Cheat meals- yay or nay?

Yay. It's good to enjoy treats once in a while. Just fit it into your goals, and even if you overdo it once in a while, really not gonna do much damage in the big picture.

Cheat meals are great to reset your fat burning hormone leptin. Make sure to fit that 'cheat meal' within your daily calorie needs and it won't interfere with your diet, in fact it will make you burn even more fat.

I don't. I work everything I like to eat into my normal meals.

The only "free days" I have are special celebrations, like holidays, and on those days, I don't allow myself to binge, but rather eat a moderate amount but without specifically trying to count calories.

That said, if it works for you, go for it. I would suggest, though, that you also look to see if you're being too restrictive if you feel the need for regular "cheats". I will not give up anything for a diet that I won't give up forever, since the diet is really practice for the rest of my life maintaining weight.

Exercise the calories off

There is no cheating. It is just math. There is calories in and out.

If you are run down and feel spent, it may be time to look at your nutrition you are getting or size of calorie deficit

There lots of half truths on MFP, like a calorie is hat a calorie. Nutrition goes to how you feel and function.

If you have a 300-500 calorie a day deficit total, and feel a frequent need to eat more, look at what you are eating

I do burn off a bunch of calories on some training days. I eat back a bit of that calorie burn. Sometimes it may be pizza. And that isn't a cheat meal. It is just doing the math.

Maybe exercise more and eat more when you want to. It is just math, no morality or cheating.

I think it all depends on the person and there is no correct answer as to whether or not they're "good" to have.
For me personally, they help me remain sane to a point.
A cheat meal once in a great while will really help me stay on track. Notice I said meal, and not day, which is something I've also tried with absolutely no success whatsoever. An entire day of "cheating" turns into binging for me, and I was seeing my weight increase significantly in a short amount of time (and not water weight, trust me, I ate a lot).
A cheat meal will generally either be for dinner or as a later snack; by having it later in the day I'm generally in more social settings enjoying it with my friends or family, and since I don't start my day with this cheat meal I'm not tempted to disregard the rest of my day indulging in delicious foods. I also plan all of my cheat meals in advance so it doesn't turn into a binge, which is something I've struggled with in the past.
In maintenance, I save myself 500 calories for dinner and 400 for a snack. If I have a cheat meal for dinner, I'll generally consume around 2,000-3,000 calories for dinner (I still save 500 for that meal, so my surplus isn't as much), and then for snack I'll reduce it to around 200 calories for a protein bar. If I have a cheat meal for dessert, I'll enjoy my 500 calorie dinner, and then consume around 1,000 or 2,000 calories on a snack (again, I would still save my 400 calories to help reduce the damage).
That being said, not all of my cheat meals turn out like that, just most of them. I prefer using it towards a dinner and not a snack, since the sugar overload leaves me feeling quite nauseous. If I use it towards dinner, I try to watch my sodium for the rest of the day (and the ones that follow) since I'm very salt sensitive.
I generally have cheat meals once I notice my weight falling below the range I have for myself in maintenance, and I notice myself being hungry all the time. That way, this cheat meal sets me back on track and allows me to indulge in something I've been craving for a while. Nothing feels better than being able to eat an entire pint of Ben & Jerry's!

Don't plan in cheat meals , unless your really lean they don't help. Simply eat within your calorie target and when its Christmas/Birthday/Family nights out let loose for a meal. Don't worry about it or call it a cheat just go back to business as usual afterwards.

There are tons of threads on this.

I personally don't "cheat" on my way of eating and living. I have indulgences from time to time, but never consider that "cheating", just living. And, I don't plan them, or make them goals, they happen often enough just by living.

catherinecollins1420 wrote: »

Hey guys! So what are your opinions on cheat meals? I've heard they're good because they rev up the body's fat burning, I've heard they're bad because your body just stores the uncommon meal as all fat, so I'm just trying to separate fact from fiction! Also, I am wondering if having a cheat meal interferes too much with weight loss? Thanks!

They don't rev up the body's fat burning and they don't store the uncommon meal as fat. I'm team yay as I need a meal with unrestricted calories every once and a while to keep my sanity.

I go to maintenance when the going gets rough. Not exactly the same as having a cheat meal but calorie-wise might be similar.

It depends on the person and depends on the person's goals. If you're someone who can 'do' moderation and let the cheat meal be just that-one meal. Some people can't and it starts them on somewhat of a downward spiral of eating more foods that will be counterproductive to their goals.

This past week has been a little rough but typically I eat two meals a day that are both over 1000 calories to some people those would be cheat meals but to me its a life style.

As long as I get 50 grams of Fat and 150 grams of protein in everyday I could careless what the food is considered to someone else.. My 2 cents

It all comes down to math. You want to eat something high in calories? Fine. You can either bank some calories for it and stay at your overall calorie goal/deficit for the week, you can log as planned then eat it and expect a slower rate of loss that week (or not if the "cheat" meal fits within your calorie goals). Just...track. That's the important part right now. And there is nothing magical about a cheat meal. The most magical thing it will do for me is add some fat back into my diet as I tend to be low on it in a deficit, which does feel good. But, I don't consider it a cheat meal. It's just food...that I put in my body.

If cheating is increased calories, I do that fairly regularly.

If cheating is going out of my WOE (like eating a high carb meal) then no, I don't cheat.

SideSteel wrote: »

Regarding leptin upregulation, I don't think we have evidence to support single day food increases as being meaningful. Leptin goes up in response to additional carbohydrate but (apparently) going back into a calorie deficit causes it to immediately drop back down again, making it basically useless.

Lyle Mcdonald (to my knowledge) was the guy who originally brought refeeds on to the fitness scene and he's recently discussed this at length (IIRC on Sigma Nutrition Radio). Extended diet breaks could have a small effect.

Having said that, you could still make an argument in favor of refeeds and I still recommend that some people do them. Short term improved performance (whether glycogen mediated or placebo), long term diet adherence improvements.

And for the majority of people who are not already lean, it's the adherence piece that's the big one.

Does having a day at higher caloric intake give you better long term adherence while still keeping you in a net deficit? Then it's a good thing.

But this isn't the case for everyone, and viewing it as a "cheat day" can be problematic for some people from a behavioral standpoint.

Well said. tl;dr if you're struggling with your diet once a week eat a little more for your sanity and there may be some metabolic benefits as well.