Being good all week then cheating on weekends?
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simplyhannahm
Posts: 55 Member
What is everyone's verdict on this?
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Replies
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You can easily wipe out the "good" by a "bad" weekend.
I can easily wipe out a whole week's deficit in an hour of overeating.
There are ways to have 'cheat' weekends but still make progress, but they are generally more "planned extra food" weekends rather than 'cheat' weekends.17 -
I don't think this is the healthiest mindset. Not because of the calorie input itself, but because „cheating” implies doing something wrong. Whereas keeping a larger deficit during 5 days and eating at maintenance for the weekend is not wrong, as long as overall there is still a deficit consistent with your goals.
Personally, I'm a creature of habit and what I eat does not vary much throughout the week, barring once in a blue moon events. But everyone's different.13 -
I had wings, crawfish, bbq, a Blizzard, and Olive Garden this weekend. I still kept my calories reasonable. I lost a pound. I don't see that as cheating.8
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That was how I managed to not lose weight for years! when I started tracking my calories it let me see that I was undoing all my work by over eating at the weekend.
I still eat [a bit] more on the weekends but I bank/save calories from during the week. I will never be able to eat as much as I'd really like to but if I want to stay slim I have to budget those calories and spend them wisely.11 -
I think having a treat is a good thing. Results come from habits and what we do most often so if you're having 6 'good' days to 1 'bad' day then the good will outweigh the bad depending on how overboard you go. If you say that you stick to your plan during most of the week and then on Saturday nights you treat yourself to a nice meal or takeaway with chocolate or icecream then you haven't spoilt everything. I don't advocate 'earning' treats through exercise because you should just enjoy your food without going overboard but I like to go out with my family on a big walk/hike/bike ride at weekends which is a fun form of exercise and means that takeaway won't have quite so much of an impact.2
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It depends what you mean by cheating. As mentioned you can easily wipe out your deficit.
I eat a bit less on weekdays and save those calories for weekends, but I am still mindful of my intake and plan for it. If I go way over it happens but I try not to do it often to cancel out my week.3 -
Cheating, no. ‘Banking’ calories perhaps. Or eating at maintenance on the week ends (it will slow loss, but won’t destroy what you accomplished so far. Or you could just plan ahead and fit some goodies in as part of your normal food consumption.4
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Like everyone else, If you're eating 5 days at a deficit and 2 at a surplus there's no way to know what's going to happen. You could lose, gain, or maintain.
If you wanted to eat 5 days a week at a deficit and maintenance on the weekends, then you would lose, but you've still got to track and be honest.6 -
I think I eat roughly at maintenance over the weekend, maybe a bit over (hard to track since we tend to eat out or family are preparing the food). I don't think of this as cheating and agree with the other posters about this.
It's all a numbers game, so if you're strict over the week, then relaxed at the weekend, but your weight goals are being met and you're happy, thats all that matters really.0 -
It can be so easy to undo the deficit if you cheat all weekend (I am guilty of doing it and then wondering why I wasn't ever losing any weight). I saw this photo and it kind of helped change my perspective on it. I consistently lose when I have a handle on what I eat at weekends.
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You should never use the word cheat with food. You need food to live.
It is your diet. Sustaining a weight loss that you are happy with is all that matters. If you try your system for a few weeks and you are not happy you need to adjust it. If you need ideas on how to adjust it there are plenty of people here with "systems" in place to keep ourselves satisfied.
I would suggest you log your weekend food if you don't but, again, it is your diet. I make the rules for me. You make the rules for you.3 -
Totally depends how much you eat on week ends. I can easily wipe my small weekly deficit in one day, let alone two.2
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It's not a bad idea if you account for this in your average weekly calories, bad idea if you plan to just randomly splurge, and also a bad idea if you associate a large deficit with "good" and happily eating things you like with guilt and cheating. It's all just food, and all food has calories, what you eat and how you split your weekly budget is up to you and your preferences. Attaching moral connotations to food can make dieting more stressful than it needs to be.5
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I give myself one free day. Meaning I don't pre-log Fridays, I log everything after the fact. I might do some extra workout on Saturday to compensate. I find that if I'm honest with my logging, over time I naturally just started indulging a little less on my free days. Because I didn't want to see the damages. I also started to eat a little less during the day on Friday, so I can consume a little more food and alcohol at the bar or party or wherever I go on Friday. For me its essential to have a mental vacation, I need to go out once a week and let loose and have fun.0
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I've never really understood this thought process. You are only cheating yourself. Why work hard all week to through it out the window for a day/weekend of binging? If you feel you "need it", work an indulgent meal into your calories or a trip to Baskin Robbins instead!3
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I eat less calories during the week so I can eat more on the weekends.. I need to be more careful because one day can wipe out a whole week work of deficit.0
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simplyhannahm wrote: »What is everyone's verdict on this?
Well ... doing that certainly helped me reach my highest weight ever.
YMMV10 -
This worked pretty well for me for about a month until life happened and I kinda forgot I was doing it and I just went back to eating like normal.
Over the years, though, I’ve found that weekly “cheats” are just too frequent for me. I feel all bloated and gross and am retaining water for a few days after each one, and by the time I feel good again and start to see the scale moving in the right direction, whoops! Time for another cheat. I couldn’t get any momentum going, but it just seemed too overwhelming not to cheat, so I stayed overweight for a long time.
I take a break once a month now, and that works much better. I go off my plan for two days, so that I don’t feel like I have to cram everything I’ve been wanting to eat in at once. It’s good enough to wait for, and makes me feel gross enough that when the time’s up I’m eager to get back on my plan.1 -
FlyingMolly wrote: »This worked pretty well for me for about a month until... I just went back to eating like normal.
This was the personal flaw that allowed me to gain back a lot of weight over time. I think the problem with "cheat days" is that somehow many people see those as "normal" days. I had to adjust my thinking. Your food choices on the weekend may be different but they don't need to exceed your calorie goals.
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Just moderate your eating on the weekends, skip breakfast and maybe a snack if you know that you are going to eat not great or heavier those days.0
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