Is it Okay to have a cheat day?
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It all comes down to how much of your weekly progress you're willing to give up. Weekend lollapaloozas can wreck havoc with your progress. You'll have to ask yourself that as the weeks go by.3
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Eh. If it happens, it happens. But you should understand the data and why you may only lose X amount of lbs that week in case you're the type to get worried about it. I prefer eating in a deficit for 3 months at a time or so, then taking a full diet break at maintenance for a week. It's controlled and helps me practice logging in maintenance, and a week at maintenance is most likely more beneficial to regulate hunger hormones than a day is.9
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I note that some of you are talking about "cheat days" during the weight reduction phase. Maybe that can be motivating in terms of keeping people on track (so you don't feel like 'the most deprived person in the world' and give it all up!), but I would probably make those very rare during weight reduction and only start to work them in during maintenance, when we have parties and social events and other things that we're opening up to again (as the pandemic permits, of course). You want to feel that you can eat more normally - i.e. less restrictively or vigilantly - once you're in maintenance.1
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freda78 "Who or what are you "cheating"?
I don't know if I agree with your philosophy that I am somehow cheating myself. Because a cheat day is not a bad thing. I saw a weight watchers post of facebook. and several of the posters said that cheating actually helped them break a plauto of not loosing. I hit a platue. and a i cheated and I broke it. Cheat days are not bad. I just want information on how to do it right.
If someone is intentionally having a high calorie day as part of a weight management strategy, then I wouldn't even call that a "cheat day." It's just a higher calorie day.5 -
mylittlerainbow wrote: »I note that some of you are talking about "cheat days" during the weight reduction phase. Maybe that can be motivating in terms of keeping people on track (so you don't feel like 'the most deprived person in the world' and give it all up!), but I would probably make those very rare during weight reduction and only start to work them in during maintenance, when we have parties and social events and other things that we're opening up to again (as the pandemic permits, of course). You want to feel that you can eat more normally - i.e. less restrictively or vigilantly - once you're in maintenance.
I mean. I've maintained about 2 weeks out of every two months the whole time. The only thing that has changed is the number I maintain AT (Ie: It drops down). Also a lot of us here average our calories out over a week, not a day to day basis. It all works.
And not feeling deprived is pretty important DURING loss too. There is no big change when you flip to maintenance. By the end you should be losing half pound a week. Meaning what you gain back is a whole 3 apples or 1 candy bar worth of calories so might as well practice as you go, be it 'banking' calories/averaging out over a week, or otherwise working those special occasions in.5 -
mylittlerainbow wrote: »I note that some of you are talking about "cheat days" during the weight reduction phase. Maybe that can be motivating in terms of keeping people on track (so you don't feel like 'the most deprived person in the world' and give it all up!), but I would probably make those very rare during weight reduction and only start to work them in during maintenance, when we have parties and social events and other things that we're opening up to again (as the pandemic permits, of course). You want to feel that you can eat more normally - i.e. less restrictively or vigilantly - once you're in maintenance.
Personally, I think the concept is more difficult to accommodate successfully in maintenance. (That's one of many things I have against thinking of over-goal eating as "cheating" as if it doesn't count or won't come home to roost.)
During loss, there's that cushion of a deficit. One can wipe it out with a big over-goal day, but even at a small deficit, it takes quite a bit of overage to wipe out a whole week's deficit (250 daily deficit, overage on day 7 to wipe out all loss is 1500 over maintenance calories; anything short of that is still a small loss).
In maintenance, the goal is zero deficit, over time. If one is to feel less restrictive or vigilance, that requires a thought process, and a strategy. Averaging 100 calories over maintenance goal is about a 10 pound gain in a year.
Personally, as much as possible, I believe in test-driving all strategies one will need in maintenance, while still in the loss phase, because there's that cushion of a deficit, in case of oopsies.
But maybe I'm an oddball: I don't particularly want to feel deprived, like I'm eating seriously "not normally", or having to be anxiously vigilant . . . even during loss, let alone during maintenance. 🤷♀️ I believe in plans, strategies, tactics, informed choices, though, to accomplish that - not "cheating".
P.S. I know this post is tangent to the topic of the thread, since OP is in the loss phase; but the thread is mysteriously in the maintenance forum, so I'm picking up on the maintenance implications as a subtopic.10 -
So, of some relevance here and that Ann's post made me think of:
When I first started trying to lose weight, I had to do a LOT of experimenting. There was a lot of cutting things out, or substitution for lower calorie/light versions of things, and a lot of working toward volume because I was used to eating a lot more - clearly, since I was obese.
That was probably the period I 'needed' cheat meals and diet breaks the most. Because I was hungry and unsatisfied and fumbling around through my mistakes of thinking something was worth it that turned out not to be (and so having fewer calories for later in the day), or making TOO MANY substitutions and ending up just being really low on calories PERIOD. In both cases ending up hungrier than I would have been with a more fine tuned understanding of what worked for me - as well as a bigger deficit than I have now, of course, plus at that point I was still used to grazing all day.
At this point the diet breaks aren't a big change from when I'm trying to lose - 250 extra calories a day, sure, but it's just slightly bigger servings of what I'd eat, anyway. The deficit is smaller in loss and my TDEE has gone up some, but also *I know what I am doing* and my habits have changed and my hunger has ramped down. I don't do a lot of snacking anymore. I eat more - volume and calories - at once. I'm not eating egg whites on 35 calorie bread for breakfast - I'm using regular bread with whole eggs *and* bacon for breakfast. Or avocado toast with egg on top. My yogurt is 5% fage not oikos triple 0, nd so on and so forth. It's just eating, at this stage, and even the occasional 'I'm getting a whopper for dinner' isn't something that really puts me over.
During loss though? Learning how to feed myself led to me being hungry and antsy a lot. The odd day of going 'Can't deal' and just eating helped. I needed, basically, to make the mistakes that left me hungry, learn from them and adjust to get to the point where 'cheat days' or 'high calorie days' or 'breaks' weren't a thing. And I needed them to not be a mental thing, either. Ie: Not binging, not 'cheating' on something, not failure, just a 'okay we're doing this on saturday and if I don't lose, so be it'. But as ann said I had enough deficit that I never failed to lose SOMETHING.10 -
CaydensMommy wrote: »What about a "treat" day while doing keto?
does your "treat" consist of consuming extra calories without affecting your glycogen levels? Then see all the other responses.
does your "treat" consist of consuming sufficient carbs such that your glycogen levels replenish? Expect disproportionate scale fluctuations directly related to this issue which is both an integral benefit and an integral challenge associated with the keto diet (way of eating).7 -
I have two no hold barred cheat days. My birthday and Mother’s Day. These are about six moths apart for me and have worked well for the last three years. I eat my “ never” foods those days. Ribs, Pasta and tons of bread.3
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For me, this weight loss journey has been a learning experience, requiring different strategies at different stages. In the past I was of the belief that if I had a less-than-ideal food day, then the next day I'd just get back on track and eat my allotted calories. Basically pretend it didn't happen and carry on. But now, 8 years into the process, I'm finding that what works well for me is to use the "weekly calorie average" feature on mfp. As long as my numbers average out over the week, its all good. Friday is always pizza (usually homemade) and a couple of glasses of wine. Its not a "cheat day". Its just a day that I plan for by eating a little less and/or exercising more on the other days.
You just need to figure out what strategy works best for you. And if something isn't working, don't be afraid to change and try a different strategy. Personally, I found that if I was stuck at a plateau, it was because I'd got sloppy with my logging (weighing and measuring portions). Once I went back to the basics, the scale would start dropping again.7 -
Some people do well with a 'cheat/treat meal or day'. I look at it differently.
I do not 'plan' for a day or a meal to go 'off target' a bit. When I really feel like it is important for me to 'have a little more' or have something I normally would not have, I go ahead and do it -whether it is Tuesday, Wednesday, or Saturday night. I can do this without guilt or worry for two reasons, 1) I stay on target the vast majority of the time and 2) I stay away from 'trigger' foods/drink regardless of situation. Ex: my trigger is soda, so I do not allow myself full sugar or diet soda. They derail me completely!
Different life situations may make me 'feel' hungrier or like I just 'need to have' a little something-or it could just be 'life' itself. For example, last night, my family wanted Chinese food. While it is not normally on my 'food plan', it was not an issue because all of my other eating has been on target-so no guilt or worries. I watched my portions and tracked it, and enjoyed every bite. After that meal, I returned to my targeted way of eating.
My philosophy behind this way of looking at eating, is that this is a lifestyle change for me-not a 'diet' to think of 'when it ends'.
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My personal opinion is that if I need a cheat day I'm doing something wrong, I'd rather have a bite here and there to satisfy my cravings as long as I don't go crazy over my maintenance than go with huge restriction diet and then reward myself with a cheat day. Problem with my past attempts was that the cheat day soon enough turned into days and then weeks1
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I don't believe in the concept of "cheat days." That doesn't mean that I never eat over my daily limit of cals on occasion but I don't treat that as "cheat" day.
I don't "plan" for it. It's just a day that I went over and have to make up for by eating LESS on subsequent days.
I feel the same way about "banking" calories. If you "bank" cals, it's planned and is a way to give yourself "permission" to eat over your daily limit whether you really "need" to do so or not.
Better IMO to try to remain as consistent as possible day-to-day as you can with the understanding that you'll go over on some days and will just have to make up the overeating by eating less in the next few days.
The result is probably the same but the "process" and thinking behind it is entirely different.3 -
not all cheat days are alike just as not all people have the same caloric needs.
i know a guy who eats a whole pizza, a half gallon of ice cream or more, a huge burger or steak meal, pasta, brownies and the list goes on and on for his weekly cheat day. unsurprisingly he never loses any weight because he literally eats over 3500 calories over maintenance every saturday. but he doesn't gain any weight, either, as he's tall and reasonably active. at 5' 3", i can't afford to have a 4000+ calorie day. to be fair, i don't think i could manage to eat as much as he does on saturdays.1 -
I don't believe in the concept of "cheat days." That doesn't mean that I never eat over my daily limit of cals on occasion but I don't treat that as "cheat" day.
I don't "plan" for it. It's just a day that I went over and have to make up for by eating LESS on subsequent days.
I feel the same way about "banking" calories. If you "bank" cals, it's planned and is a way to give yourself "permission" to eat over your daily limit whether you really "need" to do so or not.
Better IMO to try to remain as consistent as possible day-to-day as you can with the understanding that you'll go over on some days and will just have to make up the overeating by eating less in the next few days.
The result is probably the same but the "process" and thinking behind it is entirely different.
the result of course is the same - doesnt matter if your over day is before or after your under days as long as the average is on target.
I think the opposite about process though - I would rather use banked calories- hence I start my week on Monday so they are banked by the weekend - rather than paying back borrowed calories.
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As a side question, I have noticed that many people bank calories through the week to save for the weekend. Why? Do you eat differently on the weekend than you do during the rest of the week for some reason? Or you're just saving up and planning 'treats' for yourself on days that are more leisurely? I guess I don't understand this concept. I do know that some people let themselves sleep later or stay up later on the weekend, even though 'they' say you're supposed to go to bed and wake up roughly the same time every day. So somehow these days are treated differently? I guess having been retired for many years makes me forget how these days might be different!!1
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mylittlerainbow wrote: »As a side question, I have noticed that many people bank calories through the week to save for the weekend. Why? Do you eat differently on the weekend than you do during the rest of the week for some reason? Or you're just saving up and planning 'treats' for yourself on days that are more leisurely? I guess I don't understand this concept. I do know that some people let themselves sleep later or stay up later on the weekend, even though 'they' say you're supposed to go to bed and wake up roughly the same time every day. So somehow these days are treated differently? I guess having been retired for many years makes me forget how these days might be different!!
I am out most weekends, and my schedule is different. That means, yeah, I eat differently. Because the whole rhythm of my days has changed, I am doing more socializing and I don't have access to my kitchen for 2 out of 3 meals a day.
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mylittlerainbow wrote: »As a side question, I have noticed that many people bank calories through the week to save for the weekend. Why? Do you eat differently on the weekend than you do during the rest of the week for some reason? Or you're just saving up and planning 'treats' for yourself on days that are more leisurely? I guess I don't understand this concept. I do know that some people let themselves sleep later or stay up later on the weekend, even though 'they' say you're supposed to go to bed and wake up roughly the same time every day. So somehow these days are treated differently? I guess having been retired for many years makes me forget how these days might be different!!
My husband and I have a regular date night, and Sundays are our family rest/feast day as part of our religious practice. We do occasionally have midweek feast days too, and we observe some civic holidays, and I also bank for those accordingly. We also practice traditional fasting and abstinence from meat on Fridays. So no, not every day is the same.1 -
mylittlerainbow wrote: »As a side question, I have noticed that many people bank calories through the week to save for the weekend. Why? Do you eat differently on the weekend than you do during the rest of the week for some reason? Or you're just saving up and planning 'treats' for yourself on days that are more leisurely? I guess I don't understand this concept. I do know that some people let themselves sleep later or stay up later on the weekend, even though 'they' say you're supposed to go to bed and wake up roughly the same time every day. So somehow these days are treated differently? I guess having been retired for many years makes me forget how these days might be different!!
I calorie bank, and I'm retired. It's not a weekday/weekend pattern in my case, but a preference to eat more indulgently now and then, usually social events or restaurant meals.
I'm also in maintenance now, so everything needs to balance, no weekly deficit as a cushion unless I intentionally create the cushion.
Daily, the deficit's not a big number, just 100-150 calories. I see no real risk or harm in doing it.
Personalization is important, IMO. For me, this is a happier routine than balancing to maintenance calories every single day. That wouldn't be true for everyone, and that's fine.
It's just one option.🤷♀️4 -
Thank you. I guess all the days run together for me, even when there is no pandemic, and this pattern was something I found puzzling. I'm as likely to have a class on a Sunday afternoon as on a Tuesday night, for instance. So this is illuminating.2
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