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

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
    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: 28,052 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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: 10,179 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    Own it. Log it.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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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