for the day. I think you should go ahead and enjoy it. I have pizza at least once a week.This is all great information. Thanks so much for all the comments! I guess I have always been used to the low low carb diet higher protein, with lower calories. I was going for the 2lbs per week. It just still doesn't make sense to me by eating a bunch of pizza which is mostly carbs and still be okay as long as I stay in my calorie allowance. I guess I'm a bit confused on this.
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How do you guys feel about cheat days or cheat meals? Today is my 15th day on a strict clean diet. I'm already down 6lbs. I don't want to mess with my progress but I do crave pizza or a burger or something in that nature!
First of all, 6 pounds in 2 weeks is pretty fast. That may damage your metabolism in the long haul.....but then again, it may not. How many calories are you eating? In my opinion it sounds like you could add more calories to your diet to slow you weight lost down to 1 to 2 pounds per week. Not only is healthier on your body but it will allow you to eat more food that you love, thus making your diet more sustainable long term. Personally I do cheat days but I still count my calories so I don't go out of control. I usually eat 1000 calories more than I normal on my cheat day.
But seriously, think about adding more cals. Weight lose isn't a race... It's a marathon.
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