How do YOU "cheat day"?
weight3049
Posts: 72 Member
Curious how everyone does their cheat days, do you just eat what you want the whole day? I am just eating to my maintain weight calories.
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Replies
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I don't cheat. It is impossible. Everything I do is part of my plan. I will occasionally eat my maintenance calories or even higher but it is not cheating. Ever.18
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If you feel the need to "cheat", then you might be unnecessarily depriving yourself the other days of the week. I'm in maintenance, too, and sometimes I have higher calorie days, and sometimes lower calorie days. It all evens out. But, I always make room for the food I want to eat. The whole "cheating" thing has always seemed kind of childish to me...like you're doing something naughty.8
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I wouldn't call what I do cheating but when I am in a typical deficit I will have two refeed higher calorie/carb days which are maintenance or higher. I don't really eat whatever I want all day but for at least one meal I do.2
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No cheating for me either. The mindset behind cheat days just doesn’t work for me. The very concept suggests I’m otherwise depriving myself of something and that doesn’t work as a lifestyle food plan.
I actually have no problems with cravings or feeling that there are ‘forbidden’ foods. So who, or what, am I cheating on?5 -
I don't understand the thought process behind cheat days. When I was losing, some days I ate fewer calories, some days I ate more, but my weekly calories where always within my limit. Otherwise, you're just going to wipe out any calorie deficit and not lose weight. I made room in my calorie allowance for treats and social events.4
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For me a cheat meal, not day, is more about a meal of not logging than it is about eating too much. For instance, Thanksgiving. Instead of trying to figure out how many calories in everything, I just eat a reasonable amount of whatever I want and enjoy the meal and the company. I don’t have to try to figure out how many calories in the homemade cranberry relish, which I have once a year, or in the dish that looked interesting but wasn’t.
Same thing with going to a restaurant I’ve never been to before that doesn’t have calorie counts. I will try a dish that’s something I would never cook at home, so I don’t have a very good idea of calories anyway. No worries.
As for logging, I will just put quick add and a quick estimate of calories which I know is way off.
ETA. I think cheat days are very important for very many reasons.
Maintenance is hard. Many people fail. Concentrating on weight LOSS is important now, but when it’s over, will you know how to maintain? A cheat day is a perfect chance to realize and think about what maintenance will be like. There was a man on MFP a while back who lost over 300 pounds, but every time he quit “dieting” he gained weight. He was so focused on losing he had no idea what maintenance was.
Many people stress about eating what will fit their calories and macros. How about a day of no stress. No reason to go crazy. Just a chance to eat what you want for supper instead of what fits. Soup and sandwich instead of grilled chicken and veggies, AGAIN. Nothing wrong with a relaxed day occasionally. And in time, as you learn, there will be less of this stress and less reason for the cheat. But it’s still ok.
What do YOU stress about while trying to lose. Take some “cheat” time and don’t stress, but reflect on how you could make it easier for you.
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I don’t cheat. I log everything I eat everyday and try my best to eat under my allowance of calories. Some days I go over but not by much.3
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I'm pretty focused on my goals so I don't have cheat days, but the closest I will come to one is this Thanksgiving. I'm not going to totally go overboard, but I will bank some calories that week so I can enjoy the holidays and sample all the good food!3
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No cheating. It’s counterproductive to my goals. What’s the point of cheating yourself? I’ve done too much of that in the past.5
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nighthawk584 wrote: »I'm pretty focused on my goals so I don't have cheat days, but the closest I will come to one is this Thanksgiving. I'm not going to totally go overboard, but I will bank some calories that week so I can enjoy the holidays and sample all the good food!
Oh yeah. Pecan Pie, here I come!3 -
I don't do cheat days. I work things I like into my calorie goal every day. There are occasional days I go over for holidays and such, but they are the exception. Being overly restrictive never worked for me. Not allowing myself to eat certain foods just makes me want them more. Knowing I can have them if I want makes it easier to not have them when they don't fit knowing I might just wait until tomorrow. And as far as holiday foods go I am going to eat certain foods I like that I only get a few times a year and not worry about whether they fit or not. A few times a year isn't going to ruin anything.2
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I just work things into my calorie goals. I know what days I have heavier workouts so I plan calorie heavier meals on those days. Like if I’m really craving Chipotle I make myself wait until my long run day so it fits into my calories.
I guess my holidays/special occasions are cheat days. They are just days where I don’t count calories but still make a conscious effort not to go overboard on anything.3 -
VioletRojo wrote: »I don't understand the thought process behind cheat days. When I was losing, some days I ate fewer calories, some days I ate more, but my weekly calories where always within my limit. Otherwise, you're just going to wipe out any calorie deficit and not lose weight. I made room in my calorie allowance for treats and social events.
An example of a 'cheat day' (I never call it that, I'd call it a Celebration Day) is I'm flying Singapore Airlines to see my long distance girlfriend, who I've not seen in 23 months. Singapore Airlines is well known for having lots of yummy food on their flight. I will forgo breakfast but once I'm on the plane, I'm allowing myself to eat anything offered. Is that a cheat day? Plus I won't know the energy value of most of what I am eating.
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For me, "cheat" days mostly involve skipping the supplements that make me feel sick to my stomach or ignoring my macros because I took the supplements (prescribed) that make me feel sick and just eating fast food in sufficient volume to hit a calorie target. Sometimes I just cheat and go to bed a few hundred calories short and don't get sufficient sleep because I'm reading a really good novel and sipping hot tea. I pay for all of those things eventually, but sometimes it still worth it, provided I don't do it too often.0
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VioletRojo wrote: »I don't understand the thought process behind cheat days. When I was losing, some days I ate fewer calories, some days I ate more, but my weekly calories where always within my limit. Otherwise, you're just going to wipe out any calorie deficit and not lose weight. I made room in my calorie allowance for treats and social events.
An example of a 'cheat day' (I never call it that, I'd call it a Celebration Day) is I'm flying Singapore Airlines to see my long distance girlfriend, who I've not seen in 23 months. Singapore Airlines is well known for having lots of yummy food on their flight. I will forgo breakfast but once I'm on the plane, I'm allowing myself to eat anything offered. Is that a cheat day? Plus I won't know the energy value of most of what I am eating.
If it were me, I would do my best to estimate the calories in the food and log it. But that's me, and you probably have different priorities and goals than I do.1 -
I don't cheat. It is impossible. Everything I do is part of my plan. I will occasionally eat my maintenance calories or even higher but it is not cheating. Ever.
Same. I don’t believe in cheat days, meals or snacks. I know it would derail me. I include all the foods I love in my meal plan and I log them. Period.
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I don't believe in cheating, in pretty much the same sense that as an adult I don't believe in Santa Claus. Bodies count everything, right?
Some days I eat under my calorie goal (usually not by much); a lot of days I eat right at my calorie goal; occasionally I eat over my calorie goal (a few times a month, probably); a few times a year I eat way, way over my calorie goal (like 2 or three times my maintenance calories). It's just food, not sin.
I need to balance things out over time, if I want to manage my weight. Calorie counting helps; watching the scale (and my weight trending app) helps.
Now in year 4 of maintaining a healthy weight (after just less than a year losing about 50 pounds, back in 2015), it seems to be working out reasonably well. I logged meticulously during weight loss; nowadays I skip occasionally, especially if I've eaten some really difficult-to-estimate way (like a potluck or complicated buffet meal), but still log most of the time.
Different strategies can work for different people.4 -
I definitely have off meals and sometimes entire off days, which can be around maintenance calories but are sometimes way, way over maintenance, but I don't think of it as "cheating". It's just part of the overall process - I know I'm not gonna comply 100 % of the time so I don't try to. I write off an off-day when it happens. get up the next morning, get on the scale, and start all over like in the movie Groundhog Day, hitting my calorie number and doing my cardio. I never try to "make up" the calories from an off day/meal, because then it starts to feel like punishment and kicks off a regret cycle. I use every single available calorie the next day, because that reinforces to me that the off day is in the rear view mirror and I'm still entitled to all my cals on Day 1 of the rest of my weight loss effort. I like it that way.
I had in mind at the very beginning that I would be "good" - i.e. hitting my calorie target and doing my full workout - 95 % of the time, allowing 5 % for whatever chaos would occasionally ensue. Over 6 months, I've been fully on plan on 93 % of days, meaning 7 % of days miss the mark one way or another. That's around 1 non-compliant day every two weeks. I'm comfortable with that. It's cost me a few pounds not lost, but all that translates into is a few more weeks to get to my goal weight, no biggie. What's the rush?
I rarely if ever "plan" for an off meal/day. Sometimes they just happen. I don't believe in scheduling off meals, but I don't beat myself up when they occur, if that makes sense. I try to just roll with it and accept the imperfection that's part of any human endeavor.8 -
Wow, 93% on plan. That's a number some of us (myself included) can only dream of.0
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I don’t cheat. Everything has to be paid for, and my body knows what I ate whether I write it down or not. I log everything as best I can. If I need to eat a high calorie meal to enjoy an outing with company I bank extra calories. If I go over, I do extra exercise. If I need an extra rest day because of injury I make a note of it and raise my calories.
I try to plan for indulgences every day. My regular breakfast makes me look forward to waking up every day, and I also eat chocolate every day. Twice a week I have bacon and eggs. Once a week I have a hamburger and fries. If I suddenly craved something different I would try to figure out how to fit it into my life.
It probably helps me stay on track that I am a type 2 diabetic who tests blood frequently. It’s harder to overindulge without seeing the results immediately in my numbers, which strongly motivates me to behave myself.6 -
It took me a long time to realize that choosing my own macros percentages makes MFP unique and gives me the best possible chance to succeed with losing over 75 kg (165 pounds). I don't need cheat days and I don't go for extensive binge eating any longer. Through MFP and all those supportive members I now understand my trigger foods and what "food stacking" means. A cheat meal (i.e. 2 large loaves of bread and whatever I can pack into it and on top of it) used to always, always lead to a cheat day, to a cheat week and a further 5 kg of fat. (570 days later, 43 kg gone and some more to go.)1
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I cheat by eating at maintenance. I have to "cheat" once every few weeks as it feels like a holiday. I eat whatever I want either way so cheat days are just more of whatever I feel like. Usually stuff I can't fit into my usual allowance, like fries and high calorie snack stuff, nuts, chocolate etc.0
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neugebauer52 wrote: »It took me a long time to realize that choosing my own macros percentages makes MFP unique and gives me the best possible chance to succeed with losing over 75 kg (165 pounds). I don't need cheat days and I don't go for extensive binge eating any longer. Through MFP and all those supportive members I now understand my trigger foods and what "food stacking" means. A cheat meal (i.e. 2 large loaves of bread and whatever I can pack into it and on top of it) used to always, always lead to a cheat day, to a cheat week and a further 5 kg of fat. (570 days later, 43 kg gone and some more to go.)
Same here. I went off plan a bit for Halloween, and really struggled the next day to go back on plan. I think it's easier for me to stay within my range.
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psychod787 wrote: »nighthawk584 wrote: »I'm pretty focused on my goals so I don't have cheat days, but the closest I will come to one is this Thanksgiving. I'm not going to totally go overboard, but I will bank some calories that week so I can enjoy the holidays and sample all the good food!
Oh yeah. Pecan Pie, here I come!
That's my favorite! I always request lots of pies so there is more pecan for me.1 -
hobbitses333 wrote: »Sometimes I meet my goals. Sometimes I go over. As long as I meet my goals way more often than going over them I see progress. I eat everything I want, just less of it, less often.
I find I actually enjoy food more after taking this approach. I refuse to eat food I don't find tasty. Not worth the calories and I won't starve..no fat lady ever died of starvation. I can always choose to wait to eat something awesome later instead.
This is spot on for me too, in fact a great overall summary of my diet - be on plan with the calories most of the time, go over a small amount of the time, and I've completely eliminated all of the following:- "light" or "reduced fat" anything, especially light mayo and light or no fat salad dressing
- diet / meal replacement shakes
- powders
- any products that substitute X for Y in order to be lower calorie, unless I just like them better (as is the case with baked potato chips)
I just eat what I want, in portions measured to hit my calorie target, which are sometimes a bit on the small side since I don't trade out higher calorie ingredients, but that is the price that must be paid to lose weight so I accept it.2 -
I've been maintaining for years now, still watch and log my calories because I'm so used to doing it. If I eat too much one day I'll eat at a deficit for the next few days. I try to eat high fat on my cheat day and stay away from sugar. My fav is a dozen chicken wings and an entire bag of grandma utz handcooked potato chips- they're fried in lard. Every two weeks...1
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Stop thinking about eating food as cheating is how I do it.2
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