Cheat day/meal question, 1200 calories people

Back when I was doing the "body for life" program it suggested having one cheat day a week. I lost at least twenty pounds with that diet and it really helped during the week knowing at max you only had six days until you could eat whatever you were craving. And half the time when that day rolled around your cravings had changed, and after dieting and working out for six days even if you wanted say a whole pizza you didn't have the stomach room to eat that much. Plus after a crazy cheat day I would find my next cheat day a lot more tame because I would remember how miserable I was from trying to eat a bunch of oily or processed foods when I was eating clean.

I would play around with the cheat day until you find what works best for you. And it is a cheat day! So don't worry about how many calories you are eating, just enjoy them and satisfy yourself (:

I don't cheat. I eat. I had a McDonald's Double Cheese burger on Saturday. It wasn't a 'cheat day' it fit my macros and my calories. They never seem to taste as good as when I was drunk and fat and ate 15 at once though....

I don't cheat. If I am hungry I will take a day and eat at maintenance, then go back to deficit eating.
Eating less calories, exercising, all of that was a big step for me, no way I'm going to risk all of that by cheating. One can easily ruin a week's worth of deficit by blindly eating whatever one wants during a 'cheat' day, I'm not going to do that.

I don't do cheat days or cheat meals. If an occasion crops up I'll go over my daily calories without worrying about it and just carry on with my deficit. I think if I made a conscious effort to have a cheat meal once a week or once a month 1 cheat meal would become 2, would become 3 etc., but that's just me.

I don't cheat. I work what I want into my day. I had ridiculously chocolate cake (chocolate cassata, chocolate cupcakes, and the old-fashioned chocolate cake, all out of Death By Chocolate) every day from Christmas through January 3rd or so, and still managed to lose weight over the holidays. I ate healthier stuff throughout the day so I could "afford" the splurge on calories.

I usually do a cheat meal once a week when my husband and I eat out. For 1200 calorie folk, a word of caution, though; often, a cheat meal could be your calorie allowance for an entire day, so you could easily "undo" the week's progress. I did a cheat meal at Bertucci's this week and logged it. The shrimp scampi entree was 1250 calories (not counting dressed salad and roll), and because I had done a heavy workout that day, I was starved, so I ate the whole thing. Not surprisingly, I'm up a pound. Perhaps what is more reasonable is to allow a treat, but in moderation.

I usually eat more on the weekends, so I plan my week accordingly. Most of my extra calories on those days come from a bigger dinner (like several slices of pizza). Having those higher calorie days didn't really affect my weight loss; was still able to get down to goal weight and achieve the flat tummy that I was looking for.

Exercising helps give me some extra calories on those days as well!

I may eat a Five Guys Burger this week; I think it is roughly 1,000 calories. Is it cheating on Wendy's or McDonald's? What is getting cheated? Is this an IRA audit trap?

I don't plan a cheat day, but I don't beat myself up if I end up over. For example, yesterday I went out to a spontaneous lunch with a friend on my off-day from the gym. I definitely ate more than I planned. I drank lots of water, and today I will work a bit harder and longer at the gym.

I don't have cheat days. I try to fit everything into my 1200 calories. If I work out I will eat back half of my workout calories and I can get more calories on those days. I did go over my calories on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I just got right back to it the next day, plus worked out. For me planning a day to overeat just seems counterproductive to changing my lifestyle. I eat what I want, I just work it into my calorie goal.

GsKiki wrote: »

I don't do cheat days, I just eat everything in moderation.
I tried cheat days before and it was terrible. Just made me crave everything more, and I would always feel sick afterwards.
So now I eat whatever I want, just in moderation and make it work in my schedule and routine.

This exactly.

This is the 3rd time I've embarked on the serious weight loss path. I've lost my weight twice before and gained it back over a period of several years. I've done low carb diets and other diets that didn't allow me to have any of my favorite foods. Probably the most successful I've ever been in the past was eating healthy all week long (counting calories and not any particular diet) but I always allowed myself to enjoy one meal, usually on Saturday. I love food and I don't feel like I'm deprived of everything that way. I've tried having a piece of chocolate here and there, but my problem is that I can't stop at just one piece! It was also hard before my husband joined me. Yesterday I cooked pork chops breaded with French's onions, Mac n Chz, peas and cornbread for my teenage boys (whose metabolism is through the roof) without blowing my diet. I'm only able to do that because I still get to enjoy that kind of food once weekly. So I say, find what works for you and run with it! If you overdo it, the next time you'll prolly be more mindful of your portions.

I like a flex day once every week or two. Sometimes that means just having an uncounted restaurant meal or take-out, and sometimes it's a full blown party day with booze and cheese and deserts and all the good stuff. I try to make sure this flex meal/day is something I really savour and enjoy. Then I get back to counting

I don't have any cheat days. It is too much of a slippery slope for me. If I eat one cookie I'll have 6 more. I usually get thru the day just fine...but if I'm hungry in the evening I go to bed early!

I have a cheat meal once a week - not on a planned day, just when it happens and balance the rest of the week out. If you are working out and good 90% of the time why not have a pizza every now and then? It'll drive you mad if you deny yourself