Verdict on cheat days?

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clafairy1984
clafairy1984 Posts: 253 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, wondering what your verdict is on cheat days when trying to lose weight. How do you manage them? Do you set any 'rules' et? Or find them detrimental?
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  • Pickle107
    Pickle107 Posts: 153 Member
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    I had a hormonal 'sod it' day last Saturday. I was desperate for my first piece of chocolate in a month. I had a Reece's Peanut Butter Cup pack then I allowed myself to enjoy pudding with ice cream. It wasn't as wild a day as I'd initially expected. I found that otherwise I kept the rest of my meals the same as normal on a usual deficit day. I didn't feel the need to binge which surprised me. I think I had my weight loss goals at the back of my mind. I was about 500 cals over my target of 1200 (I'm bed bound parts of the week). But it hasn't affected my weight loss this week as I'm having a post TOM whoosh. A cheat meal rather than a full day might be enough to keep you mentally in a happy place but YMMV.
  • lalalacroix
    lalalacroix Posts: 834 Member
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    I believe that having a higher calorie meal or maintenance day can be a great psychological boost especially for those of us who have a long weight loss journey.

    When I have these days I still log everything that I eat. I may bank some calories or even use exercise calories so that I'm not really eating over my maintenance calories. I also use a weekly calorie goal as opposed to a daily goal so I'm commonly higher on some days and lower on others.

    For many of us, we are learning new habits that will keep us at a healthy weight for the future. Learning how to fit in that rare piece of cheesecake or chocolate cake really matters because life isn't just about calories, macros and weight loss.
  • cahubbard6421
    cahubbard6421 Posts: 769 Member
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    Redordeadhead wrote: »
    cahubbard6421 wrote: »
    nooshi713 wrote: »
    I have 3 cheat days a year: my birthday and the 2 days after. Cheating regularly only cheats yourself.

    I'd rather cheat myself than be deprived of the snacks that make me happy. Just my opinion.

    Why not just have the snacks you enjoy as part of your normal daily/weekly diet? I still eat chocolate, popcorn, peanut butter, burgers, pizza etc., but in appropriate quantities as part of a balanced diet. It's not cheating, it's just eating.

    Because sometimes the foods I want to eat are almost my entire day of calories. Chipotle burritos are really high in calorie. That's a cheat meal.
  • echmain3
    echmain3 Posts: 231 Member
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    Cheat day, terrible idea.

    It will become a cheat week, cheat month...
  • newhopeind
    newhopeind Posts: 34 Member
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    I will tell anyone that “cheat days” are vital to success.

    Let’s review: did you get where you are after one bad day? Nope. It’s a string of bad days and bad decisions. NOT ONE.

    So how I say it is to keep to a cheat “meal”, once a week. Just go nuts. Whatever you want, whatever you see, go for it. BECAUSE...

    After a while, even on your cheat meals, you won’t be splurging. You’ll start valuing eating healthy, even if it means going to bed craving something. And eventually, your values will change enough you don’t even crave the old stuff.

    The WORST you can do is “fetishize” your food. “Oh don’t touch that, that’s bad.” What’s the FIRST thing you’re going to want? Lol allow yourself to indulge once in a while!

    At the end of the day, your weekly caloric defect is what matters, not the daily. So go nuts, have fun, and then spread those calories out over the next few days. THATS being responsible and healthy! And like I said, eventually, you won’t want many cheats because you value the changes you see!
  • wmweeza
    wmweeza Posts: 319 Member
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    I eat at my caloric goal 99% of the time, but my husband has a habit of springing dinner out on me at random. On those days I consume more, but because this happens about every two weeks I don't worry too much about it. Usually when I add it all up it's about 300 calories extra I take in.
    I don't really have cheat days, I just eat good enough that when a dinner or special occasion comes up I can indulge without worry. I also have two pieces of chocolate every night, and still eat my favorite crackers in small amounts, it keeps me sane and keeps me from binging
  • Dove0804
    Dove0804 Posts: 213 Member
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    There’s some good advice here as how to go about implementing something like a cheat day without sabotaging yourself. I personally don’t believe in the idea of “cheating”. Your body counts everything, full stop. If you have a lot to lose it’s not so big of a deal, but if you’re nearing your goal in a healthy weight range that cheat day might end up wiping out your week’s deficit.

    I still eat literally everything I want, just in smaller portions. A chipotle burrito was mentioned- I have eaten half a burrito for lunch and half for dinner. It’s okay to eat it all in one go, but again: it still counts. I think if eating at a deficit is too much it might be better to consider a diet break (eating at maintenance for a while) as an option.
  • yukfoo
    yukfoo Posts: 871 Member
    edited March 2019
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    A cheat meal...rather than a cheat day.
  • NaturalGainsRecned
    NaturalGainsRecned Posts: 86 Member
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    clafairy1984 wrote: »
    Hi, wondering what your verdict is on cheat days when trying to lose weight. How do you manage them? Do you set any 'rules' et? Or find them detrimental?

    Refeed days, I personally have two a month. I keep my protein and fats the same, and I add 100 grams of carbs, which is 400 calories. That puts me at about maintainence for the day. Key is, eat at maintainence on your refeed days. Use them as a tool. Don’t abuse them and they work wonders
  • sarabushby
    sarabushby Posts: 784 Member
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    Just don’t underestimate how calorific one meal/evening out can be. Add up your cheating and be aware, record it all. You may be surprised to learn that one evening can eliminate all the deficit you have worked hard for during the rest of the week. That’s ok if you did it knowingly, saving your calories for that meal, but don’t then get on the scales and be all shocked and depressed when you haven’t lost weight that week.
  • luaP852350
    luaP852350 Posts: 131 Member
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    An interesting thread, are cheat days/ meals important then ? I use to live on takeaways, crisps chocolate an would eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, a friend told me about MFP I log everything I eat and most of the time I'm under my allowance for the day, I'm quite active but when exercising it's makes my calories allowance even higher , so I'm banking cheats then ? Confused.com 🤯
  • DevilsFan1
    DevilsFan1 Posts: 342 Member
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    Not a fan personally, but they work for some people. I'd rather stick to my daily calorie goal and get the pain over as quickly as possible if I'm cutting. Instead, I recommend that you treat yourself to a small portion of something you like every day, but try to stay at or under your goal. Learn to savor your food, chewly slowly and concentrating on the flavor instead of scarfing it down. Have one cookie and enjoy it instead of three. Have a half glass of wine and sip it slowly instead of two full glasses. There will be days when you can't help but go over your daily goal (parties, vacations, etc.) so consider those your cheat days and try to be disciplined about all the other days.

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