Cheat meals

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rachelpelucca
rachelpelucca Posts: 57 Member
in Food and Nutrition
This may be a stupid question, but take it easy on me I’m new to this 😅🙃 is one or two cheat meals a week acceptable if I’m looking to lose weight? Not cheat day, just two cheat meals of my choice to help satisfy my crazy cravings lol

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  • lx1x
    lx1x Posts: 38,311 Member
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    Meal.. why not.. as long it's not way over the top..
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    There's no one set answer to this.

    If your "cheat meals" still leave you in an overall deficit, you'll still lose weight. But if you eat too much, you can cancel out your deficit and then you won't lose weight.

    I would try to look at the "crazy cravings" and figure out how to manage those. Are you eating enough overall? Are you eating things that you enjoy regularly? Are you on a plan that limits too many of the foods you truly enjoy?
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
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    I wouldn't think of things as "cheat" or not. You have a calorie goal. How you get there is up to you. If you overeat your goal, but under eat your maintenance calories, you will still lose weight, just at a slower level. So if you have a day or two you would like to eat at or close to maintenance because you want to enjoy something that doesn't traditionally fit in your calorie goals, that is fine. But make sure to still log it and take into account the calories.
  • granitepeak1981
    granitepeak1981 Posts: 148 Member
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    If the meal will put you over your calorie limit for the day then you should limit it to one meal a week.
  • lalalacroix
    lalalacroix Posts: 834 Member
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    I'm wondering what you mean by "cheat.". Is it eating over deficit? Or not logging? Or just eating something like french fries or ice cream?

    I find the more flexible a diet is, the easier adherance can be. There's nothing wrong with having processed foods sometimes or eating over your deficit. It's even okay to eat at maintenance for periods of time. I highly recommend logging whatever you do eat because it's really the only data that allows us to see what's going on if we stop losing for a while or even gain weight.
  • patches1975
    patches1975 Posts: 14 Member
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    I think it all depends on the individual. I personally can't because it WILL turn into a cheat month. My friend has to have a cheat meal to stay on track tho
  • rachelpelucca
    rachelpelucca Posts: 57 Member
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    Yes I’m under my calorie goal most times by hundreds every day, even the day I have my cheat meal which is usually like a spicy chicken sandwich and curly fries from jack in the box lol I don’t go over the top, just something to satisfy my fat girl self. Thanks for the tips guys!
  • lx1x
    lx1x Posts: 38,311 Member
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    Its not cheat meal then...enjoy it.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    rachelpelucca wrote: »
    Yes I’m under my calorie goal most times by hundreds every day, even the day I have my cheat meal which is usually like a spicy chicken sandwich and curly fries from jack in the box lol I don’t go over the top, just something to satisfy my fat girl self. Thanks for the tips guys!

    Is your calorie goal already giving you a deficit? If so, why are you under by hundreds each day?

  • ingridchicks
    ingridchicks Posts: 2 Member
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    Check out this article from Muscle For Life - seriously, they changed my life (and how I eat)!
    https://www.muscleforlife.com/what-is-if-it-fits-your-macros-and-does-it-work/

    They also have a great macronutrient calculator that can help you adjust your MFP goals.
  • ecmorgan101
    ecmorgan101 Posts: 24 Member
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    I go more by a flexible calorie plan.

    I know what my maintenance weight calorie level is and I ALWAYS stay a good bit under it.

    I have my daily calorie goal except that one day a week, I add a little to it - still staying well under my BMR. That allows me to not sweat a trip to McDonald's or the Pizza Place with my children when they are over. I still need to be reasonable but because I'm allowing myself a few extra calories, I don't have to worry about a couple slices of pizza or something that might normally do my day in when I'm on my normal calorie goal.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,200 Member
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    rachelpelucca wrote: »
    Yes I’m under my calorie goal most times by hundreds every day, even the day I have my cheat meal which is usually like a spicy chicken sandwich and curly fries from jack in the box lol I don’t go over the top, just something to satisfy my fat girl self. Thanks for the tips guys!

    If your calorie goal came from MFP, with profile settings where you told it you wanted to lose weight, then don't undereat by hundreds of calories.

    Rather than thinking in terms of cheat days, I'd suggest that you use weight loss as a time to learn how to eat in a way that makes you happy, and keeps you at a healthy weight permanently once you reach goal weight. That would include figuring out how to eat spicy chicken sandwiches (530 calories without cheese, 600 with) or curly fries (280, 430, 580 calories for S, M, L).

    Since the sandwich has a reasonable amount of protein (28-32g), you ought to be able to fit that in pretty easily on a normal day (even with a reasonable calorie deficit) by keeping the other meals on the light side, and being sure to get in some veggies elsewhere along with the rest of your protein. The fries are maybe a little more challenging, but banking calories on other days is an option (save up 72 calories from your daily goal on the other 6 days, and you have the calories to cover medium curly fries on the 7th day).

    Don't cheat. Learn. Stay at a healthy weight forever, while enjoying your eating. :)
  • whatalazyidiot
    whatalazyidiot Posts: 343 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    rachelpelucca wrote: »
    Yes I’m under my calorie goal most times by hundreds every day, even the day I have my cheat meal which is usually like a spicy chicken sandwich and curly fries from jack in the box lol I don’t go over the top, just something to satisfy my fat girl self. Thanks for the tips guys!

    If your calorie goal came from MFP, with profile settings where you told it you wanted to lose weight, then don't undereat by hundreds of calories.

    Rather than thinking in terms of cheat days, I'd suggest that you use weight loss as a time to learn how to eat in a way that makes you happy, and keeps you at a healthy weight permanently once you reach goal weight. That would include figuring out how to eat spicy chicken sandwiches (530 calories without cheese, 600 with) or curly fries (280, 430, 580 calories for S, M, L).

    Since the sandwich has a reasonable amount of protein (28-32g), you ought to be able to fit that in pretty easily on a normal day (even with a reasonable calorie deficit) by keeping the other meals on the light side, and being sure to get in some veggies elsewhere along with the rest of your protein. The fries are maybe a little more challenging, but banking calories on other days is an option (save up 72 calories from your daily goal on the other 6 days, and you have the calories to cover medium curly fries on the 7th day).

    Don't cheat. Learn. Stay at a healthy weight forever, while enjoying your eating. :)

    This so, so much. I have found that I am able to be more consistent by fitting in things I love into my daily calories (I also eat 1/2 my exercise calories) and also working off a weekly deficit. So some days, my calories are slightly lower because I know on the weekend I will have what someone would consider a cheat meal - though I don't call it that.
  • MeganReid1991
    MeganReid1991 Posts: 170 Member
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    I usually have a cheat meal every few weeks.
    But I still enjoy “bad” food all the time just within my calories
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    But food isn't bad unless it's spoiled or you're allergic to it.

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