Are cheat days bad for your diet?
saiyuli69
Posts: 46 Member
Is it okay to have a cheat day?
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Replies
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Easiest answer: Yes.
However, I usually go for a cheat meal, not a whole cheat day.0 -
as long as it doesnt become cheat week, or month, or decade LOL
lots of people do them. i prefer to eat what i want as long as i am within my calorie goals. i just finished a giant oatmeal cream pie LOLOL 330 calories of happiness (ill be happy when this box of them is gone though! LOL!)0 -
It's all about the net deficit in the end. If you're in enough of a deficit during the week that eating at or even above maintenance one day won't undo all of your other work, go for it. Lots of people swear by cheat days for their sanity. I used to eat 1200/day and then have a cheat day once a week, and it worked for a while. Now that I've been on it for longer, I'd rather have more calories to eat every day so I'm at 1400-1500 / day and don't go all-out any particular day of the week.
Personal preference, really.0 -
Okay I'm usually under my deficit for the entire week so I was thinking of making Saturday and Sunday my cheat/relax days? So long as I don't go crazy it's fine?0
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callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »as long as it doesnt become cheat week, or month, or decade LOL
lots of people do them. i prefer to eat what i want as long as i am within my calorie goals. i just finished a giant oatmeal cream pie LOLOL 330 calories of happiness (ill be happy when this box of them is gone though! LOL!)
Hahaha easiest calories to make lol. I feel the same for Twinkies lol.
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I had a cheat meal today since someone went to burger king :x but it fit in my calories. it just sucks that I'm a little hungry still0
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I just see the cheat days as unnecessary.
Seems people use cheat days because of cravings. Shouldn't you include what your craving into your regular diet, just in smaller portions? Less often? Etc
To me if I felt the need for a cheat day it would be a sign I am either restricting my diet to much or something like that and I should change so I don't quit all together.
Are cheat days like a slippery slop to cheat week or month?0 -
I do not do splurge / cheat days or meals. Occasionally I make a mistake: am forced to eat out by my poor planning, it is the one day a month my boss buys us doughnuts, or the meals just landed on the heavy side when totaled up. I will suck it up and move on. I do not let it get me down. But also, I do not plan ahead to fail by having cheat days or meals.0
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Okay I'm usually under my deficit for the entire week so I was thinking of making Saturday and Sunday my cheat/relax days? So long as I don't go crazy it's fine?
You can easily wipe out a weekly deficit in a weekend if you're not careful.
If you have trouble on the weekends, you should track calories on a weekly basis, rather than daily. That way you can track and "bank" your calories for the weekend - instead of "cheating".
I don't do cheat meals/days. I just don't find them necessary. I work too hard to "cheat".
Good luck.0 -
I was reading on here that cheat days can be good as they make your Leptin levels go up which Is something to do with burning fat. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will add or comment on this.
I was thinking of starting a cheat day once a week. As long as over the week you are still in deficit it seemed to make sense.0 -
I guess it depends on what you consider a cheat. I consider a cheat something that I can eat within my calories that sucks health wise lol or it can push me over by max 100 calories.0
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I have one cheat meal a week, usually on either Friday or Saturday, where I have basically whatever I want. But I also keep my calories about 100 lower each day during the week than I normally would to make up for it. It works for me. But I couldn't do an entire day. That would put me way over.0
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They worked very well for me. It helped me deal with my cravings saying I could wait for my splurgy meal. They cause a bit more of a problem now because my deficit isn't as great so they are more impactful.0
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I have one cheat meal a week, usually on either Friday or Saturday, where I have basically whatever I want. But I also keep my calories about 100 lower each day during the week than I normally would to make up for it. It works for me. But I couldn't do an entire day. That would put me way over.
But is that a cheat meal? Sounds like your eating with in your calories. Or at least your weekly calories.
Say you save up 100 cal Monday to Friday so your under by 500. Then on Saturday you have pizza, a lot of pizza and go over Saturday by 500, you still at net zero for the week.
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Depends entirely on your concept of a 'cheat' and what it means for you, what you eat, your goals and how it affects your mind.
Eg, if you have a massive binge every weekend, it's no longer an exception, it's part of your regular functioning. Speaking as a reformed Friday night pizza and block of chocolate eater.
Enjoy life, and live life in moderation, for sure. We're too lucky to do otherwise.0 -
I do utilize a cheat day, and I don't use the food log on that day because I could care less about calories on that day. It definitely keeps my metabolism guessing, and helps keep me lean. I will note I usually only "cheat" 3 times per month.0
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I have one cheat meal a week, usually on either Friday or Saturday, where I have basically whatever I want. But I also keep my calories about 100 lower each day during the week than I normally would to make up for it. It works for me. But I couldn't do an entire day. That would put me way over.
But is that a cheat meal? Sounds like your eating with in your calories. Or at least your weekly calories.
Say you save up 100 cal Monday to Friday so your under by 500. Then on Saturday you have pizza, a lot of pizza and go over Saturday by 500, you still at net zero for the week.
Yeah, you're right it's not really a "cheat" because I work it in, although it's nowhere near being healthy, lol. But I consider it a cheat because I do go over for the week, but not enough to put me too far off. (Over by like maybe 100-200 calories)
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lisafrancis888 wrote: »I was reading on here that cheat days can be good as they make your Leptin levels go up which Is something to do with burning fat. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will add or comment on this.
I was thinking of starting a cheat day once a week. As long as over the week you are still in deficit it seemed to make sense.
lisafrancis888, I believe you are correct, but I too am no expert. I frequent John Romaniello's site and have done his FPFL program with great results. Here is one of many blog post from Roman on this topic;
http://romanfitnesssystems.com/articles/in-defense-of-cheat-days/
Hope this helps, if not sorry for adding to the confusion...
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I've been knocking out half of my weekly deficit each weekend with restaurant meals that put me way over. I'm ok with only losing half a pound some weeks instead of a full pound so that doesn't bother me. I don't think of it as a cheat, because there isn't anything I'm not "allowed" to have. I don't know what I'll do when I start aiming for half a pound a week, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. If I was in a rush to lose the weight I probably would approach it differently.0
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Thanlisafrancis888 wrote: »I was reading on here that cheat days can be good as they make your Leptin levels go up which Is something to do with burning fat. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will add or comment on this.
I was thinking of starting a cheat day once a week. As long as over the week you are still in deficit it seemed to make sense.
lisafrancis888, I believe you are correct, but I too am no expert. I frequent John Romaniello's site and have done his FPFL program with great results. Here is one of many blog post from Roman on this topic;
http://romanfitnesssystems.com/articles/in-defense-of-cheat-days/
Hope this helps, if not sorry for adding to the confusion...
Thanks will take a look.0 -
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If you feel the need to cheat ...
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I think there needs to be a discussion on everyones idea of cheating because thes. Discussions always lead to ppl acting like they are better than ppl who have a cheat day. My personal idea of a cheat day is eating at or below maintenance usually only 200-300 above my deficit and in the scheme of a week I might go over by 15 cals but, usually end under. I do cheat days because one day a week I just want to eat without thinking of my sodium, protein, carbs and fats. I doubt anyone eats like 11,000 cals in their cheat day.0
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Bad for getting results, good for maintaining momentum.
Cheat days are like putting money in your savings account. Every dollar you save is a dollar not enhancing the quality of your life today. On the other hand, it will allow you to maintain your lifestyle longer into the future. Ditto cheat days - bad for immediate results, good for long-term adherence.0 -
Nothing wrong with cheat days. I usually have two to three cheat days.0
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Is it okay to have a cheat day?
It depends on you if it will be okay or not.
Some people fixate on calling foods good/bad, eating a severely limited boring diet most of the time and then going crazy on these "cheat days". Those type of people seem to me to burn out and give up their plan more than people who just fit things in regularly or who plan to go over just a little bit.
For me, it works best to plan and pre-log everything. I eat what I like all the time but I plan for it to fit my calorie goal so it is not cheating in any way.0 -
lisafrancis888 wrote: »I was reading on here that cheat days can be good as they make your Leptin levels go up which Is something to do with burning fat. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will add or comment on this.
I was thinking of starting a cheat day once a week. As long as over the week you are still in deficit it seemed to make sense.
I was actually reading up on this myself and you're right!0 -
I was reading an article on daily burn that actually said that cheat days are actually good for you. They also said to cheat on days that you plan to have a big workout0
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I am trying to lose weight, and therefore I do not plan to take cheat days or meals. I'm on a mission.
However, of course, if I exercise more, I can eat more. I will often eat up to about half my calories back.
And I don't eliminate foods or restrict myself to salad or anything.
For example, about a month ago, I ate half a small cheesecake ... and that was OK because I had exercised more than enough to cover it.
That's not cheating ... that's strategic planning.
And I figure that when I get down to a certain weight, I will increase my calories a little bit to slow the weight loss, and may be able to include more yummy food if I want.
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