Allowing Cheat Days

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  • UnikittyRocks
    UnikittyRocks Posts: 30 Member
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    salembambi wrote: »
    high calorie days once in a while are normal

    i know on valentines day i wont be caring about my food...you will find me in my cave surrounded by candy ,chips and tears

    Lol! <3 Here's a hug!
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    edited January 2015
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    UnikittyRocks wrote: »
    Does anyone who is having success at losing steadily allow themselves a cheat day or 2?

    Personally I just take responsibility for what I eat and what training I do. If I go over target I don't stress about it, but note the reasons and then mitigate it.

    If I choose to eat a very high calorie meal then I'll copensate over a couple of days by coming in under goal. If I miss a training session I eat less, and if I do a big session then I know I can eat more. Since most of my training sessions are 600 cals and upwards I can afford to do that.

    Notwithstanding all of that the semantics are nonsense, who is being cheated when the individual doesn't take responsibility for their own intake and expenditure?
  • AmazonMayan
    AmazonMayan Posts: 1,168 Member
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    I can't have a whole treat day or it completely derails me. I know my weaknesses lol. I do allow myself to have a treat here and there instead (eating out usually) and just adjust the rest of the day.

    I've actually lost the taste for what used to be some favorites. Now that I've cut a lot of the processed foods and refined sugars and salt, some stuff just isn't good anymore - Reeses were one of my favorites and now it's like chewing a cake of salt lol. Now I just make my own chocolate pb things instead.

  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
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    SuggaD wrote: »
    I hate the whole "cheat" idea. Aren't you trying to learn better habits? Learn to eat what you enjoy in moderation and fit it into your day on a regular basis. You'll be much better off in the long run.

    ^This.

    Nothing is "cheating". If I want something, I'll have it and log it and plan around it. I remember reading something around here about a study that showed that's how naturally slim people eat anyway, they naturally regulate their intake to keep the calorie level consistent.

    I think it's a much better mindset to have -- the idea that no food is ever off limits, that you're in control of planning for something, not judging things good or bad, it's all just part of the overall plan. It's so much easier to not feel like you've set yourself back or lost your way.

  • rbfdac
    rbfdac Posts: 1,057 Member
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    I do have a weekly "cheat" meal or day. It's not that I only eat lettuce and apples for the entire week and then binge on Saturday night or anything. I am quite diligent with tracking and hitting my calorie goal of 1600 every single day. Some days I eat mostly "clean" and other days I incorporate "junk" food. I just always make sure I stay at or under my calorie goal.

    My "cheat" day is a day that I allow myself to eat at or a little over my maintenance calories. I find it a lot easier to have one day a week that I don't have to watch my calories as closely and I can have an extra serving or two of ice cream or sushi. Things I would normally eat anyway, but only this day I get to have a little more. It never derails me. I enjoy it and then get back on track Sunday morning. I'm down 51 pounds in a little over four months using this method. May not be everybody's thing, but it works for me!

    I look forward to cheat meal every week!
  • Fleetwoodly
    Fleetwoodly Posts: 9
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    I read somewhere you shouldn't call it cheating, but treating. :smile: Makes me feel I have permission to have it, somehow. However, that having said, log your meals and see where you can squeeze in a treat within your calorie intake. I have a treat meal every Sunday, just one meal, not an entire day. I plan my breakfast and lunch around it, I take something that doesn't have much calories so I can indulge (within moderation!) at dinner. I choose Sunday for a treat day because I go back to work on Monday's and it's easier to get back in the daily routine and get back on the weight loss wagon. If I would do it on a Saturday and I am at home with something good to grab... it would just go downhill from there.
  • auntchellebelle
    auntchellebelle Posts: 127 Member
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    I had a Big Mac meal yesterday. I regret nothing. I don't call it a cheat meal though.
  • UnikittyRocks
    UnikittyRocks Posts: 30 Member
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    rbfdac wrote: »
    I do have a weekly "cheat" meal or day. It's not that I only eat lettuce and apples for the entire week and then binge on Saturday night or anything. I am quite diligent with tracking and hitting my calorie goal of 1600 every single day. Some days I eat mostly "clean" and other days I incorporate "junk" food. I just always make sure I stay at or under my calorie goal.

    My "cheat" day is a day that I allow myself to eat at or a little over my maintenance calories. I find it a lot easier to have one day a week that I don't have to watch my calories as closely and I can have an extra serving or two of ice cream or sushi. Things I would normally eat anyway, but only this day I get to have a little more. It never derails me. I enjoy it and then get back on track Sunday morning. I'm down 51 pounds in a little over four months using this method. May not be everybody's thing, but it works for me!

    I look forward to cheat meal every week!

    This will work for me :p I worked out and treated myself to a Starbucks!!
  • Marianna93637
    Marianna93637 Posts: 230 Member
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    What I started doing (this will be the second week of it, but overall I've been logging for 2 months) is to have one day (Friday or probably Saturday) to allow myself to go over my calories. It's not cheating, I'm still logging everything, and I still make good choices, but this can be a day when I go out to eat, which means it's so much harder to stay within calories, or have a few drinks, which also means I will probably go over. Or maybe have some desert, and more of it, that I normally wouldn't eat.
    I'm talking about going over 400 calories tops, so it's nothing crazy, it's technically still at a deficit, or worst case at maintenance, just for one day.

    I didn't do this for the first 2 months, but some very successful MFPers (lost 40+ lbs etc) said they do this, and it makes sense. This way I don't feel that it is a neverending strict journey, it's something that I can do on a very long run.
  • tracie_minus100
    tracie_minus100 Posts: 465 Member
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    I used to. Then cheat days turned into cheat weekends and then it all just went downhill from there.
    So now what I do is, if an event comes up (a birthday dinner for example), I go and enjoy myself and order what I want. I log it and move on.
    Other than that, I stick to my calorie allowance. Sometimes I make room for a chocolate bar at the end of the day. It feels like a "cheat" but I'm staying within my calorie allowance so it's really not.
  • kaotik26
    kaotik26 Posts: 590 Member
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    Personally I fail when I allow a cheat day. I do so good, give myself a treat end up binging and it's downhill from there. I find it's better to allow myself a little chocolate (or whatever I'm craving) when I want it because the craving is satisfied and doesn't turn into the Hulk on cheat day.
  • katherine_startrek_fan
    katherine_startrek_fan Posts: 425 Member
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    Personally I feel that 1,200 calories is too low! My guess is that you're trying to lose 2 pounds per week. Try reducing to 1 1/2 or 1 pound a week instead and make room in your daily allowance for it.

    Alternatively, you can increase your exercise, thus giving you more calories to play with.

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