Do you log cheat meals/days?

Totally try to log them accurately Mostly guesstimates then but logging always

I did at first and I'm really glad I did... it was a reeeeeeal eye opener.

In two senses:

1. When you shyly eat a few unexpected goodies, logging helps you see that the damage is not that bad! You can totally keep that day at a deficit or at maintenance and feel pretty good about that.
2. When you go all out (very little shyness), you can see the real, hard truth. See how easy it is to put yourself in a huge surpluss, how easy it is to sweep a week's deficit, etc.

So yeah, I found logging those days to be very educational.

However, nowadays, when I have the occaaaasional loosey-goosey day, I don't log, because I'm not really in the logging mind zone, you know?

Selectively logging your diet seems to defeat the purpose- hopefully you don't manage your finances according to the same philosophy

I also don't consider it cheating if I decide to go over my calorie goal, so I log it all no matter how bad it looks. I weigh & measure when possible (not when g'kids are here or when eating out) but it is logged. (except on cruise last summer--no internet!) I must be doing OK because I have been maintaining for years (or v-e-r-y slowly losing) even though I would like to lose another 10-15 pounds.

krich0502 wrote: »

Diem78 wrote: »

I log everything. I am a little more relaxed on weekends and sometimes eat at maintenance both days- occasionally over maintenance. Still losing steadily. Down almost 70 lbs.

What does “ eating at maintenance” mean?

Eating enough calories to maintain your current weight.

cheating wastes the waist

I don’t consider them cheat days but Saturdays I do tend to eat more calories then normal but everyday my calories are different.
I do track everything because honestly for me it keeps me accountable.
That being said I don’t think you always have to track and I actually think not tracking is a good way to practice maintaining but maybe mid way though your journey and not right at first!

I bank some calories and carbs for the weekends. So monday through friday each day I go under about 75 calories on average. So that split between Saturday and Sunday. I can have a bit more, plus I increase the amount of walking on those days. So each day I can have on average 250 more calories than rest of week. It is working great for me. But I log everything I eat.

So I guess your question is because of a recent vacation?

When I'm away on vacation, I don't keep track. When I'm at home I log all the food I eat no matter how much, because knowledge is power.

Most vacations have me eating more but also being much more active, so any couple of pounds that show on the scale drop back off within a week. I'm not about to stress out over calories when on vacay.

Running2Fit wrote: »

I log everything. Days I’m right on track, days I’m under, days I’m over - it all gets logged. Not logging doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, your body logs it all whether you put it into MFP or not.

Strangely, for this same reason I don't log those days when I "kind of" let go.

Because I figure, the surplus is happening logging or no logging; the water weight gain & the real fat gain is happenin' no matter what... why would I bother logging on days I'm chilling? I use logging as a meticulous tool to stay in deficit, maintenance, track my macros, etc. It's work, but I use it as a precious means to an end. Days when I have fun and let lose... I don't bother. It's of little use, because I'm not concerned with goals on those days.

On a side note, I only have these loosey-goosey days like once every 6 weeks.

On another side note, I always make sure they're only that: one day.

On yet another side note, of course I track any goodies on a regular day (chocolate, wine, ice-cream, cookies, whatever).

On a final note, I did log these "cheat days" (or whatever anyone likes to call them) in the past, and it was very educational, useful, eye-opener, helpful, etc. It made me see just what could go on on a day when I didn't eat mindfully (and goodness gracious a lot could go on!). However, I've learned what I needed and that's why on just those few days in the year: I don't track. I'm not in that mindset those days... not logging into MFP is part of the fun, to be honest, hehe. But I have the discipline to go back on track right away, which is also somehing I learned with time.