What does "cheat day" means (in your own term)

tigerblood6
tigerblood6 Posts: 65 Member
edited November 17 in Food and Nutrition

Which are your best definition of "cheat day"
i) no exercise but still under calorie consumption
ii) exercise but more then calorie consumption
iii) allowing yourself to eatfast food, fake sugar, soda drink but under calorie consumption
iv) no exercise, no calorie control, fast food, fake sugar and soda drink allowed

Please do share and comment , tq
❤
«1

Replies

  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    edited April 2017
    A cheat day for me is one where I consume so many calories that I can't recover that week's deficit to even break even. So if I go to Rib-Fest and smash 6K cals, that's a cheat for me because not only did I kill my deficit that week, I'm also in a bit of a surplus. It's not MUCH, but that's what a cheat day is to me.
    ETA: it's not planned where I've accounted for that week being a maintenance week or something like that.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    I wouldn't really define it as cheating since I don't really have any rules, but if I had to choose it would be a day where I have no care for my goals. If I am bulking, it could mean coming way under my cal goals (too many healthy salads haha), doing too much cardio, or skipping a lifting session because I'm lazy. Or if I am cutting it could be going way over in my calories and not even coming close to having enough protein or nutrients. But in the end I know it will all balance out so I'm good :)
  • rhtexasgal
    rhtexasgal Posts: 572 Member
    My mentality is a bit different because I don't believe in cheat days ... of course, I don't do full out binges either where there is something over the top for each meal and everything in between. My body cannot handle it! I will choose something I really want like an ice cream date (ice cream for dinner) with hubby or eating something fried and then I make it fit into my day, even if I am taking a walk at 10 pm! Or, I fast a bit that day, especially if I know something special is coming at the end of it. And sometimes, I am on the way to work and I feel compelled to get a donut or three :) I eat them and then know that for the rest of the day, I have to be good.

    While some people go by the average over the course of the week, I tend to go day by day as this is the best way, FOR ME, to keep on track.
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,445 Member
    edited April 2017
    To cheat you first have to follow some restrictive diet. I don't and won't. I eat. My 'diet' is based on a good foundation and everything else falls in place. Now, on days that I run 15+ miles while I'm training, I have no choice but to eat everything in site. I still don't call it cheating - it is simply giving my body the fuel it needs to function.
  • Sunna_W
    Sunna_W Posts: 744 Member
    I am too old to feel guilty. This is now my way of life -- and deviations on my path are scenic diversions. I do find that when I do indulge that I am satiated far sooner and with less of whatever I am eating.
  • janjunie
    janjunie Posts: 1,200 Member
    It depends.

    1) When my husband and I go over to the USA (we live very close to the border), we usually spend the whole day there and I don't have time to exercise. We go to a buffet and I don't count calories and eat whatever I want (this is a lunch meal). For breakfast I rarely have anything more than coffee and dinner will be a little lighter.

    2) A cheat day on a day where we are in town consists of maybe a little extra exercise and counting calories, but expecting to and not caring about going (way) over.

    I eat what I want everyday, I restrict calories, not certain foods so a cheat day is never an extravagant binge.
  • DamieBird
    DamieBird Posts: 651 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    emyjuita6 wrote: »
    Which are your best definition of "cheat day"
    i) no exercise but still under calorie consumption
    ii) exercise but more then calorie consumption
    iii) allowing yourself to eatfast food, fake sugar, soda drink but under calorie consumption
    iv) no exercise, no calorie control, fast food, fake sugar and soda drink allowed

    Please do share and comment , tq
    ❤

    i) I have planned rest days built into my fitness plan...they are important, they aren't "cheating"
    ii) I don't do unplanned exercise or try to achieve some particular calorie burn as penance for eating
    iii) I don't don't eat much fast food or drink many sodas...it would be an occasional kind of thing and largely irrelevant to everything else I'm doing...not a cheat...not relevant.
    iv) I never have a free for all...not a binge eater and never have been...I overeat on occasion though, and it's really not a big deal. Everything balances out in the end.

    I don't really have "cheat" days...I have days where I'm sure I'm over maintenance (though I doubt by much) but hey...life is to be lived and I enjoy a good pool side BBQ and some beer. It's not cheating...it's living a life.

    ^^ This
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    I originally started thinking a cheat day was eating up to maintenance calories thus "cheating" on my deficit even though it was planned most of the time.

    I've since come to realize that I'm not really "cheating". I'm just taking a "break" from my deficit.

    Now if I go over my maintenance calories which has been rare since learning of my TDEE then I feel like I've cheated myself to some degree. I've had a small pity party then got right back on track of eating either in a deficit or at maintenance.
  • DamieBird
    DamieBird Posts: 651 Member
    edited April 2017
    leanjogreen18 wrote: »
    I originally started thinking a cheat day was eating up to maintenance calories thus "cheating" on my deficit even though it was planned most of the time.

    I've since come to realize that I'm not really "cheating". I'm just taking a "break" from my deficit.

    Now if I go over my maintenance calories which has been rare since learning of my TDEE then I feel like I've cheated myself to some degree. I've had a small pity party then got right back on track of eating either in a deficit or at maintenance.

    Understanding TDEE has changed my whole approach to losing weight and it's actually working for the first time in my life, lol. I remember getting on one of those body composition scales at my gym a few years ago and it spit out that I had a BMR of 1600. I thought that meant that I would have to eat way less than that to lose any weight at all and I was literally in tears at the hopelessness of it all! This is when I was working out and lifting weights several times a week, and I still didn't understand how it all worked. I tried to stick to too high of a deficit with always led to giving up and failure. TDEE has been game-changing for me.

    *edit to remove excess use of "literally" as my vocabulary is actually more extensive than that
  • tigerblood6
    tigerblood6 Posts: 65 Member
    @DamieBird : what does TDEE means ?
  • macchiatto
    macchiatto Posts: 2,890 Member
    edited April 2017
    When I was at a deficit (now at maintenance), if it was a special occasion or something I'd give myself permission to eat up to maintenance level but wouldn't go over. May or may not exercise that day.
    iii) to me is not really a cheat day but IIFYM, which is how I eat (to some extent) all the time. I eat fairly healthy but am fine with fitting in treats and whatnot as long as I stick with the macros and calorie level.
  • angrybuddhas
    angrybuddhas Posts: 4 Member
    Cheat day to my fiancé and I means it's not a pre-planned home cooked meal. We consider it 'cheating' because someone else has to do the work to prepare it. We'll go out on Sunday and not order something we could make at home. Going to a restaurant and ordering a salad seems like such wasted opportunity, so we get fun food! We'll still work out though, often times more than other days of the week because we don't want to undo all the work we did all week if we go overboard. But if we don't have that Sunday lunch to look forward to every week, monotonous dieting seems endless and daunting.

    We just had to redefine 'cheating'. Food can be fun and fuel at the same time!
  • sugargrammy45
    sugargrammy45 Posts: 251 Member
    In my own terms I never call them cheat days. The reason is that if I cheat I will always feel negative toward myself and then I'll just eat more.

    HOWEVER, I do have "Treat" days. That is when I plan ahead and will eat something I normally don't and I don't worry about going over my calorie limit. There are times that even with my treat I won't go over my calories but if I do I know that the next day is right back on track.

    Also, instead of having my treat day once a week, the frequency is scattered out. Usually if I want something particular, I will not get it immediately. I will make myself wait and I'm pretty good at that. So if after 3 or 4 weeks I still want the same thing then that will be the next item for my Treat Day.

    It works for me!
  • DamieBird
    DamieBird Posts: 651 Member
    @emyjuita6, TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure. Based on your age, height, weight, and activity level, it's an average of how many calories you use each day. As long as your activity is generally consistent from week to week, it should be a good estimate of how many calories you need on a weekly basis. Check out this thread:
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10004328/mfp-vs-tdee
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,615 Member
    What does "cheat day" means (in your own term)

    Nothing. It doesn't mean anything. It's a non-thing in my own terms.


    I do, however, take diet breaks now and then where I usually exercise lots but don't pay too much attention to what I eat.
  • billglitch
    billglitch Posts: 538 Member
    I dont do cheat "days" but i sometimes have cheat snacks...but not the whole day. It means that i have more carbs than i normally would or have a piece of candy or a sip of coke
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    The very rare day when I don't count calories and just estimate and enter '3000 calories' or whatever (I don't typically go over that).

    I still exercise whenever possible though.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    My definition: if I go to bed without being in physical pain from being excessively stuffed, it was not a cheat day. The 5600 or so kcals on Christmas was an example of a decent cheat day. Could have done better, but I didn't have enough free time to just cruise eat through the day. I am planning to one day take on the 10,000 kcal challenge, but I suspect that will be a few years down the road.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    I quote me, "Be patient. Be persistent. Be honest. If you can't do those, you can't lose weight."

    Cheating on your diet fits in there, in the 4th sentence.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    I have done all of the listed options at some point and and don't consider any of them to be a deviation from my plan (if that's how you would define a cheat). The exception may be to have an unplanned all out calories day without tracking them or taking some measure to compensate, which is rare. A planned all out day is still not a cheat to me because I will have accounted for it somehow.
  • 3rdof7sisters
    3rdof7sisters Posts: 486 Member
    To me it means a day going over my calorie limit for losing weight that will extend time on to getting to my goal weight. At this point, I try not to have cheat days, but life happens, so I move forward the next day and do better.
  • readytobeatfat54
    readytobeatfat54 Posts: 91 Member
    enterdanger wrote: »
    cheat days. I don't log on MFP. I eats what I want. Yesterday was a cheat day. I had a cupcake at every meal, pizza, and numerous reeses eggs.

    You made my day. I don't plan cheat days, I just let them happen organically, which is generally one every 10 days. But I LOVE cupcakes, and will be getting one for my next cheat day. Thanks for the spark. :smile:

    My cheat day is just like enterdanger's. I don't track on MFP that day, except maybe breakfast since again I don't typically plan a cheat day, instead it happens organically. What I do find difficult is making sure that my cheat day lasts only on that day, as during a busy period in life (say, on vacation), it is all too easy to make every day a cheat day.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    It'll be just a cheat meal or treat for me, I have felt the urge to but haven't actually gone completely off the rails at all. I'll work out a regular amount and eat normally until the cheat/treat, like maybe I'll have steak and fries for dinner out, and just log it and carry on.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    stop viewing foods as cheats, bad, good, evil, etc.

    Eat the foods that you like and just make sure that you meet your calorie, micro, and macro goals...

  • amtyrell
    amtyrell Posts: 1,447 Member
    To me cheat day means unhealthy view of eating habits. Going over is ok occasionally but guilt tripping myself over it is not. I am trying to change lifestyle not short term so no cheat concept. This is my life I can't cheat me.
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