Cheat days (calling all successful people) lol

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  • kak22283
    kak22283 Posts: 31 Member
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    I'm down 30 lbs since May 1st. What I consider a cheat day is eating at maintaining levels, no more than once ever other week, and logging everything i eat regardless... I don't deprive myself in the first place so I really don't feel the need to cheat... It's kind of like being married, once you choose the lifestyle, you don't cheat.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,986 Member
    edited August 2015
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    BrittaniDirks wrote: »
    Thanks ladies. Also what do you do if a place is not in the database? I love a local Mexican place it us authentic and not a chain, I thought about comparing / just putting in the same item from a diff restraunt. Do u do buffets at all? My husband loves the Chinese buffets, not saying that as an excuse I know I could just eat salad, but it's tough. Ok I'm thinking no more cheat days then I will try my darnedest to count everyday of the week.

    For items not in the database I just do the best I can. At this point in my logging, I know what a 400 vs 600 vs 800 calorie meal feels like and so can do a reality check against a user-entered database entry.

    I've done buffets at family gatherings, but not restaurants. There's surely a middle ground between all the fried food and salad. I give myself maintenance calories for a few days when I have my period and that's when I have higher calorie food.

    In Food psychologist Brian Wansink's book Mindless Eating, he shares some tips about buffets. This book was available in my library system so maybe yours as well.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
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    72 lbs down and maintaining/aiming to lose very very very slowly from here on out. When I was actively logging everything, I never used the term cheat meal/cheat day. I would average my calories for the week. If I had a day I knew I would be eating over my deficit calories, I would add exercise or try to be a little under my goal for a few days to follow.

    I still follow a similar practice now. Went to a wedding this weekend and drank a lot/ate a lot. Today I'm going to have smaller meals than normal. This coming week I'm going to make sure I lift 2X and have smaller meals/fewer snacks. I have a few set breakfasts and lunches of varying calorie counts. I'll pick the 100 calorie breakfast for a few days instead of the 300 calorie one, for a little. I will weigh myself and if I don't see my weight return to normal after the water-weight gain that comes with alcohol, I'll start weighing all of my food and eating at a specific goal calorie number.
  • emiliebecause
    emiliebecause Posts: 63 Member
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    Great question and super helpful answers. Thanks everyone.
  • Altagracia220
    Altagracia220 Posts: 876 Member
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    5'9, 24 year old here. From Jan 2015 to June 2015 I lost 54 pounds. Starting last February, I decided I should have one cheat meal per week because I still wanted to enjoy my favorite foods. My rule was that I could eat whatever I wanted, as long as it was during one meal, once per week. The rest of the week I would eat under 1800 calories and exercise 5x-6x a week. I regularly lost 1-3 pounds a week. Currently trying to get back on track. I think a cheat meal is a great idea once a week. I don't think cheating all day is a good idea though, unless you stay under maintenance calories.
  • insearchofcheese
    insearchofcheese Posts: 45 Member
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    I waited until I was about 20lbs down and two months into it before I started having "cheat" days. Having said that, they are actually calculated and I always make sure my average weekly calories keep me in deficit. I have my "cheat" day on my weigh in day. I've been very successful. Now down 45 lbs. I wouldn't have trusted myself in the beginning to handle it.
  • glenelliott5872
    glenelliott5872 Posts: 150 Member
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    I have been on mfp for over two years. I don't do cheat days. I sometimes go over and sometimes under. I concentrate on trying to ensure I am always under for the week. There are always going to be celebrations, family events etc but take them in your stride and move on. Generally a fixed calorie target per day is best while ignoring exercise. I.e. If you are truly sedentary then set your target accordingly but if you need to eat more and you are exercising regularly then again set your daily calorie target for lightly active etc.
  • sars388
    sars388 Posts: 29 Member
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    I don't cheat unless I get drunk. Mysteriously on the occasions I have had a drink I tend to lose weight quicker over the following 2 weeks. Currently 49 / 50lbs gone..
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
    edited August 2015
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    No cheat days, dont think eating on a certain day more calories than another is cheating. It is just normal life..a normal eating day.

    Lost 103 pounds in 9 months by eating everything, just moderation and portion control.
    And some days when there is something special, go out, party, birthday...or just because i wanted to eat something i saw....i eat higher calories amount that day...that is not cheating.

  • boogiewookie
    boogiewookie Posts: 206 Member
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    29lbs down 13 to goal weight (but once I'm there ill reevaluate and probably want to lose more) I just had family in town for 3 weeks and had "cheat days" basically every day lol. I still lost 3 lbs (my weight loss slowed from the 2.5lb/week rate I was maintaining) I just spent A LOT of time being hungry. if I knew we were having pizza/burgers or whatever I budgeted it. im sure I went over my calories quite often but I weighed myself daily and when the # started creeping up I made up for it the next day.
  • BrittaniDirks
    BrittaniDirks Posts: 113 Member
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    thanks everyone!!
  • htg20
    htg20 Posts: 116 Member
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    I do a "free" day once every two weeks. I usually log my breakfast and lunch just to keep my logins. I eat anything I want that day. Anything. I also gave myself complete eating freedom while at the beach last week (8 days) and two days after my return, my weight was unchanged. I ate so much, I have no idea how. Now I'm back on track.
  • snowflakesav
    snowflakesav Posts: 647 Member
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    On really active days I have flexibility to eat nearly whatever I want. i have been maintaining for about 8 years.
  • NicoleMKlein
    NicoleMKlein Posts: 18 Member
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    I have lost 65 pounds in 6 months. I cheat at least once a week, and usually two times. I don't go crazy I eat my normal low cal breakfast and lunch and then have a "cheat" dinner. 4 times since I started I have really gone crazy (wine and cheese party, trip to watkins glen ) and I still had losses! We still have to live!!
  • JeffBrown3
    JeffBrown3 Posts: 161 Member
    edited August 2015
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    I know I'm in the minority, but I always eat what I want on Sundays. I do not track calories, its my day off. I do eat somewhat sensible portions and not stuff myself. It's never stalled weight loss in my experience. And usually it's restaurant food, or if I can't afford to, I make something good at home. I am finding myself not even wanting restaurant food more and more these days. Everything seems to taste way too salty.

    ETA - one meal not all three meals.
  • tincanonastring
    tincanonastring Posts: 3,944 Member
    edited August 2015
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    I'm down 40 pounds and counting. I don't believe in cheat days because your body doesn't work that way. Our days don't exist in a vacuum, so it's quite possible to turn a nice weekly deficit into a surplus with one night of splurging. However, understanding that and putting it into practice are two entirely separate things. Simply put, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. I'm terrible about logging on the weekends (but I try to eat no more than maintenance whether I'm logging or not) and there are days when I eat with reckless abandon. I know what that means for my weight loss, though, so I just try to keep those days at a minimum.
  • melissaRmennone
    melissaRmennone Posts: 11 Member
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    Ive lost 55 pounds since January and cheat every week. Some weekends better then others. Try to be good as much as possible and the bad wont be as bad.
  • dinosaurparty
    dinosaurparty Posts: 185 Member
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    I've lost about 50lbs, though not as quickly as some of the folks here.

    During this final stretch I'm really hunkering down, and I find that what works best for me is to severely limit cheat days. Real cheat days, that is, where you eat and drink as much as you like of whatever you like. I'll have maybe one a month, and I like to make is special. Like last month was my birthday, and this month I got drunk with my friends and floated down a river for six hours in the sunshine. So I don't feel bad that I drank an obscene number of ciders and topped it off with a massive burger.

    One day in thirty or forty isn't so bad. Its when it's every week - then maybe twice a week - then whenever you've had a bad day - that it becomes distructive to me.

    I'll have 'light' cheat days every week or two and fit some junk food into my calories, too. I can't overdo those either, though, or I start to have cravings and eventually fall off the wagon.

    You have to figure out how to balance being kind, and demanding of yourself. Evrryone needs a reward to help them keep going, and if that reward is a cheat day, then so be it. Sure it may slow down your progress a bit, but if it keeps you moving, then that's what counts.
  • brandyosu
    brandyosu Posts: 257 Member
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    Down 33 pounds so far and I do have cheat days. As more time passes, though, I have found that my cheat days are closer and closer to my eating patterns the rest of the time. I didn't even gain water weight after my last one. I say do whatever works for you. If that is a cheat day, go with it. If it isn't, go with that. Good luck to you!

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