Cheat days?

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MandiSaysHey
MandiSaysHey Posts: 304 Member
in Motivation and Support
How often do you have cheat days? Do you do it by a calendar time frame like once a week or every other week? Or do you do it based on successes like one cheat day for every 5lbs lost?

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  • Pandabear0324
    Pandabear0324 Posts: 425 Member
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    I don't do "cheat" days per say.. I log everything everyday. Sometimes I make poor food choices that could be called "cheat meals". But if I am going to have taco bell for dinner I make sure I have the calories for it. This seems to be working for me so far. :)
  • dhimaan
    dhimaan Posts: 774 Member
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    I make sure I hit my protein goals and fill the rest in with whatever. I don't need to cheat.
  • fiddletime
    fiddletime Posts: 1,862 Member
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    I also don't do cheat days but occasionally go over my calories. I log it and move on. Sometimes it's a meal that I know I'll go over on (like Thanksgiving) but more commonly I eat some extra calories because I'm hungry. Since I've been losing steadily for 5 months I suspect on the "hungry days" that I underestimated my exercise calories.
  • joshuakcaron
    joshuakcaron Posts: 343 Member
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    mclark552 wrote: »
    How often do you have cheat days? Do you do it by a calendar time frame like once a week or every other week? Or do you do it based on successes like one cheat day for every 5lbs lost?

    I don't do cheat days, I plan ahead. I bank calories if I plan on eating out (I have all you can eat sushi once every other week.) I've lost nearly 50lbs now since September.
  • squeeeyk
    squeeeyk Posts: 165 Member
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    I switched to 80/20 clean eating two weeks ago and couldn't be happier. On weekends I tend to relax and eat more processed, but I don't think of those days as cheat days, really. It's all sort of built in throughout my week. If I really want something through the week that's processed or junk food related, I make sure I've had all the nutrients I really need first, then decide if I still want it. Sometimes I do and I have it, other times I realize I'm full or that it isn't worth it to me. In any case, restriction just makes me go the opposite direction, EVERY TIME. I'm like a child that way. Lol.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,197 Member
    edited November 2015
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    mclark552 wrote: »
    How often do you have cheat days?

    I don't take cheat days.


    1) I eat only foods I like, and I keep them within my calorie limit. When I started here, I decided that if I only have a certain number of calories to use, I am not wasting them on anything I don't like.

    2) If I want to eat more, I exercise for it. Happily, I really enjoy exercise and I'm quite active. Going out and cycling 100 km on the weekend gives me enough calories to have things like pizza.

    3) I took a 1-month diet break at the 4-month point, after I reached my first goal of 15 kg lost. I went to Canada on holiday. I needed that, and interestingly, I didn't gain as much weight as I thought I might. All the exercise I did during my holiday might have helped. I also lost it really quickly when I resumed the diet.

    4) Before that diet break, I did not go over my calories. I kept within my limit every single day. I'm stubborn that way ... and of course, exercise helps, as mentioned above.

    5) After that diet break, I had one "celebration meal" that went over my calories (my husband and my anniversary in August). I went over by about 300 cal for the day, but was still within my calories for the week.

    6) Two weekends ago I took another diet break ... a "celebration weekend" ... to celebrate the end of a particularly difficult course. It is also 4 months since my last diet break, and I have lost a total of 24 kg now. So for three days I ate whatever I wanted to eat ... plus I cycled 90 km, walked 12 km and climbed numerous stairs. I gained no weight.

    7) My next "celebration weekend" will likely be Christmas ... and by then I hope to be in maintenance anyway.

  • sunandmoons
    sunandmoons Posts: 415 Member
    edited November 2015
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    Just no. I'm not into cheating myself. No reason to stall/derail the process. Defeats the purpose.
  • kissedbythesunshine
    kissedbythesunshine Posts: 416 Member
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    I don't do cheat days. I do have days where I want something that's high calorie like a thick slice of chocolate cheesecake. Whenever that happens I am sure to workout more that day to make up for the extra calories I go over by. If I know ahead of time (like an event or going out) I bank extra calories leading up to that day. In short, no cheat days. Just a little 1st grade math to work out the calories.
  • morgancs21
    morgancs21 Posts: 39 Member
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    Saturdays are my "cheat day". I do slow carb dieting which limits my carbs all week and the Saturdays I use to eat whatever I want. I have PCOS so this works best for me since I have insulin resistance and I can't just "eat what I want" during the week as long as I'm at my calories.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    I don't "cheat". I live. And I know that sometimes there will be treats and indulgences. I let those take care of themselves. I don't plan for them, other than casually noting that holidays tend to be indulgences days. Otherwise, I just live and know that indulgences will happen.
  • jenniferpiotrowski0
    jenniferpiotrowski0 Posts: 215 Member
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    Technically I don't have cheat days for myself but I do have days that I go over by mistake but most of the time its cuz I'm at a birthday party,a social gathering,I had to go out to eat with the family,its Christmas/the holidays or things just didn't go as planned so I let it slide. But I sort of assume these days to be my cheat days
  • JShailen
    JShailen Posts: 184 Member
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    I guess I do a 'cheat' meal about once a week, but I log it to the best of my ability. This is generally when I'm going out to a restaurant and don't really want to order soup and a salad...It's the reason I have my current deficit set to 1 pound instead of 1/2. The extra 250 calories or so that I bank each day give me some breathing room for that one splurge.
  • rebeccaEsmith
    rebeccaEsmith Posts: 1,136 Member
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    Saturdays after bootcamp way in!

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