Does Anyone Else Record Their Free/Cheat/Flex Days?

nealwalk
nealwalk Posts: 11 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi everyone. Been using Myfitnesspal for past 6 months (also used it for like a year back four years ago) and I regularly have a free day (cheat/Flex) every Sunday. Thing is, I still record my food intake but I find that it completely messes up my long term stats as far as macros and such. I’m all business Monday through Saturday and take in about 1870 calories those days. Sundays I like to let loose and usually end up taking in Around 4,000 - 5,000 calories and it doesn’t seem to hurt me physically in any way. I record I guess because I don’t want to lose my streaks for logging in I guess lol. Also I guess I’ve liked seeing my average macros on those free days. Do you guys think I should ditch recording my sundays? I wish there was a way to view my weekly results without the free day included or maybe I should start another account just for my free days? Lol strange I know. What do you guys think?
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Replies

  • xvolution
    xvolution Posts: 721 Member
    It depends on how far away from my usual eating habits the cheat day takes me and if what I had during that time is feasibly countable. If it's a once in a year thing with lots of varying dishes to try out (like a festival our city was hosting earlier this week) then I won't record it, but I'll leave a note in my food notes saying why I didn't record my meal at that time.
  • maryannprt
    maryannprt Posts: 152 Member
    I think your body doesn't care about your "cheat" day. I personally don't do a cheat day or cheat meals. I eat what I want, when I want for the most part, knowing there will be days I go over, but as long as I meet my goals over time, I don't care. If you're that worried about your macros, you have 2 options. Revise your goals, or revise your Sunday eating habits. Anything else is just mental gymnastics. Good luck!
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
    I don’t do cheat days, but I do believe you should log them. If your weight loss stops, you’ll have this information to help you figure out what’s going wrong. Lack of information is a red flag for people who like to check diaries to help find these issues.
  • mlinci
    mlinci Posts: 403 Member
    In my mind, eating higher than maintenance on some days is just life, and not cheating.

    However, not logging something I eat would kind of be cheating. It's not your logging of your calorie high days that mucks up your macros, it's your eating. If you are logging to have an accurate record of what you have eaten, what your weekly average calories are etc, then you should also log the days when you eat above maintenance.

    Your high calorie days sound rather extreme, I have to say. Is your goal to maintain or lose? Are you succeeding in doing that while eating 4-5k calories? I'm kind of jealous, I'm in maintenance and I need to save calories for a week just to have a regular dinner out to bring my daily total to about 2,500.

  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
    Yes, log them. I just started doing cheat days again, once a week. I stopped for about 2 months but better off with one. I can just eat what I want even if it is beyond my calorie goal. Usually it's just 500 calories more. I'm still in deficit that day or at most maintenance if figures are a little off.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    I don’t do cheat days, but I do believe you should log them. If your weight loss stops, you’ll have this information to help you figure out what’s going wrong. Lack of information is a red flag for people who like to check diaries to help find these issues.

    I never did cheat days while I was losing either, because the only person I'd be cheating was myself. I did sometimes save up calories for the weekend or eat at maintenance for a few days. But if you are going far over your calorie goals even one day a week, you can easily destroy an entire week's deficit in one day. That's especially true when you get close to your goal weight and your deficit is very small.

    The problem is that if you don't log what you eat, you won't know whether or not you're hindering your weight loss in this way. Most of us are here because we want to understand what we're putting into our bodies, and use that knowledge to change our bodies to reach some personal goal. If you're not logging, then you won't have complete information.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    That food still contributes to you micros, macros and intake averages though? I log everything. I didn't hit my weekly protein goal until tomorrow (have prelogged the weekend as I had a couple higher days during the week). Food all counts regardless when you eat it it or what you call it.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,224 Member
    I log everything. If you want an idea of your macros without the free day, then you can look at your weekly average prior to logging anything for your free day. Then again after you log your free day. Your body is logging everything whether you choose to enter it in MFP or not. It’s your choice if you want your food log to match what’s going into your body.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
    But the free day is affecting your stats, whether you want to see it or not. It's not like if you don't log it, it didn't happen. Those calories made up of those macros got into your body just like the calories and macros from Mon - Sat.

    What are your goals? How big a deficit are you at during the week?
  • Bechler77
    Bechler77 Posts: 65 Member
    Of course you should log your flex meal /day. Those calories count and should be logged. It'll also help you keep track of those meals so they don't get way out of hand (although 5000 IMHO is ALOT)
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    Does logging or not loggin fit your goals?

  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
    Yes, I log them and always have. I've been working on losing weight for several years now and have changed things around to have variations of cheat days. My current strategy includes a day each week where I eat a lot of certain types of starchy carbs in order to replenish glycogen. Today happened to be that day and I weighed and logged everything I ate; mostly rice and corn.
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
    I log every day. Mainly for medical reasons. I’m at a good weight and not trying to lose now, but I am watching my sodium and what I eat that could contribute to cholesterol.

    So every once in a while there is a crazy day, and it’s logged.
  • sjd421
    sjd421 Posts: 54 Member
    I normally go over on the weekends but not by more than 200ish calories. I also make sure it works within my weekly goals. It seems that your cheat meal would be eating into your weekly deficit. Allow yourself some small "cheats" during the week that work within your calories and then you might not feel the need to go so overboard on Sundays.
  • Emily3907
    Emily3907 Posts: 1,461 Member
    edited November 2017
    Over time, I have found that I have to log everything. (the good, bad and less than awesome) That way the data is there from weeks ago and it can help me pinpoint what I need to adjust, change, etc. to meet my goals. I was finding that I was losing slowly and I went back to try and determine what was going wrong. When I started looking at a month, there were a few days with no data. So then it became a guessing game of, well I was at that party that day, I know I had pizza and cake, etc. etc. etc.

    So, for me it was harder to keep my information straight and watch the natural ebbs and flows of life when I didn't log everything. I have just found it is easier to make adjustments, plan and make new goals when I can review all the data with no holes.
  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
    It is also keeps you more accountable and less likely to binge if you log it. I mean really, do you want to see 4000 extra calories and that red line if you log in that cheat day? Plus, the "if everyday were like this you would weigh 300 lbs...by....?" So most likely you will keep it under control and not go too overboard.
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
    Why are your cheat days so massive? They're more than double your M-Sat. Are you at maintenance or trying to lose weight?

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