Cheat day help?

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  • sigmabody
    sigmabody Posts: 12 Member
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    Hi aliciajade!

    Good question! I've always been of the belief that we shouldn't needlessly deprive ourselves so a cheat day is not unusual. That being said, MODERATION IS KEY. With respect to exercise, I say keep it up cheat day or not. Keep your metabolism revved up so when you have that cheat day your body can make better use of all those extra calories :-)
  • atessieri
    atessieri Posts: 53 Member
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    i don't have cheat days but i will have non healthy meals once in a while and just log them and go to the gym before or after and stop when i'm full, i have worked it out to where i can go to olive garden and still stay under my calories...good luck :)
  • spim
    spim Posts: 31 Member
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    What I've seen be quite effective as far as cheat days go for people who are quite overweight and used to eating as and when they please, is set aside one day a week where you can eat a bit more than you usually would, with still a calorie limit (generally just before the amount of calories that would cause you to put on a pound), and still sticking to any exercise commitments.

    The whole idea with that is that once you start to lose the weight and feel you have more control, the cheat day is basically phased out and you give yourself a cheat meal once a week instead.
  • mowu
    mowu Posts: 245 Member
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    I have maintained a healthy weight all my adult life (and I'm 52 now). What has always worked for me is - Monday through Saturday I eat healthy foods and sensible portions. Sunday is my pig out day!! Yay!! I love Sundays. I basically eat whatever I want but maintain sensible portions. Pig out does not mean binging, it just means enjoying foods that normally wouldn't be part of my diet during the week.

    I keep to my exercise schedule for that week (it flucuates from week to week with work, family, obligations). So If I am due for a killer work out on Sunday Pig Out Day....I still do that killer work out!!!

    Personally, for me, I don't want to live in a world where I could never have a hot fudge sundae again! And nobody ever got fat from eating a cookie or two once in awhile....when you start eating the whole bag that's when you'll have problems!

    Food is not the enemy! It's to be enjoyed in sensible portions!!

    I think you've put it better and more diplomatic than I ever could.

    And to the people who think that having a day like this is a symptom of being on a non-sustainable regimen I must say that I find it quite the opposite.

    In my world there will always be guests over - festivals - fares - holidays and other stuff which I would lose so much of potential joy if I should have to worry about what I eat during those days. Having a cheat-day, refeed-day, pig-out-day....whatever you want to call it is preparation for just that.

    Having a day a week in which I replenish my depots while having fun with friends/family is VERY sustainable to me while having to force myself to be in total control 100% of the time is NOT sustainable to me.

    I know I might reach my goal weight faster if I could be/wanted to be in control 100% of the time - but it would be at the price of my sanity
  • atessieri
    atessieri Posts: 53 Member
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    what helpsme too is finding ways to make my favorite foods healthy...i still eat grilled cheese all the time and consistantly lose weight, i swapped my white bread for wheight watchers whole wheat and changed my cheese to 2 percent milk cheese and swapped regular butter for i can't believe it's not butter, it still tastes good to me, it doesn't feel like i'm dieting and i still lose weight everyday
  • hazelnutflav
    hazelnutflav Posts: 391 Member
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    lizziebeth1028

    everyone shoud take your advice truer words were never spoken., i dont want to live the rest of my life without chinese food.


    thank you
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
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    I have maintained a healthy weight all my adult life (and I'm 52 now). What has always worked for me is - Monday through Saturday I eat healthy foods and sensible portions. Sunday is my pig out day!! Yay!! I love Sundays. I basically eat whatever I want but maintain sensible portions. Pig out does not mean binging, it just means enjoying foods that normally wouldn't be part of my diet during the week.

    I keep to my exercise schedule for that week (it flucuates from week to week with work, family, obligations). So If I am due for a killer work out on Sunday Pig Out Day....I still do that killer work out!!!

    Personally, for me, I don't want to live in a world where I could never have a hot fudge sundae again! And nobody ever got fat from eating a cookie or two once in awhile....when you start eating the whole bag that's when you'll have problems!

    Food is not the enemy! It's to be enjoyed in sensible portions!!

    I think you've put it better and more diplomatic than I ever could.

    And to the people who think that having a day like this is a symptom of being on a non-sustainable regimen I must say that I find it quite the opposite.

    In my world there will always be guests over - festivals - fares - holidays and other stuff which I would lose so much of potential joy if I should have to worry about what I eat during those days. Having a cheat-day, refeed-day, pig-out-day....whatever you want to call it is preparation for just that.

    Having a day a week in which I replenish my depots while having fun with friends/family is VERY sustainable to me while having to force myself to be in total control 100% of the time is NOT sustainable to me.

    I know I might reach my goal weight faster if I could be/wanted to be in control 100% of the time - but it would be at the price of my sanity

    RIGHT BACK AT YA! WELL SAID!!!!!!
  • sittoojo5
    sittoojo5 Posts: 42 Member
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    #1 YOU MUST NOT think of what your doing as "DIETING". You shouold be eating well enough as to get all your body needs (thast includes "goodies" in moderation! This is a lifestyle change to make you healthy. Good luck
  • mamashatzie
    mamashatzie Posts: 238 Member
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    I don't do cheat days. I eat what I want in moderation and plan it out so that it doesn't hinder my weight loss. For example, I love Chinese and I want to have it once a week. And I want the good stuff, crab rangoon, egg rolls, all of it. So I plan in advance, save up my calories for it, and do some extra exercise to counteract it. When something comes up and I'm faced with the choice of eating a ton of extra calories, I ask myself if it's worth it. If I really want to do X hours of exercise, or eat fewer calories for the next few days, to counteract it. Usually it's not worth it, but occasionally it is. And if it's worth it, I don't have a problem doing what it takes to fit it into my food plan.

    I do allow myself one meal per month that I don't track and eat what I want. It's refreshing and nice to take a little break.
  • 2bFitNTrim
    2bFitNTrim Posts: 1,209 Member
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    "Personally, for me, I don't want to live in a world where I could never have a hot fudge sundae again! And nobody ever got fat from eating a cookie or two once in awhile....when you start eating the whole bag that's when you'll have problems!

    Food is not the enemy! It's to be enjoyed in sensible portions!!"
    [/quote]

    Amen!

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