Advice for "Cheat Days"

It's probably temporarily the weight gain I would say it's the sodium you probably ate during the cheat day. I still count calories on the days I eat out because it's good to know the numbers for what you're eating. I had some Chinese yesterday and wrote the calories down. It had a lot of sodium, so I wasn't surprised today I gained 0.4 calories. It should fall off within the next few days, and I eat around 1200-1300 calories as well. Don't feel discouraged so far I have lost 13.5 pounds eating what I want in moderation. I eat out about 2-3 times every week, but I check the calories, and have it work with my calorie allowance. And if I ever go over I plan that as well . I often jump rope for 30 minutes, or take a walk. Or if I am feeling too lazy, not eat as much the next day. The tip that has helped me with eating out is having some to go. I eat the rest the next day. So even if the item is. Thousand calories I would spread it between 2 days!

I believe going out for a meal instead of cooking it myself is a treat. I tend to check the menu options with the MFP App before ordering to allow me to make better choices, indulge a little without blowing my entire week.

Sounds like you may be under eating at 1200-1300 calories. I'd consider revising your weight lose goals and choose a more modest goal. Eat closer to your daily energy expenditure and stay away from "cheat" days entirely. What you eat is not as important as how much you eat. Practice portion control now, 24/7/365.

You don't have to be hungry to lose weight. And if you're not hungry, you don't need to "cheat".

I had one two days ago. I needed one. But I'm not in denial that it probably wiped a week of deficit for me (I have a small deficit). So I typically save those days to special occasions (holidays and birthday).

So... if your plan is to lose, it's just a bad idea. Have smaller portions within your calories instead.

I had a bit of a piggy day last Friday, then felt rotten about it, so got my packets out of the bin and scanned them all. I new I had to track what I had eaten to be accountable for it, then when the scales go up I can look back and see why. Next time I have a piggy day, I'm going to save a few calories from the days building up to it, and plan my calories in advance. I did find that from eating rubbish that I felt physically and mentally low and it wasn't worth it. Xx

One thing I am currently trying to do: on the weekends, when I know I tend mess up, I changed my settings to maintain. It was an extra 1000 calories!!! So I can eat more, I definitely feel like I'm splurging. But, I'm not undoing any of the work I've already done. Just staying put. I still log. Maybe something like that would work?

I hate the term "cheat day." Why does eating something you enjoy, like pizza, tacos and beer, have to be cheating? Why does eating some of my favourite foods have to carry such a negative connotation? Eat the foods you love, and eat proper portions, and you won't feel sick or awful afterwards. It can be done - trust me!

Advice, look into IIFYM and work these foods into your meals without it being cheating. 1200 calories? You're probably nearly starving which makes it tough to not overindulge when the food is available to you. I follow my macros during the week and on the weekends, I do my best but mostly just try to stay in my calories, even if that means three pieces of pizza and almost no protein. My suggestion is to increase your calories slowly. If your weight is still going down, increase calories 20/week or so and track, see how your body responds. If you're still losing, continue this. The goal should be to eat as much as possible and still lose weight. If you think you can eat 1200 calories every day forever, you're wrong. Losing weight is hard. Keeping it off is statistically nearly impossible because people are too restricting and can't keep that up forever.

This has probably already been said but personally, I don't do blowout cheat days because most days I will crave something that would be considered "cheat" like a sugary treat, usually chocolate, so I just fit those things into my daily calories. I find it easier to stay on track when I don't deny myself of something I want. The biggest thing for me though is portion control. So I want ice cream... Do I need the whole tub of ice cream? No. Will two scoops satisfy me just as much as five? Yes. So I get a bowl and measure it out rather than digging the spoon right in. I think it's quite often just the mental satisfaction of eating the craved food than the actual quantity. We have pizza once a fortnight or so, I used to quite happily eat a whole large one. I could probably still eat a whole large one but now I eat my pizza with a knife and fork on a plate (it's the same takeaway pizza but rather than using my hands). Just by cutting it up and eating it properly (and therefore slowing down), I can only manage 3 maybe 4 slices instead of 10. The only time I really worry about fitting cheat foods into my day is if I'm finding that I'm consistently going over my cal limit (maybe more than three days in a row), it's usually because my portions have sneakily got bigger again!

What's considered "cheating" depends on what the game is.

For me, the "game" is to be honest about what I eat--even when I'm not particularly happy or proud of it.

I have days when I choose to go over my calorie goal--like when I'm travelling, or a special party or Friday date night with the hubs. That's being human.

Even if it's twice (or once, 3X) my calorie goal, I log what I eat and drink. Period.

In my game , it's not "cheating" if I'm still honest with myself.