Do you log cheat meals/days?

krich0502
krich0502 Posts: 63 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey,

I’m just wondering, if I should log a cheat meal/day? I think yes, but what are your thoughts or experiences.
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Replies

  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    I do.
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
    Absolutely. You can't figure out whether the numbers you are using for TDEE are in the ballpark unless you have all the data on how much you consume.
  • Jackie9003
    Jackie9003 Posts: 1,115 Member
    edited November 2018
    Yes, you can then see accurate weekly averages, my cheats even themselves out over the week.
  • gnfandialan
    gnfandialan Posts: 1 Member
    Yup, it's factored into my weekly calorie quota.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    It's kind of up to you.

    Logging them means you'll have more complete data, so it will be easier to see what's going on and why. Otherwise, whether you log them or not has no bearing on your progress. So it really becomes a question of whether or not you need that data point, accountability, etc.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    If you eat it, log it. You’re only cheating yourself.
  • StargazerB
    StargazerB Posts: 425 Member
    When I was losing weight I did. In maintenance, nope.
  • battina428
    battina428 Posts: 4 Member
    I do. I don't have that many cheat days actually. I pretty much eat what I want and leave enough calories to eat "cheat " type foods. I lose every week and that's never happened on any plan I've been on including Weight Watchers. Anyway, I'm starting to go off topic but short answer, yes. :)
  • amy19355
    amy19355 Posts: 805 Member
    dulinh wrote: »
    I log everything. I never consider eating to be 'cheating' - its just eating

    ^^ this, 1000 times, ^^ this!
  • etherealanwar
    etherealanwar Posts: 465 Member
    I try my best to, if its something like eating out then I don't always track it but the majority of the time I do.
  • FireOpalCO
    FireOpalCO Posts: 641 Member
    Sorta? I don't have "cheat" days or meals but I definitely have days where I don't log because it's not my focus for the day. For example the 4th of July we were at a barbecue. I was under enough stress being at a party hosted by my husband's boss and surrounded by strangers. I decided for that day to eat what I wanted (mostly healthy with some treats) without trying to figure out how to log things, and I needed to focus on faking being outgoing.

    My parents flew in for a day and a half this past weekend. I didn't log that visit. We ate out and again, I had some treats (stuffed french toast, mmm), but didn't go overboard. Still lost a pound on my next weigh-in.

    As you can see these are pretty spaced out. If I was missing a meal/day every other week it would be an issue. The only other time I miss logging is when I'm sick (so I missed some other days in October, sigh).

  • garystrickland357
    garystrickland357 Posts: 598 Member
    Kathryn247 wrote: »
    Yep. Your body's still logging even if you aren't. :D

    I like that way of looking at it...
  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
    Log it, then when your results aren't quite what you hoped for, you can look back and see if you really did eat too much and cancel out any losses you may have had.
  • workinonit1956
    workinonit1956 Posts: 1,043 Member
    Most definitely!
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    So many cheat threads lately!

    I'm of the 'my body counts it so I should too.' Even if it's a rough estimate because I had a *kitten* it moment and didn't weigh or properly portion anything. I like being able to compare my intake to my rate of loss over time and you can't do that with incomplete data.
  • JennJ323
    JennJ323 Posts: 646 Member
    edited November 2018
    Nope. I know going in to it I'll be over and usually it's for a special occasion, so I'm not going to really limit myself anyway. So I just log the rest of the day what I eat and then when it comes to that meal I don't log it - usually it's too difficult to log anyway, if we're out to eat or at a party. I'm down 30lbs and in maintenance and have done it this way all along, so it worked for me.
  • krich0502
    krich0502 Posts: 63 Member
    collectingblues wrote: »
    If you eat it, log it. You’re only cheating yourself.
    How true
  • krich0502
    krich0502 Posts: 63 Member
    Rocknut53 wrote: »
    Log it, then when your results aren't quite what you hoped for, you can look back and see if you really did eat too much and cancel out any losses you may have had.

    Makes sense, Hindsight is 20/20. That’s what I thought.
  • krich0502
    krich0502 Posts: 63 Member
    JennJ323 wrote: »
    Nope. I know going in to it I'll be over and usually it's for a special occasion, so I'm not going to really limit myself anyway. So I just log the rest of the day what I eat and then when it comes to that meal I don't log it - usually it's too difficult to log anyway, if we're out to eat or at a party. I'm down 30lbs and in maintenance and have done it this way all along, so it worked for me.

    I did find that it was impossible to log while iI was on vacation ( all inclusive). I gave up, just knew it had to be bad. And it was, I gained 😞
  • bikecheryl
    bikecheryl Posts: 1,432 Member
    I try to stay away from negative words like "cheat".

    I log everything cause that's just what works for me.

    It's not so much about how many calories over my goal I am that day but more about being able to look back and see if those "over" days are becoming a trend.

    I know I will always have to be "mindful" when it comes to what and how much I eat............ seeing it in black and white helps me with that.
  • amy19355
    amy19355 Posts: 805 Member
    krich0502 wrote: »
    JennJ323 wrote: »
    Nope. I know going in to it I'll be over and usually it's for a special occasion, so I'm not going to really limit myself anyway. So I just log the rest of the day what I eat and then when it comes to that meal I don't log it - usually it's too difficult to log anyway, if we're out to eat or at a party. I'm down 30lbs and in maintenance and have done it this way all along, so it worked for me.

    I did find that it was impossible to log while iI was on vacation ( all inclusive). I gave up, just knew it had to be bad. And it was, I gained 😞

    The all inclusive eat all you want buffet model is a potential danger zone for those of us watching our calories and/or macros.

    My friends laugh at me, and i laugh along with them as i visually break down the food on my restaurant plate and estimate the quantities of individual ingredients i've just been served.

    It may not be a perfect estimate, but, for me it's better than no estimate at all, and I like keeping up with the habit of food logging because I know that the more I log, the more informed I am about what has taken place to achieve my current state of being.

    I use the MFP Food Notes section to add comments about days where I'm estimating because of eating out. This is a handy reference for when I'm doing a 2 month analysis and am curious about the cause of a spike (up or down) in the progress chart.

    good luck!
  • DaisyHamilton
    DaisyHamilton Posts: 575 Member
    I log it as accurately as possible. Which means nearly nothing is weighed, but I do log it per item (3 pieces of candy, 2 tacos, 1-16oz milkshake) etc.
  • amy19355
    amy19355 Posts: 805 Member
    DaisyHamilton wrote: »
    I log it as accurately as possible. Which means nearly nothing is weighed, but I do log it per item (3 pieces of candy, 2 tacos, 1-16oz milkshake) etc.

    There was a great thread that got bumped the other day that went into deep detail about the 'why to weigh' stuff.

    the most valuable thing I got from it was about how to select verified items from the food database, to avoid logging incorrect information from a manually entered food from one of the zillions of MFP users.

    the second value-added tip was "don't eyeball quantities, use the scale for solids and a measuring cup/spoon for liquids".

    my personal example of horrified discovery about the eyeball vs measuring spoon is OLIVE OIL.

    The bottle says a serving is 1 tablespoon. (119 calories)
    It used to be, I'd open the bottle and dump a liberal quantity into the pan. (approx 3 TBS for 398 calories).
    I have since learned to cook many things with just 1 measured teaspoon (1/3 of a tablespoon = 40 calories).

    good luck!
  • greatatboats
    greatatboats Posts: 28 Member
    I get takeout with my boyfriend typically twice a week. If it is something I can easily add and doesn't make me go crazy over, I will log it correctly. Otherwise at the end of the day I will just quick add to get my balance after excercise to zero. I do tend to leave a decent amount of calories behind each day (due to exercise), so I am accidentally creating a buffer.

    This might not be a great long term strategy, but emotionally it's working for me pretty well.

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