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Cheat day..yes or no?
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mskessler89 wrote: »pompeyjosh1990 wrote: »I 100% agree with 'cheat meals' not cheat days, cheat meals should consist of having a chips instead of low starch carb, or a home made burger instead of a bit of chicken. I would not consist a cheat meal as stuff your face with 5 burgers from macdonalds, drink 10 bears and a kebab on the way home! YES everyone has bad days, I get that- (I do too) its just how you sustain and get back on track, work harder, and try harder to sustain a good clean healthy diet. CHEAT MEALS' will help mentally with your weight loss progression.
One thing I learnt when I first started I did cheat days (which is perfectly acceptable) as you are still making progress having 6 out of 7 good meals- to slowly start to cut back what you have for a cheat meal- then it will be the norm. Cheat meals should be a small pleasure if you cook your food in a tasteful way anyway. Now im back in training im having one cheat meal with one beer on a Saturday or Friday night depending on what im doing. I will slowly remove the beer, then reduce the Fat in each cheat meal.
Cheat days and carb loading are totally different so don't let people fool you?....
I'm hung up on this post. Why so extreme? Why is it a homemade burger vs. 5 McD's burgers + beer + a kebab? Why couldn't I go out and get a single burger, a single beer, and no kebab? And then why do I need to make my cheat meals healthier? The whole point is to eat something I enjoy, and if I were to start cutting out beer and fat it's not the same meal. I don't get this mindset at all... But I guess if it works for you, more power to you.
To the "homemade" point - part of "cheating" or "treating" or whatever terminology you want to use goes beyond the food. It's the environment and mood I'm in while eating the food. I make awesome, healthy, 500-calorie meals all week long. I'm a great home cook. The salmon I made last night was restaurant-worthy. But 45-75 minutes in the kitchen to make dinner, then 15-30 minutes doing dishes after cooking is not necessarily relaxing for me. I love going out and letting someone else do all the work. I love the atmosphere of a restaurant. I love getting dressed up if we're going to a nice place. All of this sets up a meal I can completely immerse myself in. It's a whole experience.
Anyway, I don't cheat, I have treats. I work them into my calories and I usually have them daily. When I was losing, I ate at a deficit Monday-Friday and ate at maintenance on the weekends. I might have lost a little slower, but I never had to sacrifice my social life or food I really loved.
So Much All Of This....0 -
No... eat "all the foods" every day just make them fit... you do that you will be able to sustain this lifestyle. You'll also find you don't always want to eat the "crap" you use to crave when you were depriving yourself. This happens to me from time to time; I actually get tired of cookies and other sweets (say what?!!) because I eat them a lot, LOL! BTW - I practice what I preach: yesterday I had 2 Twinkies w/ my coffee (and was UNDER my calorie goal for the day and had a nearly perfect macro balance - I was perfect on one and was off by like 1% on the other 2) and this morning I had 3 Ho-Hos w/ my coffee (and will balance out my macros w/ the rest of my food). Plan ahead you can eat whatever the hell you want (in moderation) every single day!3
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xmichaelyx wrote: »My cheat day starts on Friday night and lasts until Monday morning. The rest of my week is structured to allow this.
Me too!0 -
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stop viewing food as cheats, bad, good, evil, etc. Food = food...eat the foods that you like and find a way to work in the higher calorie ones while still hitting your calorie, micro, and macro goal for the day.
^^^This, this, this and this. Can NOT be stressed enough. Just to be clear, no one is saying you HAVE to eat all the foods, just that you don't NEED to exclude any (barring a medical condition) to achieve your goals...3 -
Yeah what he said (above) I didn't mean to imply you should eat all the foods every day I just meant you can, if you want... but you wont want to, cuz you're going to get tired of them real quick! Some days the thought of sweets makes me want to barf and instead I crave things like protein and veggies... yes, that's right, I... crave... them. You learn to stop demonizing food and you'll find your self eating a much more well-rounded variety of foods... and liking it!
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I do one cheat meal per week, and this, along with some other lifestyle changes such as planning meals a week ahead of time and food prepping, helped me get to my goal weight. They are NOT for everybody. Do what feels good and what works for you. Here is a great article if you're considering cheat meals.
http://www.muscleforlife.com/cheat-meal/1 -
I do one cheat meal per week, and this, along with some other lifestyle changes such as planning meals a week ahead of time and food prepping, helped me get to my goal weight. They are NOT for everybody. Do what feels good and what works for you. Here is a great article if you're considering cheat meals.
http://www.muscleforlife.com/cheat-meal/
too many rules...just eat the foods you like and fit them into your plan....1 -
addily1986 wrote: »When starting my diet I thought to myself "I'm not sure I can do this...I need a cheat day." Now my mind is telling me yes cheat day! ...but it's telling me to cheat every day so I'm trying not to listen.
What are other peoples viewpoints on a cheat day?
Dieting is hard work any time of the year you do it. But it feels especially hard for me in the summer because of all the fun social things happening. I mean have you ever tried to float the river without a beer? BORING.
instead of dieting for a season or time of year, make a lifestyle change where you consistently lose, and keep, the weight off ....2 -
I do one cheat meal per week, and this, along with some other lifestyle changes such as planning meals a week ahead of time and food prepping, helped me get to my goal weight. They are NOT for everybody. Do what feels good and what works for you. Here is a great article if you're considering cheat meals.
http://www.muscleforlife.com/cheat-meal/
too many rules...just eat the foods you like and fit them into your plan....
This IS how I fit the foods I like into my plan. There are rules to follow for every successful plan-they're not that hard to keep in mind. For some people with lower daily calorie goals it can be really difficult to fit in some of the more higher calorie foods they like.1 -
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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