What is a cheat day??????
Replies
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ridiculous59 wrote: »I use the weekly average calculator on mfp. As long as my week averages out to my desired calories, I'm happy. No cheat days required. Just "getting on with life" days.
Thanks I did not know about the week average page just took a look and love it. I'm new to this whole thing and trying to figure stuff out. I find it very interesting the post about this subject and look forward to reading more. I just never understood what people are referring to when they say cheat day. I have used it a couple of times but should not have and I will phase it a better way. I just wanted to refer to wasted calories to me on foods that I'm trying to stay away from. Had nothing to do with intake for the day or week I have been doing good with that.
Thanks again for everyone's input!!!!7 -
ExistingFish wrote: »ExistingFish wrote: »Cheat day for me is Sunday, I eat my regular calories + one fancy coffee at church, comes out to be maintenance calories for me. Basically, it means eating at maintenance 1 day a week, at a deficit all the others.
H...h...how is that even cheating?
It's one coffee one day a week and you're not even going over calories (whether logging it on here or in your head or else you wouldn't know that)...AT CHURCH!
Cheating to me is lying to myself about how much I'm eating by not logging everything when I know I should so I don't gain the weight back.
Okay, we'll call it an "off diet" day.
Unfortunately, I tried to convince my body that calories consumed on holy ground should not contribute to weight gain, but alas, it was not moved by my arguement.
To funny3 -
I don't have any particular plan that I follow. For the most part, my nutrition is very good...but I also enjoy pizza most Friday nights with my kids for movie night...pub grub now and then...took my kids to the skate park for about 3 hours last Sunday and decided that some Popeye's fried chicken sounded good afterwards...nights out with the wife, etc...but those kind of things are largely irrelevant in the context of my diet as a whole. I tend to look at my diet and nutrition as a whole and don't get into the weeds of this meal or that or this particular food or that very much. Treats are treats and sometimes foods are sometimes foods and so long as treats and sometimes foods don't become regular eats and always foods, I'm pretty good.
As calories go, I don't log...I kind of keep a lazy tally in my head, but that's about it. Sometimes I'm over and sometimes I'm under. If my weight isn't doing what I want it to I might have to make some adjustments, but for the most part things work out when I'm doing what I need to be doing most of the time...basically eating a nutritionally sound diet overall and getting regular exercise and moving.5 -
To me, 'cheat day' sounds too much like 'binge day.' Instead, I take diet/deficit breaks when deficit eating is beginning to wear on me or when circumstances are such that my days include higher calorie meal choices - e.g. Meals provided on a job site or restaurant/take-away meals. In those instances, I guestimate many of the calories and don't worry if I drift into 'generous maintenance.'
I think of it as generous maintenance since maintenance is a single number and the goal is to hit that target as an average. Exceed that number and you are overeating, fall below and you are eating in deficit. When I take a deficit break, I hover at or more often - slightly above maintenance and don't mind a small weight gain since it helps me re-commit to deficit eating.3 -
Get_Back_To_Feeling_Good wrote: »PAV888
Not asking what is right or wrong I think everyone has to decide that on their own. It just seems like a lot of posts talk about cheat days and was trying to understand from the mass why someone uses the term.
It's an unfortunate term that can have wildly divergent meanings to different people and vastly divergent effects on the psyche and thought process of each individual using it.
Which makes it a really unfortunate term (squared).
Now if you combine clean food with cheat days and have a cheat day eating only clean food you can call it a day and weight yourself on a scale using old batteries and placed upon plush carpet! Might as well wear a heavy coat while doing that.... but only if you drink some salted water!2 -
ExistingFish wrote: »ExistingFish wrote: »Cheat day for me is Sunday, I eat my regular calories + one fancy coffee at church, comes out to be maintenance calories for me. Basically, it means eating at maintenance 1 day a week, at a deficit all the others.
H...h...how is that even cheating?
It's one coffee one day a week and you're not even going over calories (whether logging it on here or in your head or else you wouldn't know that)...AT CHURCH!
Cheating to me is lying to myself about how much I'm eating by not logging everything when I know I should so I don't gain the weight back.
Okay, we'll call it an "off diet" day.
Unfortunately, I tried to convince my body that calories consumed on holy ground should not contribute to weight gain, but alas, it was not moved by my arguement.
The church part made me laugh. I have the same argument with all those broken pieces of cookies and uneven cake slices and m&ms with parts of the shell already broken off I eat.
I feel bad for them! I seriously once bought a sugar cookie from Subway, when I normally get chocolate chip, because it was misshapened.4 -
ExistingFish wrote: »ExistingFish wrote: »Cheat day for me is Sunday, I eat my regular calories + one fancy coffee at church, comes out to be maintenance calories for me. Basically, it means eating at maintenance 1 day a week, at a deficit all the others.
H...h...how is that even cheating?
It's one coffee one day a week and you're not even going over calories (whether logging it on here or in your head or else you wouldn't know that)...AT CHURCH!
Cheating to me is lying to myself about how much I'm eating by not logging everything when I know I should so I don't gain the weight back.
Okay, we'll call it an "off diet" day.
Unfortunately, I tried to convince my body that calories consumed on holy ground should not contribute to weight gain, but alas, it was not moved by my arguement.
The church part made me laugh. I have the same argument with all those broken pieces of cookies and uneven cake slices and m&ms with parts of the shell already broken off I eat.
I feel bad for them! I seriously once bought a sugar cookie from Subway, when I normally get chocolate chip, because it was misshapened.
You need professional help.4 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »ExistingFish wrote: »ExistingFish wrote: »Cheat day for me is Sunday, I eat my regular calories + one fancy coffee at church, comes out to be maintenance calories for me. Basically, it means eating at maintenance 1 day a week, at a deficit all the others.
H...h...how is that even cheating?
It's one coffee one day a week and you're not even going over calories (whether logging it on here or in your head or else you wouldn't know that)...AT CHURCH!
Cheating to me is lying to myself about how much I'm eating by not logging everything when I know I should so I don't gain the weight back.
Okay, we'll call it an "off diet" day.
Unfortunately, I tried to convince my body that calories consumed on holy ground should not contribute to weight gain, but alas, it was not moved by my arguement.
The church part made me laugh. I have the same argument with all those broken pieces of cookies and uneven cake slices and m&ms with parts of the shell already broken off I eat.
I feel bad for them! I seriously once bought a sugar cookie from Subway, when I normally get chocolate chip, because it was misshapened.
You need professional help.
I like to think of it as realizing I'm not totally dead inside.5 -
A "cheat day" implies that I'm on some kind of "diet" to lose weight, which I"m not. Right now, I'm technically 1 pound away from my 3rd weight loss goal (wanted to see if I could lose 5 more), but have adapted to healthier eating and eating a bit less quite some time ago.
Right now I'm on an elimination diet for food sensitivities so that changes things as there's a lot I actually can't eat right now (introducing one old "new" food back in a day). However, when that wasn't the case and actively trying to lose weight I told myself absolutely nothing is off limits to me. I CAN eat whatever I want, but thinking about what my goals are, do I really WANT to. In no way does that I mean I deprive myself or have days where I go over not only weight loss cals but maintenance cals, Some of those are kind of planned in advance ( holidays and birthdays), some days are not.
I'm sure most of us have heard phrases like "It's all about balance" and "It's a lifestyle, not a diet." I truly believe, though, for most to be successful one truly has to believe that. To me, using terms like "cheat day" makes it sound like what one is doing to lose weight is temporary, but that's just me. It makes it sound like I don't really like what I"m eating on those other days....but that's the thing: I actually DO enjoy eating healthy most of the time, with occasional treats. I don't feel deprived, or feel like I need to have a "cheat day" to make up for that.5 -
I will eat at maintenance over holidays. It's not cheating, it's maintaining instead of gaining 🤷5
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A cheat day is a plan to failure. I once plateaued for 6 months because my ex convinced me cheat days reset your metabolism... bs is what that is. It's better to go under one day and over the next making sure both days average out to your weekly deficit goal.7
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Beverly2Hansen wrote: »A cheat day is a plan to failure. I once plateaued for 6 months because my ex convinced me cheat days reset your metabolism... bs is what that is. It's better to go under one day and over the next making sure both days average out to your weekly deficit goal.
I like you thinking4 -
Lhenderson923 wrote: »To me a “cheat day” implies that I’m on a diet, which I’m not. Yes, I’m reducing my calorie intake temporarily but it’s framed in my head as a lifestyle change. I don’t want to start something that requires cheat days since this is long term. There will always be special occasions and random days where I may eat food that’s not as good for me, or I may go over my calories for the day, and that’s completely okay! Those days aren’t cheat days, they’re just part of life.
Very good points you have put forth. Most of us need to remember that the way to success is a life change not diet lifestyle.1 -
Get_Back_To_Feeling_Good wrote: »ridiculous59 wrote: »I use the weekly average calculator on mfp. As long as my week averages out to my desired calories, I'm happy. No cheat days required. Just "getting on with life" days.
Thanks I did not know about the week average page just took a look and love it. I'm new to this whole thing and trying to figure stuff out. I find it very interesting the post about this subject and look forward to reading more. I just never understood what people are referring to when they say cheat day. I have used it a couple of times but should not have and I will phase it a better way. I just wanted to refer to wasted calories to me on foods that I'm trying to stay away from. Had nothing to do with intake for the day or week I have been doing good with that.
Thanks again for everyone's input!!!!
Where did you find that page?0 -
Get_Back_To_Feeling_Good wrote: »ridiculous59 wrote: »I use the weekly average calculator on mfp. As long as my week averages out to my desired calories, I'm happy. No cheat days required. Just "getting on with life" days.
Thanks I did not know about the week average page just took a look and love it. I'm new to this whole thing and trying to figure stuff out. I find it very interesting the post about this subject and look forward to reading more. I just never understood what people are referring to when they say cheat day. I have used it a couple of times but should not have and I will phase it a better way. I just wanted to refer to wasted calories to me on foods that I'm trying to stay away from. Had nothing to do with intake for the day or week I have been doing good with that.
Thanks again for everyone's input!!!!
Where did you find that page?
In your diary, go to Nutrition (the pie chart icon) and then switch from a daily view to a weekly view.
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@Lietchi Well this might be a lifechanger. Thank you for showing us!1
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Here is another view that we were talking about above.
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Whatever you call it. I just remind myself that anything over maintenance calories is undoing my hard work from the day(s) before.0
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I have the occasional day or two when I do not count calories but I am not "cheating". It is simply a decision re what I choose to eat.0
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Get_Back_To_Feeling_Good wrote: »ridiculous59 wrote: »I use the weekly average calculator on mfp. As long as my week averages out to my desired calories, I'm happy. No cheat days required. Just "getting on with life" days.
Thanks I did not know about the week average page just took a look and love it. I'm new to this whole thing and trying to figure stuff out. I find it very interesting the post about this subject and look forward to reading more. I just never understood what people are referring to when they say cheat day. I have used it a couple of times but should not have and I will phase it a better way. I just wanted to refer to wasted calories to me on foods that I'm trying to stay away from. Had nothing to do with intake for the day or week I have been doing good with that.
Thanks again for everyone's input!!!!
Where did you find that page?
In your diary, go to Nutrition (the pie chart icon) and then switch from a daily view to a weekly view.
Thank you.0
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