Cheat Day/ Go over day

Not bad at all. I try not too, but **** happens.

Sometimes you have no choice but to go over, but why not make it a "cheat meal" instead of a whole day? If you can still manage a healthy breakfast/lunch - just go over on dinner. No need to blow the whole day.

I have a weekend next month where I will have a wine tasting party on Saturday & Canadian Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday. There is no way I will stay in my calories that weekend, so I plan to be under every day leading up, exercise, and do the best I can. No need to plan to cheat.

I never feel like anything is a doom when you are trying to live a healthier lifestyle with exercising. When you have worked hard to change and set certain goals..You owe it to yourself to enjoy time to time. No way will it doom you as long as you have tomorrow you are already ahead...I would suggest still doing a workout even if I am over..I just feel better about it...The choice is yours on the workout you want to do..But you are a Stepper to greater health which alot more people in the world cannot say...hope this helps...Enjoy your day..

The "Guilt Complex"...

I logged into MFP for my 30th consistent day this morning but I'm on Day 27 of P90X..That tells you something, right .

I'm typically very good at motivating myself to put my trainers on but if I feel that by doing so there's a possibility of me impacting my long term desire to continue to do it...I'll take a break.

I'll go over but I won't go to the store and buy candy and ice cream and pig out...lol

I'm in this for the long haul!

Nothing wrong with a cheat day, I usually don't plan one, it just happens because of schedules or something else, don't worry about it and move on. The problem comes when a cheat day becomes cheat days a week. Good luck.

I have a cheat meal once a week. I don't eat back my exercise calories so I figure it evens out in the end.

I have cheat dessert once a week. I need my ice cream fix but only IF I do all the things I am suppose to during the week. I think you body needs a rest/reward every once in awhile or less when you fall off the wagon (and you will) you fall HARD! I've been doing diets my entire life and it was always stop cold turkey- no sweats, no chips/salsa, etc. I found myself to crave it and when I have it, I WOULD KILL IT (and myself)! Now, I've learned to look forward to my cheat meal (not day) and I portion my ice cream so I am satisfied but not over doing it.

Its' all Good man, as long as you get right back on track. Like you said, Hit it that double time after!

I used to have cheat days 365 days a year and now when I go to just say " to the hell with it " just one day I feel like I'm doomed!

that's exactly how I feel! I used to overeat EVERY SINGLE DAY. Lol Now 1 of those days every couple of weeks doesn't hinder my progress, and it greatly helps my psyche. My goal isn't unsustainable perfection, that doesn't interest me, my goal is to be happy & healthy & toned, so as long as a cheat day doesn't include enough calories to undue a whole week of good, I'm in. in fact, I come up 50-100 calories short a lot of days, so over the course of a week, even with a cheat meal or day, I still look pretty good- I keep that in mind!

I typically have a "Spike" Day once a week. (About 4400 Calories) But I am true to my daily goal 6 days a week and don't eat back exercise calories. My spike day helps in many ways.

1. It's used as a motivator to "behave" the rest of the week since I know I have my spike day coming.
2. It literally spikes my metabolism and keeps me from going into starvation.
3. It replenishes my glycogen in my muscles and gives me some very high energy workouts for the next few following days
4. Keeps my sanity in tact.

Remember, in order to gain a pound of fat you need to eat 3500 calories over what your body normally consumes in a day. In my case that would be 6200 calories. Nobody on this website got fat in one day. Most of us required years of abusing food to get where we are/were.

PS - I've been having planned spike days for 3 weeks now and have lost 7 Pounds in that time.

I started heavy weight training & carb cycling in December & I'm down over 20 lbs since then. I eat low carb 6 days a week & high carb 1 day to create a calorie surplus. I've found it to be very effective in getting through the mental struggles of long-term weight loss for all the reasons Bruce mentioned.

In general I feel very strongly that even though I'm committed to my weight loss effort, I need to enjoy my life. And if that means taking an extra spike/carb up day in a week & being willing to accept I may not lose that week, that's totally fine with me.

I track my weight daily & although there are spikes in my weight after every spike day, the pattern is the same & the overall trend is still downward like I want it.

If you do start incorporating cheat days, you should know what to expect on the scale. If daily weighing freaks you out, go to weekly weigh-ins & do them on the morning of your cheat day before you start indulging. That will be your lowest weight of the week. You should also be aware of how you react to it mentally...some people can't do it because it triggers too many cravings & they have difficulty getting back on track afterward, or they can't limit it to a 24 hr period. For others like Bruce & I, it's a good fit.

I'd say try it & see if it works for you. I LOVE it...I ate my body weight in noodles & sushi at the Japanese buffet yesterday, followed by an unforgettable tryst with Ben & Jerry. For me this doesn't make me want to keep eating that way. Instead I feel like "now that I've got that out of my system, let's get to work!" My weight this morning was over a pound less than my post-spike weight last weekend & I lost 5 lbs through the week eating low carb, so it's looking good for this Friday in my world. Best of luck!

EDIT: One last thing...did I mention that planning these indulgences leads to guilt-free eating of all the foods I love the most? I may think of or crave things through the week that don't fit my low carb targets that I can't wait for forever to eat...but I can wait 6 days. What ends up happening on spike day is that I eat only my favorite yummy things all day. It is heavenly. Now I'm off to run 6 miles & because I'm fully loaded with glycogen, I'm gonna ROCK IT.

I am planning on going over my calories today, too. My challenge to myself is to do it without eating much junk - only good protein, whole grains, and lots of fruits and veggies.