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Cheat day..yes or no?

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  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    TaraTaraTara76 wrote: »
    I don't think they are a good idea. From deprivation we are all bound to sometimes cheat but to plan one out intentionally is no good. In my opinion. I used to do cheat days but then realized I was screwing up here and there anyways. I think your body will almost make you cheat sometimes just don't plan it.

    This is confusing.

    Your body will make you cheat, don't plan it?

    I've had that happen, actually, from over-restricting.

    It led to overeating.

    Wouldn't it be better to plan a controlled indulgence within a certain calorie budget so that you're not undoing hard work than to let your body decide it's had enough and go hog wild?

    I'm not saying that all scenarios of the body making you cheat will necessarily lead to overeating, but I don't understand what you're saying here, and why you think unplanned cheats are okay and planned ones aren't.

    I find the psychology of planned ones healthier. Planned indulgence - dieter is in control of food choice and decision making process, eats planned food and walks away from the process feeling fine. Unplanned - dieter reaches a breaking point, gives in, has what they've been denying themselves and then swears "never again" and feels shame.

    Very unhealthy behavior.
  • VeggieBarbells
    VeggieBarbells Posts: 175 Member
    I know plenty people who have cheat days and I also know plenty that don't. I'm one for the latter, as a cheat day to me means I'm on a diet and this is temporary. For me, I've made a lifestyle change and cheat days has no place in my thinking. For others its the exact opposite, so do what works for you.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited December 2016
    VeggieBarbells wrote: »
    I know plenty people who have cheat days and I also know plenty that don't. I'm one for the latter, as a cheat day to me means I'm on a diet and this is temporary. For me, I've made a lifestyle change and cheat days has no place in my thinking. For others its the exact opposite, so do what works for you.

    I'll weigh in as the exact opposite. For me, they're not "cheat days", they're just part of life - because there are special occasions when I'm going to throw moderation to the wind and not worry about it for a meal, or a day. For me, part of a "lifestyle change" is thinking about things in the long term, and I know that an occasional indulgence is going to have minimal, if any, effect in the big picture. So I'm up 4-5 pounds the next day from water retention and extra food in my intestines....big deal, I know it's temporary and will work its way out within a few days.

    A cheat day to me doesn't mean I'm on a diet and this is temporary - it means I'm in it for the long term and have figured out how to fit them in within the proper context and not be obsessive about it.

    With that said, I don't schedule cheat days/meals. I just let them happen when they happen and make sure they're the exception rather than the rule.
  • CANT_22
    CANT_22 Posts: 9 Member
    I don't have a cheat day but will have a cheat meal a week.
  • Serqita
    Serqita Posts: 34 Member
    Yes
  • Nikion901
    Nikion901 Posts: 2,467 Member
    I don't like the term 'cheat' ... it has such a negative connotation for me; like I'm being a bad girl or doing something dirty.

    There are foods I need to restrict/eat seldom, but all foods fit into a meal plan, no matter if they are calorie dense or calorie light. That said, is it 'ok' to go over your usual calorie allowance sometimes? ... Heck yes! We don't eat exactly to the calorie on any given day anyway unless we are eating just the same foods for every meal as we did the day before. So a little bit lower on one day and a bit higher on another day all balances out in the end.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    If I'm bulking, am I cheating on a diet?
  • extra_medium
    extra_medium Posts: 1,525 Member
    edited December 2016
    In the end what matters is overall calorie deficit over an extended period of time. It helps to think of it that way rather than rigid 24-hour segments that define whether you stuck to your diet or if you "cheated."

    If I want a pizza on the weekend, I'll plan the rest of the week accordingly so I can do that and still maintain a deficit. I don't consider that a cheat day.
  • incisron
    incisron Posts: 550 Member
    I have a weekly cheat day where I aim to eat at maintenance.
  • SeagalDeeDee
    SeagalDeeDee Posts: 153 Member
    No to 'cheat days' for me. I have enough stress trying to keep my weekends with my friends on track!
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