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Cheat day..yes or no?
Replies
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I have no problem with cheat days -- although I try to stick more to a cheat meal. I don't usually go too over my allowance if I stick to a cheat meal instead and eat less throughout the day or maybe exercise more to work it off. I'm not sure why people have problems with it. You earn it sometimes!2
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I think cheat meals once a week are good. They keep me on track so I don't go on a binge fest lol0
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I do A cheat meal once a week and it's pre planned into my weekly meal planning. So do regular white pasta with a cream sauce0
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I am happy to say that I have not had a FULL cheat day to date. And this new lifestyle has gotten easier for me.
I have however have had a cheat meal.... Such as yesterday I worked out, burned a crap ton of calories and then I had a big, juicy, cheeseburger from my favorite lil drive in for dinner...... And I enjoyed every single bite! But I knew if I ate that I had to opt out of 1-2 beers I was going to have at a baseball game later that evening.
I'm really good at trading things.... Like yes you can have this cheesecake- but you can't have a cocktail after dinner. Is that cheesecake REALLY worth it? Makes me really think about things.1 -
If you have to cheat, you're not making a lifestyle change - one you can live with. I'm learning that the hard way. I'm now finding a way to eat happy yet still lose weight. And I'm not depriving myself of anything really. The fact is that I just can't continue to eat the way I have been eating AND have the body or fitness level I want. What's more important? I made my decision that I want to be healther, less fat and more muscular. That's more important than pizza, oreos and ice cream. Will I have those things again? Sure. But not every other day and it won't be cheating. It'll be an occasional treat I'll plan for. In the meantime, I'm eating delicious food, staying under my calorie goal and I'm happy I found a plan I can live with.2
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If you have to cheat, you're not making a lifestyle change - one you can live with. I'm learning that the hard way. I'm now finding a way to eat happy yet still lose weight. And I'm not depriving myself of anything really. The fact is that I just can't continue to eat the way I have been eating AND have the body or fitness level I want. What's more important? I made my decision that I want to be healther, less fat and more muscular. That's more important than pizza, oreos and ice cream. Will I have those things again? Sure. But not every other day and it won't be cheating. It'll be an occasional treat I'll plan for. In the meantime, I'm eating delicious food, staying under my calorie goal and I'm happy I found a plan I can live with.
Many of us ate pizza, Oreos and ice cream while becoming healthier, less fat and more muscular. I ate delicious food including those things while staying under my calorie goal and never took them out of my diet. That's a plan I can live with...7 -
If you have to cheat, you're not making a lifestyle change - one you can live with. I'm learning that the hard way. I'm now finding a way to eat happy yet still lose weight. And I'm not depriving myself of anything really. The fact is that I just can't continue to eat the way I have been eating AND have the body or fitness level I want. What's more important? I made my decision that I want to be healther, less fat and more muscular. That's more important than pizza, oreos and ice cream. Will I have those things again? Sure. But not every other day and it won't be cheating. It'll be an occasional treat I'll plan for. In the meantime, I'm eating delicious food, staying under my calorie goal and I'm happy I found a plan I can live with.
breaking news - you can eat oreos, pizza, etc, and be healthier, more muscular, and have less body fat....8 -
I've done it both ways. It really depends on you and your circumstances.
When I was deployed, I did one cheat day a week. I would eat super strict 6 days a week and then go all out junk on Sunday - usually it was ice cream, pies, etc. I got shredded during that time but I was also super active and had no outside pressures or social eating type occasions to deal with.
Last few years, I did IIFYM and counted calories. I would incorporate some kinds of treats within my calorie goals when I wanted. I generally would make it something at least semi-healthy though. I again got shredded this way but did have some outside social eating pressures to deal with occasionally but enjoyed tracking and counting every calorie and macro at the time (I had less things going on in my life at the time compared to now).
Generally, these days, I find it easier to basically eat 'clean' these days and if I want a treat every now and then I just have what I want. What I want is usually not too junky though anyway. But that is based on my current lifestyle. Closer to IIFYM but not quite, as I don't even count calories at all these days. I have some social pressures and eat out every now and then because I got married. But she's generally even more of a 'clean eater' than I am so it's not really an issue. I believe I can get just as lean as in the past the way I'm doing it now but it will probably take a little longer. Which is OK as I'm pretty much satisfied with my body as it is for the most part.
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WinoGelato wrote: »Many of us ate pizza, Oreos and ice cream while becoming healthier, less fat and more muscular. I ate delicious food including those things while staying under my calorie goal and never took them out of my diet. That's a plan I can live with...
See below...breaking news - you can eat oreos, pizza, etc, and be healthier, more muscular, and have less body fat....
Breaking news: That was kind of my point. Yes, you can, it's not cheating: But can you do it every day? I say "NO." You might lose weight if you stay under your calorie goal but you won't be "healthier" than if you work on a better, cleaner, healthier diet. But if you're just looking to argue... have at it.
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WinoGelato wrote: »Many of us ate pizza, Oreos and ice cream while becoming healthier, less fat and more muscular. I ate delicious food including those things while staying under my calorie goal and never took them out of my diet. That's a plan I can live with...
See below...breaking news - you can eat oreos, pizza, etc, and be healthier, more muscular, and have less body fat....
Breaking news: That was kind of my point. Yes, you can, it's not cheating: But can you do it every day? I say "NO." You might lose weight if you stay under your calorie goal but you won't be "healthier" than if you work on a better, cleaner, healthier diet. But if you're just looking to argue... have at it.
All three every day? Probably not. Ice cream every day? Sure. Or Oreos, a serving of either is about 150 cals. I can fit that in every day, still meet my goals... Pizza about once a week usually.
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So, I feel like you have to ask yourself what you really want here. I mean from your lifestyle as a whole. What will strike that balance for you between happy with your body and happy with your life?
This has been a huge mental evolution for me, as I used to be a typical yo-yo dieter. Super restrictive, alternating with super indulgent. Generally the one leads to the other, perpetuating the cycle. In looking back, the problem was that I felt that the process controlled me, rather than the other way around. I let my eating structure control my life.
I see and feel clearly now that counting calories, counting macros, the food scale and the body weight scale are just tools to enable me to accomplish my goals. When you think of going outside of your self-imposed eating structure as "cheating", I think it perpetuates the mentality that you don't control your eating habits. Like these are someone else's rules or something.
You only have yourself to answer to. When you understand that you have total control over this process, and that just because you don't log calories doesn't mean that they don't exist, you start thinking of ways to adapt the process to the way you want to eat and live.
TL;DR, I recommend working a high calorie day into your weekly deficit. Just because you hide from them, doesn't mean the calories don't exist.1 -
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WinoGelato wrote: »Many of us ate pizza, Oreos and ice cream while becoming healthier, less fat and more muscular. I ate delicious food including those things while staying under my calorie goal and never took them out of my diet. That's a plan I can live with...
See below...breaking news - you can eat oreos, pizza, etc, and be healthier, more muscular, and have less body fat....
Breaking news: That was kind of my point. Yes, you can, it's not cheating: But can you do it every day? I say "NO." You might lose weight if you stay under your calorie goal but you won't be "healthier" than if you work on a better, cleaner, healthier diet. But if you're just looking to argue... have at it.
i eat oreos almost every day and have no issues with reaching my goals...You said being healthier and muscular is more important than eating pizza and oreos; my point is you can do both.
you don't need to eat clean to be "healthy" that is just a ridiculous made up thing. If you hit your calorie goals, micros, and macros you will be healthy.2 -
I think you need a cheat day every now and then to reset your metabolism.....a cheat day not a week......LOL....Find what works for you0
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Personally I end up having unplanned cheat days a little bit too often, and I definitely need to learn how to have better planning not to end up in those situations. I know that if I have a cheat day, I'll most likely continue the next day too with whatever leftovers I have, and so forth. For that reason I try very hard not to have any cheat days, but strictly follow my CICO. It can still include treats and sweets, but only as long as it fits, or there's a calorie bank for it.0
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WinoGelato wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »Many of us ate pizza, Oreos and ice cream while becoming healthier, less fat and more muscular. I ate delicious food including those things while staying under my calorie goal and never took them out of my diet. That's a plan I can live with...
See below...breaking news - you can eat oreos, pizza, etc, and be healthier, more muscular, and have less body fat....
Breaking news: That was kind of my point. Yes, you can, it's not cheating: But can you do it every day? I say "NO." You might lose weight if you stay under your calorie goal but you won't be "healthier" than if you work on a better, cleaner, healthier diet. But if you're just looking to argue... have at it.
All three every day? Probably not. Ice cream every day? Sure. Or Oreos, a serving of either is about 150 cals. I can fit that in every day, still meet my goals... Pizza about once a week usually.
And there's the key: "YOUR goals." If that works for you, GREAT!
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WinoGelato wrote: »Many of us ate pizza, Oreos and ice cream while becoming healthier, less fat and more muscular. I ate delicious food including those things while staying under my calorie goal and never took them out of my diet. That's a plan I can live with...
See below...breaking news - you can eat oreos, pizza, etc, and be healthier, more muscular, and have less body fat....
Breaking news: That was kind of my point. Yes, you can, it's not cheating: But can you do it every day? I say "NO." You might lose weight if you stay under your calorie goal but you won't be "healthier" than if you work on a better, cleaner, healthier diet. But if you're just looking to argue... have at it.
i eat oreos almost every day and have no issues with reaching my goals...You said being healthier and muscular is more important than eating pizza and oreos; my point is you can do both.
you don't need to eat clean to be "healthy" that is just a ridiculous made up thing. If you hit your calorie goals, micros, and macros you will be healthy.
I disagree totally. Eating clean to be "healthy" is not a ridiculous made up thing. Hitting calorie goals has little to do with being healthy. It is more for losing/maintaining weight. You could do that eating nothing but oreos and pizza as long as you stay under you calorie goal. Is it healthy? No.
But, again, your goals are your goals. They are not my goals. I posted my opinion about cheat days and I stand by it. Based on your goals you are not "cheating" by eating crap and based on my goals and stated opinion I will not be cheating either when I eat crap. I just choose, happily, to choose crap less often and I believe I will be healther, not just lighter, for making that decision.1 -
I don't do cheat days or cheat meals (who or what am I cheating?!?!?).
I do LCHF 6 days a week, with a scheduled re-feed that allows added carbs 1 meal a week (not to go overboard, just to put some carbs (75-100 grams)) back into my meals. Most other days, I run with less than 30 grams of carbs.0 -
WinoGelato wrote: »Many of us ate pizza, Oreos and ice cream while becoming healthier, less fat and more muscular. I ate delicious food including those things while staying under my calorie goal and never took them out of my diet. That's a plan I can live with...
See below...breaking news - you can eat oreos, pizza, etc, and be healthier, more muscular, and have less body fat....
Breaking news: That was kind of my point. Yes, you can, it's not cheating: But can you do it every day? I say "NO." You might lose weight if you stay under your calorie goal but you won't be "healthier" than if you work on a better, cleaner, healthier diet. But if you're just looking to argue... have at it.
i eat oreos almost every day and have no issues with reaching my goals...You said being healthier and muscular is more important than eating pizza and oreos; my point is you can do both.
you don't need to eat clean to be "healthy" that is just a ridiculous made up thing. If you hit your calorie goals, micros, and macros you will be healthy.
I disagree totally. Eating clean to be "healthy" is not a ridiculous made up thing. Hitting calorie goals has little to do with being healthy. It is more for losing/maintaining weight. You could do that eating nothing but oreos and pizza as long as you stay under you calorie goal. Is it healthy? No.
But, again, your goals are your goals. They are not my goals. I posted my opinion about cheat days and I stand by it. Based on your goals you are not "cheating" by eating crap and based on my goals and stated opinion I will not be cheating either when I eat crap. I just choose, happily, to choose crap less often and I believe I will be healther, not just lighter, for making that decision.
so how are you defining clean then? There are about a million definitions of it, and, in reality, it is just a made up term so that some people can act like they feel soooo much better about their food choices.
If you get your micros, and macros in, and hit your calorie goals then how is that not healthy??
how in the world would pizza be considered "crap" food it has all three essential macro nutrients = fat, carbs, and protein...is your position that fat, carbs, and protein are crap?6 -
If you have to cheat, you're not making a lifestyle change - one you can live with.
Eh, I don't like the term "cheat" either, it makes no sense to me, but most people who use it just mean eating more indulgently than usual or going over their normal calorie goal. You can do that within the context of a "lifestyle change" (although there's a good discussion on that phrase elsewhere on the forum and I agree with the OP of that topic). You certainly can make a lifestyle change you can live with and have days where you eat more than usual. I like to go to a nice restaurant on the weekend and so plan for it.I made my decision that I want to be healther, less fat and more muscular. That's more important than pizza, oreos and ice cream. Will I have those things again? Sure. But not every other day and it won't be cheating. It'll be an occasional treat I'll plan for. In the meantime, I'm eating delicious food, staying under my calorie goal and I'm happy I found a plan I can live with.
Why can't you have an oreo (50 calories) or even a serving of ice cream (200 calories, depending) or sorbet (I like a mango sorbet that's 80 calories) every other day? For that matter, what's the huge difference between a thin crust pizza with lots of vegetables and lean meat and a pasta with lots of vegetables and lean meat? I don't have the pizza that often (I'm lazy so prefer to have it made for me in an Italian restaurant, as I might tonight), but I have pasta with vegetables and lean meat often, and I think it fits well in a healthful diet, as well as being a fast dinner that happens to meet my goals (largely healthy fats, adequate protein, and lots and lot of vegetables). Especially if you pair it with a salad!
I get that we all have different goals, so maybe you have some kind of fitness competitor thing, but in terms of losing weight, getting more fit, gaining muscle (I'm basically recomping at the moment), meeting training goals (I'm focused on some endurance training goals), and generally being healthy and getting in the nutrition you need, why would these foods be a problem, even having one or the other every other day. (Packaged cookies aren't my thing so I'll pass on the oreos, but they certainly aren't high cal, at least not individually.)0 -
Eating clean to be "healthy" is not a ridiculous made up thing.
Do you understand what "eating clean" is? If not, I get it -- it's not like it has a real definition. However, my understanding is that typically it refers to a claim that one eats no processed foods (like pasta and protein powder and smoked salmon and whole wheat homemade bread and cottage cheese and plain greek yogurt, oh no!)
Eschewing those food has no relationship to getting in good nutrition or getting healthy, so the claim that it does IS a ridiculous made up thing.
For that matter, a claim that someone is inherently less healthy because she occasionally eats an oreo or pizza or ice cream -- making one not a clean eater -- is ridiculous.0 -
WinoGelato wrote: »Many of us ate pizza, Oreos and ice cream while becoming healthier, less fat and more muscular. I ate delicious food including those things while staying under my calorie goal and never took them out of my diet. That's a plan I can live with...
See below...breaking news - you can eat oreos, pizza, etc, and be healthier, more muscular, and have less body fat....
Breaking news: That was kind of my point. Yes, you can, it's not cheating: But can you do it every day? I say "NO." You might lose weight if you stay under your calorie goal but you won't be "healthier" than if you work on a better, cleaner, healthier diet. But if you're just looking to argue... have at it.
i eat oreos almost every day and have no issues with reaching my goals...You said being healthier and muscular is more important than eating pizza and oreos; my point is you can do both.
you don't need to eat clean to be "healthy" that is just a ridiculous made up thing. If you hit your calorie goals, micros, and macros you will be healthy.
I disagree totally. Eating clean to be "healthy" is not a ridiculous made up thing. Hitting calorie goals has little to do with being healthy. It is more for losing/maintaining weight. You could do that eating nothing but oreos and pizza as long as you stay under you calorie goal. Is it healthy? No.
But, again, your goals are your goals. They are not my goals. I posted my opinion about cheat days and I stand by it. Based on your goals you are not "cheating" by eating crap and based on my goals and stated opinion I will not be cheating either when I eat crap. I just choose, happily, to choose crap less often and I believe I will be healther, not just lighter, for making that decision.
Which is why the statement was "If you hit your calorie goals, micros, and macros you will be healthy." Nobody said hitting calorie goals alone was sufficient for health.5 -
janejellyroll wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »Many of us ate pizza, Oreos and ice cream while becoming healthier, less fat and more muscular. I ate delicious food including those things while staying under my calorie goal and never took them out of my diet. That's a plan I can live with...
See below...breaking news - you can eat oreos, pizza, etc, and be healthier, more muscular, and have less body fat....
Breaking news: That was kind of my point. Yes, you can, it's not cheating: But can you do it every day? I say "NO." You might lose weight if you stay under your calorie goal but you won't be "healthier" than if you work on a better, cleaner, healthier diet. But if you're just looking to argue... have at it.
i eat oreos almost every day and have no issues with reaching my goals...You said being healthier and muscular is more important than eating pizza and oreos; my point is you can do both.
you don't need to eat clean to be "healthy" that is just a ridiculous made up thing. If you hit your calorie goals, micros, and macros you will be healthy.
I disagree totally. Eating clean to be "healthy" is not a ridiculous made up thing. Hitting calorie goals has little to do with being healthy. It is more for losing/maintaining weight. You could do that eating nothing but oreos and pizza as long as you stay under you calorie goal. Is it healthy? No.
But, again, your goals are your goals. They are not my goals. I posted my opinion about cheat days and I stand by it. Based on your goals you are not "cheating" by eating crap and based on my goals and stated opinion I will not be cheating either when I eat crap. I just choose, happily, to choose crap less often and I believe I will be healther, not just lighter, for making that decision.
Which is why the statement was "If you hit your calorie goals, micros, and macros you will be healthy." Nobody said hitting calorie goals alone was sufficient for health.
You beat me to it...2 -
A "cheat day" is a word only a "clean eater" would use...4
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lemurcat12 wrote: »If you have to cheat, you're not making a lifestyle change - one you can live with.
Eh, I don't like the term "cheat" either, it makes no sense to me, but most people who use it just mean eating more indulgently than usual or going over their normal calorie goal. You can do that within the context of a "lifestyle change" (although there's a good discussion on that phrase elsewhere on the forum and I agree with the OP of that topic). You certainly can make a lifestyle change you can live with and have days where you eat more than usual. I like to go to a nice restaurant on the weekend and so plan for it.I made my decision that I want to be healther, less fat and more muscular. That's more important than pizza, oreos and ice cream. Will I have those things again? Sure. But not every other day and it won't be cheating. It'll be an occasional treat I'll plan for. In the meantime, I'm eating delicious food, staying under my calorie goal and I'm happy I found a plan I can live with.
Why can't you have an oreo (50 calories) or even a serving of ice cream (200 calories, depending) or sorbet (I like a mango sorbet that's 80 calories) every other day? For that matter, what's the huge difference between a thin crust pizza with lots of vegetables and lean meat and a pasta with lots of vegetables and lean meat? I don't have the pizza that often (I'm lazy so prefer to have it made for me in an Italian restaurant, as I might tonight), but I have pasta with vegetables and lean meat often, and I think it fits well in a healthful diet, as well as being a fast dinner that happens to meet my goals (largely healthy fats, adequate protein, and lots and lot of vegetables). Especially if you pair it with a salad!
I get that we all have different goals, so maybe you have some kind of fitness competitor thing, but in terms of losing weight, getting more fit, gaining muscle (I'm basically recomping at the moment), meeting training goals (I'm focused on some endurance training goals), and generally being healthy and getting in the nutrition you need, why would these foods be a problem, even having one or the other every other day. (Packaged cookies aren't my thing so I'll pass on the oreos, but they certainly aren't high cal, at least not individually.)
Maybe that's the problem... I used specific example, people ignored the context and jumped on those specific examples. The point I keep trying to get across is that if you stay within your own defined goals you shouldn't have to "cheat." "Cheat meals" ... "cheat days" ... it's stupid. Can an alcoholic have a "cheat shot and a cheat beer?" FOR ME (nobody else, for me), when I say pizza I'm not talking about a thin crust veggie. When I say oreos I'm not talking about 1 or 2. When I say ice cream I'm not talking about one half cup serving. There's a reason I and most people on here got fat in the first place. It's because we at a lot of crap a lot of the time. Is "cheating" eating 1 cookie or 1 slice of a thin crust veggie/tofu pizza? Not to me.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Eating clean to be "healthy" is not a ridiculous made up thing.
Do you understand what "eating clean" is? If not, I get it -- it's not like it has a real definition. However, my understanding is that typically it refers to a claim that one eats no processed foods (like pasta and protein powder and smoked salmon and whole wheat homemade bread and cottage cheese and plain greek yogurt, oh no!)
Eschewing those food has no relationship to getting in good nutrition or getting healthy, so the claim that it does IS a ridiculous made up thing.
For that matter, a claim that someone is inherently less healthy because she occasionally eats an oreo or pizza or ice cream -- making one not a clean eater -- is ridiculous.
For me, eating clean is getting stuff as unprocessed as possible, doing my own cooking at home to control what goes in to my food. It means fresh pineapple and fruits I cut myself. It means reading labels. It means shopping the outside perimeter of the grocery store and avoiding the chip and cookie isle. Am I following a perfect science? Of course not. Am I cheating based on my goals? No. I'm making my own hamburger instead of going to a fast food place. (Actually I use salmon or turkey burgers.) I'm eating way "cleaner" than I was and that is MY GOAL.
Just another example of taking one thing I said out of the whole context and pouncing. The OP asked about cheating and I gave my opinion. 0
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