Thoughts - Cheat Meal / Day - Yay or Nay?

There's pretty much not anything that I can't incorporate into an otherwise healthy, balanced diet. People get way too wrapped up in the day to day and even meal to meal minutia and should really be looking at a much bigger picture where there nutrition is concerned.

I just went out for pizza the other night with the family to celebrate my youngest's 4th birthday...I ate quite a bit and enjoyed every bite...do I call that "cheating"...absolutely not...I call it life and enjoying some family time and eating something that most certainly isn't an everyday kind of thing. Cheating implies you're doing something oh so wrong and you should feel oh so guilty for it...in the grand scheme of my diet as a whole, it was a pretty irrelevant evening...in the grand scheme of family fun and memories, it was awesome.

NewMrsCarlson wrote: »

pbandalyssa wrote: »

I spent the first 3 years of my lifestyle change with weekly cheat meals...which eventually turned into cheat days, cheat weekends, and all out binges. It wasn't healthy for me. Recently started IIFYM and my body has absolutely finally found balance. This is what I needed all along! No food is "good" or "bad" it's just energy and helping fuel the tank!

I'm sorry, I am still new here, I do not know what IIFYM is? I'm learning and haven't found a balance yet. I am already starting to get bored and feeling like I can't really have anything, or have to have the same thing, as I just hate cooking, I suck at it too, and im the only one in my house who is doing this, so it's difficult.

"If it fits your macros." It's basically an approach that if it fits within your daily goals, a food isn't "good" or "bad."

NewMrsCarlson wrote: »

pbandalyssa wrote: »

I spent the first 3 years of my lifestyle change with weekly cheat meals...which eventually turned into cheat days, cheat weekends, and all out binges. It wasn't healthy for me. Recently started IIFYM and my body has absolutely finally found balance. This is what I needed all along! No food is "good" or "bad" it's just energy and helping fuel the tank!

I'm sorry, I am still new here, I do not know what IIFYM is? I'm learning and haven't found a balance yet. I am already starting to get bored and feeling like I can't really have anything, or have to have the same thing, as I just hate cooking, I suck at it too, and im the only one in my house who is doing this, so it's difficult.

Why do you feel you can't have anything, or that you have to eat the same things all the time? What is your calorie goal set at? How much weight are you trying to lose? What rate of loss did you select?

You can eat anything you like within your calorie target and still lose weight. It doesn't have to be restrictive, or boring.

My approach to this was to add things to my routine, rather than to cut things out. More lean protein, more vegetables, more whole grains, more exercise, more sleep (slacking on that lately). By doing this, and not cutting out any of the foods I loved, only cutting back on calories, I never felt deprived or challenged.

I lost the weight I set out to lose (30 lbs) and am currently maintaining. I eat pizza, chocolate, drink wine...

Luckychic_93 wrote: »

pbandalyssa wrote: »

I'm 5'0" and I'm reverse dieting and continually losing weight at 1400 calories. I will probably lose weight once I hit 1500/1600 as well. 1000 calories isn't enough for your body to function at 100%.

Well like I said I've been doing this for 6 weeks. I even do an intense hour long workout 3 times a week. Haven't passed out yet

Six weeks isn't all that long. I accidentally underate when I started MFP (wasn't eating enough of my exercise calories back) and I was fine for a few months. Then I hit a wall and I hit it hard -- extreme fatigue, hunger, inability to do intense workouts. Once I began fueling my body properly, I felt and performed much better. Our bodies are very resilient -- a short period of under-nourishment can probably be sustained for most people. But eventually your body will demand fuel on which to run properly.

NewMrsCarlson wrote: »

pbandalyssa wrote: »

I spent the first 3 years of my lifestyle change with weekly cheat meals...which eventually turned into cheat days, cheat weekends, and all out binges. It wasn't healthy for me. Recently started IIFYM and my body has absolutely finally found balance. This is what I needed all along! No food is "good" or "bad" it's just energy and helping fuel the tank!

I'm sorry, I am still new here, I do not know what IIFYM is? I'm learning and haven't found a balance yet. I am already starting to get bored and feeling like I can't really have anything, or have to have the same thing, as I just hate cooking, I suck at it too, and im the only one in my house who is doing this, so it's difficult.

IIFYM = if it fits your macros. Set protein/carbs/fats. Eat whatever fits inside that macro allotment. It's helped me find balance, enormously. You have to find what works for you.

Luckychic_93 wrote: »

Pbandalyssa
LOL ok good luck with that bro

Janejellyrole
Six weeks isn't all that long. I accidentally underate when I started MFP (wasn't eating enough of my exercise calories back) and I was fine for a few months. Then I hit a wall and I hit it hard -- extreme fatigue, hunger, inability to do intense workouts. Once I began fueling my body properly, I felt and performed much better. Our bodies are very resilient -- a short period of under-nourishment can probably be sustained for most people. But eventually your body will demand fuel on which to run properly.

I am part of a program called "the Venus Factor" there are COUNTLESS success stories from women who have been a part of it. The person who developed the program did scientific research and even had his own sister try it out and she is one of his success stories. On the website there is a nutrition calculator I'm looking at it right now and after putting my measurements in it says clear as day "YOUR SUGGESTED DAILY CALORIE INTAKE: 1000 CALORIES" I think I'll believe the scientifically proven program over a couple *kitten* I don't even know who I highly doubt are any kind of "experts". Kthxbye

Go see a nutritionist. Clearly you're basing all of your "scientific data" off of ONE person/website/book/whatever when there are countless studies that state a minimum requirement of 1200 for women. You're just going to cause metabolic damage in the long run. But to each their own, have fun with that.

http://www.sandiegocan.org/2015/03/19/scam-alert-the-truth-behind-the-venus-factor-and-other-diet-schemes/

Everyone does things differently, and some people have to learn the hard way what works and what doesn't. I for one would like to view the scientific evidence. I used Google research, but amazingly I came up dry.

Even if you actually lose weight, I'll be curious to see how long you manage to maintain using this program. Will you do it for a year? 5? 20?

I hope you find success and health, even if I don't necessarily agree with your methods.

I call it "maintenance practice days". I eat at maintenance on Saturday and Sunday but don't eat back any exercise calories. It allows me to drink or eat out more easily. I'm at 1200 during the week.

NewMrsCarlson wrote: »

WinoGelato wrote: »

NewMrsCarlson wrote: »

pbandalyssa wrote: »

I spent the first 3 years of my lifestyle change with weekly cheat meals...which eventually turned into cheat days, cheat weekends, and all out binges. It wasn't healthy for me. Recently started IIFYM and my body has absolutely finally found balance. This is what I needed all along! No food is "good" or "bad" it's just energy and helping fuel the tank!

I'm sorry, I am still new here, I do not know what IIFYM is? I'm learning and haven't found a balance yet. I am already starting to get bored and feeling like I can't really have anything, or have to have the same thing, as I just hate cooking, I suck at it too, and im the only one in my house who is doing this, so it's difficult.

Why do you feel you can't have anything, or that you have to eat the same things all the time? What is your calorie goal set at? How much weight are you trying to lose? What rate of loss did you select?

You can eat anything you like within your calorie target and still lose weight. It doesn't have to be restrictive, or boring.

My approach to this was to add things to my routine, rather than to cut things out. More lean protein, more vegetables, more whole grains, more exercise, more sleep (slacking on that lately). By doing this, and not cutting out any of the foods I loved, only cutting back on calories, I never felt deprived or challenged.

I lost the weight I set out to lose (30 lbs) and am currently maintaining. I eat pizza, chocolate, drink wine...

My calorie goal is currently set at 1920 a day. So far i haven't gone over that but come close to it each day. I am trying to lose 185 pounds, and my rate of loss I selected at 2 pounds a week.

I have started and restarted and failed too many times that I am afraid I will fall off again and never get anywhere, so I am sticking with what I do know works, which then of course gets boring. Right now, during my work week, I am eating a yogurt with 1 pouch of OatFit oatmeal for fiber/protein, and lots of water throughout the day. For lunch I have half a baked chicken breast, and a pouch of vegetables (steamer of whatever i choose), and a cheese stick, and for dinner it can be either more chicken and vegetables, or subway that I pre-calculate in the day, and I do very little snacking during the day, but when I do i eat like cherry tomatoes, or another cheese stick, or veggie straws. And that's where i'm at. I don't drink soda, or even coffee anymore. I've drank only water. I never can find the right balance because I suck at cooking, I don't cook, I work a lot, and have other hobbies to keep up with, house work, animals to tend to, etc. I don't know what there is out there that isn't fast food, and within' my calorie budget. Which is why i've always failed.

In my experience, extreme restriction leads to boredom and frustration and often results in a person giving up because the plan they chose is unsustainable. That's how yo yo dieting happens... So if I were you, I would NOT be trying the same things I had tried before.

You said you don't cook and you suck at cooking but do you want to try? It doesn't have to be gourmet meals, but there are millions of recipes a available online, sites like Skinnytaste.com, cookinglight.com and countless others have recipes that are very calorie friendly but tasty too. There are so many ideas on Pinterest, and even here on MFP there is a recipe section, many with already calculated meal goals.

Even if you don't want to cook, there are more options than just fast food besides what you're eating (and you can even eat fast food and still lose weight). I don't know where you live but there may be meal prep places, some with ready made meals that you can purchase ahead of time. Grocery stores have a lot of fresh foods prepared nowadays as well.

And you said your calorie target is 1920? The sample foods you listed wouldn't add up to any thing close to that. I'm in maintenance but I eat around 2000 cals a day during the week. Today I had:

Greek yogurt and coffee with creamer for breakfast
Pasta with chicken and zucchini sautéed in olive oil, herbs and lemon for lunch.
Flip Greek yogurt for a snack
Tacos for dinner with lean ground beef, cheddar cheese and sour cream.
Dessert will be angel food cake, berries, and vanilla ice cream.
1 glass of wine after kids go to bed.

Roughly 1900 calories.

I do have a free day every week. I suppose I am fitting it into my calorie goals on a weekly basis - most days I am under my calorie (+ exercise calorie) goals; while on my free day I am over my goal. If you looked at my calories in/out on a weekly basis, instead of a daily basis, I probably match up with people who fit in treats on a daily basis.

It just works out better for me this way. On Saturdays, I might get a cafe mocha from starbucks in the morning (during the week, that's too much sugar, I would choose regular coffee or a latte), and then I go out to eat with my family for either lunch or dinner and splurge on calories and often have some alcohol or dessert as well. All other days (barring special occasions), I cook at home. It's nice to go out to eat and just say to myself "I'm going to have what sounds good to me, not what fits in with my calorie count today". I do log as best as I can. Generally my free days are around 2500 calories.

While I am not in maintenance, I have lost just over 100lbs in the past 12 months, so I clearly am still eating in deficit. I suppose you might say I am saving my exercise calories for the weekend.

WinoGelato wrote: »

So you are saying your TDEE is 1200 calories? That still seems unlikely. I don't know your age but I plugged in age 30 and your stats, one gave me a TDEE of 1486 and one a TDEE of 1635. That's with a sedentary activity level.

So I stand by my statement that 1200 calories is likely still a deficit for you, and I will raise it and say that 1000 calories for 6 days a week is too low for you.

I'm 5'2 and lost eating 1600-1900 calories, for what it's worth.

JUST saw this ^ Honey I'm only 22 years old so if age makes any difference then those calculations were waaay off if you typed in 30 lol. But as I stated before, I am extremely happy with my results from eating 1,000 calories 6 days a week so I'm going to continue doing that and that's my choice and it's my body so I don't see why it's such a big deal to everyone else.

Luckychic_93 wrote: »

WinoGelato wrote: »

So you are saying your TDEE is 1200 calories? That still seems unlikely. I don't know your age but I plugged in age 30 and your stats, one gave me a TDEE of 1486 and one a TDEE of 1635. That's with a sedentary activity level.

So I stand by my statement that 1200 calories is likely still a deficit for you, and I will raise it and say that 1000 calories for 6 days a week is too low for you.

I'm 5'2 and lost eating 1600-1900 calories, for what it's worth.

JUST saw this ^ Honey I'm only 22 years old so if age makes any difference then those calculations were waaay off if you typed in 30 lol. But as I stated before, I am extremely happy with my results from eating 1,000 calories 6 days a week so I'm going to continue doing that and that's my choice and it's my body so I don't see why it's such a big deal to everyone else.

Your being younger will only make your TDEE higher and @WinoGelato's case that you are undereating stronger. Losing two pounds per week is appropriate for people who have 75+ pounds to lose, not someone who is 25 pounds away from the middle of her BMI.

Look, there probably isn't a single person on this site who hasn't made dieting mistakes. Many of us want to help others learn from our mistakes.

Luckychic_93 wrote: »

WinoGelato wrote: »

So you are saying your TDEE is 1200 calories? That still seems unlikely. I don't know your age but I plugged in age 30 and your stats, one gave me a TDEE of 1486 and one a TDEE of 1635. That's with a sedentary activity level.

So I stand by my statement that 1200 calories is likely still a deficit for you, and I will raise it and say that 1000 calories for 6 days a week is too low for you.

I'm 5'2 and lost eating 1600-1900 calories, for what it's worth.

JUST saw this ^ Honey I'm only 22 years old so if age makes any difference then those calculations were waaay off if you typed in 30 lol. But as I stated before, I am extremely happy with my results from eating 1,000 calories 6 days a week so I'm going to continue doing that and that's my choice and it's my body so I don't see why it's such a big deal to everyone else.

Sweetie, that explains a lot actually. But as @kshama2001 pointed out, the fact that you are younger than the random age I chose, actually makes your TDEE higher, the deficit that you are creating for yourself larger, and the risk of losing lean muscle more than fat even larger...

The advice shared is not only for your benefit, since clearly you've got this all figured out, but for others who might be lurking and reading along. Those people may be interested in preserving lean muscle, avoiding fatigue, hair loss, brittle nails, sallow skin, and becoming "skinny fat".

As a wise rabbit here once said, the winner is the one who eats the most and still loses weight.

I eat low carb/high fat, but within that I eat whatever I want as long as I stay under on carbs. For special events and vacations I switch to moderate carb. I suppose that could be called cheating?