Cheat days

keluncch
keluncch Posts: 12 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
How often do you allow yourself a cheat day?

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    No cheat days. If you want to eat at maintenance for a day, do it. If you want to eat over maintenance, do it but I suggest logging and staying within specific parameters (e.g., specific calorie limit) in order to minimize how many days' calorie deficits you negate.
  • emmadonaldson95
    emmadonaldson95 Posts: 179 Member
    I dont have cheat days i just work things i want into my calorie goal. That said occassionally e.g bfs bday i went out for dinner so on that occassion i went to the gym the night before and also kept my calories low that day for other meals.
    I think cheat days set you up for a binge and atarve cycle personally.
  • Anabug81
    Anabug81 Posts: 161 Member
    No Cheat days here. I just work what I want to eat into my calories.
  • pizzafruit
    pizzafruit Posts: 318 Member
    I've allowed myself several cheat days and it led to a binge every time. Until portion control and moderation are in place, a cheat of any kind is high risk for me. I'll eventually learn to successfully work it into my calorie allowance.
  • caammph
    caammph Posts: 105 Member
    I work the foods I love into my calorie allowance. Some days I eat at maintenance, but I usually aim for a deficit. For me if I want to be successful in the long run, I have to get out of that "cheat" mindset.
  • Dannigreen31
    Dannigreen31 Posts: 557 Member
    Sat night I allow myself a cheat meal. I'll have a pizza or Chinese but I know this will get burnt off as I'm in the gym most days.
  • cmtristani
    cmtristani Posts: 117 Member
    Whenever I want something not in my normal diet I work it in to my diet so I stay at or below maintenance. Last night I had a Nestle Drumstick ice cream cone - which haven't changed since I was a kid and brings back lots of great memories - but still stayed under my target calories. Macros weren't perfect, but they were close.
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    I don't do cheat days. However, I don't have over restrictive set in stone rules I have to follow either. Fully understanding your diet and allowing flexibility (i.e. a day/week at maintenance when desired) will allow you to be successful.
  • keluncch
    keluncch Posts: 12 Member
    Thanks for all the advice!

    A little background on the situation: I wasn't feeling well for a few days, so I ate right at my allotted calories (one day was a little less, one day was right at my allotted calories, but everything I ate was mostly comfort food). I was feeling better yesterday, so I ate more than my allotted calories (but still at maintenance). It's also the TOM for me, so I think being sick and not eating much, coupled with that, made me super hungry yesterday, which spurred this question. I'm also going on vacation starting tomorrow, so I know that I may eat a little more than normal (although, I'm going to be doing a lot of walking, so I should be ok with having a little more than normal). I'm worrying a bit that yesterday's eating, coupled with vacation, will get me off-track!
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
    Nope. I don't do those cheatin' dayz! :)
  • kimdawnhayden
    kimdawnhayden Posts: 298 Member
    I have a date night once a week with my husband. It's awesome. I try not to keep junk food in the house though. So my rule is, if I absolutely have to have it, I have to drive somewhere to get it. Works for me.
  • amfmmama
    amfmmama Posts: 1,420 Member
    I believe in a cheat meal. It keeps this real for me. Although, I do find that I usually have my cheat day on a weekend, when I have the time to exercise more, so often, my big "cheat" falls into my calorie allotment. It just helps me mentally on Wednesday or Thursday when I feel like quitting, that I am going out to dinner or what ever on Saturday and keeps me on track.

    I am also a person who tends to eat the same things day in and day out, so sometimes I think the cheat meal, allows me to change things up, more then I would otherwise.
  • keluncch
    keluncch Posts: 12 Member
    Thank you both ^^^^! I definitely needed to hear from those of you that do allow cheat days/meals! I don't have a specific plan to allow cheat days, but I know it's going to happen from time to time for me!
  • StacyChrz
    StacyChrz Posts: 865 Member
    I don't like to think about 'cheating' because that implies you are doing something wrong or undesirable. I like to think that because I am making a sustainable, long term change to my habits that if I really want something I can have it. I just try to make other adjustments to make it work for my overall goal.
  • LazyButHealthy
    LazyButHealthy Posts: 257 Member
    No cheat days.

    I had a bad day recently, and was just insatiable. Ate a lot. But I wanted it and think my body needed it!

    But I did it very consciously, and it had no baring on the next day where I stayed on goal.

    Most days, I try to pre-log, including of 'treats' like chocolate, pizza, beer or wine... anything really!
    That way it never seems like deprivation - just better planning!
  • 155at49
    155at49 Posts: 14 Member
    I don't believe in cheat meals. The only only one I am cheating is myself.
  • steviejanedrake
    steviejanedrake Posts: 43 Member
    I don't really do cheat days either. working what you want to eat or drink into your daily goal makes it easier to stick with in my opinion. having said that, if every once in a while I do feel like I need a little extra one day. a couple drinks or a scoop of ice cream or something. I make myself set a limit. 100 calories over my goal is what I try to stick to for those occasional days. I worry that if I have a cheat day where I just eat whatever I want without keeping track it will have me backtracking on all the hard work I did all week tracking and weighing my food .
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,557 Member
    edited May 2016
    keluncch wrote: »
    How often do you allow yourself a cheat day?

    When I was losing weight, I took a diet break every 16 weeks where I stopped logging for a bit but increased the amount of exercise I did.

    Both times I had also reached a weight goal and was deciding what to do next.
  • amfmmama
    amfmmama Posts: 1,420 Member
    keluncch wrote: »
    Thank you both ^^^^! I definitely needed to hear from those of you that do allow cheat days/meals! I don't have a specific plan to allow cheat days, but I know it's going to happen from time to time for me!

    One of the biggest things I have learned through the process of changing how I eat and how I view food is that if I do have a "bad day" or I slip up, it's ok! Often, if I log it, I will see that sometimes I didn't even exceed my daily calories. But, sometimes I do, oh well. Years ago, I would just use it as an excuse to cheat some more. Now, I don't do that. I was famous for, "well, the day is ruined, might as well eat everything in sight!" I don't do that anymore. That is why, I will do a cheat meal, and not a cheat day. This was major for me.
  • ilex70
    ilex70 Posts: 727 Member
    Very rarely. Usually I just work stuff in; exercise more, eat less at other meals...that kind of thing.

    And on my "cheat" days I still try to log what I've eaten. I think Christmas was the most impressive...nearly 2,400 calories that day.

    I think that part of the problem is the term "cheat" because it implies that it is something uncontrolled and unplanned.

    I'm planning a diet break for the end of June. Road trip with my mom and daughter, so I won't get as much exercise, and for food, who knows? If I'm visiting someplace I've never been, and may never re-visit, of course I want to try the local food. And if I gain 5 pounds, oh well.

Categories