Cheat day or strict 24/7 diet??

amandabowen3154
amandabowen3154 Posts: 4 Member
edited June 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
Im currently 205 and my goal weight is 150. So I have quite a bit to lose but wandering if you guys have a cheat day or stay to a strict diet 24/7??
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Replies

  • tcbutler8627
    tcbutler8627 Posts: 279 Member
    I usually give myself a cheat day or at least a cheat meal. Sundays are usually the day I do that. I don't pig out the whole day, but I do enjoy some food I might not throughout the week or at least have a second helping when I won't throughout the week.

    I'm not an expert, but I just think it helps keep you on track the rest of the week if you allow yourself at least a meal to relax and enjoy what you want. Best thing I can say is give it a try. If you give yourself a cheat meal/day and are able to still lose what you want each week, then you should be ok. If not, then don't give yourself one, or at least not as much of one.
  • stacieeldridge
    stacieeldridge Posts: 7 Member
    I can't have a cheat day I feel like I've blown my whole diet and if it's ok that one time for some strange reason my mind thinks it's ok. I have to have a dead set mind frame to conquer my body!
  • tcbutler8627
    tcbutler8627 Posts: 279 Member
    stacieeldridge wrote: »
    I can't have a cheat day I feel like I've blown my whole diet and if it's ok that one time for some strange reason my mind thinks it's ok. I have to have a dead set mind frame to conquer my body!

    Yeah, I think everybody is different. Some are able to, some aren't. I think the only way to know is to try it.
  • yasminbower1991
    yasminbower1991 Posts: 63 Member
    No cheat days no strict 'diet' just balanced healthy choices - lots of protien, fruit and veg and have a little of what you fancy ever now and then x
  • benzieboxx
    benzieboxx Posts: 253 Member
    I don't have "cheat days" I just fit the foods I love into my daily calorie allowance. That works for me. If you think this will set you off and you'll binge then perhaps cut the foods that will cause this and then revalute after you've lost some weight or gotten a better idea of portion control.
    Overall you never want to feel deprived because that's what normall throws people off the wagon. They miss the stuff they used to enjoy because now these items are "bad".
  • dearmrsowl
    dearmrsowl Posts: 151 Member
    I just make sure I can fit my treats into my daily calorie allowance. I wouldn't be able to totally cut out all my favorite chocolate or my pizza once in a while. The problem with cheat days is that they can easily ruin a week worth of progress. If you are looking into having cheat days / meals just make sure you saved up enough calories from the days before to stay on track.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    I don't have cheat days or a strict 24/7 diet.

    I have a loose 24/7 eating plan.

    If I want something, I work it into my calorie budget. If I have a special event, I look at my weekly calorie budget and eat less on non-event days so that I can eat more on event day.
  • flamingblades
    flamingblades Posts: 311 Member
    Atkins helps with carb control. Expensive, but it works. That's where my sweet snacks come from, otherwise fruit is my sweet food.
  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
    Neither. I eat the food that I want everyday. I make it fit into my daily calories. It's about eating all foods in moderation. Don't think about this as a diet. It's about thinking how you will want to eat for the rest of your life. Cheat days could kill your weekly progress. Being strict 24/7 could make you want to give up because, well, it's too strict. Fitting the foods that you want into your day makes it easier to progress with weight loss. Pre-log your food you want so you know whether it'll fit or not for the day. It won't fit for today? Plan for it the next day. Remember, losing weight is about being in a calorie deficit. :flowerforyou:
  • pleasepleaseno
    pleasepleaseno Posts: 166 Member
    sometimes i go over my calorie allowances and just say "meh, *kitten* it." so i guess that's a cheat day. I dont like the term cheat though, because it's not cheating it's just being a person and sometimes my *kitten* wants lots of beer and lots of food.
  • amandabowen3154
    amandabowen3154 Posts: 4 Member
    Thanks for all the advice. I've been thinking of taking Sunday's as a cheat day within regulations. But I've been eating under my goals so I can justify the cookies on Sunday.
  • GlassRocks
    GlassRocks Posts: 18 Member
    Why Strict? Why not just healthy?
  • JPW1990
    JPW1990 Posts: 2,424 Member
    I'm keto, 22g carb limit, 16-1800 cal limit. I don't do planned "cheat" days, because the only things I like that I can't eat anyways are things that would make me sick. If I go over on carbs, but not calories, I know there's a chance that, too, will make me sick for a day or so. If I go over on calories, but not on carbs, that's far less important, since it's a one-off day over an entire year of deficit. I see no reason to intentionally go over on either, when it only takes a few minutes to work out the math to have what I want without going over. If it happens by accident, it's not the zombie apocalypse.
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    I eat what I plan for.
  • kiariv
    kiariv Posts: 25 Member
    I am currently on a low carb/ketogenic diet to keep my diabetes in check and lose weight. In the beginning i was totally strict diet everyday and no cheat days. Now 7 mos into it however i do allow myself a cheat day once a month that is planned out. I usually do 1600 cals and 20g of carbs or less. On cheat days i try not to allow myself to go beyond 1,800 cals and 100 grams of carbs, which still keeps nutritional ketosis in some like myself as doing this woe has made me more insulin sensitive.. I keep a close eye on bg numbers every day. I am always experimenting to see how much my body can handle. I also do a 3 day water fast right before to create a calorie deficit. Its working well for me. Anyone else doing keto?
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,585 Member
    I intensely dislike the term cheat days as it sets up a good/bad mindset that I think has no place in this.

    Useful to me today vs useless and unnecessary right now is OK. Good vs bad: not so much.

    That said it is inevitable that there will be days that you will be over your caloric goals: You didn't have time to do all your planned activities. A friend called and wanted to have a beer. You showed up and the client wanted to go for lunch. You were passing by a bakery and that croissant looked good.

    It really doesn't matter what brings it about, inevitably and even with planning, there will be days you will go over your goal unless you become an anti-social anal-retentive hermit (and some of my friends already think that about me and my calorie counting)!

    And, if you want to succeed in your weight loss you probably need to minimize these "goals not met" meals and days.

    So why the blazes would you intentionally pre-plan an overage?

    The only "valid" reason I can see is because your daily routine is so restrictive that you feel the need to put a relief valve in place.

    Well, I am not on a diet. What i am doing is just trying to figure out a new way to eat and move during the next five or more years. One that will result in me being more healthy and able than otherwise.

    If I feel the need for a pre-planned relief valve, it sounds like I haven't yet stumbled upon a sustainable path....
  • arguablysamson
    arguablysamson Posts: 1,706 Member
    Nature is full of ups and downs. If you don't, at some point, have a cheat day, then your body won't be very adaptable and your progress will start to wain. You need day and night, sleep and wake, and, yes, feast and famine. I cycle on and off of fasting days and heavy eating days. The peace it brings can regulate the mind and body. So I'd definitely recommend a well-placed cheat day (at least on every 2 weeks).
  • Krystle1984
    Krystle1984 Posts: 146 Member
    I allow myself one day a week where I will eat at maintenance. Some may see it as "cheating" but as I usually bank about 300kcals a day in exercise that I don't eat back it actually fits perfectly with my weekly deficit goals. :)

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