Cheat days advise

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  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,682 Member
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    A diet I was on a few years ago allowed 2 "golden tickets" a week, to be eaten on the weekend. They weren't two meals, but 2 foods that you missed and wanted to eat that didn't fit into the eating plan (which was low carb.) I could have a beer and a bowl of ice cream, or a baked potato, or pizza - but I couldn't have everything I thought I was missing. It made me think about what I really wanted and what I didn't. Did I want to waste one of my treats on a piece of birthday cake when I don't even like birthday cake? If we were out to dinner, did I want to waste it on fries?

    What I got out of that diet was that treats should be something special, not an every day occurrence. Since I have a sweet tooth, it is too easy to get back into the habits that make me fat, like ice cream every day, or cookies when I'm hungry, etc. I also didn't have the sense that any food was completely forbidden, but I needed to think before I ate about how much I really wanted to eat it.
  • conquertheself
    conquertheself Posts: 91 Member
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    TeaBea wrote: »
    Zig-zag your calories. I eat a little lower during the week to "bank" calories for the weekends. On weekends I'm basically eating at maintenance.....so it's not a free for all.

    Interesting! Does that actually help in weight loss?
  • MommyL2015
    MommyL2015 Posts: 1,411 Member
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    My advice on cheat days is don't have cheat days. Or even cheat meals. Just eat what you like within your calories, and stick with it. On days where you do have a little too much, just log it and move on. I find that having a designated day for "cheats" tends to make me feel like I can go overboard, so if I don't ever allow for that, then days where I indulge a little too much aren't nearly as often as they would if I allowed for them every week. When I'm having an off week or even month, i'll just try and stick to maintenance and fit in more walking.
  • Dano74
    Dano74 Posts: 503 Member
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    ariela569 wrote: »
    I'm guessing you workout a lot? That too factors into it. I'm on 1200 cal diet plan, it's restrictive but I feel I need to shake things up. I have 20 lb to lose and I ain't messin around... except cheat days

    I do work out, yes. Because I love to eat crap that much. ;)
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,472 Member
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    I work my butt off all week, I like to burn 1000 calories a day. I also like to fast sometimes. but weekends I party hard, and I have always been maintaining., enjoying red wine now.
  • ariela569
    ariela569 Posts: 22 Member
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    Cheers to the weekend
  • alyssa0061
    alyssa0061 Posts: 652 Member
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    conquertheself wrote: »
    TeaBea wrote: »
    Zig-zag your calories. I eat a little lower during the week to "bank" calories for the weekends. On weekends I'm basically eating at maintenance.....so it's not a free for all.

    Interesting! Does that actually help in weight loss?

    No, it helps you keep a consistent calorie deficit and allows you to eat more on designated days. It doesn't help any more than eating the same amount of calories each day. Weekly, monthly and beyond it averages out the same. It will "help" with weight loss if it keeps you from negating your deficit by "cheating" one day a week.
  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
    edited October 2016
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    1. Get the concept of a cheat day out of your head if it means not tracking. On Friday and Saturday I typically eat more than other days because I go out for dinner and possibly drinks. I like to enjoy myself but I track everything.

    In the app there is a week view. I set my week to start on Friday and when Sunday comes around I can see where I'm at. If I'm say, 1000 calories over my weekly net target, I can either eat less some days to make it up, add some cardio or a combination of the two. Works great for me.

    It has also been great for getting me out of the daily pass/fail mentality as it relates to diet and has really engrained a more holistic approach
  • acarpenter6
    acarpenter6 Posts: 19 Member
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    I don't do "cheat meals" anymore because I ended up where you are everytime and have been at the same weight since January! So now, I save some calories at the end of the day to have a sweet treat that fits into my calories everyday. If I want it and I don't have the calories I work out to "earn" then. Been doing this for 2 weeks now and it's been going great! Even during the weekend I stick to 1200 calories sometimes ill go up to 1500 or so, but I'm still in deficit so it's not a big deal.
  • janekana
    janekana Posts: 151 Member
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    I'm having a cheat day now with my boyfriend because he just finished one of my exams and I'd like to celebrate with him. We're going to have pizza and garlic bread soon :)

    However, I will also be going to the gym with my friends in the afternoon. Yes, I probably won't burn off all those calories from lunch, however, it will lessen the impact and it would be closer to my calorie goal than if I didn't exercise. I make up for it as well through deficits over the week, so at least my net calorie total for the week would still be within my goals.

    If you are having trouble with cheat days, however, I suggest you start small and have "cheat meals" instead. That's what I usually do anyways. Even with the cheat meals though, I try my best for the other meals of the day to be less calorie-dense so I can fit it as close to my calorie goal as possible. Hope that helps :)
  • Chadxx
    Chadxx Posts: 1,199 Member
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    trigden1991 wrote: »
    Exercise some self control?
    RoxieDawn wrote: »
    No to days where you cheat.. this is bad.. Have one planned "indulgent" meal and call it a day..

    Calorie cycling is not fun during the week .. so I would just eat maintenance on this one day.

    eta: I do not do any cheating while I am in a deficit, this is just a suggestion.

    This. What is the point of tracking calories at all if you are going to blow it cheating? I don't get cheat days at all. Planning for a higher calorie meal you really want however is completely doable while staying within your goals. You just have to plan for it. You just have to decide if you are committed to this and stop making excuses. You can do this. You just have to decide to do it.
  • lightenup2016
    lightenup2016 Posts: 1,055 Member
    edited October 2016
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    I don't have PLANNED "cheat" days or meals. But in the past 3 months of using MFP and losing weight, several times I've found myself in situations where I know I'll be eating more. These have included weekend trips away, out-of-town family visits, restaurant meals, and birthdays. I figure I'm in this for the long haul, so I have to figure out how to deal with these situations and not derail my progress (or worse, send me into an I don't-give-a-crap downward spiral). So instead of planning cheat days, or "indulgent" days, I just assume I'll be faced with high-calorie-potential days, and I plan for them as best I can. This has included saving up calories during the day or week, making it up the next day by having a lower calorie day or two, exercising a little more, or just eating at maintenance (sometimes much higher!) for a day or two and realizing it doesn't affect much in the long run. So far, it's been going great and I have continued to lose weight steadily. In fact, I feel like my body appreciates those higher calorie days, and I get to work in those "cheat" days when necessitated by particular situations. My family appreciates it as well, since I'm fine with participating in special occasions, and I'm not freaking out about the calories.

    I hope that all made sense!
  • Trane333
    Trane333 Posts: 5 Member
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    I've found that eating lightly at places that don't serve foods that are not necessarily healthy to be a great help, ask if the food can be prepared a certain way, how it is prepared, etc. Even on vacations or with family or on vacations with the family, you can olan to eat as healthy as possible and if you know that it is going to be ugly, not avoidable throw in some workouts to supplement amd try toake sure that the carbs you wat come from whole foods, potato, rice, etc. And if you like it, try yogurt, a lot of study's show that those enzymes that promote healthy, good bacteria drive away bad cravings for sugary, fatty type foods, so you won't have to worry about falling pray to your appetite. Hopefully this helps and by the way the triple zero yogurt, by Oikos is great because it is low in sugar which too much of it causes the bad bacteria to swarm in amd take over your intestines which cause the cravings for more sugar and fatty foods, I know not just because of research, but also because I have been doing it for about a year andy crac OK ngs arw gone to almost non existent.
  • smithjazmin93
    smithjazmin93 Posts: 2 Member
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    I'm going to try to stay within my calorie gole every day and have a bit of what I like every day to prevent binging, and if I see that dont work for me then I'll try to have cheet days, that way I know what's best for me, maybe you should try the same?? It's the effort right?
  • ariela569
    ariela569 Posts: 22 Member
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    It's totally the dedication and effort. Great advice

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