Cheat day/meal? Do or do not?

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midpath
midpath Posts: 246 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Me and my bf were talking and he thinks I should give myself a cheat day (nothing dramatic, just not going over 2000)

Idk though, I've never done that before, I usually give myself an extra 50 calories 2 days a week or a special dinner once a week where I can eat something I've been wanting that's too high to fit into my diet other days (like chicken wings or cheeseburgers with buns, because im celiac and GF bread items are much more caloric)

What do you do? What do you suggest?
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Replies

  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    I don't do a planned cheat meal/day but like your example sometimes life happens and you eat more that day. I don't stress about it and I don't label it but I guess that would be considered my cheat meal. Works for me and I don't have to skip a special event because my scheduled cheat day is a different day.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    I usually have one day a week when I eat a bit more, up to maintenance. But I am not a fan of cheat days or meals as to me they imply eating without regard to how it will affect progress.

    If you are happy doing what you are doing, no need to change it.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    A day eating at maintenance calories sounds good to me. No harm done. B)
  • sbrandt37
    sbrandt37 Posts: 403 Member
    edited January 2017
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    The idea of a "cheat day" is just broken. All calories count. The only question is whether or not you are maintaining a deficit over time. Many people find it easiest to aim for a modest calorie deficit every day, but that isn't necessary to lose weight.

    For example, you eat 500 calories under maintenance six days and 500 over one day, you will be at 2500 under for the week and will lose about 3/4 of a pound per week on average. It is up to you to decide how fast you want to lose and how you want to distribute your calorie budget among your days and meals.
  • Anna_137
    Anna_137 Posts: 167 Member
    edited January 2017
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    Sometimes I'll have a 'cheat day' at the weekend where I eat up to my maintenance calories. But i'm trying not to so I won't slow down weight loss.

    Today I had McDonalds for dinner. It fit in with my calorie goal but I still kinda consider it a cheat meal for myself since I know i'm filling myself up with food which has low nutritional value.

    As long as you log what you're eating and you know what your maintenance calories are (whether or not you decide to go over them), then you should just figure out whatever works best for you.

    For example, i tried eating one or two hundred calories under my calorie goal during weekdays so i can eat more at the weekend. But it didn't really work for me as i ended up feeling deprived during the week which eventually led to me giving up completely for a while. But for others it works.
  • missteena88
    missteena88 Posts: 153 Member
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    Nah. A lot of my weight loss journey has been a mental thing. If I have a cheat meal/day, I get so wrapped up thinking about it all the time that I can't focus on anything else I'm doing. So, I just plan everything and eat according to plan and if I happen to crave something, I dedicate enough calories to enjoy it and move on.
  • everher
    everher Posts: 909 Member
    edited January 2017
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    sbrandt37 mentioned pretty much what I do.

    I have low calorie days and high calories day. I don't plan them way ahead of time per se, but if I'm hungrier one day and have the calories I will consume more food.

    If it's a certain item I am craving I will work it into my calories. I wanted McDonald's the other day so I had McDonald's (first time in four or five months I believe) but I had oatmeal, fruit, and toast for breakfast and lean protein and veggies for dinner so it wasn't hard to fit a small fry + burger in.
  • Chadxx
    Chadxx Posts: 1,199 Member
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    Cheat? No

    Budget for foods you enjoy? Sure
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
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    Eat whatever you want within your calorie goal. Cheat days don't end well for most people.
  • mellowadam
    mellowadam Posts: 114 Member
    edited January 2017
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    jenilla1 wrote: »
    A day eating at maintenance calories sounds good to me. No harm done. B)

    This is solid advice.

    I would also add that a week at maintenance for vacation or a special occasion is also a good mental break and you should consider taking a break every few months and give your body and mind a break from being in a deficit.

    I had some pretty severe binge eating start to happen when I got too restrictive. Then my cheat meals turned into days, weeks and months.

    Now I just intuitively know when it's time to ease up. It has really helped repair my relationship with food.
  • kermax39
    kermax39 Posts: 149 Member
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    Iv noticed while losing the first 40lbs I was able to have a generous cheat day per week without it havin any real impact on my weekly loss. 54lbs down now and 17lbs from goal its getting harder and harder to recover from those cheat days. Now my cheat days are limited to 2000 cals instead of the usual 3 or 4000 cals.
  • Michelle2622017
    Michelle2622017 Posts: 17 Member
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    Not!

    But, I eat at maintenance for two weeks after 12 weeks of calorie counting because I need the mental break.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
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    I follow a weekly calorie goal so I can balance higher calorie stuff over several days if needed.
  • lmmilbert
    lmmilbert Posts: 15 Member
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    I do IF. So if I want something high calorie, I save it for my up day. Down days 500 calls 3x a week and up days of 2k. I always make sure I eat within my calorie allotment, so sometimes my up day will only consist of 1 big meal!
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    Cheat? No.

    Planned maintenance eating once a week because I'm already pretty lean and running a deficit is sort of tough on hormones at this point? Yup.

    In fact, I'm carbing it up right now with a big bowl of gluten free crisped rice cereal, because it's what I wanted more than anything to fill up my calorie allotment for the day.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
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    I eat what I like within my calories, but I do have 5 planned IDGAF days a year with an extra 2 unplanned days.
  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
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    My dad liked having a cheat day. He sort of felt like even God had a day off. He liked being able to relax the rules one day. He said he found that the stuff he was holding out for ended up not tasting as good as he hoped or remembered, so he ended up not having as much as he normally might.

    I have a hard time with cheat days. I usually end up going WAY overboard, and end up falling off program HARD. It's too detrimental.

    Know thyself. If you can handle it - give it a try and see how it goes. Then make the best decision you can based on how things went.
  • quartknee11
    quartknee11 Posts: 141 Member
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    How do you figure your maintenance level? I'm 21 years old female and 194 pounds. I saw one thing say that maintenance is between your weight times 14 and your weight times 17..but 194x14 is 2716 and that sounds extremely high to me to be maintenance at the low end.

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