How many "cheat" days can you have a week and still lose weight?

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tishie1
tishie1 Posts: 19 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been having 3 cheat days a week where I don't count calories and I gain ALL the weight I lost ( the previous 4 days) back everytime. Has anyone else has this happen? How many days a week have you found that you can go off myfitnesspal and still lose weight in the long run?
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Replies

  • ariana_eatsandlifts
    ariana_eatsandlifts Posts: 197 Member
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    None. I can eat back a whole week's deficit in one meal if I give myself the chance.
  • random5483
    random5483 Posts: 63 Member
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    I don't have a cheat day per se. I do have 2-3 days a month where I count all my calories, but allow myself to go over my allocation. I eat 150-200 or so calories on average under my net calorie goal, so I have like 5000 calories saved up each month. If I go 2000 calories over 2-3 times a month, I am still within my overall goal.

    I think 3 cheat days a week is probably too much. And log on your cheat days. It will help you cut back on how much you go over on those days. Or just lower your deficit each day, so you have less of a need for cheat days. The days I go over are due to alcohol or large dinners when I am out with friends. Most other days, I stay under fairly easily. I do have a relatively large allowed calories though (1880 per day) and I eat closer to 2k calories each day once you factor that I eat back ~75% of my exercise calories.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    I don't do any. Why? Because it only hurts me in the long run.

    Do I eat over my MFP goal? Sure. I'll go over. Sometimes to maintenance level calories and sometimes even a little over that. Since it is logged and counted though, I can see how I need to adjust my week and plan ways to fit those days in. If I don't log, then I don't know how much I ate and it's really hard to balance out the unknown.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,952 Member
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    I always log.

    My appetite goes up premenstrually so I eat at maintenance for a few days then, and take this opportunity to have some higher calorie meals.

    Other times when I want higher calorie meals I earn them via exercising more.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    Rather than having regular cheat days I prefer to work the foods I love in every day. I have wine nightly, chocolate most days, chips often. That's not to say that I never have days where I really indulge, I do, but those are usually a special event or a once a week splurge meal. Using the app you can track your weekly deficit and I prefer this approach to make sure that the indulgences do not negate my deficit..
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    Why 3 cheat days a week? Are you even in a deficit?
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
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    ariana_eatsandlifts wrote: »
    None. I can eat back a whole week's deficit in one meal if I give myself the chance.

    This
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
    edited October 2015
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    Uhh....why would you want to do that? Why not just set your goal for 1/2 or 1 pound per week and lose it for good? It will give you more calories to eat which will help you avoid those cheat days.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,575 Member
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    ariana_eatsandlifts wrote: »
    None. I can eat back a whole week's deficit in one meal if I give myself the chance.

    For real. I even have a low goal during the week and if I eat at maintenance on one day during the weekend, I'm barely in a deficit.
  • runningforthetrain
    runningforthetrain Posts: 1,037 Member
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    ariana_eatsandlifts wrote: »
    None. I can eat back a whole week's deficit in one meal if I give myself the chance.

    This. How weird jennifer417- you just posted exactly the same as what I was about to do: jinxMFP
  • dhimaan
    dhimaan Posts: 774 Member
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    I eat whatever I want within my calorie limits, workout and if I create a deficit I lose weight. It is that simple. Don't need to cheat.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,574 Member
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    7...................well I eat what people would call "cheat" food. Ice cream, candy, chips, hot dogs, etc.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • IconStillFree
    IconStillFree Posts: 262 Member
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    I can eat a whole months worth of deficit in 3 days so I choose not to have any cheat days
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    So you are halfway committed to losing weight, but holding on to the style of eating that made you overweight in the first place

    You are sticking to a defecit 4 days but eating in surplus 3

    It will never work

    You could try intermittent fasting ...but what you're doing now isn't it....so eat at maintenance calories 4 days and 500 calories for 3... But I'd strongly suggest just eating food to a defecit across the week, logging everything accurately and moving more

    I don't ever cheat, but I eat any food at all within my calories so feel no urge to
  • nyponbell
    nyponbell Posts: 379 Member
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    You're only cheating yourself - especially by not logging, because then you have no idea where you stand (or where you should stand). I also think that logging can help prevent the excessive surplus. Now don't get me wrong, I too have days when I'm in the red (depending on what my week is like I have 2 or 3) but since I'm logging I try to always make sure that even if I'm in the red, I'm still under the built in deficit for my goal. There has been two days since I restarted 3 weeks ago that I've been in a "total" surplus (that is to say, over my calorie burn) but I'm aware of it and mindful of it going forward.

    So regardless of how you end up eating ("cheat meals" or not) I would really suggest logging it. I would also suggest working in some of your favourite treats ("cheats") into your existing plan.

    Or, is it the lack of logging and the freedom it gives you that you like? Try to pre-log everything and pre-package where possible so that you "don't have to think about it" for that day, since it's already done. I do that, and although I might have to adjust during the day, it helps a lot because I don't have to take time when I'm eating to update and search for items or weigh them etc etc.
  • allenpriest
    allenpriest Posts: 1,102 Member
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    tishie1 wrote: »
    I have been having 3 cheat days a week where I don't count calories and I gain ALL the weight I lost ( the previous 4 days) back everytime. Has anyone else has this happen? How many days a week have you found that you can go off myfitnesspal and still lose weight in the long run?

    None. Why would you not track what you are doing so that you make good choices. Sounds like you are"dieting" and so you are feeling deprived. Then you splurge and binge. That sets you up for failure. Plan everything. Set modest goals. This will take time to do it right. This is about a permanent change in lifestyle. Not about short term deprivation.
  • sarahbarbara012345
    sarahbarbara012345 Posts: 20 Member
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    I try not to have cheat meals. Maybe a couple times a month. Otherwise if I have more I start undoing all my hard work. :/
  • allenpriest
    allenpriest Posts: 1,102 Member
    edited October 2015
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    So you are halfway committed to losing weight, but holding on to the style of eating that made you overweight in the first place
    ...

    It will never work

    Your actiouns say you don't really want to lose. You sorta do, but not really. Not intensely. Why make yourself miserable. Just give it up until you are so sick and tired of being overweight that nothing will stop you. Then it won't be as much of a burden.
  • anasvitlii
    anasvitlii Posts: 267 Member
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    I'd say none, if you really want to lose. But if you're having crises, we're all humans, you go ahead and break your rules, but burn extra calories till the end ofthe day.. If you burn half of what you log, you'll lose :)
  • 85Cardinals
    85Cardinals Posts: 733 Member
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    4 or 5. Go with 4 to be safe.

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