One cheat day per week

hiker583
hiker583 Posts: 91 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all,
I have been watching Elle Ip documentary Beyond Expectation, and read her 7-rules. One of the things she mentions is to have a cheat-day per week where you can eat whatever you want, and she explains it here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tx-AJIgClA
Has anyone tried it? It makes sense, but it is so scary to do this. Anyone else had success / failure with it?
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Replies

  • Scamd83
    Scamd83 Posts: 808 Member
    I used to do cheat days years ago when I was losing most of my weight and I did indeed indulge for one day and by the time the next cheat day rolled around, I'd have lost weight. But I did eat very little every other day and did a crazy amount of cardio. Eventually cheat days negatively affected my weight loss results so I stopped them. I'm not sure if there is some sort of crazy thing the body does when you're first cutting where you can have a day like that and benefit from it. But I think keeping in mind calories in vs. calories out is always worthwhile, that rule can never be overcome. Maybe instead every day fit something into your calories like some chocolate, ice cream or whatever it is you're craving and see if that works for you? Or even just have a cheat meal once a week/fortnight/whatever frequency helps you that you don't record but just keep reasonable. You can only experiment until you find what works for you. Someone else telling you to have a cheat day is just them using their personal experience to suggest maybe you should do it, but you might be different.
  • myeightweeks
    myeightweeks Posts: 1 Member
    zyxst wrote: »
    I don't have regular cheat days because I will wipe out a month's deficit in one day. For me, if I'm going to "cheat", I'm going all out. If it works for you, then best of luck.

    Me too - when I feel it "doesn't count" I can easily wipe out a fortnights deficit in one meal - and have done on far too many occasions:/
  • ACanadian22
    ACanadian22 Posts: 377 Member
    Sunday is mine every week. It does maybe slow down the loss, but it keeps me in check through the week and knowing I get my fries on Sundays...I call it reward day because I know I have worked hard all week though :smiley:
  • dabry05
    dabry05 Posts: 14 Member
    Ws2016 wrote: »
    Why would I want to cheat the plan I created?

    This is pretty much how I feel about this. I have a couple of foods I really like that I work into my regular dietary goals, pad thai and pizza. In moderation, you can still get all the nutrition you want just have to be a little bit more restrictive the rest of the day.

    My attitude will likely change on this the moment I either get another 10-15 lbs down to 185 or 190, and/or my doctor tells me ok stop losing weight.
  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,120 Member
    I don't do "cheat days" (save for the 3-10 days a year where I'm not too concerned about logging accurately and staying within my calorie goal). I feel like giving myself those "cheat days" would lead me into a binge-restrict cycle, labeling certain foods as "bad", and make it much harder for me to consume an appropriate amount of calories for my needs (if I am eating 3000 calories once a week, it'll be difficult for me to eat 1500 calories on the non-cheating days).

    I try to eat everything I want within moderation (as long as I meet my general nutrition goals before adding in the food I want). Foods aren't "good" or "bad", but I instead see them more as "always", "sometimes", or "special occasion" foods (broccoli would be a food that I can incorporate into my everyday diet, while eating more than 1 serving of pasta would be something that I save for a special occasion).
  • lthames0810
    lthames0810 Posts: 722 Member
    Successful management of free eating days is a highly individual thing. I find that a single indulgent meal sets off a string of poor impulse control for a few days even though I do include treats whever I can fit them in. I had "steak frites" last night and today I'm craving everything.
  • Katburrows35
    Katburrows35 Posts: 1 Member
    I think its amazing what Elle Ip has achieved but I couldn't do a full cheat day. As mentioned above it'd undo all the clean eating through the week. I do have a 'treat' day where I can have pizza for my tea and maybe a glass of wine but still eat clean for breakfast and lunch - it's something I really look forward to. I think the 80/20% food rule really works for me.
  • Seelao15
    Seelao15 Posts: 1 Member
    Has anyone ordered her audio book $147.00 and tried it? I'm so tempted to buy it.
  • geneticsteacher
    geneticsteacher Posts: 623 Member
    I don't do cheat days. I do "special occasion" meals - company coming for dinner, weddings, other special occasions. I still log the calories.
  • Angierae75
    Angierae75 Posts: 417 Member
    I don't do cheat days, but there'll be days I eat at maintenance or even above, because I'm not going to miss out on holidays or special meals with family/friends just because I'm trying to lose weight. If I lose less that week, or even see a small gain, the benefit to my social life and well-being is far more important.
  • NicoleMichael62
    NicoleMichael62 Posts: 50 Member
    Not much of a cheat meal or cheat day person. If there is something I like in particular to have then I eat it in moderation to fit my daily goal. I'll have just a slice of pizza instead of half the box. Or only a 1/3 of the mac and cheese and not the whole box.

    I feel like if I give in to gorging on an unhealthy meal with no limits then that will set me up for feeling guilty.
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    I cycle my calories so I have one low calorie day and one day where I eat near maintenance, I used that as a "controlled cheat" day. In the end it doesn't affect my deficit.

    There is some evidence around refeeding and its supposed to help with hormone leptin bounce back. The study was done on athletes and it was cutting for certain amount of days then eating maintenance for a few days. Can't look it up to link right now, but I'm sure it's easy to find if your interested.
  • Bonny132
    Bonny132 Posts: 3,617 Member
    I have my weekly reward day. I eat under for 6 days and over for one. Over 7 days I hit my weekly target. I weigh in on a Friday and have my day off on Sat or Sun and calculate my weekly allowance back to my target for the week.

    As I know I can eat whatever at the weekend I have no urges to binge or stray off my plan.
  • Golbat
    Golbat Posts: 276 Member
    I don't do cheat days but I do sometimes have stuff I know is bad for me. One day, I woke up really late, like at lunchtime, had a very light lunch and then was so busy that it was dinner before I had time to eat again. I had freaking fried chicken and french fries! I weighed how much and counted the calories, and I didn't have more than I could fit into my calorie goal, but I'd eaten so little that day due to unintended circumstances that I had plenty of calories to work with and had something I'd been hungry for for a while.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    That's not for me. I may have a day when I go over my calorie goal, but I will still balance it out for the week. I know, from experience, that I can eat enough in a day to totally derail myself. I'm sure this could work for some people, but I would never recommend it as a rule for *everyone*.
  • wishfuljune
    wishfuljune Posts: 2,607 Member
    If I'm going to have a cheat meal, I make sure it's on a day I go to the gym, that way I have a buffer of exercise calories if need be. I never do a cheat day (well, except important ones - i.e., thanksgiving because... pie) but a cheat meal.
  • itsmemalak
    itsmemalak Posts: 21 Member
    edited September 2016
    If you really let yourself go on your cheat day it will screw all the progress you've made so i honestly don't do it. Maybe allow yourself one unhealthy cheat meal that stays within your calorie intake? That's what i do
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,173 Member
    I don't do cheat days or cheat meals. I eat things I like and fit them in. Occasionally on special occasions I go over my limit, but not very often. Moderation is what works for me. I could never stick long term to a way if eating that I felt the need to "cheat" on.

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