1 Cheat Day and weight gain?

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Msladynita
Msladynita Posts: 11
in Food and Nutrition
Hi Everyone,

Ok so I allow (well USED to allow) myself 1 day a week to have a "cheat" where I can eat anything I please, so that I won't get discouraged. Dieting is hard. Anyways, I noticed that when I do that.....the next day....I've gained 3 pounds. Just from ONE cheat day. I don't get it. I mean the next day I'm back on my routine and I even workout on my cheat day. Now, once I get back on the grind...the pounds shed back to their original spot within days but....by then its time for another cheat day. Should I spread my cheat days out over a 2 or 3 week span so I get that chance to lose and I'm not just stuck going back and forth between 3 pounds up and down? Does this happen to anyone else?

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  • Jade1964
    Jade1964 Posts: 111 Member
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    I don't do cheat days anymore. The one cheat day I had I gained 3 pounds and it took me a whole flippin week to take it off. All from one day.
  • cheesesandwich
    cheesesandwich Posts: 79 Member
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    If you're gaining 3 pounds overnight it's just water weight, unless you're eating 10,500 calories on your cheat days. Maybe instead of an entire day you could have one or two cheat meals throughout the week?
  • akaugher
    akaugher Posts: 8
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    It's not that you gained 3 pounds of fat. That's pretty much impossible from one "cheat day." It's just the weight of the food, most likely.

    Maybe switch it up to just having one cheat MEAL once or twice in the week.
  • Panda86
    Panda86 Posts: 873
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    I would spread them further apart and don't go too crazy on your cheat day, and maybe even re-define what a "cheat day" is to you. For me, I do lighter exercise, like a walk or something, and I don't worry about logging food. But I try to still be cautious and try not to go on a crazy binge for an entire day.
  • sharoniballoni
    sharoniballoni Posts: 163 Member
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    agreed about the water weight. there's no way you're gaining 3 pounds of fat in one day. you're probably eating a ton of packaged foods and sodium. i say have your cheat day, as long as you know you'll be bloated the next day and assuming you aren't binging like crazy.
  • anna_lisa
    anna_lisa Posts: 486 Member
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    I would say limit your cheat day to a cheat meal. then the "damage" may feel more managable
  • eeeekie
    eeeekie Posts: 1,011 Member
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    As others have said it's water weight it'll come off. Generally when you have a "cheat day" it's eating all those naughty foods that are filled with sodium which makes for a hell of a gain over night. It's not fat and it should go away soon.

    Also, I find if I eat a late dinner (like last night I had chicken, potato & broccoli + 5 cups of water) and I wake up at 8am and do my business then do a weigh in that I've gained. It's not a gain, it's that my stomach is still full and the food/water is still there. It goes away. Usually the night before weigh in I try to eat light meals but I forgot last night lol
  • brianna626
    brianna626 Posts: 156
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    Maybe just have a cheat meal once a week rather than a whole day. Also it is most likely water weight not actual fat.
  • adamcf
    adamcf Posts: 126
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    I tend to do an unintentional cheat day and the same thing happens to me, but the extra 3 pounds or so come off in two days. This is how I do it and I think this is how it works for everyone.

    day 1 (monday) - eat all my calories over 5 evenly spread out meals. I don't save calories for dinner. + workout
    day 2 - evenly spread calories over 5 meals + workout
    day 3 - same thing
    day 4 - same thing
    day 5 - evenly spread calories over 5 meals but no workout. just rest.
    day 6 - evenly spread calories over 5 meals and do a really big workout.
    day 7 - rest and try to eat right, but screw it, it's Sunday and I'm probably gonna eat cake.

    Then Monday rolls around and I'm 3 pounds heavier than I want to be. But if I've done this same week for 2 weeks or more consecutively then my metabolism is trying to work to accommodate the first 6 days. (bare with me on this part, but it's necessary) Usually what happens on Monday morning after my first meal, is my digestive system wants to go back to how I did things the first 6 days. So all that extra food gets rejected. (large bowel movement) sorry if that's gross, but that's the way we work.

    the two keys to a normal metabolism is:

    1. eating the way our bodies are intended to eat. we're made to eat more often throughout the day with the right amount of calories. the 3 meal thing isn't really right.

    2. consistency for at least 2 weeks gets things started in the right direction. the more consecutive weeks we eat right, the more our bodies are used to it and our bodies want to stay working that way.
  • Msladynita
    Msladynita Posts: 11
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    Yeah...everything you guys are saying makes since. I do however go ALL out on my cheat day. I binge. Like I feel sick sometimes after. Its just....I'm like....oooh cheat.....and I all of a sudden want to eat everything I ever turned down but really wanted. haha. But the cheating only for ONE meal sounds like a much better plan. Thanks guys!

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