Cheat days ?
thebrandnewdiva
Posts: 84 Member
What's your opinion on them and how often do you have them ? Me personally I like goal oriented cheat days instead of weekly, and I find that it helps me break through a plateau. But I can't seem to completely "let loose" on a cheat day cuz I kind of feel like it's a test. If you have to binge on a cheat day then how are you gonna be when the weight loss phase is over ? Just my opinion
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i have a cheat meal once a week what ever i like within my calorie goal i usually skip lunch to allow for more calories at tea time that day0
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I don't have them because since joining MFP, I've come to learn a lot about my relationship with food and calling any high calorie food 'cheating' just enforces that I'm doing something I shouldn't be - eating. I take issue with this kind of attitude towards my food. I don't cheat, I work damm hard for that pizza to equal me being a cheater! I eat what I like in moderation - be it pizza, chocolate, crisps. I'll have it. But I'm still winning!0
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I try not to have cheat days. It takes me too long to get back on track, because when I go over I go WAY over! I work what I want to eat into my daily allotted calories. If I am going out to dinner I try to plan for that as well. I eat what I want just in moderation. Now don't get me wrong there are days when I go over especially during PMS so I try to exercise a little more. By the way I love those shoes in your profile pic!!!!0
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You'll find a wide variety of opinion on this.
I'm yet to find anyone that can give a cast-iron definition as to what a "cheat day" is, or what is being "cheated".
For me, you're just consuming foods that contain calories. You either do this whilst maintaining a calorie deficit, a maintenance level, or a calorie surplus.
If you do the above by eating a lettuce six days a week, then 26 pizzas on one day, you're simply creating a way to achieve your deficit, maintenance or surplus.
Nothing is being cheated.
I also don't like the emotional attachment that the whole "cheat" thing has. It throws up negative connotations surrounding food. Food is just food, it contains calories and macronutrients. That's all.0 -
Why the false equation between a cheat day and binging (disordered behavior)?0
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having somthing i wouldnt usually have like chilli or a chicken dinner or pizza0 -
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Cheating implies doing something wrong. I'm not. If what I'm having, doesn't happen to fit, then I log it and move on.0
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When I was obese I could have a cheat day. Now it takes blood sweat, tears, whining, sobbing, and sweating to lose anything because my BMR is less than 1500 cal a day. No way can I have a cheat meal, much less a day, because my idea of a cheat is a stupid amount of food anyway. One cheat meal equals bye bye all my hard work for at least a week. A cheat day and I'd knock out a month.0
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thebrandnewdiva wrote: »brianpperkins wrote: »Why the false equation between a cheat day and binging (disordered behavior)?
Most ppl go all out on cheat days and binge to make up for the restriction. I'm simply saying that I don't feel comfortable doing that and look at cheat days as more of a break from counting
So, according to your posts in this thread "most" people engage in disordered behaviors ... i.e binges ... to have a cheat day. The examples provided by others in this tread counter your assertion.0 -
For some god foresaken reason for the past 40 years when coming in from tops I have to cheat no matter if it's only a few cookies sometimes more. Last night was an ice cream sand. a piece of apple pie. Then a hand full of peanuts. And that left me with a gain that I now must deal with. But right back on track this morning.0
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cheating implies that said food you are "cheating" with is bad…I don't do cheat days. I just eat the foods that I like and make sure that I am falling within micro/macro/calorie targets for the day. yes, I have ocassional over days but I don't view them as cheating or bad. Free your mind from the good food/bad food concept that is being peddled by bloggers, the fitness industry, and magazines.0
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having somthing i wouldnt usually have like chilli or a chicken dinner or pizza
why would those foods be cheating? They can be part of an overall healthy diet….0 -
having somthing i wouldnt usually have like chilli or a chicken dinner or pizza
Ok, so you feel that you are cheating yourself, by eating foods that you are normally restricting.
See, I sort of get that. I'm just not sure the word "cheat" is correct.0 -
thebrandnewdiva wrote: »brianpperkins wrote: »thebrandnewdiva wrote: »brianpperkins wrote: »Why the false equation between a cheat day and binging (disordered behavior)?
Most ppl go all out on cheat days and binge to make up for the restriction. I'm simply saying that I don't feel comfortable doing that and look at cheat days as more of a break from counting
So, according to your posts in this thread "most" people engage in disordered behaviors ... i.e binges ... to have a cheat day. The examples provided by others in this tread counter your assertion.
Go away
Quit linking cheat days to binging. Words mean things. Perhaps you've noticed that there is no "cheat day eating disorder" but there is such a thing as binge eating disorder.
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Cheat days are just to tempt us to eat more and gain weight again which we tried to lose over the past couple of weeks or so. I usually have days like this once a month..But I walk or run in order to cut down all d calories I had that day and to be within my goal always... No matter what day it is!
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I like the idea that the use of the word 'cheat' isn't really a good way to frame it. I wouldn't want to call it a 'fun' day either though, because I find looking at food as entertainment is a terrible idea for me. What would it be called if not a cheat meal or cheat day?0
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I don't "cheat." I eat what I love, and I maintain a caloric deficit. I enjoy all the same foods and when I go over my calories, I log it and enjoy it. Eating over calories or eating foods that some people seem unhealthy does not have a direct correlation with bingeing.0
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I have semantics and ideas about this that are important to me:
I call it a Treat, not a Cheat, and it's a meal, and I try to log it and get it within, if not a daily, a weekly deficit.
The reason I differentiate it from my standard diet is that, nutritionally speaking, it may not be something that would be brilliant to have every day, but looking forward to a couple of pieces of pizza and a couple of beers on a Friday night, for example, is what keeps me going some days!
I know there's a school of thought that food should be fuel, not reward (and geez did my Attack instructor bang on about that this week...), but I use it as a reward fairly often. I like it, it motivates me, and it's an indulgence I always enjoy. It's not my only reward/indulgence, of course, but, by having limitations on it, from small daily treats to larger weekly treats, I'm able to enjoy using food as a reward and maintain a healthy weight. It's the only thing that's ever worked for me.0 -
I like the idea that the use of the word 'cheat' isn't really a good way to frame it. I wouldn't want to call it a 'fun' day either though, because I find looking at food as entertainment is a terrible idea for me. What would it be called if not a cheat meal or cheat day?
Nothing, it doesn't need to be named, as it's not a thing.
How about a "Today I ate a dietary intake that resulted in a calorie surplus because I chose to eat foods that resulted in that surplus"
Or a TDIAADITRIACSBICTEFTRITS day.
Obviously a TDIAADITRIACSBICTEFTRITS day, can be a TDIAADITRIACDBICTEFTRITS day, if a deficit is achieved.
Or a TDIAADITRIACMLBICTEFTRITS, if a maintenance level of calories is achieved.0 -
I like the idea that the use of the word 'cheat' isn't really a good way to frame it. I wouldn't want to call it a 'fun' day either though, because I find looking at food as entertainment is a terrible idea for me. What would it be called if not a cheat meal or cheat day?
Nothing, it doesn't need to be named, as it's not a thing.
How about a "Today I ate a dietary intake that resulted in a calorie surplus because I chose to eat foods that resulted in that surplus"
Or a TDIAADITRIACSBICTEFTRITS day.
Obviously a TDIAADITRIACSBICTEFTRITS day, can be a TDIAADITRIACDBICTEFTRITS day, if a deficit is achieved.
Or a TDIAADITRIACMLBICTEFTRITS, if a maintenance level of calories is achieved.
Hahaha brilliant!0
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