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4n4xmn9p9h
4n4xmn9p9h Posts: 1 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Just wondering if anyone out there has a cheat day….Say, 500 calories over…how has it worked for you…Thanks…Collette from Canada

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  • kamaboko1
    kamaboko1 Posts: 28 Member
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    I'm about 45 pounds away from a cheat day.
  • mjinpgh
    mjinpgh Posts: 17 Member
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    Absolutely. Maybe not every week. But once in a while, special occasion, or just feeling my mental health needs that extra bit for the day. I never succeed with highly restrictive diets. So I have found just allowing myself the grace to have that day is mentally mush healthier for me
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,711 Member
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    “Cheat Day” is diet talk. This needs to be a total change of mindset- creating habits that will sustain you beyond maintenance once you reach goal.

    Cheating is mentally too close to quitting.

    I accept mistakes and go back to plan the next day.

    If you prefer to have one day a week that you eat 500 over, then reduce the other six days by 83 calories apiece. You’re banking calories for the day you want to eat more.

    I’m extremely active so I have a very high calorie allowance. If you look at my diary, you’d probably be horrified to see that about once a week, I eat well over goal.

    Yesterday, I ate 4,376 calories. Oh, the horror! But, if you average my calories out over seven days, you’d see I’m spot on at 2700/day, which I know from experience is where I want to be.

    I know this, plan for it, expect it, and I just enjoy it and then go back to plan the next six days.

    You’ve got to work out the rhythm of eating and calorie counting that works for you.

    Throw away these negative terms. Remember how grandma always said “you are who you hang out with”? Words are the same way. It sounds cheesy, but negative terms foster negative ideas and negative attitudes. Don’t let them weigh you down!
  • Cheesy567
    Cheesy567 Posts: 1,186 Member
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    I’m with Spring on this. If you’re planning on changing your outlook to lose weight and keep it off, rather than a quick loss and yo-yo regain, you have to learn to balance the foods you like, now, ongoing. It’s not cheating, it’s life. It might look different for different people. Maybe it’s a “treat” a day for someone. Maybe it’s a larger meal out once a week or once a month for someone else. But you can learn to adjust your calorie budget and/or your weightloss goal timeline and expectations to account for it.

    It’s most important to be aware and honest, to track it so you can see what’s really going on. Otherwise people post with “I’ve kept my deficit and haven’t lost weight,” because they aren’t considering the times they’ve had a larger meal. So realize it, plan it (or especially if it’s unplanned), log it. The data you have to look back on is only as good as what you enter.

    If you’re going to have days with 500calories higher routinely, you might want to calculate your goal calories by the week rather than the day. Then write out your higher calorie days and how many of them you want, and split the remaining calories by the remaining days. You’ll have high days and low days, maybe set your calorie goal in MFP for the low days to keep you on track, and know that on your high days you can go 500 over. Or vice-versa, whatever works for you.

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