Cheat days, what's yours like
Replies
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lithezebra wrote: »cookielover_96 wrote: »Thin_Beauty94 wrote: »You cheat days are sad. Seriously y'all need to live a little
Yup agreed
"Live a little" is what fat people say to you when you lose weight and you don't want to eat French fries or dessert or whatever it is they're trying to get you to eat so you'll be just like everyone else. Some of us need to stick with our good habits, almost all the time, because it reinforces the harder, but healthier, way of eating.
Ok that makes me sad, lol. Can't imagine having to eat that way all my life.
I don't go around being sad about other people's choices, but if I did, I would think that eating treats was a poor substitute for other pleasures.0 -
I do my best not to cheat on a particular day, but if something like the farm show comes up, I enjoy the day, count the calories, share a serving, and balance with exercise for a few days after to burn extra calories. A cheat day would be not logging anything because I know I'll beat myself up for over splurging.0
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snowflake930 wrote: »Larissa_NY wrote: »snowflake930 wrote: »Larissa_NY wrote: »Why would you need a "cheat day" when you're at maintenance? I thought the point of those was to take a diet break.
Sometimes I overdo the tacos and margaritas on a special occasion, but I'm not going to stuff myself just because it's Saturday. That seems weird to me.
If you addressing me about the "Why would you need a "cheat day" when you're at maintenance?" It is because I can not, nor can anyone on maintenance, at least that I know about, eat above maintenance calories, without regaining weight.
I wasn't addressing anyone in particular, and your answer doesn't seem to have anything to do with my question. Yes, if you eat too far over maintenance consistently, for long enough, you'll gain weight. What does that have to do with cheat days and why you'd need them if you're not restricting your calories anymore?
But I am restricting my calories @ maintenance. I don't eat like I did pre-MFP, not anywhere near it. Just so you realize, some of us do not have to eat too far over maintenance to gain weight. And yes, I am restricting my calories. I do not have cheat days. I eat at or below my maintenance calories. I am only eating about 300-400 more calories per day than I did while I was losing. I could easily eat more than double what I am eating at maintenance.
JW, why do you think such a high percentage of people regain all of the weight they lost, and some gain even more than they lost.
Honestly? I always assumed that either (a) they lost the weight doing the Cabbage Soup diet or some such nonsense, and didn't learn useful things like portion sizes, caloric and nutrient density, or the concept of sometimes foods; or (b) depending on how overweight they were, they spent too much time memorizing the number of calories in six grams of carrot cake and not enough time dealing with the issues that caused them to eat enough to sustain two full-grown adults to begin with.
I'm small, female, and over 45, so I don't have a whole lot of wiggle room with regard to calories either, but there would be no way I could consistently eat twice my maintenance calories. I'd just get tired of eating that much. Of course people who were very heavy can't eat like they did before they lost the weight; it just never occurred to me that anyone might actually want to. So this thread has been educational in that regard.
I'm going to edit this and say that it sort of sounds like I'm being snarky, but I'm not. It just really is endlessly fascinating to me that obese people and normal-weight people think about food so differently that it's like it isn't even the same substance.0 -
lithezebra wrote: »lithezebra wrote: »cookielover_96 wrote: »Thin_Beauty94 wrote: »You cheat days are sad. Seriously y'all need to live a little
Yup agreed
"Live a little" is what fat people say to you when you lose weight and you don't want to eat French fries or dessert or whatever it is they're trying to get you to eat so you'll be just like everyone else. Some of us need to stick with our good habits, almost all the time, because it reinforces the harder, but healthier, way of eating.
Ok that makes me sad, lol. Can't imagine having to eat that way all my life.
I don't go around being sad about other people's choices, but if I did, I would think that eating treats was a poor substitute for other pleasures.
Like what... fitting in a size 0 dress? Which I'll never be able to do with my frame anyway...
But more treats for me!0 -
I have some days where I just want to go out with my friends, eat a really good quality burger, some fresh fries and maybe a rack or 14 hour smoked ribs (not all together, wish I could!) and I just don't log it. I know that it's a big number, I also know it wont make a blind bit of difference to my maintenance what so ever
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lithezebra wrote: »lithezebra wrote: »cookielover_96 wrote: »Thin_Beauty94 wrote: »You cheat days are sad. Seriously y'all need to live a little
Yup agreed
"Live a little" is what fat people say to you when you lose weight and you don't want to eat French fries or dessert or whatever it is they're trying to get you to eat so you'll be just like everyone else. Some of us need to stick with our good habits, almost all the time, because it reinforces the harder, but healthier, way of eating.
Ok that makes me sad, lol. Can't imagine having to eat that way all my life.
I don't go around being sad about other people's choices, but if I did, I would think that eating treats was a poor substitute for other pleasures.
Like what... fitting in a size 0 dress? Which I'll never be able to do with my frame anyway...
But more treats for me!
Enjoy your treats, and good luck with your maintenance, @Francl27 . It isn't a contest to be a particular size, just like it isn't necessary to put people down for exercising self control. However, fitting into your ideal size, whatever it is, and staying that way, is worth a few small sacrifices, to me.0 -
Some days I eat more calories than others. Today I was just downright HUNGRY all day. It's alright. It all evens out over a week or so.0
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lithezebra wrote: »cookielover_96 wrote: »Thin_Beauty94 wrote: »You cheat days are sad. Seriously y'all need to live a little
Yup agreed
"Live a little" is what fat people say to you when you lose weight and you don't want to eat French fries or dessert or whatever it is they're trying to get you to eat so you'll be just like everyone else. Some of us need to stick with our good habits, almost all the time, because it reinforces the harder, but healthier, way of eating.
My family tells me to "live a little", and I agree with them. I have good habits and know what is bad. I don't like the idea of depriving myself the foods I enjoy. A little bite won't kill you, it's mainly up to the person themselves to control HOW much they consume.0 -
i cheat once or twice a week and usually go over about 400 to 700 calories. i usually just eat more food instead of sweets. sweets make me feel tired, etc..
Is that you in that profile picture? Dang Girrrrlll!!! What you say about cheating again bc I want what you're sayin'! Proof is in that puddin'0 -
No cheat days for me. If I want something, I eat it (or some of it). I only eat things I love so it always feels like cheating.0
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I've recently come to realize that cheat meals (not necessarily the whole day) are a necessity to keep me sane. On a maintenance diet, clean eating and working out for weeks straight eventually makes me feel weak and lethargic. I do a combination of heavy lifts, HIITs, and long distance cardio. Doing cardio seems to be ok for the most part. Occasionally the HIITs and more frequently lifting heavy just makes me feel like im dragging my feet. I need that recharge.0
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Just to share my last cheat meal a few weeks ago:
Pizza tots (yes, pizza toppings - sausage and pepperoni- on top of tater tots!) and a 1/2 lb burger with bacon and avocado
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I don't have "cheat days" or "cheat meals"...I have days when I'm over on calories and days when I'm under. Most days are pretty packed with nutrition but some aren't or include more "junk" than usual. I don't really view any of that as wrong so I don't perceive what I'm doing to be cheating.0
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I don't perceive it as cheating either. It's just that meal that has more "junk" than usual is just labeled ubiquitously as a "cheat" meal.0
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Just commenting to say that I really, really dislike the notion that someone who's a size 0 has more "self-control" than someone who's a size 2 or a size 10. Not everyone is built to be a size 0. I know I'm not. I weigh 125 lbs at 5'4 and I'm a size 6ish due to a lot of extra skin. No matter how much "self-control" I have I will likely never be a size 0, nor do I want to be.
The sheer judgement coming from some posters in this thread that assume someone like me is lacking in "self-control" is appalling.
Have fun up there on your high horse.0 -
Same as @cwolfman13 and @smilezishere - I don't have "cheat" days. I always pay attention and when I go over my calories, well, I just go over my calories. Of course, I splurge now and then - usually with wine and chips or other junky snack - but I don't consider it cheating. It's just a day when I go over my calories and I keep that in mind the next day when I'm working out or step on the scale.0
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cwolfman13 wrote: »I don't have "cheat days" or "cheat meals"...I have days when I'm over on calories and days when I'm under. Most days are pretty packed with nutrition but some aren't or include more "junk" than usual. I don't really view any of that as wrong so I don't perceive what I'm doing to be cheating.
I'm with this guy ^0 -
My carb allowance is low so, every time I go over it's a cheat. I, however, consider it really a cheat when I eat cake or ice cream.0
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weekends only, I eat whatever I want and I drink quite a bit of booze as well. fun times. its worth it as I work my butt off hard during the week!0
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Indulging is different than cheating. I have indulgences all the time that put me over my calorie goals, but I also have many days that I'm under. "Cheating" doesn't exist in my world. When I indulge, I usually do so on sushi, a pizza at the bowling alley, or jalapeno poppers...because let's be honest those things are AMAZING.0
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"Live a little" is what fat people say to you when you lose weight and you don't want to eat French fries or dessert or whatever it is they're trying to get you to eat so you'll be just like everyone else. Some of us need to stick with our good habits, almost all the time, because it reinforces the harder, but healthier, way of eating.[/quote]
this I REALLY like!!0 -
Cheat days are most weekends for me!
I love my social life, I love going to the pub for a drink and eating out with friends.
I want to loose weight but not at the cost of loosing my life.
I'm super good all week so that I can indulge in pizza and wine and Chinese food and chocolate and beer and FUN at the weekend 0 -
I got this in my email yesterday:
Having Cheat Days
You stay on track all week, so you deserve a little reward, right? Not so fast. "One cheat day can undo all the weight-loss work you've put in during the week," warns Willow. If you devote an entire day to eating foods that don't push you toward your goal, "the only person you're cheating is yourself . . . and that's not good in the short term or long term." Instead, stick to the one small treat each day, and you shouldn't need a whole day to let loose.
It has been working for me for almost 4 years now.
Although, as with most things related to achieving a healthier life, you have to do what works best for you.
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Each to their own but I don't really 'get' cheat days - the word has such a negative connotation. Would you be happy if your significant other had a cheat day with the hot 22 year old neighbour every now and then??? I eat chocolate every day, I eat Kettle chips at the weekends, I drink way too much wine at the weekend too but generally I have completely overhauled my nutritional diet, am aware of portion sizes suitable for me and I exercise hard and regularly. I don't log at present as I have learnt what's working and right for me, I weigh regularly and keep an eye on how my clothes fit to ensure that things are maintaining.
But as I said.....each to their own 0 -
i eat whatever I want and fit it into my calorie/macro/micro targets….food is not cheats, it is just food.
if I go over for the day, big deal, I will just make it up the next day.
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lithezebra wrote: »lithezebra wrote: »lithezebra wrote: »cookielover_96 wrote: »Thin_Beauty94 wrote: »You cheat days are sad. Seriously y'all need to live a little
Yup agreed
"Live a little" is what fat people say to you when you lose weight and you don't want to eat French fries or dessert or whatever it is they're trying to get you to eat so you'll be just like everyone else. Some of us need to stick with our good habits, almost all the time, because it reinforces the harder, but healthier, way of eating.
Ok that makes me sad, lol. Can't imagine having to eat that way all my life.
I don't go around being sad about other people's choices, but if I did, I would think that eating treats was a poor substitute for other pleasures.
Like what... fitting in a size 0 dress? Which I'll never be able to do with my frame anyway...
But more treats for me!
Enjoy your treats, and good luck with your maintenance, @Francl27 . It isn't a contest to be a particular size, just like it isn't necessary to put people down for exercising self control. However, fitting into your ideal size, whatever it is, and staying that way, is worth a few small sacrifices, to me.
you can eat the foods you like and still meat your goals….0 -
lithezebra wrote: »Thin_Beauty94 wrote: »You cheat days are sad. Seriously y'all need to live a little
Different strokes. I have fun fitting into my size 0 dresses instead of eating whatever I want.
your priorities are all kinds of out of whack.
how old are you?
regardless (cause i honestly dont care what kind of self imposed possibly eating disordered word you live in), i dont do cheat days and make the things i love fit in my calories on a regular basis. that includes chocolate and alcohol and pizza and alllll kinds of gooey yumminess.
ill have a piece of cake for you hunny.
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OP - the most calories I've managed to eat was 4500ish calories on a PMS day. It was a bad day though and I didn't really enjoy it and it was just mindless snacking to make the hunger go away... Otherwise a good 'I don't care about calories' day for me is typically around 3000 calories, then I'm full and satisfied.. but it doesn't happen much...
I actually haven't had a 'I don't care about calories' day for a while now and I'm actually getting to the point where I need one, but I can't even find something that would be worth the calories for me to splurge on right now. It's sad. Maybe a good cheese fondue with homemade bread...0 -
In the "I don't have cheat days/meals because I fit in the foods I like regularly without having to make a 'thing' of it" camp.0
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