CHEAT MEAL?!? Whats your opinion ?

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Hi!

Does anyone do entire cheat days ?!? Honestly i think i would NEVER be able to loose weight with ( even just ) 1 cheat Day ! .. because : sometimes have 1 cheat meal ( after a week! Of ecercise and good food) .. just 1 meal!! And it often goes up to DOUBLE what im supose to eat in 1 entire “good” day!

Its frustrating.. and often i just feel bad that i ate it :/ ! i am sick in the head? :p I am a nurse . So probably just my inner RN thinking about all the risk of hypertension and Diabetes :p

What do you guys eat on ur cheat meals? Do u still try to do exceptions , ex: burger with bacon but in a letuce wrap instead of the bun? ..

Or is it best to simply eat good and healthy 24/7 7/7 ... i often think it is ., i mean .. the idea of tapping myself on the back for my healthy days with an unhealthy meal ... i feel that it’s like a positive reinforcement for eating unhealthy,,, as if we’re congratulating ur self by eating whats bad,

Let me know :)

Cheers!

Replies

  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
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    Cheating doesnt work for me. I occasionally do maintenance days.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    I don't think of food in terms of good and bad. It either fits in my goals or it doesn't. Obviously I try to hit my macros and make nutritious choices but I don't restrict anything, if I have a burger it's usually on a bun with french fries, just in smaller portions or not as frequently.

    What works for me is eating lighter during the week and having higher calorie days on weekends. This helps me with adherence, allowing me to being flexible (when visiting family, functions, parties, date nights etc) plus I find it helps improve my workout performance.

    Just be careful not to keep overdoing your cheat days and cancel out your deficit. That doesn't work.
  • missycalais
    missycalais Posts: 4 Member
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    Some days, I am simply starving. Maybe once or twice a month. And on those days, I will eat whatever I want. I don't go overboard (never EVER eat beyond being comfortably full) but I've never been a 'finish the entire' packet person anyway. Chips and chocolate can last for months at my house, if I feel like a little I have a little, but only on the days that I feel I will eat my arm off if I don't have more food. I never set a cheat day, seems a waste of good hunger to me, I go with what my body wants, and pretty much every single time, I'll wake weighing exactly what I did the day before, despite adding 1 or 2 extra thousand calories to my already 1800 calorie day. I just figure, if I feel that hungry, I must need the fuel for whatever reason, and so I eat on those days.
  • Spadesheart
    Spadesheart Posts: 463 Member
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    I mean, with deficits your body really adjusts. Cheat days start not being so bad, because literally you can't eat as much, or as heavy. My worst "cheat" days over the last 2 months have still been under 3000 calories, which with exercise, is pretty close to maintainence for me. This was quickly overtaken by undergoal calories over the next week.

    I cheat when I hit a goal, but really I make it up anyway, and your body won't even be able to cheat that hard if you wanted.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    I call it "Failing". Everyone does sometimes. Some occasions are more deleterious than others.
  • AlyssaPetsDogs
    AlyssaPetsDogs Posts: 421 Member
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    I like a cheat meal. Every couple weeks or so! Usually make my “going out and drinking nights” the cheat nights. I’ll shave off 100-200 calories easy day the week leading up and then I feel no guilt indulging. It’s back to routine after that! For me, I need to have a fun meal planned to keep me motivated!
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
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    I think you are making too many unnecessary distinctions between healthy and unhealthy. Food doesn't exist on that binary. We all have a calorie goal, and what we eat to get ourselves there can be a lot of different food. Sometimes, it's beneficial to have certain foods you like that may go over your calorie goal for the day but cna be managed with either banking calories, or eating at maintence, etc. I don't think unregulated cheating is a good idea, where you just eat whatever you want without any regards to the calories. But I don't think we have to live a 24/7 lifestyle of denying ourselves certain foods we like because they don't fit in our daily goal.

    Today I ate Popeye's chicken Tenders AND Domino's Pizza. But I also denied myself biscuts, fries, beer, chips, and cake. All things I could have had with that food today that would have made it worse. As such, I only went over by about 250 calories. Considering yesterday I was under by about 300, my two day calorie amount is right on my goal target and my weight loss on track.
  • LushFix
    LushFix Posts: 306 Member
    edited March 2019
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    nooshi713 wrote: »
    Cheating doesnt work for me. I occasionally do maintenance days.


    This. If you feel like you need to eat more at a meal/day/event.

    *If you’re r at a 1000 calorie deficit you could even just eat and extra 500 calories that day and still be in at- 500.


    You could even save 100 calories Monday to Friday and have an extra 500 for the weekend ect.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Hi!

    Does anyone do entire cheat days ?!? Honestly i think i would NEVER be able to loose weight with ( even just ) 1 cheat Day ! .. because : sometimes have 1 cheat meal ( after a week! Of ecercise and good food) .. just 1 meal!! And it often goes up to DOUBLE what im supose to eat in 1 entire “good” day!

    Its frustrating.. and often i just feel bad that i ate it :/ ! i am sick in the head? :p I am a nurse . So probably just my inner RN thinking about all the risk of hypertension and Diabetes :p

    What do you guys eat on ur cheat meals? Do u still try to do exceptions , ex: burger with bacon but in a letuce wrap instead of the bun? ..

    Or is it best to simply eat good and healthy 24/7 7/7 ... i often think it is ., i mean .. the idea of tapping myself on the back for my healthy days with an unhealthy meal ... i feel that it’s like a positive reinforcement for eating unhealthy,,, as if we’re congratulating ur self by eating whats bad,

    Let me know :)

    Cheers!

    i fit all the food that i like into my weekly goal.

    what are you eating on your cheat meal that is double your normal calories?
  • runnermom419
    runnermom419 Posts: 366 Member
    Options
    Hi!

    Does anyone do entire cheat days ?!? Honestly i think i would NEVER be able to loose weight with ( even just ) 1 cheat Day ! .. because : sometimes have 1 cheat meal ( after a week! Of ecercise and good food) .. just 1 meal!! And it often goes up to DOUBLE what im supose to eat in 1 entire “good” day!

    Its frustrating.. and often i just feel bad that i ate it :/ ! i am sick in the head? :p I am a nurse . So probably just my inner RN thinking about all the risk of hypertension and Diabetes :p

    What do you guys eat on ur cheat meals? Do u still try to do exceptions , ex: burger with bacon but in a letuce wrap instead of the bun? ..

    Or is it best to simply eat good and healthy 24/7 7/7 ... i often think it is ., i mean .. the idea of tapping myself on the back for my healthy days with an unhealthy meal ... i feel that it’s like a positive reinforcement for eating unhealthy,,, as if we’re congratulating ur self by eating whats bad,

    Let me know :)

    Cheers!

    i fit all the food that i like into my weekly goal.

    what are you eating on your cheat meal that is double your normal calories?

    0ueugbprewlk.png

    My ultimate cheat meal and something I'm seriously considering after one of my half marathons this year. 40 oz. of prime rib goodness. Doesn't include any of the sides.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    edited March 2019
    Options
    Hi!

    Does anyone do entire cheat days ?!? Honestly i think i would NEVER be able to loose weight with ( even just ) 1 cheat Day ! .. because : sometimes have 1 cheat meal ( after a week! Of ecercise and good food) .. just 1 meal!! And it often goes up to DOUBLE what im supose to eat in 1 entire “good” day!

    Its frustrating.. and often i just feel bad that i ate it :/ ! i am sick in the head? :p I am a nurse . So probably just my inner RN thinking about all the risk of hypertension and Diabetes :p

    What do you guys eat on ur cheat meals? Do u still try to do exceptions , ex: burger with bacon but in a letuce wrap instead of the bun? ..

    Or is it best to simply eat good and healthy 24/7 7/7 ... i often think it is ., i mean .. the idea of tapping myself on the back for my healthy days with an unhealthy meal ... i feel that it’s like a positive reinforcement for eating unhealthy,,, as if we’re congratulating ur self by eating whats bad,

    Let me know :)

    Cheers!

    i fit all the food that i like into my weekly goal.

    what are you eating on your cheat meal that is double your normal calories?

    0ueugbprewlk.png

    My ultimate cheat meal and something I'm seriously considering after one of my half marathons this year. 40 oz. of prime rib goodness. Doesn't include any of the sides.

    the idea of that much meat in general doesn't appeal... after a half, definitely not, but each to their own.

    also, that's probably a dodgy database entry unless that's raw ribs without any marinade?
  • runnermom419
    runnermom419 Posts: 366 Member
    Options
    Hi!

    Does anyone do entire cheat days ?!? Honestly i think i would NEVER be able to loose weight with ( even just ) 1 cheat Day ! .. because : sometimes have 1 cheat meal ( after a week! Of ecercise and good food) .. just 1 meal!! And it often goes up to DOUBLE what im supose to eat in 1 entire “good” day!

    Its frustrating.. and often i just feel bad that i ate it :/ ! i am sick in the head? :p I am a nurse . So probably just my inner RN thinking about all the risk of hypertension and Diabetes :p

    What do you guys eat on ur cheat meals? Do u still try to do exceptions , ex: burger with bacon but in a letuce wrap instead of the bun? ..

    Or is it best to simply eat good and healthy 24/7 7/7 ... i often think it is ., i mean .. the idea of tapping myself on the back for my healthy days with an unhealthy meal ... i feel that it’s like a positive reinforcement for eating unhealthy,,, as if we’re congratulating ur self by eating whats bad,

    Let me know :)

    Cheers!

    i fit all the food that i like into my weekly goal.

    what are you eating on your cheat meal that is double your normal calories?

    0ueugbprewlk.png

    My ultimate cheat meal and something I'm seriously considering after one of my half marathons this year. 40 oz. of prime rib goodness. Doesn't include any of the sides.

    the idea of that much meat in general doesn't appeal... after a half, definitely not, but each to their own.

    also, that's probably a dodgy database entry unless that's raw ribs without any marinade?

    It was a super quick grab just for show...I wouldn't trust it either if I was truly logging it. And you're right, I would probably be too wonky after a half to eat something like that. Stupid stomach.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,170 Member
    Options
    Sometimes I eat under goal, sometimes I eat at goal, sometimes I eat over goal, sometimes (quite rarely) I eat way, way over goal. As long as my weight does what I want (which requires managing those calories over time), and I get good overall nutrition, life is good . . . here in year 3 of maintenance, after 50ish pounds of weight loss, now in the mid 130s pounds (BMI 22-point-something this morning).

    It's just food, not melodrama. It's supposed to be tasty and nutritious overall, it's not "bad" or "good" one food at a time.

    Cheating is an irrelevant concept.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Options
    Hi!

    Does anyone do entire cheat days ?!? Honestly i think i would NEVER be able to loose weight with ( even just ) 1 cheat Day ! .. because : sometimes have 1 cheat meal ( after a week! Of ecercise and good food) .. just 1 meal!! And it often goes up to DOUBLE what im supose to eat in 1 entire “good” day!

    Its frustrating.. and often i just feel bad that i ate it :/ ! i am sick in the head? :p I am a nurse . So probably just my inner RN thinking about all the risk of hypertension and Diabetes :p

    What do you guys eat on ur cheat meals? Do u still try to do exceptions , ex: burger with bacon but in a letuce wrap instead of the bun? ..

    Or is it best to simply eat good and healthy 24/7 7/7 ... i often think it is ., i mean .. the idea of tapping myself on the back for my healthy days with an unhealthy meal ... i feel that it’s like a positive reinforcement for eating unhealthy,,, as if we’re congratulating ur self by eating whats bad,

    Let me know :)

    Cheers!

    I do not do cheat days. I find that planning to overeat leads to an unhealthy relationship with food.

    Do I have days where I overeat? Yes

    Do I have days where I relax my calorie goal? Yes

    If I have a breakdown, I just log and move on. If I have a day coming up where I expect to go over (like a holiday dinner, etc) I do my best but don't sweat it. You are learning how to eat better for the rest of your life and days where you overeat are a part of life. People who maintain a healthy weight also have those days but they have a day and move on. We need to learn how to do that also.