Allowing Cheat Days
Options
Replies
-
Every few months I let myself go for 1 day. Probably eat 6K+ calories.
About eating your bagel, donuts, latte and wine in the evening. Yes, you can do that everyday if you want. This whole game is about calories, providing you stick to the number, you will lose weight (trust me). I've lost 20KG eating whatever I want, but logging and sticking to the calories.
0 -
UnikittyRocks wrote: »Does anyone who is having success at losing steadily allow themselves a cheat day or 2? I'm less than a week old at this and can see a huge fail in store for me if I am not able to have one or two days to enjoy. Meaning I can have a bagel and a Dunkin Donuts latte AND wine in the evening.
I appreciate the advice for this newbie!
I don't do cheat "days", but rather several cheat meals per week. It is less damaging to your routine and you can make up for the extra calories by adjusting other meals that day.0 -
I don't have cheat days, but I do once in a while eat things that aren't part of my normal diet as a treat...not a cheat. They are exceptions to my general rule. What works best for me is to do it outside the home mainly so I'm not tempted to let my exceptions become the rule again. It also makes social situations...such as being invited to someone's home where I have no control over what is served...easier to manage.
What also helps me to not feel deprived is to do a bit of calorie cycling. I'm not formal about this at all. All I mean is that if I eat 1300 calories a day on average, on some days I might eat 1150 or 1200 and on other days I might eat 1400 or 1500...or occasionally more. Sometimes I just am not very hungry, and instead of forcing myself to eat I would rather save those calories to have a little extra on another day. Maybe that would be helpful for you.0 -
If you look at your calories on a weekly basis and want to have a higher calorie day, create a deficit on the other days. I tend to watch my calories very closely during the week knowing that I'll likely go over on the weekend. If you eat at maintenance and then splurge a day or two, you will gain weight. But if you leave yourself 500 extra calories, enjoy! Whatever works for you.0
-
crucifiedead wrote: »When I first started I would have the odd treat but as I've gone on those foods have just become unappetizing. Why would you want a whole day dedicated to unhealthiness anyway, it will only set your weight loss back and take longer to reach your goals.
Because eating tasty food isn't necessarily unhealthy if it's still within your goals. Because sometimes a day with higher calories helps prevent or break plateaus. Because losing slowly will help you create a lifestyle you can stick to long after the weight is off. Because losing slowly will help prevent the loss of muscle mass so when you reach your goal, you also reach the figure you had in your mind. The key is planning your day, just as you would any other day, so it's in line with your goals.
0 -
What works best for my cheat days is to log it anyway. It makes me realize how much is in those Limeritas and how long it would take to balance that out on the elliptical. Sometimes it's worth it to me and sometimes it's not.
A tip for those wine evenings is to have tons of veggies before hand. Having a vegetarian dinner allows you to fit in that glass of wine or two.
Hope this helps. Keep up the logs.0 -
My husband and I do a cheat day but lately I have been trying to spread it out because everything at once makes me feel really sluggish and sick. I guess what it boils down to is what works best for you. Personally, I think if you can eat clean for 6 out of 7 days, you are doing very good. But it depends on what you are trying to accomplish, i.e weight loss, gain, or maintain. I know I can clean eat for 5 days and cheat 2 days and maintain my weight. But now that I am trying to lose weight, I try to eat well everyday with occasional indulgences.0
-
I've had success while allowing 'cheat' days. I don't plan cheat days like some people do, but I do think it's important to know when it's okay to let loose a little. For example, I go out with friends often and I generally try to pick things off the menu that will fit into my calorie goal for the day - but once in awhile I allow myself to have the burger and fries I've been craving for a month. There are some things that simply won't fit into a daily calorie limit, and it's okay to have days like that once or twice a month.
I'd also like to note that some people consider 'cheat' days to be days where they binge on mass amounts of calories, and others consider them to be days where they just allow themselves to go over their limit by a few hundred calories, and in my opinion there's a huge difference there.0 -
UnikittyRocks wrote: »Does anyone who is having success at losing steadily allow themselves a cheat day or 2? I'm less than a week old at this and can see a huge fail in store for me if I am not able to have one or two days to enjoy. Meaning I can have a bagel and a Dunkin Donuts latte AND wine in the evening.
I appreciate the advice for this newbie!
I don't do cheat "days", but rather several cheat meals per week. It is less damaging to your routine and you can make up for the extra calories by adjusting other meals that day.
Yes, this is how I see myself splurging. I can see making this work. I have to be a better planner!0 -
I used to do this, but then a cheat meal turned into a cheat day/week/month and 10 pounds.
Eat whatever you want, weigh it, log it well and exercise.
0 -
UnikittyRocks wrote: »I did mention I'm new at this right?! Tracking everything to fit into 1200 cal is hard right now but hopefully in another week it will be liked second nature. At least I'm gong that workouts add a bunch of calories back in!
No one is judging you. You asked!
0 -
If you look at your calories on a weekly basis and want to have a higher calorie day, create a deficit on the other days. I tend to watch my calories very closely during the week knowing that I'll likely go over on the weekend. If you eat at maintenance and then splurge a day or two, you will gain weight. But if you leave yourself 500 extra calories, enjoy! Whatever works for you.
Ahhhhhhhh-haaaaaaa!!! And will the app show you somewhere how many extra calories you have in the bank?0 -
If weight loss is your sole goal, do whatever it takes to create a calorie deficit, whether that means allowing a cheat day or not. I personally feel that you'd fare better in the long run by working whatever foods you love into your daily calorie intake. If you categorise some foods as cheat foods and restrict your consumption of them, you may end up desiring them even more. Learning control is everything. It's not easy, but it's doable. Everything in moderation!0
-
I've had success while allowing 'cheat' days. I don't plan cheat days like some people do, but I do think it's important to know when it's okay to let loose a little. For example, I go out with friends often and I generally try to pick things off the menu that will fit into my calorie goal for the day - but once in awhile I allow myself to have the burger and fries I've been craving for a month. There are some things that simply won't fit into a daily calorie limit, and it's okay to have days like that once or twice a month.
I'd also like to note that some people consider 'cheat' days to be days where they binge on mass amounts of calories, and others consider them to be days where they just allow themselves to go over their limit by a few hundred calories, and in my opinion there's a huge difference there.
Agreed0 -
MoiAussi93 wrote: »I don't have cheat days, but I do once in a while eat things that aren't part of my normal diet as a treat...not a cheat. They are exceptions to my general rule. What works best for me is to do it outside the home mainly so I'm not tempted to let my exceptions become the rule again. It also makes social situations...such as being invited to someone's home where I have no control over what is served...easier to manage.
What also helps me to not feel deprived is to do a bit of calorie cycling. I'm not formal about this at all. All I mean is that if I eat 1300 calories a day on average, on some days I might eat 1150 or 1200 and on other days I might eat 1400 or 1500...or occasionally more. Sometimes I just am not very hungry, and instead of forcing myself to eat I would rather save those calories to have a little extra on another day. Maybe that would be helpful for you.
Thanks for this post, that was helpful! I'm totally going to save calories for the weekends
0 -
I don't call it cheat days. I'm down 41lbs and I still indulge. I prelog and work them.
Like tonight I'm going to Applebee's and going to enjoy the 4 cheese honey pepper chicken Mac and cheese; all 1830 calories of it's glorious yumminess. I prelogged it and while I may be over for te day, the rest of the week will still let me be in a deficit
0 -
UnikittyRocks wrote: »Does anyone who is having success at losing steadily allow themselves a cheat day or 2? I'm less than a week old at this and can see a huge fail in store for me if I am not able to have one or two days to enjoy. Meaning I can have a bagel and a Dunkin Donuts latte AND wine in the evening.
I appreciate the advice for this newbie!
If you're going over your calories for the day, that's an issue...having wine or a bagel or whatever isn't. I tend to look at my diet (noun) in an overall context and don't get wrapped up in labeling individual food items as "good" or "bad" and therefore don't look at having some desert at night as "cheating"...I'm hitting my calorie goals and a bowl of ice cream doesn't undo the 6-8 servings of fruit and veg I also ate...or the 144 grams of lean protein, or all of those healthy fats.
Try to look at your diet as in the context of the whole and you won't have a need to "cheat".0 -
That's true too. The little indulgences can be really satisfying, like the Skinny Cow chocolate ganache cones (I LOVE those) are 160 calories. I can fit those into my days no problem.0
-
When I started with mfp, I would do the whole cheat MEAL, thinking I couldn't eat certain things so I could lose weight. But then I realized by reading the forums that I could eat whatever I wanted as long as I make it fit into my daily calories. If I want some fast food for example, I'll work my butt off with some cardio... enough to make my meal fit into my day. Or if I'm going out to eat at a restaurant, I'll eat small meals during the day and enjoy my dinner out. :flowerforyou:0
-
I haven't read all of the comments. But I do sometimes allow myself days where I don't log calories, just sort of as a mental break. And I might go over calories on those days, or not meet some of my other goals. Since I don't really restrict anything in my normal diet, other than maintaining a calorie deficit, I don't necessarily "cheat" on my non-logging days. But I might splurge a little extra. It has not affected my weight loss at all. In fact, if I'm ever in a plateau, sometimes having a day or two of increased caloric intake will kick start me again. 0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.7K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 395 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 960 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions