Should I have a "cheat day"?

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Replies

  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    I have chocolate most days. I don't throw it all on a day, though it sometimes turns out the way--especially in the spring when there are so many awards luncheons and banquets on campus.
  • akgeenaminto
    akgeenaminto Posts: 113 Member
    I say no. Just log life and some days will be better than others but be honest. Yes some days we eat the *kitten* that got us fat but we don't live that way anymore.
  • anschwartz9242
    anschwartz9242 Posts: 7 Member
    dzhuff wrote: »
    I'm new to dieting. Is a cheat day a good way to not be so strict on yourself, or is it undermining the whole process?

    I find that if I cheat, I lose a day of getting to my goal. Maybe 2 days, or even 3, if my weight goes up. And I feel guilty. And I dread getting on the scale the next morning. And I lose sleep over it. Sugar free candy works for me.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,597 Member
    crystalflame wrote: »
    I think the important part is continuing to be aware of what you're eating vs. what you're burning and making conscious decisions about your consumption. It's a lot better to plan for eating a 1000 calorie slice of cheesecake than to eat it and realize later that you were WAY over your calorie limit.

    Absolutely! And I had planned that cheesecake weeks in advance. :smiley:

  • thenewkayla
    thenewkayla Posts: 313 Member
    bschneider5 wrote: »
    cindyangotti wrote: »
    Don't cheat. Just plan it and log it. If you go over your calorie goal work it off with cardio exercise.

    What she said.[/quote
    on Thursdays I go buffalo wild wings after work.. i have onion rings wings and beer!
    But like she said I fit it in my calories...so that's my cheat meal ... but it's not really a cheat meal cuz it still fits..i think if I had cheat day I d feel gross..
  • ereck44
    ereck44 Posts: 1,170 Member
    Yeah, if you are starting out, don't do it Cheating is how you got here. Maybe a couple of months down the road, try a cheat meal, but not if you are starting. Jmho.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    I say NO

    If you need to cheat you're setting up a 'deprivation model' in your mind

    Work your diet (as in food plan) across the week so that you can eat the things you love

    don't cheat - just make room for what you want

    then you have less deprivation and less need for willpower and habits form quicker
  • DearestWinter
    DearestWinter Posts: 595 Member
    I never have a real cheat day where I go over maintenance. I work treats I want into my calorie allowance. (Today it was frozen yogurt.)

    On occasion (once or twice a month) I'll eat to maintenance (but never over) for one reason or another. It just stalls the effort but doesn't negate my previous work.
  • Kalici
    Kalici Posts: 685 Member
    I have cheat days, but I think what I term a cheat day and what a lot of other people do are very different. I am a five feet tall woman with medical problems that make it difficult to lose weight so I have to be very exact with my calories. Every two weeks I have a cheat day that I have banked my calories for. I plan out those meals, I really look forward to them and I log them, but I am still under calorie goal and maintaining a deficit.
  • ColtonMiller56
    ColtonMiller56 Posts: 6 Member
    It's what you do consistently that counts. One cheat meal or even a cheat day won't matter if you stick to your diet the rest of the week. I personally have cheat day once a week where I eat whatever I want all day and I've lost 10 pounds in a month. When you diet strictly for a long time your metabolism slows down because it thinks your in a famine. When you have a day that you go in a caloric surplus your basically telling your body it's not starving and it releases leptin( the fat burning hormone). Therefore your metabolism speeds back up so when you go on a diet, you lose weight quicker.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    ColtonMiller56 wrote: »
    It's what you do consistently that counts. One cheat meal or even a cheat day won't matter if you stick to your diet the rest of the week. I personally have cheat day once a week where I eat whatever I want all day and I've lost 10 pounds in a month. When you diet strictly for a long time your metabolism slows down because it thinks your in a famine. When you have a day that you go in a caloric surplus your basically telling your body it's not starving and it releases leptin( the fat burning hormone). Therefore your metabolism speeds back up so when you go on a diet, you lose weight quicker.

    You know if your cheat meal is 5000 calories it can cancel out the rest of your calorie defecit across the week

    Also you should probably read up on leptin .. if you're trying to restore to normal then a couple of weeks at maintenance is what's called for not a cheat meal
  • starglows
    starglows Posts: 6 Member
    Background
    I have been doing a "cheat day" once a week, for the six weeks since I started dieting. The first two weeks were before I started logging here, and I didn't lose weight those weeks. The past four weeks I've been meeting my goal -- losing a pound or more of fat per week.

    How I do it
    * Try to eat a healthy, protein-rich breakfast
    * Have two large/carb-y/fatty meals and some sugary dessert
    * Still log here, but give myself permission to exceed my calories slotted for the day by a lot. (Other days I end up under though.)

    I am enjoying these benefits
    * Feeling like I can eat anything I want, if only in that one window, makes it easier for me to resist temptation the rest of the time.
    * Getting to eat some things that realistically don't fit in a day's calories. Maybe if I tried to find random people to eat the rest of my pizza, but who does that?
    * Easier prioritizing of unhealthy food: I only have a few slots so what do I want most?
    * Noticing how eating too much and eating a lot of sugar make me feel bad/tired (which I don't notice when it's spread out), giving me less incentive to do it in general

    On the other hand
    * I feel embarrassed to log all those calories. Good thing I only have two friends here so far. ;-)
    * Cheat meals tend to be at restaurants and hard to log, but I do my best. I wish everywhere had to give estimated nutrition!
    * It is a bit of two steps forward, one step back, so I'm not sure if I want to do this long term. And I'm learning to cook some healthy versions of cheat food!
  • nichole0483
    nichole0483 Posts: 19 Member
    For me a cheat day would be too excessive. When I reach a goal I plan to have a meal that I don't eat. Like a cheeseburger...lol. just one and only when I reach my 30 lb goal. Then I'll set another goal and so on...

  • Lexicpt
    Lexicpt Posts: 209 Member
    I fit all of the food I eat (which includes fast food, candy, etc) into my daily calorie allowance. I don't like to cheat myself.
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  • DearestWinter
    DearestWinter Posts: 595 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    You know if your cheat meal is 5000 calories it can cancel out the rest of your calorie defecit across the week

    This is why on the rare occasion I have a cheat day I still never eat over maintenance. I'm already operating on a fairly low deficit (short and close to goal weight) so it would be incredibly easy for me to wipe out most of the work I did the rest of the week.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,238 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    ColtonMiller56 wrote: »
    It's what you do consistently that counts. One cheat meal or even a cheat day won't matter if you stick to your diet the rest of the week. I personally have cheat day once a week where I eat whatever I want all day and I've lost 10 pounds in a month. When you diet strictly for a long time your metabolism slows down because it thinks your in a famine. When you have a day that you go in a caloric surplus your basically telling your body it's not starving and it releases leptin( the fat burning hormone). Therefore your metabolism speeds back up so when you go on a diet, you lose weight quicker.

    You know if your cheat meal is 5000 calories it can cancel out the rest of your calorie defecit across the week

    Also you should probably read up on leptin .. if you're trying to restore to normal then a couple of weeks at maintenance is what's called for not a cheat meal
    What he says.

    Your body will adapt by reducing your caloric burn below that of someone who has never lost weight. It will do that even more in the presence of a steep deficit or a long term deficit. This will reduce by a small % the CO part of CICO and prime you to gain fat back.

    One day will not fix that. A few weeks at your then maintenance might improve it. It may take years and an increase in body fat above the minimum you reached before it fully reverses. Controlling the rebound and landing and staying at maintenance: not easy.

    Larger meals here and there preferably planned (or sometimes unplanned because... life)? Sure. And log them so you know what happened (to the best of your ability).

    Free for all cheat day? Or "I already had a chocolate, might as well have the ice cream".

    You are setting yourself back and if you are feeling the need for this you are probbly doing something not quite right and sustainable with your normal routine.
  • DaveinSK
    DaveinSK Posts: 86 Member
    Depends what you mean by cheat days, but I don't have a set day or plan a meal over my goal just to have one. That being said, I have no problem going out and having a meal that puts me over my goal if there's a reason to. Just log it and keep it in mind for the rest of the week.

    I think being mellow about your targets and taking a longer view isn't necessarily a bad thing. If you're looking at eating 2000 a day, it probably won't make a whole lot of difference if you eat 14,000 a week split perfectly evenly, or if you have a day at 3000 and the other six at 1830. I know some people who tend to view eating over their calories as a failure, and once you've failed you might as well got all out and eat the full pint of Cookie Dough Ice Cream since you've been "bad" already.
  • beamer0821
    beamer0821 Posts: 488 Member
    i don't believe in cheat days. its turns food into good and bad. you should treat yourself regularly and in control. food shouldn't be off limits. i think learning how to incorporate the foods and indulgences that you love is part of the journey and the "Change" for the long haul.

    but that is just my philosophy.
  • liftrunrepeat
    liftrunrepeat Posts: 23 Member
    callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »
    i eat what i want as long as it fits my daily goals. i think for (most) people... cheat 'days' can turn into cheat weekends, weeks, months and years.....

    been there done that. LOL

    This!

  • jenniferinfl
    jenniferinfl Posts: 456 Member
    I have, well, sort of a cheat meal. I'm training to walk a marathon and I have one day a week where I'm doing 10 miles and up. This week my Saturday night will be a cheat meal, but, I'll burn something like 1200 calories the following morning. So, for me, my cheat meal evens out.. lol
  • Looncove_Farm
    Looncove_Farm Posts: 115 Member
    I have come to the conclusion that I dont need to call it a cheat meal. I just eat what some call "cheat food" in moderation, tonight it was a slice of Pizza and some of my Moms birthday cake and ice cream, im still UNDER my calories for the day and I couldnt be happier!
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
    missgiddyup341 wrote: »
    It's okay once in a while but I would not cheat say three times a week. That's just me. I would save cheating for a special occasion. I just ate a cookie (yeah I know, cheating) but then I went on a run and burned those calories... That's just my opinion though. If you feel the need to have a cheat day then do it but in moderation! Good luck!

    Eating a cookie is not "cheating". Especially since you fit it into your daily goals.
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