Are cheat meals necessary?
hdf315
Posts: 4 Member
Are cheat meals necessary in your opinion? I'm starting over and considering not doing a weekend cheat meal. Is that being too strict? I just don't want to slow my progress. And sometimes it's hard for me to stop once I start eating anything unhealthy.
Do you have a weekly cheat meal?
Do you have a weekly cheat meal?
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Replies
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I try not to go with the whole idea of a "cheat" meal. I just work stuff in my day and go from there. I eat something "cheat" worthy every day. If I have the calories for it - I eat it.17
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No they're not necessary at all.
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You have to listen to your body. Many people just "save up" their calories for the weekend, so they're not going over calories when you look at the weekly total.
My cheat meals only put me up to maintenance, so it's not going to have a detrimental effect on my diet.
If you find that you don't need it, don't have one.5 -
I can't do weekly cheat meals - I ALWAYS go overboard, and cheat meals turn into cheat days, which turn into cheat weeks. If I'm craving something, I try to allow myself a small portion, then carry on with my day. That way I'm not depriving myself, which makes me less inclined to break the unhealthy eating cycle. I definitely can't deprive myself of all my favorite things, like peanut butter, ice cream, bacon, and pasta... but I can limit my intake to a reasonable portion. It's taking time, but I'm learning how to be satisfied with smaller portions of my favorite foods, and healthy foods are starting to be more appealing. Not that cheat meals NEVER work, just my personal experience with them! 17
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I don't have cheat days. I have "well there went THAT day!" days. I don't consider it a cheat. I try harder the next day and just count it as a learning curve. I'm working my way towards less of those days. I'm reverse engineering my diet!12
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i never understood the cheat meal thing. Who am I cheating? If losing weight is about burning off more calories than you take in, then I can eat what i want within reason, exercise and still lose weight. Cheat meals mean you give up something , but when you want it then its cheating if you eat it? Eat what you want within reason, if you go overboard there's always tomorrow.10
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Cheat meals are for the weak.... it's one thing to go over, it's another to plan to fail.
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A good way to enjoy a treat and not go overboard is to eat a fibre rich meal before having the treat. You'll be too full to go overboard and will enjoy the small treat plus stay within your calorie count. Or have a healthy treat? Cold press bars and some dark chocolate instead of processed treats. If you crave mac cheese fill it out with cauliflower and edamame and put less pasta in, high fibre with plenty of protein, fats and nutrition.5
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For going over calories, no. I'll exercise more or eat less during the day to make room for something out-of-the-ordinary. But once a week, I have a day where I don't care about hitting my macro targets and just eat whatever the heck I want (generally more starchy carbs and fat, less protein) within my calories. FWIW, I'm not that 'strawman' who says "Eat 100% nutrient-poor food within your calories and lose weight". More like making room for potato kugel, a frosted shortbread, 4 ounces of bread with lunch, Muenster on a bagel for supper... and plenty of salads, and fresh fruit along the way.6
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Who are you cheating? If you are cheating the "diet," then you still consider this new way of eating to be separate from your norm.
Overeating had become my normal. It was not a wise thing to do in that it left me weighing twice what a healthy weight would be. Therefore, I need to reform my eating habits, break with old behaviors and eat what is now my new, healthy, normal food consumption.
I can't cheat the "diet" because my diet, that is to say the whole of what I eat, is now more attuned to that which would result in a healthy weight. It isn't a temporary way of eating. It's still high calorie for maintenance at goal but it is a reasonable way to eat for a person of my size trying to lose a pound or so a week.
On occasion, I fall back into old habits; I overeat as was previously "normal" for me. I remind myself that my previous behavior represented the abnormal eating of the morbidly obese. I resume my new normal ASAP.
I've overeaten since puberty or earlier and therefore have been overeating for well over half a century. I cannot expect to have a perfect break from old habits. As they say, old habits die hard. This is work but it is work with a fine reward. I am down 28 pounds.11 -
Are cheat meals necessary in your opinion? I'm starting over and considering not doing a weekend cheat meal. Is that being too strict? I just don't want to slow my progress. And sometimes it's hard for me to stop once I start eating anything unhealthy.
Do you have a weekly cheat meal?
No, I don't have what I consider "cheat meals."
Are you being too strict? Are you eating all foods in moderation or have you eliminated certain things?
Do you consider a restaurant meal a cheat meal? What if that meal is still within your calorie goals?
I make room for a treat everyday. I eat a restaurant meal at least once a week. These things fit my calorie goal.
I allow myself to go over one day, and then cut back a bit the next.
It's not about being "perfect" it's about making improvements.4 -
Recent study has indicated that eating up at maintenance is useful for several reasons.
If cheat meal allows that then fine, though they tested for 2 week period, not just one meal or day.
But if calling it a "cheat meal" because your "normal" diet meals are so terrible - then adhering to a maintenance level eating after you have lost the weight could hit the norm of gaining the weight back.
Better to make the mind over that this is not cheating, you are only going to eat so much extra and not merely pig all out, and you will plan it well.3 -
When I was losing weight I typically ate maintenance on Saturdays...I didn't consider it cheating. I knew it was going to be a long road and I wanted to be able to enjoy pool side BBQs with my friends or evenings out with my wife, etc. I pretty much lost 1-1.5 Lbs per week on average over time.5
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Thank you for all your replies!! 3
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JasonOnceAgain wrote: »Cheat meals are for the weak.... it's one thing to go over, it's another to plan to fail.
I bank my calories for the weekend to specifically go over on weekends. Guess I am one huge fail ! ha.
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I don't do cheat meals. When I started MFP, I was going over my calories with meals occasionally, but it just set me back for a few days, so I stopped doing that. It was too frustrating and not worth it. I stay within my calories now and I'm much happier and am steadily losing.4
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JasonOnceAgain wrote: »Cheat meals are for the weak.... it's one thing to go over, it's another to plan to fail.
I bank my calories for the weekend to specifically go over on weekends. Guess I am one huge fail ! ha.
Yes but that isn't "cheating" though is it since you haven't gone outside your calorie plan.
I don't get the concept of the "cheat meal/day". Why spend all that effort trying to change your life only to "cheat" yourself?3 -
charlieandcarol wrote: »JasonOnceAgain wrote: »Cheat meals are for the weak.... it's one thing to go over, it's another to plan to fail.
I bank my calories for the weekend to specifically go over on weekends. Guess I am one huge fail ! ha.
Yes but that isn't "cheating" though is it since you haven't gone outside your calorie plan.
I don't get the concept of the "cheat meal/day". Why spend all that effort trying to change your life only to "cheat" yourself?
To be honest I don't even track so who knows what I'm doing .. haha0 -
JasonOnceAgain wrote: »Cheat meals are for the weak.... it's one thing to go over, it's another to plan to fail.
first part of the statement is bull kitten btw...the rest perhaps.
Don't plan a "cheat"...it makes it appear that the food you are eating is bad and you should be ashamed and you shouldn't be.
if makes it seem like this is a short term thing when it should be viewed as a lifetime way of eating.
Look at it this way...if you can't eat the way you are eating now for the rest of your life...change something.
I don't do "cheats"...I do however have treats.
I follow the 80/20 rule...80% of my food is nutrient dense then 20% are well...treats like chips or ice cream or chocolate or vodka *insert big smiley face*
and I do that everyday not just on Fridays or weekends etc.
50+ lbs down and maintaining for over 2 years now.4 -
Are cheat meals necessary in your opinion? I'm starting over and considering not doing a weekend cheat meal. Is that being too strict? I just don't want to slow my progress. And sometimes it's hard for me to stop once I start eating anything unhealthy.
Do you have a weekly cheat meal?
Cheat meals are not necessary. I have higher calorie days sometimes, I have high calorie foods within my regular calories other times, but neither I consider a cheat.
The bolded may present some of a problem for you in the future, so may be start there instead of thinking cheat meals. If thinking of foods in terms of "healthy" and "unhealthy" causes you to lose control you need to address that, and maybe work on thinking of food as "food" without classifying it. Just normalize it all. If you don't address this issue now how do expect to maintain the weight you are planning to lose? Or are you planning to never ever eat anything "unhealthy"? It would be disheartening to lose the weight only to regain it shortly after because you haven't learned to deal with normal life and all the kinds of foods and food situations it brings.2 -
I totally agree w/ letting yourself eat whatever "cheat" foods you want, just in a smaller proportion. I have found that the longer I go with eating healthy most of the time, the less I crave "cheat" foods. And the more satisfied I am with just having a taste of something. In fact, I do a lot of "just let me have a bite" of cheat foods and I don't find myself craving anymore than just that one bite.3
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I save up calories if I know there is a special occasion coming. For instance, a wedding where I'd like to have a piece of the cake. I don't consider any food or activity cheating. This is my new normal.1
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They are not necessary but it is good mentally from time to time to indulge in something you enjoy eating just don't over do it. If you like ice-cream have a one scoop of your favorite flavor. Things like that. Beyond cheat meals I would recommend raising your calorie intake one day of the week. For example if you are strictly consuming about 2,500 calories a day on your cheat meal day allow your self to eat an entire additional meal or about 600 calories. You can make it a delicious but sensible option like spaghetti but replace the spaghetti with squash. Yum!!!
Seriously though portion control and moderation will allow you to eat something you enjoy once every 7 to 10 days.
One thing to note, if you have a serious problem with nutrition adherence then I would not recommend cheating until you get a handle on that. Mainly because it is too easy to quit your meal plan completely over a cheat meal that turns into a cheat day then a cheat week with no end in sight.
Best of luck.2 -
Try it, see how you feel. Not everyone needs them but I certainly do. When a craving hits I can usually power through but when I have a real deep taste for something, I have to have it or I'm going to have everything else til I do and that ends up being way worse.0
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Personally i have tried both methods on having a cheat meal once a week or not having a cheat meal at all. For me it came down to having a thirst for sweets. If it was my cheat meal per say, it would make me want it even more later on and keep adding more and more cheat meals through out the week. I recently just started justing coconut oil through out the day and seems to take away the urge for any sweets for me. Thus for me no cheat meal and i seem to have more success with that.0
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My father had a “cheat day.” He loved taking Sunday’s off. He said he felt like if he knew he could make it to Sunday, he could have all the ice cream he wanted, and found that he would have less that he might have otherwise had if he had fallen off the wagon earlier in the week. That never worked for me. I’d take that day off then, the next day and next day - then I’m totally off the wagon.
There will be days that I fall off the wagon or say, “You know what - Today’s just going to be a hard day, let’s just do what we can to minimize the damage with dinner and then get right back on track.” There are just some times that I get a real strong taste for something, and have to have it. I can either “eat the house down” and end up eating it anyway, or just go ahead and have it before digging the hole eating the house down.1 -
Here is why cheat meals are necessary. Cheat meals basically trick your body into burning more calories and keeping your metabolism a bit higher. Our bodies need fat. We need it to live and to protect us. When we don't eat, our body thinks it's starving and holds on to that fat for dear life. Then what happens? You don't lose weight. But when you go out and eat that cheat meal, your body sees it has calories to burn and keeps your metabolism going. So yes - go eat that cheat meal! But it's cheat meal, not cheat day!Are cheat meals necessary in your opinion? I'm starting over and considering not doing a weekend cheat meal. Is that being too strict? I just don't want to slow my progress. And sometimes it's hard for me to stop once I start eating anything unhealthy.
Do you have a weekly cheat meal?
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If a cheat meal were necessary then it wouldn't be cheating.1
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It's worth mentioning that if you do this you should absolutely measure out your ice cream by weight. Unlike some foods, I find that the apparent volume of a serving tends to be less than the stated equivalent weight -- and the nutrient label is based on the weight, not the volume. This was the case with my preferred brand in any event. I expect it will be generally true as well, since ice cream is hard to pack solidly into a scoop. So you can actually have more ice cream than you think!ptcampgymokc wrote: »If you like ice-cream have a one scoop of your favorite flavor.1 -
Good point. Once I read your point to weight the ice-cream it completely made sense. Brought back memories of when I used to work in Basking Robins and weighing the buckets of ice cream was the way we made sure we were not serving too much or too little based on company policy. Back to the point of cheat meals as you well stated if they were necessary they would not be cheats. So true, fact is that cheat meals not necessary in the pure biological sense. There are folks out there that strict "clean" eaters with no adverse effects on metabolism and mood. For the rest of us mere mortals portion control and intermittent fasting might be a way to counter act our cheating desires... lol 2
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