Cheat days, yes or no?

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jessidarklighter
jessidarklighter Posts: 10 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I first started implementing cheat days after reading an article in a magazine. The article said cheat days are good for two reasons. First, it keeps you on track for the rest of the week because you tell yourself you only have to wait to the end of the week to get that item you've been craving, and second, abruptly consuming more calories tricks your body into adjusting your metabolism, creating a better fat burn for the lesser calorie amounts you consume in the rest of the week. Now I will be honest, I'm not sure I could bear to give up cheat days altogether, but if they really are bad I might moderate them a little. So I want your opinion. Cheat days, yes or no? and why?
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  • thatsagoodkitty
    thatsagoodkitty Posts: 4 Member
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    Honestly I'd say it's better to have what you want within your calorie and macro goals. If you really want something, sacrifice a bit that day to make up for it. If your goal is weight loss, a day or two of hitting maintenance won't set you back.

    It's important to do whatever is sustainable.
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
    edited July 2015
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    No.

    Eat what you want and fit it into your macros.

    You wouldn't cheat on your girlfriend and hit up another lady... why cheat on your diet? Lol that might be too far, but you get the idea, right?
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    No reason not to eat what you're craving within your calories instead of gorging yourself on it because it's a 'cheat day'.

    I suggest you do a search on 'cheat days'. You will find a LOT of replies.

    Also I don't believe there is such thing as 'tricking your metabolism' by eating more one day.
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
    edited July 2015
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    thatsagoodkitty wrote: »
    Honestly I'd say it's better to have what you want within your calorie and macro goals. If you really want something, sacrifice a bit that day to make up for it. If your goal is weight loss, a day or two of hitting maintenance won't set you back.

    It's important to do whatever is sustainable.


    Francl27 wrote: »
    No reason not to eat what you're craving within your calories instead of gorging yourself on it because it's a 'cheat day'.

    I suggest you do a search on 'cheat days'. You will find a LOT of replies.

    Also I don't believe there is such thing as 'tricking your metabolism' by eating more one day.

    +1
  • swilde1978
    swilde1978 Posts: 2 Member
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    Cheat days are a way of telling your brain, your body and yourself that healthy eating will only ever be a temporary change.
  • accidentalpancake
    accidentalpancake Posts: 484 Member
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    It might be good initially for those who need motivation to be mindful the rest of the week, but the goal should always be to change the mindset of "cheating" and "dieting". Neither are sustainable.

    The whole metabolism justification is dubious at best.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    Lots of people do this. They like to include treats on a regular basis. Some include them every day, some once a week or once a month or whatever.

    I don't do a lot of "cheating." I like eating healthy food and I've found healthy food that is yummy, so it's not like I spend my days longing for a treat. On rare occasions, I indulge, but I don't really feel like it's cheating.

    Just work out a plan you like and go with it. You can always change it later! :)
  • AspenDan
    AspenDan Posts: 703 Member
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    Eh..these days I feel like if you know you're strong willed and able to get back on the bandwagon, hell yeah, eat a whole cake if that's what you really want. I wasn't, until recently, now I am strong willed and I can have a cheat day every now and then so it's not a big deal. If you don't think you can get back in line tho, I'd go a while longer before you start "cheating"
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    I have difficulty with the term because it implies that i'm doing something wrong.

    The foundation of my diet consists of legumes, lentils, oats, quinioa, potatoes, and brown rice...on top of that, I eat a ton of veg and a few servings of fruit daily. Most of my protein comes from cod, salmon, shrimp, and chicken. I have some lean cuts of pork and beef from time to time, but really I prefer fattier cuts for those so I don't eat a whole lot of it. Most of my fat comes from nuts, avocados, and avocado and olive oil.

    today for lunch I'm having pizza as I will be joining my 5 y.o. kiddo for lunch for his last day of summer camp...i like taking my boys out for pizza every few weeks in general...I don't look at it as cheating...it's not how I usually eat and it's pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.
  • LeslieB042812
    LeslieB042812 Posts: 1,799 Member
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    I find that this works better for maintenance, rather than weight loss. However, you can probably have a day or two a week at your maintenance calorie level without significantly impacting your weight loss; it will just be a bit slower, which is fine if that's what makes it doable for you. That's how I do it. I set a lower calorie target than I need to lose and then stick to it most days but eat at maintenance one or two days a week to allow for eating out with friends and family.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    No. I feel it is better to just plan and eat what you want to have and fit it into your calorie goal daily- or decide that occasionally you will eat at your maintenance level- rather than have the mentality that you are having cheat days every week. I think it is easier to learn how to eat for life without the cheat day mentality.

    I don't believe it does much to your metabolism to go way over your calorie goal one day a week. It won't damage you but I seriously doubt you will lose any more weight than if you just stick to your calorie goal every day.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    I don't do "cheat", as I'm not doing anything wrong. Make what you want fit into your allotment.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
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    I don't really do 'cheat' days. There are occasions where I don't feel good and just say *kitten* it, but normally, I just try fit what I want into my daily calories. That being said, I don't worry as much about logging for holiday meals with family. That would just be depressing!
  • cazbit
    cazbit Posts: 122 Member
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    swilde1978 wrote: »
    Cheat days are a way of telling your brain, your body and yourself that healthy eating will only ever be a temporary change.

    Seconded!
  • cityruss
    cityruss Posts: 2,493 Member
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    Your deficit is all that matters.
  • maillemaker
    maillemaker Posts: 1,253 Member
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    I frequently have days where I don't hit my calorie goal. But I am still hitting a deficit. To me, this is not a "cheat", it's just that I did not hit my full 1000-calorie deficit goal. But I'm still in a deficit, so I'm still losing weight.

    To me, the idea of a "cheat" day means eat whatever (and how much ever) I want to. And that is synonymous for me with "falling off the wagon". Once I get into a place where I've said "Phuck it, I am going to eat whatever and how much ever I want", I'm on dangerous ground, because it's easy to then say, "Phuck it, I blew it yesterday, so I'll blow it today. I'll start again next week."

    That's the way every diet I've ever been on ended.

    Allowing myself to get into an "I don't care" mode is disaster.
  • ungeneric
    ungeneric Posts: 60 Member
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    I have a semi-cheat-day thing, where I don't calorie count over the weekend. I still exercise, I don't use it as an excuse to binge eat, I just sort of listen to my body and my emotions. I am sure that I probably go over my calories on the days I don't count, but I don't think it's by very much, and I find the emotional benefits of being able to relax fully on my weekends to be a big pick-me-up. When I've done calorie counting in the past, I tended to be a perfectionist, which caused me to get discouraged if I missed a day; now I just aim to count 5 days out of 7 and not completely let myself go on the days I don't count. Seems to be working.
  • NoIdea101NoIdea
    NoIdea101NoIdea Posts: 659 Member
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    I used to have cheat days, but i found they were doing me more 'harm' than good in terms of weight loss. So now i don't have them-or at least, plan for them. I have found that if i don't plan to have one, i feel less guilty when i do eventually have a day where i over eat.
  • KrisiAnnH
    KrisiAnnH Posts: 352 Member
    edited July 2015
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    Tons of good replies already so I won't bother reiterating what everyone else has said on the 'factor it into your daily calories' side of things.

    However I will say, for me personally, I have a 'treat' meal once a week, whether it's takeaway or a meal out, where I eat ro maintenance calories for the day. I try and make good choices the rest of the day too so I have max calories left for my treat meal. And if there's anything else I want I'll just make it fit within my calories for the day. I've also started using my weekly net cals as my goal instead of just daily, so I can be under here or go over there as and when I need :) seems to be working for me so far as I haven't felt the need to binge yet
  • tbbhealthanista
    tbbhealthanista Posts: 25 Member
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    jessidarklighter wrote: »
    I first started implementing cheat days after reading an article in a magazine. The article said cheat days are good for two reasons. First, it keeps you on track for the rest of the week because you tell yourself you only have to wait to the end of the week to get that item you've been craving, and second, abruptly consuming more calories tricks your body into adjusting your metabolism, creating a better fat burn for the lesser calorie amounts you consume in the rest of the week. Now I will be honest, I'm not sure I could bear to give up cheat days altogether, but if they really are bad I might moderate them a little. So I want your opinion. Cheat days, yes or no? and why?

    I personally know that when I'm trying to lose weight, I don't have a cheat "day," but rather a cheat meal. I allow myself something out of the norm, but try not to get too crazy with it. So instead of the standard lean protein and veggies for dinner, I might do a chicken/cheese tortellini with carbonara. It's a food I enjoy, but don't eat that often, so I savor the one meal and go back to my regular meals. The longer you stay on track, your stomach will tell you whether or not that was a good move ;) Haha.

    Small bowl of Butterfinger Ice Cream last weekend after a month on track = stomach cramps and immediate heartburn.

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