MAJOR cheat day

So I've been really good with my diet and eating healthy in my calorie limit for a good 5 weeks now. Today I travelled to the city and SPLURGED!!! I had about 5 glasses of sweet tea, a chocolate iced coffee, got a basket of teriyaki boneless wings and a side of garlic Parmesan fries, cheese dip, a bbq philly cheese steak sandwich, and ice cream to top it all of. (This was throughout the day not just one meal). I definitely ate between 4-5,000 calories today. I enjoyed it all, no regrets right? But I do feel a little disappointed. How do y'all spend y'all's cheat day? How do y'all recover?

Replies

  • ncboiler89
    ncboiler89 Posts: 2,408 Member
    So I've been really good with my diet and eating healthy in my calorie limit for a good 5 weeks now. Today I travelled to the city and SPLURGED!!! I had about 5 glasses of sweet tea, a chocolate iced coffee, got a basket of teriyaki boneless wings and a side of garlic Parmesan fries, cheese dip, a bbq philly cheese steak sandwich, and ice cream to top it all of. (This was throughout the day not just one meal). I definitely ate between 4-5,000 calories today. I enjoyed it all, no regrets right? But I do feel a little disappointed. How do y'all spend y'all's cheat day? How do y'all recover?

    They are good for the mind! Don't sweat it.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    It sounds like fun! Get back to logging tomorrow!
  • gabbo34
    gabbo34 Posts: 289 Member
    Just don't let it turn into a cheat weekend. Or use it as an excuse to ease back into your former plan. One meal/day may wipe out your net calorie gain for the previous week.But if you truly enjoyed it and hop back on your plan tomorrow - 'no harm, no foul)
  • vannyn42
    vannyn42 Posts: 59 Member
    After a major cheat day, I am too full the next day and end up eating much less. I naturally won't even be hungry until mid afternoon and will just have a small snack/lunch and small dinner.

    I also make sure to do some extra strength building exercises to make good use of the extra calories and consider it a "bulking" day.
  • Arucard5
    Arucard5 Posts: 39 Member
    I had a whole pizza on my chest day the next day I only had oatmeal and chicken breast to recover
  • prdavies1949
    prdavies1949 Posts: 326 Member
    I am having a cheat day today, including a pre dinner sherry, steak and stir fry vegetables and a nice bottle wine. But I don't think I've got the hang of it yet. I've just pre logged and am still under target!
    Back to the OP, as the others say just get back on track, no worries.
  • smotheredincheese
    smotheredincheese Posts: 559 Member
    I went out for a friends birthday last night and ate 3500+ calories. My maintenance is only around 1800 so that could easily mean a half pound gain.
    But you know what? I enjoyed myself, and my friend had a great birthday so it was worth it.
    I'm just going to be strict with my logging for the rest of the week and make sure I work out. Plus I've got such a major food hangover today I'm not going to want to eat much for quite some time yet.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I had a massive cheat day on Tuesday. I was hungry for breakfast and had some toast with butter and a bit of brioche (I typically avoid high carb breakfasts because it sets me off badly for the day), then nothing went right that day and I got stressed and I guess I just had one of those IDGAF day. I had a huge 1200 calories snack at home involving cookies, ice cream, and more brioche and we ended up eating out too (and I had dessert) and I was probably at 4500 calories that day.

    But I made up for it. As long as I stay at my goal today (I only keep a 400 calorie deficit), I'll be at maintenance for the week. So it's never really the end of the world. You just log it and go back to your goal.

    I wish I was one of the people who is too full after a cheat day and is not hungry the next day though... but nope...
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    On Thanksgiving and Christmas I ate about 2,000- 3,000 calories... about 700 calories over my normal calorie goal. On a trip I also ate 2,000-3,000 calories for a couple of days. I stuck to drinking water or unsweetened tea. I felt pretty satisfied with that amount and still ate all the things I wanted. I had planned and pre-logged what I wanted to eat so the calories weren't a surprise. It wasn't an uncontrolled binge. It was a thought out choice. I didn't do anything special to recover. I just went back to eating and exercising normally ASAP as I had planned. I didn't keep eating like that. I didn't gain weight from it.

  • Tjs8819
    Tjs8819 Posts: 33 Member
    If I eat way too many calories one day I'll only eat about 500 calories the next day
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
    Yesterday I had Culvers for supper. Predictably the scale was up a little today. So I just have something lighter today, plenty of water, and make sure I have what I need for the week ahead.

    Going off plan once in a while is no big deal.
  • TxTiffani
    TxTiffani Posts: 799 Member
    When I've eaten off plan I do extra exercise and get super strict on calories the next few days
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,269 Member
    I don't believe in cheat days. Sometimes I eat under calorie goal, sometimes spot-on, sometimes over (including waaay over). As long as the under/on goal days are common, and the other days are rare, everthing will be OK. (I ate about 4500 calories yesterday, BTW.)

    The "cheat" idea just seems melodramatic to me - I log what I eat always, including over-goal days, and even if I have to estimate the occasional meal in a restaurant or someone else's home. With that complete data, I can see how often I've gone over, and see whether I'm wiping out a worrisome amount of progress.

    I've lost about 65 pounds since this time last year, most of it before the end of 2015. I've had a few 4000+ calorie days in there. They result in water weight the next day (sometimes 3+ pounds), and significantly less than a pound of true gain (my maintenance is around 1900 net, so the true gain from 4000 is roughly 0.6 pounds. ((4000 eaten - 1900 maintenance calories)/ 3500 calories in a pound = 0.6 pounds).

    When I'm eating at a 500-calorie daily deficit (for 1 pound a week weight loss), 0.6 pounds represents a little over 5 days of delay in reaching my ultimate goal (the day I went over, which I can think of as eating at maintenance plus adding the 0.6 pounds, plus a bit over 4 days (4.2 specifically) to lose the 0.6 pounds again.) If I do this quite rarely (say once a month or less), then it doesn't seem like a big deal to me.

    If you learn to estimate the weight-loss arithmetic in your head, it can be reassuring - or, it can keep you on track, if you decide the over-goal eating isn't worth the delay/gain.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I had a "cheat" day yesterday, and put off logging it til this morning because I was terrified to see the big red number and knew I'd be waaay over. So after forcing myself to log it, i was over by 220 calories. I should have ate more lol
  • faidwen
    faidwen Posts: 131 Member
    Don't fret it.... but be prepared for some water weight for a week or so if you consumed a !! LOT !! of sodium.

    That's what I find.... apart from that, it's like 3500 calories per pound... so don't sweat it...
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
    If you have a good plan and the confidence in yourself/the plan, these binge days are meaningless. The opportunities (days) available for cut back should outnumber by far for most people.

    I eat freely on weekends, assuming my friends and family members are even available to go with. If they are not, that's just another opportunity to eat less. Then, there are all the weekdays that I'm on my own and just eat enough.

  • rcheney1963
    rcheney1963 Posts: 1 Member
    2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar for 2 days will help flush out the excess water weight.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar for 2 days will help flush out the excess water weight.

    Can you elaborate please :smile: How does drinking ACV achieve this?
  • Fernando618G
    Fernando618G Posts: 380 Member
    So I've been really good with my diet and eating healthy in my calorie limit for a good 5 weeks now. Today I travelled to the city and SPLURGED!!! I had about 5 glasses of sweet tea, a chocolate iced coffee, got a basket of teriyaki boneless wings and a side of garlic Parmesan fries, cheese dip, a bbq philly cheese steak sandwich, and ice cream to top it all of. (This was throughout the day not just one meal). I definitely ate between 4-5,000 calories today. I enjoyed it all, no regrets right? But I do feel a little disappointed. How do y'all spend y'all's cheat day? How do y'all recover?

    uhm there are days i will literally eat a whole jar of PB thats like 3500 cal not including my food. i carry on like nothing ever happen sometimes if its on my mind though ill Bust butt @ the gym but other then that its 1 day out of 30 pfft whatever
  • Anabug81
    Anabug81 Posts: 161 Member
    I don't do cheat days I just incorporate the foods I like to eat into my daily calories, i.e wine, pizza, burgers, fries, chips, candy, and ice cream.
  • ashleyjongepier
    ashleyjongepier Posts: 130 Member
    I have a super big cheat day like that once or so a month and have zero regrets if anything it might put me to mat cals for the rest of the week. I log it, enjoy it and move on.

    A few days in the grand scheme of things won't make an impact.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    So I've been really good with my diet and eating healthy in my calorie limit for a good 5 weeks now. Today I travelled to the city and SPLURGED!!! I had about 5 glasses of sweet tea, a chocolate iced coffee, got a basket of teriyaki boneless wings and a side of garlic Parmesan fries, cheese dip, a bbq philly cheese steak sandwich, and ice cream to top it all of. (This was throughout the day not just one meal). I definitely ate between 4-5,000 calories today. I enjoyed it all, no regrets right? But I do feel a little disappointed. How do y'all spend y'all's cheat day? How do y'all recover?

    uhm there are days i will literally eat a whole jar of PB thats like 3500 cal not including my food. i carry on like nothing ever happen sometimes if its on my mind though ill Bust butt @ the gym but other then that its 1 day out of 30 pfft whatever

    lol I recently discovered reeces chocolate peanut butter spread.. I bought the jar in the morning and it was finished by that night! Needless to say I am NEVER buying it again.

  • Fernando618G
    Fernando618G Posts: 380 Member
    So I've been really good with my diet and eating healthy in my calorie limit for a good 5 weeks now. Today I travelled to the city and SPLURGED!!! I had about 5 glasses of sweet tea, a chocolate iced coffee, got a basket of teriyaki boneless wings and a side of garlic Parmesan fries, cheese dip, a bbq philly cheese steak sandwich, and ice cream to top it all of. (This was throughout the day not just one meal). I definitely ate between 4-5,000 calories today. I enjoyed it all, no regrets right? But I do feel a little disappointed. How do y'all spend y'all's cheat day? How do y'all recover?

    uhm there are days i will literally eat a whole jar of PB thats like 3500 cal not including my food. i carry on like nothing ever happen sometimes if its on my mind though ill Bust butt @ the gym but other then that its 1 day out of 30 pfft whatever

    lol I recently discovered reeces chocolate peanut butter spread.. I bought the jar in the morning and it was finished by that night! Needless to say I am NEVER buying it again.

    Why have i not heard of this amazingness?!@?!?!?!?!@!@!@?!
  • raindawg
    raindawg Posts: 348 Member
    vannyn42 wrote: »
    After a major cheat day, I am too full the next day and end up eating much less. I naturally won't even be hungry until mid afternoon and will just have a small snack/lunch and small dinner.

    I also make sure to do some extra strength building exercises to make good use of the extra calories and consider it a "bulking" day.

    Same here. I had a major cheat day Friday, + 1,300 calories over my daily goal. I was still so full the next day that I skipped breakfast, ate only a banana for lunch, before my normal dinner and evening snack. Ended up almost 1,000 calories below maintenance and wasn't even hungry.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    So I've been really good with my diet and eating healthy in my calorie limit for a good 5 weeks now. Today I travelled to the city and SPLURGED!!! I had about 5 glasses of sweet tea, a chocolate iced coffee, got a basket of teriyaki boneless wings and a side of garlic Parmesan fries, cheese dip, a bbq philly cheese steak sandwich, and ice cream to top it all of. (This was throughout the day not just one meal). I definitely ate between 4-5,000 calories today. I enjoyed it all, no regrets right? But I do feel a little disappointed. How do y'all spend y'all's cheat day? How do y'all recover?

    uhm there are days i will literally eat a whole jar of PB thats like 3500 cal not including my food. i carry on like nothing ever happen sometimes if its on my mind though ill Bust butt @ the gym but other then that its 1 day out of 30 pfft whatever

    lol I recently discovered reeces chocolate peanut butter spread.. I bought the jar in the morning and it was finished by that night! Needless to say I am NEVER buying it again.

    Why have i not heard of this amazingness?!@?!?!?!?!@!@!@?!

    It is a heavenly jar of delicious happiness :heart:

  • Fernando618G
    Fernando618G Posts: 380 Member
    So I've been really good with my diet and eating healthy in my calorie limit for a good 5 weeks now. Today I travelled to the city and SPLURGED!!! I had about 5 glasses of sweet tea, a chocolate iced coffee, got a basket of teriyaki boneless wings and a side of garlic Parmesan fries, cheese dip, a bbq philly cheese steak sandwich, and ice cream to top it all of. (This was throughout the day not just one meal). I definitely ate between 4-5,000 calories today. I enjoyed it all, no regrets right? But I do feel a little disappointed. How do y'all spend y'all's cheat day? How do y'all recover?

    uhm there are days i will literally eat a whole jar of PB thats like 3500 cal not including my food. i carry on like nothing ever happen sometimes if its on my mind though ill Bust butt @ the gym but other then that its 1 day out of 30 pfft whatever

    lol I recently discovered reeces chocolate peanut butter spread.. I bought the jar in the morning and it was finished by that night! Needless to say I am NEVER buying it again.

    Why have i not heard of this amazingness?!@?!?!?!?!@!@!@?!

    It is a heavenly jar of delicious happiness :heart:

    :open_mouth: shhhhh people might read this && buy them all out b4 i can get to the store
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    So I've been really good with my diet and eating healthy in my calorie limit for a good 5 weeks now. Today I travelled to the city and SPLURGED!!! I had about 5 glasses of sweet tea, a chocolate iced coffee, got a basket of teriyaki boneless wings and a side of garlic Parmesan fries, cheese dip, a bbq philly cheese steak sandwich, and ice cream to top it all of. (This was throughout the day not just one meal). I definitely ate between 4-5,000 calories today. I enjoyed it all, no regrets right? But I do feel a little disappointed. How do y'all spend y'all's cheat day? How do y'all recover?

    uhm there are days i will literally eat a whole jar of PB thats like 3500 cal not including my food. i carry on like nothing ever happen sometimes if its on my mind though ill Bust butt @ the gym but other then that its 1 day out of 30 pfft whatever

    lol I recently discovered reeces chocolate peanut butter spread.. I bought the jar in the morning and it was finished by that night! Needless to say I am NEVER buying it again.

    Why have i not heard of this amazingness?!@?!?!?!?!@!@!@?!

    It is a heavenly jar of delicious happiness :heart:

    :open_mouth: shhhhh people might read this && buy them all out b4 i can get to the store

    Haha enjoy :+1: And don't say I didn't warn you :wink:
  • Fernando618G
    Fernando618G Posts: 380 Member
    So I've been really good with my diet and eating healthy in my calorie limit for a good 5 weeks now. Today I travelled to the city and SPLURGED!!! I had about 5 glasses of sweet tea, a chocolate iced coffee, got a basket of teriyaki boneless wings and a side of garlic Parmesan fries, cheese dip, a bbq philly cheese steak sandwich, and ice cream to top it all of. (This was throughout the day not just one meal). I definitely ate between 4-5,000 calories today. I enjoyed it all, no regrets right? But I do feel a little disappointed. How do y'all spend y'all's cheat day? How do y'all recover?

    uhm there are days i will literally eat a whole jar of PB thats like 3500 cal not including my food. i carry on like nothing ever happen sometimes if its on my mind though ill Bust butt @ the gym but other then that its 1 day out of 30 pfft whatever

    lol I recently discovered reeces chocolate peanut butter spread.. I bought the jar in the morning and it was finished by that night! Needless to say I am NEVER buying it again.

    Why have i not heard of this amazingness?!@?!?!?!?!@!@!@?!

    It is a heavenly jar of delicious happiness :heart:

    :open_mouth: shhhhh people might read this && buy them all out b4 i can get to the store

    Haha enjoy :+1: And don't say I didn't warn you :wink:

    Congratulations, you will contribute to my obesity again