Birthday coming up, is one cheat day okay?

Yana_bae
Yana_bae Posts: 31 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My birthday is coming up and in planning to have a party and go out to eat. Every day si ve I’ve gotten this app, I’ve been pretty strict with what I eat. I weigh my meats, only eat exactly what’s in budget, so on and so forth. My birthday is in two weeks and in going to a buffet. Of course, I’m not planning on eating 4 steaks, 5 cake slices and 3 bowls of ice cream, but I am planning on eating what I feel like at the dinner and on that day without being so strict. Is this okay, or should I continue to diet strictly on this day?

Replies

  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    Enjoying your birthday and celebrating with a nice meal (not a full on bingefest) is not cheating. It's called enjoying life.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    There are a handful of days where I don’t plan to stick to my deficit. My birthday is one of them. Enjoy yourself and get back to work the day after.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Yana_bae wrote: »
    My birthday is coming up and in planning to have a party and go out to eat. Every day si ve I’ve gotten this app, I’ve been pretty strict with what I eat. I weigh my meats, only eat exactly what’s in budget, so on and so forth. My birthday is in two weeks and in going to a buffet. Of course, I’m not planning on eating 4 steaks, 5 cake slices and 3 bowls of ice cream, but I am planning on eating what I feel like at the dinner and on that day without being so strict. Is this okay, or should I continue to diet strictly on this day?

    what do you want to do?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    midwesterner85 wrote: »
    It depends. A cheat day for me, early on, was around 30K kcal and erased a whole lot of progress by eating what I felt like.

    By the way you describe having a small appetite (i.e. being unable to eat as little as 4 steaks, 5 cakes slices, and 3 bowls of ice cream), I think you will be alright.

    please can you share what you ate on a 30,000 calorie day?
  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
    To me the phrase "cheat day/meal" is meaningless when it comes to losing weight. The word cheat actually means "act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage" What advantage are you gaining? None. So I wouldn't worry about it.
  • sschauer513
    sschauer513 Posts: 313 Member
    Enjoy the day 1 day is just that would have to do major eating to impact yourself long term mental health is far more important have to enjoy yourself you are aloud to have fun in this new lifestyle.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    midwesterner85 wrote: »
    It depends. A cheat day for me, early on, was around 30K kcal and erased a whole lot of progress by eating what I felt like.

    By the way you describe having a small appetite (i.e. being unable to eat as little as 4 steaks, 5 cakes slices, and 3 bowls of ice cream), I think you will be alright.

    please can you share what you ate on a 30,000 calorie day?

    I did a Google search. The woman who holds the world's record for fastest weight gain weighed 602 pounds and averaged 20,000 calories per day over 2 years while aiming for a body weight goal of 1,000 pounds. Her 2010 Christmas dinner was 30,000 calories and consisted of 2 whole turkeys, 2 hams, a roast, and over 30 pounds of vegetables.

    So I guess we have a potential world record holder in our midst.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Yana_bae wrote: »
    My birthday is coming up and in planning to have a party and go out to eat. Every day si ve I’ve gotten this app, I’ve been pretty strict with what I eat. I weigh my meats, only eat exactly what’s in budget, so on and so forth. My birthday is in two weeks and in going to a buffet. Of course, I’m not planning on eating 4 steaks, 5 cake slices and 3 bowls of ice cream, but I am planning on eating what I feel like at the dinner and on that day without being so strict. Is this okay, or should I continue to diet strictly on this day?

    In the grand scheme of things, why would you think a singular day would be particularly relevant?
  • johnslater461
    johnslater461 Posts: 449 Member
    midwesterner85 wrote: »
    It depends. A cheat day for me, early on, was around 30K kcal and erased a whole lot of progress by eating what I felt like.

    By the way you describe having a small appetite (i.e. being unable to eat as little as 4 steaks, 5 cakes slices, and 3 bowls of ice cream), I think you will be alright.

    You're not fooling anyone
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
    johnslater461 wrote: »
    midwesterner85 wrote: »
    It depends. A cheat day for me, early on, was around 30K kcal and erased a whole lot of progress by eating what I felt like.

    By the way you describe having a small appetite (i.e. being unable to eat as little as 4 steaks, 5 cakes slices, and 3 bowls of ice cream), I think you will be alright.

    You're not fooling anyone

    I'm not trying to fool anyone - my point is that some can do a day where they eat whatever they want and not lose much or any progress, while some of us can't. Do you disagree with that?
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    midwesterner85 wrote: »
    It depends. A cheat day for me, early on, was around 30K kcal and erased a whole lot of progress by eating what I felt like.

    By the way you describe having a small appetite (i.e. being unable to eat as little as 4 steaks, 5 cakes slices, and 3 bowls of ice cream), I think you will be alright.

    please can you share what you ate on a 30,000 calorie day?


    The specifics of what I ate on those days has been discussed to death in other threads in the past and I'm not going to derail this thread to go through the details yet again.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    I'm pretty sure I've lost count of all my "1 is ok" cheat days.
  • LindaGilpin59
    LindaGilpin59 Posts: 233 Member
    Enjoy your birthday. Just don't let one day turn into more and you should be okay. When I first started eliminating certain foods for a while worked until I got into the habit of eating healthier but can now for the most part enjoy them occasionally without completely derailing.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    edited March 2018
    midwesterner85 wrote: »
    johnslater461 wrote: »
    midwesterner85 wrote: »
    It depends. A cheat day for me, early on, was around 30K kcal and erased a whole lot of progress by eating what I felt like.

    By the way you describe having a small appetite (i.e. being unable to eat as little as 4 steaks, 5 cakes slices, and 3 bowls of ice cream), I think you will be alright.

    You're not fooling anyone

    I'm not trying to fool anyone - my point is that some can do a day where they eat whatever they want and not lose much or any progress, while some of us can't. Do you disagree with that?
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    midwesterner85 wrote: »
    It depends. A cheat day for me, early on, was around 30K kcal and erased a whole lot of progress by eating what I felt like.

    By the way you describe having a small appetite (i.e. being unable to eat as little as 4 steaks, 5 cakes slices, and 3 bowls of ice cream), I think you will be alright.

    please can you share what you ate on a 30,000 calorie day?


    The specifics of what I ate on those days has been discussed to death in other threads in the past and I'm not going to derail this thread to go through the details yet again.

    I can't say I've ever noticed you in any other threads, but ok...
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  • stevenungricht
    stevenungricht Posts: 1 Member
    I have one cheat day every week. This is about getting healthy not stopping you life. I lost 28 LBS but then put back on 8 over a 3 month period of not dieting. I'm not going to beat myself over enjoying life. You should enjoy your day and get right back on the day after. I'm starting another round of weight loss then will stop again. Funny but even when you stop you are aware of your intake.
  • evrw92
    evrw92 Posts: 6 Member
    Have fun and eat whatever you like, you are only eating healthily to help yourself so do what will make you happiest. One or two days off isn't going to end the world. I've ended up having to have 3 weeks off as i injured my foot and felt sorry for myself - all in all i'm still the same weight and heading towards my goals. Life is short, enjoy it and your food.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    For what it's worth, 1 lb of fat is about 3500 calories. So if you ate that much OVER what you are supposed to eat to maintain, you would gain at most one pound - even if the scale went up more temporarily because of water gain from sodium and carb replenishment. Is the extra time it would take to get back to where you were worth a big birthday blowout? Only you can say!

    In my own case, I have decided that buffet food is not tasty or well made enough to be worth a blowout. Instead of pigging out at a low or mid price joint, for special occasions I eat moderately at a more expensive establishment where the food is delicious in reasonable portions. I may still eat at or above maintenance but I eat less food for more happiness than I used to eat at a buffet.
  • kmeyer6979
    kmeyer6979 Posts: 17 Member
    Go ahead and eat whatever...you have to give yourself some cheat time. Especially if you’ve been doing great. Have a happy birthday and then you can get back on track ! You deserve it
  • MyEvolvingJourney
    MyEvolvingJourney Posts: 369 Member
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    Enjoying your birthday and celebrating with a nice meal (not a full on bingefest) is not cheating. It's called enjoying life.
    Yes! This right here.

  • jfan175
    jfan175 Posts: 812 Member
    Is it necessary to go to a buffet? Maybe pick someplace where you can somewhat limit yourself if you're concerned about going too far overboard. Have fun!

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