Cheat meal????

Finallyfit1976
Finallyfit1976 Posts: 154 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

Has anyone tried to have a cheat meal per week where you eat whatever you want without counting calories and didn't affect your weight loss? I personally feel very motivated when I know that I have 1 cheat meal but I prefer to ask you guys first.
TIA

Replies

  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,032 Member
    edited October 2016
    If it works for you, go for it. Lots of people do.

    What I personally tend to do is eat lower during the week (around 1200 cals) and then eat around 2000 cals on weekend days. It averages out to 1430 calories a day, which I comfortably lose 1-2lbs a week on. That's what works for me, because weekends I'm with my husband and friends and we like to eat.
  • astrocosmiczoom
    astrocosmiczoom Posts: 86 Member
    edited October 2016
    I did the first time I lost weight. I lost 21 pounds in about six months. I always had a cheat Friday night and Saturday with my boyfriend where we just ate straight garbage: pizza, Mountain Dew, fruit Gushers, chips. It sort of made me want to hurl. By Sunday I was so ready to eat clean again.

    I do the same thing now, but I'm not really into junk food. So, it just ends up being a giant box of mac and cheese and wine.
  • Dano74
    Dano74 Posts: 503 Member
    Cheat meal every day. Just keep it in calories/macros.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,321 Member
    I go out and eat dinner on the weekends ..I am mindful all week to workout a bit extra (sometimes I'll go an extra five minutes a day on the elliptical) and may eat a bit more lean here and there... knowing I can still make progress and enjoy my life.
    I love being able to be like a normal person and not a strict diet constantly. I essentially act as if i'm at maintenance already.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    I create a large enough deficit during 6/7 days so that I can eat a meal of my choosing on Saturday evening. This works well for me as my maintenance is somewhere around 3000 calories however lighter people will struggle to get the maths to work!
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    I am flexible on calorie/food choices on weekends, but they are planned outings with my family/friends.. The word cheat is not in my vocabulary as it pertains to food and my diet.
  • PixelPuff
    PixelPuff Posts: 902 Member
    Seeing as a cheat meal, without regards to calories, can completely decimate many people's deficits for the whole week... I'd say it depends on what the meal would be. I'd still keep an eye on the calories, but plan better for it.

    Then again, I'm so short that my TDEE [lightly active] is around 1500. Yeah, to maintain. xD;
  • kcn2bluesky
    kcn2bluesky Posts: 187 Member
    RoxieDawn wrote: »
    I am flexible on calorie/food choices on weekends, but they are planned outings with my family/friends.. The word cheat is not in my vocabulary as it pertains to food and my diet.

    Agreeing 100% with @RoxieDawn . "Cheat" is a not-so-great word to use when referring to what you eat. I think it creates a negative connotation that is unnecessary. Just fit what you want into your weekly allotment of calories. That usually will mean you need to scale back a little on other days, but then you will have those extra calories to "spend" on another day that week.

  • Chadxx
    Chadxx Posts: 1,199 Member
    The beauty of it is that you don't have to cheat. You can eat whatever you want with a little planning. I would absolutely not go "cheat" and not count the calories. That is a recipe for destroying progress. Do count the calories and figure your deficit by the week, not just the day.
  • shayminhog
    shayminhog Posts: 10 Member
    It all depends on how many calories your cheat meal was and how many calories you'd saved the rest of the week. If you'd eaten a deficit of 1000 in the week and banked those calories for weight loss, but then over ate by 1000 calories in your cheat meal it would not give you a loss for that week. I usually have a controlled cheat day, where I eat up to my maintain weight calories and then I get a treat one day a week without putting on any weight or feeling guilty. Of course every now and then I'll have a pizza or a slab of chocolate, but I also want to enjoy life! But these days are rare now that I'm so motivated to get to where I want to be :)
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,241 Member
    Depends on how much you have to lose and how big your deficit is. If for example you only have a little left to lose and make 200cals a day deficit then it is very easy to completely negate it with the cheat day. So just do some math and figure if you can afford a cheat day in your case.

    I personally have no desire to eat something without at least a reasonable estimate of its calorie content so never have those types of cheat days. I always log, be it under or over maintanance.
  • shayminhog
    shayminhog Posts: 10 Member
    PixelPuff wrote: »
    Seeing as a cheat meal, without regards to calories, can completely decimate many people's deficits for the whole week... I'd say it depends on what the meal would be. I'd still keep an eye on the calories, but plan better for it.

    Then again, I'm so short that my TDEE [lightly active] is around 1500. Yeah, to maintain. xD;
    Me too! I'm 1600 to maintain and it's so annoying!
  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
    worked for me while I was serious about losing weight. I lost 100 pounds having one blowout meal a week. its harder when you have less to lose and virtually impossible to when you are eating at maintenance unless you do what others suggest, eat a little during the week or that day.
  • Intentional_Me
    Intentional_Me Posts: 336 Member
    I think it depends on how much you have to lose. You could easily blow your weeks deficit with one cheat meal if you have a small weekly deficit.
  • Intentional_Me
    Intentional_Me Posts: 336 Member
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    I create a large enough deficit during 6/7 days so that I can eat a meal of my choosing on Saturday evening. This works well for me as my maintenance is somewhere around 3000 calories however lighter people will struggle to get the maths to work!

    Sitting here dreaming of a 3,000 maintenance. I so wish...

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