Cheat day???

kpendleton19
kpendleton19 Posts: 24 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok...for those who have lost some significant weight, did you have a cheat day (eat anything all day) or just have a cheat meal or cheat snacks?? What did ur cheat meal or day consist of? Were u still on track with weightloss even having the cheat day/meal???

Replies

  • Falklang
    Falklang Posts: 220 Member
    I have a 'non tracking day' at the end of each month and a day each week where i reach my maintenance calories or just under. the majority of the time though I'm always under my calories and enjoy the food that I like but as smaller portions.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,324 Member
    i've lost 22 pounds since Jan 1...yet i quit counting calories... yay... i have gone out to dinner once a week.. ... it has worked for me. Tonight i went out for Valentine's day...drank champagne had dessert..and will jump right on back to my healthy eating plan tomorrow, and work out to burn some of the calories. i bet i'm down another three pounds by my next weigh in...
  • sugarlemonpie
    sugarlemonpie Posts: 311 Member
    I don't believe in cheat days, I just eat what I want within my calories since I don't want to sabotage my progress. However, it's a different case when I have planned for a vacation, as I would rather enjoy my time. But that being said, don't turn it into a bingefest!
  • sc487
    sc487 Posts: 102 Member
    I’m traveling for business and I know there is a local burger joint that I absolutely love down in south TX. I simply accepted that my calories would be high yesterday so I ate less the previous 2 days.
  • Vicham76
    Vicham76 Posts: 59 Member
    Another MFP user once said, A treat is not a cheat. Just let it fit in with your goals.
  • Angieve1
    Angieve1 Posts: 65 Member
    I eat what I want when I want as long as I stay within my calorie goal :)
  • chelliz88
    chelliz88 Posts: 62 Member
    I don't have "cheat days." If I want something, I will just eat the serving size. Also, if my husband and I go out to eat on the weekend, I don't mind going over that day because I want to enjoy what I'm eating and not worry about it.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    Another who doesn't do chest days. I could easily out-eat my weekly deficit in one free for all day. What I do have are treats that fit my macro and calorie goals whenever I want them, and planned maintenance (or over maintenance) days to usually coincide with holidays and social events.
  • beerfoamy
    beerfoamy Posts: 1,520 Member
    I have had a couple of days where I have just eaten what I wanted and not cared. I have still logged everything to refer back to but it
    Usually it is a slab of belly pork with crackling, couple of big bags of crisps (Chicken and Thyme sensations and cheesey doritos usually), a fair amount of vodka and diet coke, cake bars and biscuits.
    Have only had twice in the past year where I did not meet my weekly goal due to it, but I needed the 'day off' mentally. Logging it helped to see the actual impact vs the perceived impact and I did not have any guilt in eating all the things. :) it also helped me to get back to eating at goal the very next day.
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
    Read this: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

    I have taken a couple of diet breaks. When I'd have "cheat days" during the diet phase, I'd eat to maintenance.
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  • jc1961AA
    jc1961AA Posts: 283 Member
    What is disheartening is that it takes approx. 20mins t burn ~200 calories, and you can eat it back in about 15 seconds ;0)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Maintenance days...

    Going off the rails for a day could be a very bad thing and just leave you spinning your wheels...

    I'd need to eat around 6,300-6,500 calories to completely unwind my weekly deficit...I could do that pretty easy just eating whatever all day...
  • raindawg
    raindawg Posts: 348 Member
    Not while trying to lose weight. I've done MFP a few times over the years and am usually on the 1 pound per week goal. If I have a cheat day the scale doesn't move that week and I have to wait another week to see a loss. So I feel like it costs me two weeks mentally.

    This time around I'm going to try a re-feed week or two once I'm within 10 pounds of goal.
  • melissa6771
    melissa6771 Posts: 894 Member
    I call it free day not cheat day. I know lots of people here are very against it but I do it every Sunday. I don't eat my exercise calories during the week and have a high day on Sunday. I still log my food. Hasn't hurt my progress at all. I'm averaging 1.25 pounds a week. I eat 13-1400 daily and under 3000 on Sunday, averages out to 15-1600/day for the week. I work out an hour and a half most days, sometimes 45-60 min if it's just a cardio day. You have to find what works for you.
  • whosshe
    whosshe Posts: 597 Member
    I didn't start having cheat days until I lost a significant amount of weight. Not for any reason other than I'm more confident in my ability to get back on track now. I still log the approximate amount of calories consumed for the day.

    When I started losing weight I definitely had "cheat" meals. Except they weren't necessarily cheat meals because I would always fit them into my calories for the day. Usually by skipping lunch to have a big greasy supper.
  • Wcarpenter81
    Wcarpenter81 Posts: 16 Member
    tirowow12385 wrote: »
    I just eat what I craved within my calorie limit when I felt like it.

    This is what i do as well.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    The only thing you're cheating when having a cheat day or cheat meal is your goals. If your goal is to lose weight on a regular basis, then don't do the cheat day/meal. All it does is negate your calorie deficit and stop you from losing the expected weight. I lost over 125 lbs in a little over a year. Never had a cheat day or meal. I did occasionally go over my calories, especially on holidays, but I logged everything and stayed in my calorie goals as much as possible. On holidays when I went over I'd either add in extra exercise or increase my deficit before/after the holiday to make up for it. Doing that allowed me to relax and have fun on those days with food, yet it didn't derail my efforts later.
  • santje00
    santje00 Posts: 95 Member
    kpendleton19 wrote: »
    Ok...for those who have lost some significant weight, did you have a cheat day (eat anything all day) or just have a cheat meal or cheat snacks?? What did ur cheat meal or day consist of? Were u still on track with weightloss even having the cheat day/meal???

    I have cheat days, but I do stick within my calorie range. For example, I can have a pizza, but a small one with reduced fat cheese or a gluten-free option. One thing I will say, and I'm speaking from experience, denying yourself everything you like will cause you to shoot back up in weight. I lost four stone in the past, denied myself everything, only to put it back on. I'm nearly back to a 2 stone loss, and I still have the things I like, I just make them a little healthier. Now, I don't even crave takeaways. I did before...
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    That's the most I've seen the word cheat in 4 sentences ever.

    I had high calorie days. I look at my weekly average.

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