CHEAT MEAL VS CHEAT DAY

Just posted this in another thread, it applies though IMO. BTW go with a cheat meal:

There is some science to this, its not a totally unfounded point, BUT some things to note:

-your body has a certain amount of calories it burns everyday, just due to the fact that you are alive. This is the energy from sleeping, signals being sent throughout the body, and blood flow (not really so much so for your heart actually sustaining pumping, but the blood traveling)
-ontop of that your base calorie usage, everything you do in a day, typing, walking, driving, sitting, even thinking burns calories

With these two above things, we have established our Daily Calories Burned. For this explanation, lets say the daily amount you burn is 2,200 Calories (as per the FDA)

Now everything you eat adds calories. So lets say combing your breakfast, lunch, and dinner (plus snacks), you eat 2,200 calories, which is known as our Gross Calories for the day. If we subtract our gross calories from our Daily Calories Burned, we get a number of 0, or 0 net calories. What this means is for the day, we did not gain, or lose any calories, in otherwords no weight change.

With diet and exercise, we are changing those two variables, inorder to get a lower net calories, meaning more weight loss. So if you are eating less/healthier, that means you will have a lower gross calories, maybe of 1800. So 1800-2200 (daily calories burned)=-400. Just the same is true with adding exercise, you are making you Daily Calories Burned even higher, to make your net calories even lower, causing more weight loss.

Im assuming everyone knows what I just posted above, but its important to say before moving into my main point.

When your body gets used to a decreased calorie amount, it decreases the amount of calories it burns in a day. For example, if you are on a diet of only 1,600 as opposed to your old 2,200 calorie diet, you body may lower its Daily Calories Burned to somewhere like 1,800. That difference of 200 calories may be causing weight loss, but not as much as it did on the 2,200 Daily Calories Burned.

The idea of a cheat day is that you eat more than you typically would, in hopes that your body will go back to a higher Daily Calories Burned. For example if you body is at the 1,800 calories and you trick it into going up to 2,200 calories, you will be bruning an extra 400 calories once you return to your diet again. So in idea, with a cheat day, you are trying to get your body to sustain that higher Daily Calories Burned, causeing faster weight loss

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BUT

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This can be dangerous if done wrong. The reasoning is this: Lets say you go all out, and on your cheat day eat 3,000 calories, which is 1,400 than the 1,600 calories you ate yesterday, almost double. The problem is without proper exercise (which increases not only your Daily Calories Burned, but also your metabolism) and other elements, you could actually GAIN weight. The reason is if you were eating 2,200 calories like you were prior to your diet, and then one day ate 3,000 calories, thats only a 800 calorie gain. If you are eating a 1,600 calorie diet (Daily Calories Burned of 1800), that is a 1200 calorie gain, which is significantly higher.
Most people overdo cheat days, and thats why their benifits are normally lost or pointless. If you wanted to do a cheat day, increasing by only 400 calories or so is a safe bet, because it will increase your Daily Calories Burned, without causing any real potential for weight gain.

Just as well, sometimes one day alone isnt enought for your body to react to the increase in calories. The best option really is to go for a zigzag diet. This is where you pretty much go 2 days with a higher calorie diet, than 3 lower, 2 higher, 3 lower. An example would be something like maybe going 2 days eating 1,800 calories, then 3 at 1,400. This will sustain a higher calories burned, but will not have any real potential for great weight gain.



Wow that was a long post, hope it helped

I don't know about the rest of you all, but the logic behing MY free days is mental health, not trying to trick the body into burning more.

I agree with what is said before. Losing weight has been a lifestyle change for me. I have learned to cook vegetable better and cut off on carbs. I don't have cheat days, because I eat every day what I feel like it. I have shift to something more healthy than I used to but if I feel like burger or pizza I do. Chocolate is my absolute "peche mignon". I reward myself every 5lb lost with some but always count it in my calories like any other snack.
The great advantage of tracking is that you know where you are at all time. It has often happened to me that it is 5pm, I have 500 cals left (enough for dinner), but I know today I really want some dessert. Then I exercise accordingly. It really helps to plan ahead, even log before you start eating.
The only days I go over are generally when I am invited or eat out but I try to limit it to 2-3 times a months and if I can I'll make for it during the week by exercising more.
This is a long process, if I am eating out and eat more then I will not lose weight that week... No big deal as long as it is not every week... Moderation is definitely the key.

I don't have a cheat day or even a cheat meal. For me, that seems too "diet-ish". This is a lifestyle change, so for me... eating what I want, when I want it - but in moderation is the way to go. I don't feel resentful or anything because I can have whatever I want to have. I make sure I have calories for it (or I go and workout to earn the calories for it!), I eat the serving size of it, I log it and I move on. For me, it keeps me from wanting to binge eat because I can have that Reese's peanut butter cup TODAY vs having to wait for a certain day or meal to have it!

That is exactly what I do,

I don't cheat as such. If I know I'm going to want something that will take me over my cals I try very hard to make sure I do extra exercise to earn it!!

I never "plan" cheat days or meals exactly- but if I know I am going out for a meal at a restaurant, or I am going to my folks for a couple of days I will give myself a break and either exercise more to make up for it, or make sure I get back on the wagon straight after. It stops me having those feelings I used to have like I had "blown" it.

I think it would be a bad idea if I decided every Friday was a "cheat day" for example. Like someone else says it's just life sometime.

I just came back from holiday where I probably drank my bodyweight in cocktails each night- not healthy at all but lets just say it was a "cheat" five days lol When I got home I stopped drinking any alcohol and started eating my calorie allowance again, and when I weighed myself today (a couple of days after I came home) I hadn't put on any weight. It's good to know it can be done once in a while without any serious damage- u just have to make sure you don't let it all go out of the window because of a few indulgences.

I don't cheat as such. If I know I'm going to want something that will take me over my cals I try very hard to make sure I do extra exercise to earn it!!

That's what i'm saying. Make yourself earn it!

I have a cheat day once every week. Keeps me from binging randomly throughout the week.

I have a cheat day once every week. Keeps me from binging randomly throughout the week.

This is excellent.

I don't cheat because I do as I please and I lose it with ease.