Cheat day tomoz?

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Glittzy321
Glittzy321 Posts: 29 Member
edited March 2019 in Health and Weight Loss
How can I enjoy a cheat day without gaining weight and not feel guilty?

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  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    What about it would make you feel guilty?

    Also expect fluctuations in your weight vs. trying to control it strictly. If you want to remain in a deficit, look at your weekly calories and see how much wiggle room you have. Even if you go over you can just move on.
  • AmyC2288
    AmyC2288 Posts: 386 Member
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    Also- wanted to add that some people, myself included, track weekly calories in addition to daily. Basically what @NovusDies is referring to by "saving up" calories for the weekend. There is a place you can easily track this in your Diary under the nutrition tab. It's only available on the app from what I've seen.
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
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    Don't "cheat". Have a "reach" day instead. Eat at maintenance, or bank some extra calories you can use, etc. But still track and log. A calorie from a cheat day counts just as much as a calorie from a regular day, so I don't advise uncontrolled cheating. Instead focus on a certain amount you feel comfortable going over your calories, and find something you can enjoy to eat that fits that goal.

    Remember you also are supposed to eat your exercise calories back. So if you work in a nice exercise that burns some calories, you can eat even more calories for your "reach" day.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,072 Member
    edited March 2019
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    First of all consider why you need to cheat?
    • Do you think you need to cut out certain foods in order to lose weight?
    You don't, weight loss is about calories - eat less than you burn and you will lose weight, as long as you are getting the nutrition you need, there is no reason you can't include a couple of less nutritious meals in your diet now and again, there is no such thing as a healthy food or unhealthy food, just a healthy or unhealthy diet, it's all about balance and moderation
    • Are you worried that eating certain foods will cause you to gain weight?
    They may, but it's not usually fat, it's generally water retention caused by your bodies normal response to a change in diet (more carbs or sodium than normal in particular). To gain a pound of fat you would need to eat a 3500 calorie surplus. Don't be scared of water weight it's entirely normal and will come off after a few days.
    • Do you feel you need a cheat day because you're hungry from what you're eating the rest of the time?

    You may have set your activity level incorrectly or set yourself to too large of a deficit for healthy and/or sustainable weight loss. Review whether a lower rate of loss would be more beneficial

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,838 Member
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    I sometimes eat over my goal calories, occasionally way over. It's just "eating", not "cheating".

    During weight loss, I always logged those days, just like any other, even if I had to estimate. That way, I knew what effect it had on my overall calorie deficit. With that information, I could decide whether the extra calories were worth the impact on when I'd reach my goal, and adjust future behavior accordingly.

    Way over goal because of my birthday party or Thanksgiving dinner? Totally worth it. Way over goal from eating not-that-yummy but tempting stuff on a random Tuesday just because somebody stuck it in front of me? Not worth it.
  • kbmnurse1
    kbmnurse1 Posts: 316 Member
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    if you are going to feel that guilty why bother? I mean really it is one meal.
  • Glittzy321
    Glittzy321 Posts: 29 Member
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    Guys today is my birthday and so far for breakfast I had about 700 cals. My mum is cooking all my fav food. I am thai so most food is oily and stuff. Even the smallest portion has a lot of cals. Today I’m just gonna have a cheat day where I’m not gonna count. Tomorrow I’m going to continue with tracking. I mean I will probs end up gaining like 1-2kg. But obvs not fat just water weight. That will go away in 4 days or something.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    I remove the feeling of guilt by eating whatever I want every day within calories, and by saving calories occasionally for something that doesn't fit every day. In both cases, I'm not really deviating from my weight loss plan. I sometimes have higher calorie days (over maintenance sometimes), and I don't feel guilty because if I enjoyed it, it was worth it. As long as it doesn't happen often enough to wipe out my deficit, it's alright.

    I also learned not to fixate on daily weight fluctuations because sometimes they happen after a heavier meal, it doesn't mean fat gain.

    That's what works for me, find something that works for you and helps you feel at ease with food, be it by not having cheat days at all, or by normalizing cheat food as part of your diet. May not be easy for some people because the fear of certain foods is ingrained.

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