Cheat Day - To Log or Not to Log that is the question?

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Jalexander33
Jalexander33 Posts: 52 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So for a while now I have been wondering should I log my cheat meal or cheat? Pros of logging it I get to see what I just ingested but the Cons are I can see how bad it really was and anyone on my friend list can see it too :*

I guess it doesn't seem like a cheat meal if I'm looking at how bad it was for me. What are your habits do you log or not?

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    I don't have cheat days, but I would say log so you have your weekly stats - that way you know if your cheat day is blowing your deficit.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    Log, so you can see if your cheat day has undone all the hard work you did earlier in the week. If so, you may wish to reconsider the cheat day concept. I eat more on the weekends, but I also exercise more these days.
  • ptipton520
    ptipton520 Posts: 83 Member
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    Log it! I think it will help you decide was that cheat worth it or not. Too easy to delude yourself if you are only logging part of your intake.
  • leajas1
    leajas1 Posts: 823 Member
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    Cheat meals helped me get to 15% body fat (one of a few changes I made in my life style to help me reach my goals). I did them for over a year without tracking, but that was before MFP. For the most part, I log. I didn't want to last Saturday, but I did :)
  • Tretop76
    Tretop76 Posts: 256 Member
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    I will log it within the week of the cheat. If I have a surplus of calories I just go back and add whatever I ate for my cheat day to days prior....
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    Yes, log the best you can. Personally, if I'm a bit fuzzy on remembering anything past 3000 calories for a day, I let it slide. If you might use the recorded information in myfitnesspal to seek answers to questions, it is necessary that the recorded information be accurate.
  • socalrunner59
    socalrunner59 Posts: 149 Member
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    I don't log re-feed days. For me, the purpose of logging is to ensure I do not exceed a specific calorie limit; ensure I eat a specific amount of protein; ensure I hold carbs to a reasonable amount. On a re-feed day I make very healthy choices, still eat only reasonable quantities, but do not have the limits on calories, etc. so for me, I see no purpose in logging.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    edited August 2016
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    I log everything. My diary is a tool and I like seeing the weekly average on Sundays. I can easily wipe a whole week deficit with a 'cheat day' if I'm not careful so yeah...

    ETA: my diary is closed.
  • dutchandkiwi
    dutchandkiwi Posts: 1,389 Member
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    I log it all. I don't want to lie to myself. If I am not honest to myself then what is the point? As for not wanting my friends to see it. If I tell them it was planned nobody is going to crinch. After all it is my diary, I am accountable to me, myself and I. My friends are my support group (and they are wonderful) but in the end it is about me.
    Plus last but not least. If I don't want my friends to see it then really do I want to eat it? (Again about being honest to myself)
  • hassankarimi82
    hassankarimi82 Posts: 153 Member
    edited August 2016
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    I have one refeed meal once per week, or twice dependant on how I feel, but I don't log it or include in my daily goals. It's usually a high carb meal also.
  • kwtilbury
    kwtilbury Posts: 1,234 Member
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    Own it. Log it.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    I don't know what a cheat meal is.

    If your goal us to lose fat, than log your food with the goal to be in a deficit on daily average.

    If you do that, you will lose fat.

  • rudewitt
    rudewitt Posts: 1 Member
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    I own up to it, and log it all. Found out that my cheat days were always as bad as I thought.
  • autumnblonde1
    autumnblonde1 Posts: 10 Member
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    Log it. I find that when I do log it, or know that I will be logging higher numbers than usual, it encourages me to do a good, high calorie burn workout that day, to counteract my intake, or rather, make it look not quite so bad whenever I do log it. I don't know. Works for me. Knowing I will have to log my intake makes me be a bit more careful with a cheat, too. I don't set out to do a cheat, but now and then if I have a little splurge, I do log it. I can't understand never ever eating anything off plan. Life is short.
  • cee134
    cee134 Posts: 33,711 Member
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    Log it, not logging is like stealing from yourself. It doesn't do you any good. Logging it will help you see patterns.

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