Cheat Meals

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amy72015
amy72015 Posts: 16
in Health and Weight Loss
My husband and I are eating healthy together and I have a lot of weight to lose. We started 2 weeks ago and the urges to eat poorly are still there. So my question is do you allow yourself to have a "cheat meal" every now and then or is it a bad idea? I don't want to fall off the wagon but is it okay to treat yourself once every couple of weeks. I am just starting out on my weight loss journey so any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks for your support!

Amy

Replies

  • britachu
    britachu Posts: 157
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    I totally cheated really bad today with chipotle and a beer because I've been having a crabby day. Every once in awhile won't hurt, just make sure you still get all of your water. If you're worried about going over on your calories a lot, just work out more that day.
  • christinathompson1
    christinathompson1 Posts: 144 Member
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    i try not too cheat as much as i can.. i was on vacation and it was very hard not to cheat but i did a little cause we went out too eat a lot! but if you ever go on vacation and you go out to eat just split your meal in half. :)
    every now and then i'll allow myself to have a ice cream bar or something. :)
  • lunatletica
    lunatletica Posts: 25
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    I think cheat days now an then are healthy, my only recommendation would be to make sure you still log the calories and that you have an extra work out.
  • stuffinmuffin
    stuffinmuffin Posts: 985 Member
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    Occasionally I don't think it hurts at all! In-fact sometimes it's a good jolt from normal routine that wakes your body up to losing a little weight a few days after being back on track...

    Edit: - Totally agree - always log them as that also tends to keep things in control, and include moderately healthy options when eating out...I've tried loads of new foods just from thinking they have fewer calories than my normal choices. : )
  • yankeefamily05
    yankeefamily05 Posts: 657
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    I don't have a cheat day. But today I wanted a slice of pie, and I said IM GOING TO HAVE THAT PIECE OF PIE. And enjoy it.! Theres nothing wrong with treating yourself.
  • kjmil
    kjmil Posts: 7 Member
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    I have cheated. I don't think once and while will hurt. Just stay under your calorie limit and workout more. I believe if you compleatly restrict yourself, the more likey you will fall and have to work harder to climb back up. Mine are Oreo's....
  • xTattooedDollx
    xTattooedDollx Posts: 426 Member
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    I never cheated for the first 70.pounds. I knew that if I did id probably fall off the wagon. Now that I've lost 100 I allow myself to cheat a little on the weekends, but I hardly fo because now I want to be as healthy as I can and I feel physically bad when I eat crapy carby foods.
  • Calidaho
    Calidaho Posts: 110 Member
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    I have reserved serious cheating for very special occasions--my birthday, wedding anniversary, Christmas, that kind of thing. Even then, I don't think I could go too crazy. The last time I overate (Easter) I felt so sick!

    Maybe if you want to cheat and you and your hubby like the same thing, order a really sinful dish and split it. Eating half of pretty much anything you find in a restaurant shouldn't be toooooo off track. Or, order, and only eat half--wasting food isn't good but, maybe ditch the other half.

    You don't want to feel like you can NEVER eat really yummy stuff again so indulging once in a while or indulging a little and working out extra hard, isn't so bad.
  • sherrbearr22
    sherrbearr22 Posts: 22 Member
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    My fiance and I typically allow ourselves one cheat meal a week for "date night." Even still, I try to order what I like but don't stuff myself/leave some on my plate.

    I personally prefer to allow small treats each day that are within my calorie budget as opposed to going hog wild every weekend.
  • lisapickering
    lisapickering Posts: 374
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    I think it's ok if you have the will power to then go back to better eating! If you do, I would suggest planning for it, don't just do it because you are craving it. If you do it unplanned you are more likely to a) do it more often as it was from a craving and b) make you feel guilty. If you're going to do you should enjoy it and not feel guilty about it. I usually do it on a day when I can do a long hard workout so I can at least partially offset it!
  • RDH0513
    RDH0513 Posts: 245 Member
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    Normally, I am trying to get a certain number of carbs, fat, and protein in, and do so by eating pretty clean foods. I DO allow myself cheat meals once every week or two- but when I do, I don't focus on meeting my macros so much, but I just try to keep it within my calorie range.
  • sherrbearr22
    sherrbearr22 Posts: 22 Member
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    Normally, I am trying to get a certain number of carbs, fat, and protein in, and do so by eating pretty clean foods. I DO allow myself cheat meals once every week or two- but when I do, I don't focus on meeting my macros so much, but I just try to keep it within my calorie range.

    This is a great tip! I'm going to try this.
  • CriticalX
    CriticalX Posts: 212 Member
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    My husband and I are eating healthy together and I have a lot of weight to lose. We started 2 weeks ago and the urges to eat poorly are still there. So my question is do you allow yourself to have a "cheat meal" every now and then or is it a bad idea? I don't want to fall off the wagon but is it okay to treat yourself once every couple of weeks. I am just starting out on my weight loss journey so any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks for your support!

    Amy
    why put ur self through that? its like seeing a ex once a week that u love. not a good idea. u start missing it all over again!!!
  • amy72015
    amy72015 Posts: 16
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    Thanks for the advice everybody!
  • auntiebabs
    auntiebabs Posts: 1,754 Member
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    Such a delicate balance:
    -- if I deny myself too much. It'll be torture and I'll never stick with it and if I can't stick with it what good is it?
    -- On the other hand once sugar is out of my system cravings for the most part go away and it's easier to keep up the healthier choices.
    -- then again, if I indulge in trigger foods all bets are off. Some treats I can portion control some just call my name until the whole box/bag is gone.

    Really you just have to do the best you can.

    Rather than being uberstrict with the target MFP set for me I did the math to find out the calories needed to maintain my goal weight and my current weight and I gave myself a range with 1200 as my rock bottom, lose 1 lb/wk as my target and maintain my goal weight as the top of my range. As long as I keep within in this range I'll lose. I tend to naturally zig zag my calories 3-4 at very close to my target and then a higher calorie day closer to the top of my range. This seems to work for me.

    I've been working very hard to:
    1) not feel deprived
    2) break that food-guilt link, after all we all need to eat and
    If I'm careful about eating enough nutrient dense foods I get to enjoy some just for fun calories. (aka junk food) and you know what? I DO NOT HAVE TO FEEL GUILTY about this.

    My mission is to make food is my friend not the enemy. It is here to nourish and nurture us.
    I started by making a list of foods I like (even "bad" foods) then went back and circle all the healthiest options on the list and made them my "go to" foods. This helped make eating healthy food a pleasure not a chore. And the "bad foods" on my list are not everyday foods, but are saved for a special treat.
  • Hananiah
    Hananiah Posts: 128 Member
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    My sister taught me (she's a personal trainer) that I can have one cheat day a week. It has worked so far for me to continue my weight loss.

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