Do you have a cheat day?

justinejacksonm · January 2019

If so how often? When? What do you do/have when you do? Do you think it's help your weight loss or maintain good weight? What's the one food you'd cheat for even if you don't have a cheat day?

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lalalacroix · January 2019

Yes and no. I don't really believe in the idea of cheating. However I do eat whatever I like within my calorie deficit. Overall I eat a lot of what most would consider healthy like veggies, fruit, chicken, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, etc. But sometimes I want dessert or a cheeseburger and fries, etc. I just plan for it and work it in. I do follow a weekly calorie deficit so if I overindulge one day I allow myself to eat a little less on the following days.

Eating like this does allow me to have greater calorie adherance because I am eating a diet that is forever and not just until the weight is gone. So eating only "healthy" food isn't very realistic. Let's face it, most of us will eat a piece of cake or a cheeseburger every once in a while.

One thing to really keep in mind is that a cheat day could really wipe out your weekly deficit if you aren't careful.

cwolfman13 · January 2019

To me, "cheating" is something you do when you're on a specific diet plan with such and such restrictions...so, like if you're on Keto and you have a carb it up day...to me that would be cheating because you're breaking the "rules" of the plan.

I don't have any particular plan. I eat healthy for the most part...lots of veg, fruit, lean protein, legumes, whole grains, and healthy fats. I also like having pizza now and then...or some pub grub, etc. I don't really consider it cheating...I consider it being normal and wanting some occasional indulgences that maybe aren't the healthiest of options.

The bottom line in regards to weight management is calories. If your cheat day wipes out your calorie deficit for the week, you're not going to lose weight...if your cheat meal cuts into your calorie deficit for the week, you're going to lose weight slower.

Really, this comes down to what you're doing most of the time, not sometimes. When my exercise and nutrition are on point most of the time, going out for some pub grub sometimes isn't particularly material. Having a higher calorie day here and there really isn't material.

Cahgetsfit · January 2019

https://rippedbody.com/diet-break/

This.

I personally diet break and also when I was with coaches in the past they prescribed diet breaks too.

I currently cycle my calories a bit so that I can eat a bit more for 2 days and a bit less for 5 days. The 2 days at higher calories makes the lower days more tolerable.

Sometimes I say *kitten* it all and just eat (because those days happen), but then I go back to tracking.

I don't see it as cheating - I see it more as a break.

monso06 · January 2019

I think a cheat meal is better than a whole day, so that you don't lose progress.

Nutritionists say a cheat meal once a week (of which you don't count the calories) totally helps you to lose weight. The reason is that when your body is constantly famished, it's going to start storing more fat (than usual, in proportion) from the scarce food it gets, and stop drawing from fat reserves.

Eating a hearty meal with some fat and carbs helps to cancel this famine mode, and make sure that the deficit of calories is taken primarily from fat tissue, not muscles or bones.

However, this famine mode mostly happens in drastic diets that aim to lose weight very fast. That's why restrictive diets make you fatter in the long run: you lose muscle and bone tissue, so your percentage of body fat increases, and when you eat normally again you end up fatter than before.

If you're following such a diet, a cheat meal definitely helps. If you're just eating healthy to lose weight slowly, you probably won't get any physical advantage from a cheat meal. But it does help with morale and staying on course, which is the most important.

kami3006 · January 2019

I just eat the foods I love which is a big range and follow a weekly calorie goal so it’s easier to get the higher calorie food in there. Over some days, under some. No food restrictions.

witchaywoman81 · January 2019

To me, “cheat” has a negative connotation. In the past I would have days where I’d be “afraid” to log what I ate because I felt like I fell off the wagon. Really trying to change that this time around. I track everything I put in my mouth. Some days I go over my calories, some days I’m under. I also don’t restrict what I eat (just the quantities) so I haven’t really felt the need to “cheat.”

witchaywoman81 · January 2019

monso06 wrote: »

I think a cheat meal is better than a whole day, so that you don't lose progress.

Nutritionists say a cheat meal once a week (of which you don't count the calories) totally helps you to lose weight. The reason is that when your body is constantly famished, it's going to start storing more fat (than usual, in proportion) from the scarce food it gets, and stop drawing from fat reserves.t.

If you’re referring to starvation mode, it doesn’t exist. If you’re starving, you will continue to lose weight. Look at people in any country where food is scarce. You sure don’t see a lot of overweight people there.

Secondly, if you’re consistently feeling “famished,” you’re doing it wrong. Pick a calorie deficit that makes sense for how much or little you have to lose. 2 pounds a week isn’t right for everyone. Eat the foods you enjoy, within a reasonable deficit.

callsitlikeiseeit · January 2019

just like on all of the 500 other threads posted like this weekly, i will say no.

budonyan · January 2019

I am very strict on keto, but every few weeks I have a "lazy" keto day where I just don't meticulously measure everything. So I'll go from measuring 3.5 ounces of tofu per meal eating the whole darn tofu block in one setting-- but I won't eat anything that's not allowed on keto either. So like... extra half and half, extra peanut butter and junk like that. But I won't eat a pizza or anything.
So far it has not hindered my diet at all and it feels like cheating so my body is happy when I have these days.

dsboohead · January 2019

No do not care for utilizing a "cheat day".
Nothing is off limits just managed...no need to cheat.

sardelsa · January 2019

I wouldn't call what I do cheat days, but they are planned higher calorie/ refeed days which happen on the weekends. Overall I still stay in a deficit but I allow myself more flexibility those days which helps my adherence and workout performance. I don't really avoid anything, I suppose very high fat foods in high quantities, but I don't really want that stuff so I don't even miss it.

pierinifitness · January 2019

Not at this time.

jjpptt2 · January 2019

To me, cheating means intentionally deviating from the plan, whatever plan that may be.

So for me, I don't cheat. If I go off plan, it's not intentional... it's failure (for that day/week).

mom2kpr · January 2019

Yes and no. I have different calorie goals for different days. Sun - Thu goal is 1400, Fri & Sat is 1800. I figured my weekly calorie goal and adjusted from there.

garystrickland357 · January 2019

For me, "cheating" implies I'm doing something I know I shouldn't do. Why cheat on yourself? I just don't care for the term. Do I eat more on some days than other? Yes. I still managed to lose weight though by maintaining a calorie deficit over time.

kimny72 · January 2019

I don't have any foods that are off limits, so I have nothing to cheat on. When I am actively trying to lose weight, I will have a day every couple of weeks or so where I decide to eat my maintenance calories for the day, I guess that would fit into someone's definition of a cheat day? It helped me psychologically to have those extra cals to play with every once and awhile.

corysmithsmail · January 2019

Well, I will be the sole deviator in saying that I do have cheat days from time to time. If my weight loss is in a plateau for a while and I know my logging is 100% accurate then I will have a cheat day. I usually just eat what I want/crave and it ends up being right at or just barely over maintenance calories. And I do gain like 3lbs the day after, but it falls off and then I go back to losing after 2-3 days. It worked for me, and now I'm maintaining.

I am fully prepared for the woos.....

AnnPT77 · January 2019

I think that like Santa Claus, cheat meals/days are mythical, because my body counts everything.

Most days, I eat just about right on goal calories. Some days, I eat a little under or a little over. Occasionally, I eat a lot over goal calories. It's just a choice, with benefits (maybe) and consequences.

While I was losing weight, I logged it all, good/bad/ugly, so I had valid data for calculating true TDEE, and so I could think about whether those "over" days had been worth it (because I could estimate how long I'd delayed reaching goal weight by eating over goal). If they weren't worth it, I tried to figure out a better plan for the next time I was in similar circumstances. If they were worth it, I just went back to my regular calorie-deficit routine.

Nowadays, in year 3 of maintenance, I don't log every single day, though I still log most . . . but I have a pretty decent idea what the impact of higher-eating days will be, regardless.

Some people feel they need a day off from logging now and then, while losing, for sanity's sake. I didn't find that logging interfered with my base level of sanity - kind of the reverse, actually, since logging everything helped me make rational, data-based decisions.

Also, I don't like the term "cheating": It implies that there's right eating, wrong eating, etc. It's just food, not melodrama, not sin and expiation. We need to eat some. Current me usually wants more than will be good for future me: It's up to current me to find a healthy balance.

YMMV.

justinejacksonm · January 2019

So the point of my post wasn't really in looking for suggestions or initiating a debate about the right or wrong of it, just curious how others do things.

I truly believe if I have a day where I just eat what I want- within reason of course- and stay on track eating properly, healthfully, balanced, budgeted and tacked calorie-wise, etc., I have found my body is much more willing to part with fat. It's a fine line and usually I'll just eat way less (or fast for half or most the day) the next day so that I will burn off any excess calories from the day before, before they get stored.

I went to Red Robin to get my free burger on Saturday and enjoyed. I was definitely very bloated for a day or two after but I have had significant progress this week in my body composition!

I was just very good after and took long walks, etc.

I log my food very honestly and sometimes if I'm not sure I'll even err on the higher side to make sure I'm covered. I have my plan set to 1500 calories/day but honestly... There's plenty of times when, especially after exercise and my remaining cals go up, it says I need to eat more and I'm just not hungry, so I don't.

I've followed an even lower calorie plan in the past and had the same issue like stop telling me to eat more! If my body is hungry I'll feed it and I do. Fortunately I also tend to crave stuff I need more of which is good. Being in tune with your body and listening to it are helpful.

As for the idea of starvation mode and people in other parts of the world who are really skinny, I think there's a difference between a state of extreme and prolonged starvation vs. still maintaining access to food as one of us may. Our supply to food and what we're eating is, I'm sure, not comparable.

janejellyroll · January 2019

justinejacksonm wrote: »

So the point of my post wasn't really in looking for suggestions or initiating a debate about the right or wrong of it, just curious how others do things.

I truly believe if I have a day where I just eat what I want- within reason of course- and stay on track eating properly, healthfully, balanced, budgeted and tacked calorie-wise, etc., I have found my body is much more willing to part with fat. It's a fine line and usually I'll just eat way less (or fast for half or most the day) the next day so that I will burn off any excess calories from the day before, before they get stored.

I went to Red Robin to get my free burger on Saturday and enjoyed. I was definitely very bloated for a day or two after but I have had significant progress this week in my body composition!

I was just very good after and took long walks, etc.

I log my food very honestly and sometimes if I'm not sure I'll even err on the higher side to make sure I'm covered. I have my plan set to 1500 calories/day but honestly... There's plenty of times when, especially after exercise and my remaining cals go up, it says I need to eat more and I'm just not hungry, so I don't.

I've followed an even lower calorie plan in the past and had the same issue like stop telling me to eat more! If my body is hungry I'll feed it and I do. Fortunately I also tend to crave stuff I need more of which is good. Being in tune with your body and listening to it are helpful.

As for the idea of starvation mode and people in other parts of the world who are really skinny, I think there's a difference between a state of extreme and prolonged starvation vs. still maintaining access to food as one of us may. Our supply to food and what we're eating is, I'm sure, not comparable.

I have no idea how to quantify or discuss your feelings that your body is more "willing" to part with fat when you eat what you want one day per week. I don't think this is really a theory that can be meaningfully discussed, it's your feeling.

Your body doesn't know if you're eating too little because you're in a siege situation or if you're eating too little because you have an eating disorder. You can have consistent access to food and still eat too little -- your body has no way of registering the food around you that you're choosing not to eat. Anyone who claims "starvation mode," as commonly used by dieters, is a real thing does need to explain how there are circumstances where people do lose weight when they are underfed.

rohhse · January 2019

I don't have a cheat day, because before my lifestyle change I had a problem of overeating constantly, and it would not be beneficial to my mental health to do so.

However, I have had a few cheat moments. I had an M&M cookie last week at a party and it was fantastic. I'm proud of only eating one.

Do you have a cheat day?

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