I have one "treat day" a week...is this bad?

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baby_firefly_666
baby_firefly_666 Posts: 192 Member
edited June 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
When I'm dieting my "treat day" is around maintenance calories, not some full on binge by the way. It's just so I can eat my usual healthy meals and add in some treats I crave (i.e. alcohol, chocolate or ice cream) as long as I stay near maintenance where the damage will be limited and easily fixed the next day. It just helps prevent a full on binge which will wreck my overall progress, and when it comes to weight loss I like to use the term "slow and steady wins the race".

The rest of the week I try and stay between 1,200-1,500 calories with regular activity. So yeah, is this a bad idea? Or should I try and stick to my diet 7 days a week?

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  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Why call it a cheat day ?

    Add your calories across the week and hit your defecit is not a cheat
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    make a lifestyle change, and not a 'diet', and you learn to work in treats on a daily basis.
  • kamack1215
    kamack1215 Posts: 109 Member
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    Sticking with your diet 7 days a week will help you acheive your goals slightly sooner. However you have to weigh that benefit against the potential of depriving yourself. The way I see it is a cheat day once a week will help in the long run as once you do go into maintenance the chances of eating over maintenance is more likely than not. The key however is not eating like 3000 calories on this cheat day as this can eliminated all the other days of the week.


    I think what youbare doing is smart and as long as you are comfortable with your progress and not starving and then binging.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Why call it a cheat day ?

    Add your calories across the week and hit your defecit is not a cheat

    Agreed, if you have to "cheat" then you need to reevaluate your diet and your entire view on nutrition
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    You are zig-zagging your calories. Nothing wrong with that. As long as you have an overall deficit....you will still lose weight.

    If this style of eating is something you see doing for many years to come....lifestyle change? If yes, carry on.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    This is sustainable for you?

    This keeps you (relatively) sane?

    This keeps you in an overall (read: weekly) deficit?


    Sounds like the answers to those questions are "yes." As such, :thumbs up:.
  • BumbleBreeBuzz
    BumbleBreeBuzz Posts: 83 Member
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    I think if you don't treat yourself you are more likely to go crazy and completely lose it! If you earned a treat, enjoy it! I usually treat myself after my weekly weigh in :)
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    BumbleBreeBuzz wrote: »
    I think if you don't treat yourself you are more likely to go crazy and completely lose it! If you earned a treat, enjoy it! I usually treat myself after my weekly weigh in :)

    Check my diary..I eat a chocolate bar every night...I mean 99.9% of the nights...sitting after the day is done with my diet coke...my macros are hit and I have calories left...the only time I don't is if it's late and I am tired and I have had my fill of sweets that day...

    You don't have to deprive yourself honest...you can make that stuff fit if you are at a reasonable goal.
  • mshellskewl
    mshellskewl Posts: 2 Member
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    I have always lived by the theory not to deprive myself. So if I want something..I work to earn it!
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited June 2015
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    Not only is there nothing wrong with the eating plan you're following, many people do exactly what you're doing without even thinking about it. It's called "the weekend."

    If you don't want it to slow your progress, and if you have the wiggle room, you might even cut a few calories from the remaining days of the week to give yourself some cushion for the day you eat at maintenance. Just to prove that there's nothing wrong with eating more on different days of the week, MFP now has an option on the premium plan to count calories across a week instead of a day to accommodate people who do what you're doing.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Why call it a cheat day ?

    Add your calories across the week and hit your defecit is not a cheat

    She didn't call it a cheat day. She called it a "treat" day.

    Agree with the others that as long as you're in a deficit for the week, you'll lose. I'd hardly call eating to maintenance a treat (or a cheat, for that matter). I'd call it a refeed day. If you're eating 1200-1500 calories six days a week, a refeed day will probably do you some good. I'd be starving on such low calories. Eating to maintenance one day might help keep one's sanity.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    LyndseyLovesToLift wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Why call it a cheat day ?

    Add your calories across the week and hit your defecit is not a cheat

    She didn't call it a cheat day. She called it a "treat" day.

    Agree with the others that as long as you're in a deficit for the week, you'll lose. I'd hardly call eating to maintenance a treat (or a cheat, for that matter). I'd call it a refeed day. If you're eating 1200-1500 calories six days a week, a refeed day will probably do you some good. I'd be starving on such low calories. Eating to maintenance one day might help keep one's sanity.

    I'm new to reading :blush:
  • Geekymonkey99
    Geekymonkey99 Posts: 63 Member
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    I think one day of maintenance is great. However, don't limit your favorite foods to that one day. You can work them into the deficit days, too!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    I regularly eat bigger meals on the weekends. But I get in extra exercise in the AM.

    OP - your plan sounds reasonable and sustainable :)

  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
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    If it works & is sustainable for you, that's fine. I know some also do calorie cycling and have some low days and some higher days over the course of the week. But personally, viewing my diet & healthy portions as a burden I need a break from isn't helpful. I agree with what others have said- I work my treats into my calories over the course of the week and don't save it all up for one day. But to each his own :)
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    It's not good or bad. It depends on the mindset of the individual.
    I personally don't buy into allotting special time for a treat or a cheat. Whether that's daily or weekly. A treat happens whenever the situation arises...which certainly isn't daily. At that point it's no longer a treat. I prefer a mindset that makes eating as simple and stress free as possible.
  • Eliz_99
    Eliz_99 Posts: 85 Member
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    I often eat at maintenance or more on Saturdays and Wednesdays and am still losing as I am still at a deficit overall for the week.

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