"Cheat" Meal

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Ivanapoutine
Ivanapoutine Posts: 28 Member
in Getting Started
Hi, I have a caloric intake of 1200/day. If I stick to 1200/cal 6 days a week, is it okay to have a (what I call) a freedom meal once a week? I feel it's the only way to not feel trapped. Every Saturday my partner and I go out for a meal. We are both big craft beer drinkers too (which I've limited to 2 beers a week). I would just like to have one meal that I can freely order off the menu and a beer without the world crashing down around me. Am I setting myself up for failure or will I still see results? I don't want to order a small salad when I'm out and 600 cals is difficult to stick by for a meal out that is satisfying.

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  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
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    Well, if you blow your whole deficit for the week on one meal that is not good. But if you keep your calories under your goal for the week, it will be fine. Just make sure you are tracking your intake accurately.
  • tmpecus78
    tmpecus78 Posts: 1,206 Member
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    I hate the term "cheat meal", cause it often gives the impression you are cheating on your "meal plan" (I also hate the term diet). You can most def go out once a week and have relaxed meal off your plan. If fat loss is your ultimate goal, you need to be careful cause this "free meal" could really sabotage you're progress if you're not careful. I like to plan ahead if I'm going out to eat. I'll visit the restaurants website and look over their menu ahead of time, that way If i'm gonna eat a meal higher in fat and carbs, I'll eat less if those throughout the day to save calories/macros for this meal. Make sense?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    When I was losing weight I typically ate maintenance calories at least 1 if not 2 days per week on the weekend. I'm sure my overall weight loss was a tad slower, but likely not by much...week or two at the most...grand scheme of things, not a big deal.

    Then again, maybe not...I never hit any kind of plateau or anything like that...it was pretty steady as she goes...
  • tmpecus78
    tmpecus78 Posts: 1,206 Member
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    ShaeTheSweetest wrote: »
    Ofcourse it is! My first time around here i had a cheat day! not even a cheat meal, a cheat day every single Sunday. I lost 50lbs with no issue. Having a cheat meal/day is very important because it makes it not so painful and also gives you something to look forward to. I also cheat on special occasions like holidays or birthdays because as much as i want to lose weight, i also want to enjoy life! I'm back on here now after the loss of a loved one spiraled me into an eating frenzy and i gained some unwanted weight but im still doing my sunday cheat days! Its totally warranted and you got this!!

    A so called "diet" shouldn't be that painful and restrictive that you need a cheat day to look forward too. This often leads people to binging.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
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    You are free to choose the plan that works for you as long as you can accept the downside of a "cheat" day/meal. Years ago I used to think I could eat anything til I really started trying to lose weight here on MFP. I have a scale that logs my weight and noticed that when I cheated on the weekends it took me till wednesday to lose what I gained over the weekend. I stopped cheating and the weight melted off twice as fast.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    I have no idea what your daily deficit is on 1,200 a day six days a week, but I could easily blow out a reasonable deficit with a restaurant meal plus two craft beers (depending, of course, on what I ordered for that meal).

    You have a couple of options -- choose a more reasonable daily calorie goal that doesn't make you feel like you need a "freedom meal" for sanity and allows you to have a couple of beers and go out to eat once a week, try your approach and monitor your results to see if you are cancelling out your deficit, decide that you can have everything but not necessarily all at once (have one beer instead of two, choose things you like off the menu that still fit into a reasonable calorie goal, etc).
  • mulecanter
    mulecanter Posts: 1,792 Member
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    I agree, the cheat concept is wrong. Put the night out in your calorie budget and then plow ahead. Consider "earning" your beer via an extra walk or something.
  • Sam29a
    Sam29a Posts: 201 Member
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    It works for a lot of people, but not me. I eat so much on cheat days (2500-3500 calories or so), I just get myself ill. I definitely couldn't have one once a week - I know it would only lead to weight gain.

    I only tend to allow myself a cheat day once every 4 months or so. I've gone 9 months without one and didn't really miss it. Once I have a cheat day or even a day of no logging, then it's really difficult to stop myself from craving junk food and binge eating.

    I would try it, if you are still losing weight, then go for it! If not, maybe have one less frequently.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
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    Ivanapoutine wrote: »
    Hi, I have a caloric intake of 1200/day. If I stick to 1200/cal 6 days a week, is it okay to have a (what I call) a freedom meal once a week? I feel it's the only way to not feel trapped. Every Saturday my partner and I go out for a meal. We are both big craft beer drinkers too (which I've limited to 2 beers a week). I would just like to have one meal that I can freely order off the menu and a beer without the world crashing down around me. Am I setting myself up for failure or will I still see results? I don't want to order a small salad when I'm out and 600 cals is difficult to stick by for a meal out that is satisfying.

    You'd have to run the math on that one. (We have no idea how much of a deficit 1200 is for you, or by how much that cheat meal is going over).
  • amfmmama
    amfmmama Posts: 1,420 Member
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    I will have a cheat meal. I used to do a cheat day, but I find that I do better if I limit it to a meal (dessert) included if I want one). The funny thing is, when I am in a good mindset, I usually have it on a weekend, I work out or hike, and watch my calories during the day, and have a great dinner. When I log it all, often, I haven't gone over much, if at all.

    I am someone that eats a lot of the same stuff all the time. I know that some will disagree with me, and that is fine, but I find that the change up in foods and calories, helps me avoid plateaus. Just my experience = )
  • Ivanapoutine
    Ivanapoutine Posts: 28 Member
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    I can have a deficit of 400-1000/day. 400 if I am incredibly lazy and 1000 if I add a good workout (according to my Fitbit). My heart rate for some reason is incredibly low for someone so inactive (49-52 BPM when idle) so I wonder if this is really slowing down my ability to burn because it feels as though I need to perpetually be running to keep it up lol. I have pretty decent self control when it comes to the meal and don't over do it. It's simply the freedom of going for pasta or fries if I really want them. But I will make sure to go for a good workout on these days so it doesn't kick my *kitten* on weigh in. I am also in desperate need of tasty, easy recipes that are vegetarian so let me know if you have any recommendations
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Ivanapoutine wrote: »
    I can have a deficit of 400-1000/day. 400 if I am incredibly lazy and 1000 if I add a good workout (according to my Fitbit). My heart rate for some reason is incredibly low for someone so inactive (49-52 BPM when idle) so I wonder if this is really slowing down my ability to burn because it feels as though I need to perpetually be running to keep it up lol. I have pretty decent self control when it comes to the meal and don't over do it. It's simply the freedom of going for pasta or fries if I really want them. But I will make sure to go for a good workout on these days so it doesn't kick my *kitten* on weigh in. I am also in desperate need of tasty, easy recipes that are vegetarian so let me know if you have any recommendations

    There is no direct correlation between your heart rate and energy expenditure.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Ivanapoutine wrote: »
    I can have a deficit of 400-1000/day. 400 if I am incredibly lazy and 1000 if I add a good workout (according to my Fitbit). My heart rate for some reason is incredibly low for someone so inactive (49-52 BPM when idle) so I wonder if this is really slowing down my ability to burn because it feels as though I need to perpetually be running to keep it up lol. I have pretty decent self control when it comes to the meal and don't over do it. It's simply the freedom of going for pasta or fries if I really want them. But I will make sure to go for a good workout on these days so it doesn't kick my *kitten* on weigh in. I am also in desperate need of tasty, easy recipes that are vegetarian so let me know if you have any recommendations

    If you have a deficit of 400-1,000 calories a day, you should be able to work in fries or pasta without having to have a "freedom meal." Have you considered a daily calorie goal that is more reasonable than 1,200? That way you don't necessarily have to feel "trapped" during the week. You can either eat more each day and not have to have a day when you blow off that steam from excessive control or you can still eat somewhat lower and have banked calories for a meal/beers on the weekend.

    Or you can try it your way and monitor your results. I'm not trying to say there is one way to do it, just sharing what has been more successful for me.

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