Cheating
Roeder1122
Posts: 25 Member
Do you do 1 cheat meal or a whole cheat(not extreme) day?
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Neither? Why is that?0
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I don't 'cheat.' Because I would only be cheating myself.
I work all of the foods I love into my daily allotment. For me, moderation works really well so that I never feel deprived. I log all of my meals, even if I happen to go over here and there. Log it, learn from it and move on.
Cheat days/meals can easily undo a week's worth of calorie deficit. And psychologically, for me at least, I would find the rest of the meals sad in comparison, because I'd have to make up for the cheat if I still wanted to lose weight.
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I eat really healthy all week but on the weekends I allow myself to eat what I want. I stay around 1,200 to 1,500 calories during the week and for example I went out to dinner on Friday and got fried chicken with fries, Saturday I ate a big mac meal at McDonalds. I didnt go crazy other than that but I ate until I was full. I though for sure I wouldnt have lost any weight that week but I was down an additional 2lbs. I was very happy with my results and I didnt feel like I was starving or constantly worried about eating exactly as I should.0
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i don't think of it as cheating. Its all about moderation. I had a donut today, but everything else was pretty on point. If I had like a burger and fries or something, I would be mindful how i felt before dinner to see what my body is telling me to eat. Usually its salad or a clear soup or something.0
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Everyday I work a treat into my calories /macros
For example - a serving of friendly ice cream cake Sunday 270cals.
On occasion ,I will have a treat meal like a pizza . ( I will eat the whole pizza for a treat )
Otherwise I just work the food item into my day.0 -
Roeder1122 wrote: »Neither? Why is that?
I suspect because the poster doesn't eliminate certain foods during the rest of the week, therefore avoiding the need to have 'cheats' in order to control temptation.
All food in moderation rather than restriction and cheating.0 -
Got it! Moderation is KEY!0
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HOORAY!Roeder1122 wrote: »Got it! Moderation is KEY!
The only "cheating" on your caloric goals is when you lie to yourself or deliberately don't log. Even if you don't meet your caloric intake goals, as long as you're honest about what you're eating you aren't cheating. You just aren't meeting your goals.
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It would lower defecit for the week, unless allowed for by eating cals over a week rather than daily. Ie eating less during the week.
If unlogged i feel that it would invalidate your data. E.g If you gain weight one week, how many calories did you over eat. No idea because i didnt count on saturday.
It would bother me.0 -
Roeder1122 wrote: »Neither? Why is that?
I don't cheat.
When I started with MFP almost a year ago, I stuck to my calorie limit absolutely every single day for 4 months. And I reached my first goal.
Then I took a 1-month diet break while I decided what to do next.
I decided to keep going and stuck to my calorie limit every day for the next 4 months.
Happily, while sticking to my calorie limit, I eat a variety of foods I like.
I did two things when I started here which helped: 1) I decided to eat only foods I like. I was not going to waste calories on foods I don't like; 2) I spent some time browsing through all the grocery stores and markets around to see what they had that was both low calorie and delicious.
As a result, I eat a more varied diet than I did before I started with MFP.
So since I eat the a variety of foods I like ... why would I need to cheat??
Oh yes, I also exercise quite a bit, so if I want something that is higher in calories (like, say, pizza) ... I exercise for it.
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Cheating for me is going over my calorie goal by a significant margin (where my deficit is virtually negated), or sneaking food and not logging it, or dishonestly logging food by deliberately choosing incorrect entries, etc.
Choosing 300 calories of cake instead of a 300 calorie salad isn't cheating to me.
Budgeting my calories during the week to spend/splurge for the weekend isn't cheating to me.
I look at my idea of cheating as behavior to avoid and have minimal tolerance for in myself.
So what do you mean by cheating?
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Lourdesong wrote: »Cheating for me is going over my calorie goal by a significant margin (where my deficit is virtually negated), or sneaking food and not logging it, or dishonestly logging food by deliberately choosing incorrect entries, etc.
Choosing 300 calories of cake instead of a 300 calorie salad isn't cheating to me.
Budgeting my calories during the week to spend/splurge for the weekend isn't cheating to me.
I look at my idea of cheating as behavior to avoid and have minimal tolerance for in myself.
So what do you mean by cheating?
Yeah all of this!0 -
Rather than cheating, take 1 meal, 1 day or more planned diet breaks. Breaks are essential to long term success and healthy calorie restriction.0
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Enjoying an unhealthy meal. I am on a strict carb diet, I have diabetes and other health issues. I have followed my diet very well. My blood sugar has gone from 580 to 158 in just a few weeks(huge accomplishment for me). Sometimes I want a cookie, or something like that, but I'm still new to this I am trying to find a way to stick with my carbs/calorie intake and enjoy the things I like.
I am not a huge junk food fan, but sometimes I need some sweet0 -
EvgeniZyntx wrote: »Breaks are essential to long term success and healthy calorie restriction.
Honest question, but why is that? I've found, that for me personally, when I have a "cheat day" or whatever I end up losing my mental momentum. It's been easier for me to just not have cheat days and stick to a routine where I know what I need to do each day.0 -
Oh and another question.
Do you eat back your exercise calories? If so, why?(needing serious answers not "because I want too")0 -
Roeder1122 wrote: »Enjoying an unhealthy meal. I am on a strict carb diet, I have diabetes and other health issues. I have followed my diet very well. My blood sugar has gone from 580 to 158 in just a few weeks(huge accomplishment for me). Sometimes I want a cookie, or something like that, but I'm still new to this I am trying to find a way to stick with my carbs/calorie intake and enjoy the things I like.
I am not a huge junk food fan, but sometimes I need some sweet
That's amazing progress on blood sugar control. Congratulations!
I really wish my mom had taken her blood sugar spiking seriously (she still doesn't). Her physical condition is significantly worse off because she refused dietary changes and to this day its a fight with her about meal composition, timing & blood sugar control. She's got diabetic neuropathy with no feeling in her fingers, hands, or arms past her elbows; or from her toes to mid-thigh. She's in stage V kidney failure, and nearly blind due to retinal neuropathy. While she has a few other major health problems (cushing's syndrome, lupus, and a rare form of MS) the uncontrolled diabetes has clearly taken a tremendous toll on her. No one would want to go through what she goes through.
So I'm very happy for your dedication!
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Thank you! It has been hard but I also know, I don't want someone else raising my kids, so I try my best to control it. My goal is to lose enough to keep it until control by food and exercise and to get off all my medsRoeder1122 wrote: »Enjoying an unhealthy meal. I am on a strict carb diet, I have diabetes and other health issues. I have followed my diet very well. My blood sugar has gone from 580 to 158 in just a few weeks(huge accomplishment for me). Sometimes I want a cookie, or something like that, but I'm still new to this I am trying to find a way to stick with my carbs/calorie intake and enjoy the things I like.
I am not a huge junk food fan, but sometimes I need some sweet
That's amazing progress on blood sugar control. Congratulations!
I really wish my mom had taken her blood sugar spiking seriously (she still doesn't). Her physical condition is significantly worse off because she refused dietary changes and to this day its a fight with her about meal composition, timing & blood sugar control. She's got diabetic neuropathy with no feeling in her fingers, hands, or arms past her elbows; or from her toes to mid-thigh. She's in stage V kidney failure, and nearly blind due to retinal neuropathy. While she has a few other major health problems (cushing's syndrome, lupus, and a rare form of MS) the uncontrolled diabetes has clearly taken a tremendous toll on her. No one would want to go through what she goes through.
So I'm very happy for your dedication!
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Roeder1122 wrote: »Oh and another question.
Do you eat back your exercise calories? If so, why?(needing serious answers not "because I want too")
Looks like you've asked the wrong crowd about cheat meals, everything in moderation like they say but i love a cheat day. Tacos and barrels of ice cream are usually top of the list.
As for your second question regarding eating back calories. It depends really what your goals are, I personally eat back my calories as I don't want to loose extra weight. I have set my account to gradual weight loss so by eating the calories shown (then burning more exercising) I am technically loosing more than my recommended daily calories. If you have an active work life or spend several days a week in the gym I would always advise to eat back your calories or you'll soon find your not giving your body enough energy.0 -
I am a stay at home mom while I try to get my health uncontrol. I go to the gym roughly 3-5 days a week and my overall goal is to lose 130 lbs. My set calories by MFP is 1800 on an average gym day I burn between 400-600 calories, lately it's been 500-550 I try not to eat them back, because I do have to watch my carb intake like a hawk.JoshuaMcAllister wrote: »Roeder1122 wrote: »Oh and another question.
Do you eat back your exercise calories? If so, why?(needing serious answers not "because I want too")
Looks like you've asked the wrong crowd about cheat meals, everything in moderation like they say but i love a cheat day. Tacos and barrels of ice cream are usually top of the list.
As for your second question regarding eating back calories. It depends really what your goals are, I personally eat back my calories as I don't want to loose extra weight. I have set my account to gradual weight loss so by eating the calories shown (then burning more exercising) I am technically loosing more than my recommended daily calories. If you have an active work life or spend several days a week in the gym I would always advise to eat back your calories or you'll soon find your not giving your body enough energy.
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JoshuaMcAllister wrote: »Roeder1122 wrote: »Oh and another question.
Do you eat back your exercise calories? If so, why?(needing serious answers not "because I want too")
Looks like you've asked the wrong crowd about cheat meals, everything in moderation like they say but i love a cheat day. Tacos and barrels of ice cream are usually top of the list.
As for your second question regarding eating back calories. It depends really what your goals are, I personally eat back my calories as I don't want to loose extra weight. I have set my account to gradual weight loss so by eating the calories shown (then burning more exercising) I am technically loosing more than my recommended daily calories. If you have an active work life or spend several days a week in the gym I would always advise to eat back your calories or you'll soon find your not giving your body enough energy.
How are they the wrong crowd? Do you log your tacos and barrels of ice cream?0 -
I'm a big fan of the concept of having a cheat meal, it's nice to ease the self imposed rules once in awhile. But if it helps I've been trying intermittent fasting and am finding having less but bigger meals and having a really big one post workout is making it easy to indulge a bit within macros goals. I had a full length subway and a glass of chocolate milk the other day for example.0
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JoshuaMcAllister wrote: »Roeder1122 wrote: »Oh and another question.
Do you eat back your exercise calories? If so, why?(needing serious answers not "because I want too")
Looks like you've asked the wrong crowd about cheat meals, everything in moderation like they say but i love a cheat day. Tacos and barrels of ice cream are usually top of the list.
As for your second question regarding eating back calories. It depends really what your goals are, I personally eat back my calories as I don't want to loose extra weight. I have set my account to gradual weight loss so by eating the calories shown (then burning more exercising) I am technically loosing more than my recommended daily calories. If you have an active work life or spend several days a week in the gym I would always advise to eat back your calories or you'll soon find your not giving your body enough energy.
I had tacos last night. They were delicious. How is that cheating?0 -
A cheat day a week is not a really a problem for me as long as a I stay true the other 6 days. Everything in moderation doesn't work for me sadly...
I try to always eat back my calories - that's actually why I do exercise (so I can have a little more each day). I don't try to cap out though. There' usually 100-200 calories left over for me each day.0 -
I don't really consider it cheating, but my weekends definitely have 1 or 2 more junky meals. Lol. I work very hard to eat well and fit in little treats throughout the week. I also am at the gym sometimes 4 days a week sometimes 7, and I'm still looking pretty damn good (or so my friends tell me) so I'm trying to not sweat it, trying to not obsess over it, though I am paying attention. I'm trying to figure out how to fit my foods in with my Macros.
You've got this, it sounds like you've got the motivation, you're doing the research, and if you do your thing you'll lose the weight. I've lost about 70 pounds so far, but in the long run I'd love to lose another 50, once I get there I might want to lose another 10-20. So it sounds kind of like we're in the same boat I'm just at the half way marker.
Don't give up, be honest, enjoy life (and that includes food), just try and make healthier choices the vast majority of the time. Keep going to the gym. This doesn't have to be a bad marriage, there's no cheating unless you feel like you're cheating yourself. Have FUN and believe in yourself, hold yourself accountable but in a loving way. 0 -
We do a day of relaxed eating where we eat things we normally wouldn't, like order pizza or go out to dinner. We still try to make healthier choices, but we give ourselves one day to take it easy. Not so much a cheat day really. Most days we eat what fits our day. So hubby and i will enjoy a small bowl of ice cream if it fits, so really not need to cheat, but we definitely do avoid ordering pizza, getting chinese or going out to dinner regularly, so once a week we indulge in these. Sometimes they mean I go over my daily calories, sometimes it doesn't. We usually choose Saturday because it's a day where we are so busy that we usually end up eating a later breakfast but missing lunch.
I find it a good way to build moderation into our lifestyle. Even my 6 year old knows that once in a while she gets to have something she doesn't regularly get like a nugget happy meal or a few timbits. We are very open about how we always aim to eat healthy choice, but its ok to have a treat once in a while. We are less strict with her, but she does carry some extra weight so I like hearing here call a happy meal a treat and not a meal.
I don't say I can't have anything.
Its a tricky task to build a healthy relationship with food. You really do have to find what works for you.0 -
I'm in the same boat as many of the others, I don't do cheat days. I fit what I want to eat into my calories for any given day. I tend to eat pretty well during the week, and on the weekends we frequently eat out for lunch or dinner. On the days we eat out, I eat in moderation and log it as accurately as I can. I've been steadily losing weight even though of course there are days that I go over my calories, though I try to ensure that it's never by too much.
As for eating back my exercise calories, I do eat them back if I am hungry. If I'm not hungry I don't eat them back. I would say on any given day I probably eat back 100-200 calories with no adverse effects on my weight loss or energy.0 -
I rotate between cheat meal, cheat day and cheat weekend. I don't overindulge though.0
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A few years ago I was really active on here and kept track of everything. I had cheat day every Friday and still lost weight. I noticed that it was nice to know that on Friday I could eat Chinese or have a sonic blast.
We moved and I just didn't watch what I ate and put on some weight. I started back at the beginning of the year and have only had one cheat day (my brothers birthday) because I felt I needed to get on track...but next month I will have a cheat day every Friday. There are articles about it and I feel it is good for your body so it doesn't get used to a low calorie diet.0
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