cheat days

mrblaze211
mrblaze211 Posts: 23
edited October 3 in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone have a set cheat day that you don't log ? I have been useing Saturday as my cheat day I don't log but I do try to not go crazy.. just wondering. Sometimes I gain a pound or two on Monday weight in but by the middle of the week its gone.

Replies

  • CoachNYLA
    CoachNYLA Posts: 129
    Why do we want to cheat?
  • michedarnd
    michedarnd Posts: 207 Member
    I am explicitly zig-zagging my diet. I log what I am eating because I want to make SURE I don't go crazy, but on my high-calorie days, I plan to have "treats" that normally get eliminated from my diet. That gives me two days a week where I just accept the fact that I am going to go over (although, truth to tell, I often end up exercising on those days, so, I don't always truly end up going over -- for instance, I'll do both strength-training and cardio on one of them).
  • rosied915
    rosied915 Posts: 799 Member
    I weigh-in on Thursdays, so that night I'll have what I want for dinner.
  • michedarnd
    michedarnd Posts: 207 Member
    I am explicitly zig-zagging my diet. I log what I am eating because I want to make SURE I don't go crazy, but on my high-calorie days, I plan to have "treats" that normally get eliminated from my diet. That gives me two days a week where I just accept the fact that I am going to go over (although, truth to tell, I often end up exercising on those days, so, I don't always truly end up going over -- for instance, I'll do both strength-training and cardio on one of them).

    Of course, keep in mind... I'm not much of a sweet tooth. To me, a treat is a larger portion of my favorite fruit and some slightly fattier protein sources.
  • sueb12345678
    sueb12345678 Posts: 41 Member
    Same here i do saturday & sundays buy thursday i have lost it need to cut out the old vino that is my down fall :laugh:
  • Mygrrls
    Mygrrls Posts: 10 Member
    I agree that even if you go over you should still try to log in what you eat for two reasons. Ultimately your goal is to keep under the calories over the whole week so even if you do go crazy one day you may still be under for the week. The other reason is that you can get a sense of the number of calories some of your favourite foods are. I have been extremely shocked at some things I thought were not that high in calories and really were.
  • Coltsman4ever
    Coltsman4ever Posts: 602 Member
    If you want to eat a Twinkie or a piece of cake one day, eat it and log it. Just don't do it every day, several times a day. In my opinion, we need to eat some things we really enjoy that may be considered a "cheat" every now and then and there's nothing wrong with it. Just be selective about how often you do it and how much of it you choose to eat.
    To not log your food every day though, you're only hurting yourself.
    Diets don't work, changing your lifestyle and eating habits works.
  • KeepGoingRhonda
    KeepGoingRhonda Posts: 527 Member
    If you want to eat a Twinkie or a piece of cake one day, eat it and log it. Just don't do it every day, several times a day. In my opinion, we need to eat some things we really enjoy that may be considered a "cheat" every now and then and there's nothing wrong with it. Just be selective about how often you do it and how much of it you choose to eat.
    To not log your food every day though, you're only hurting yourself.
    Diets don't work, changing your lifestyle and eating habits works.
    great advice :smile:
  • CoachNYLA
    CoachNYLA Posts: 129
    I was being funny when I said, why do we want to cheat.

    I know all about cheat days... when I was doing figure, my coach would give us one cheat meal to eat whatever in just an hour AND I also tried the zig zag approach (it is usually used during periodization type training) - but my blood sugar could not stay level, trying to triick my body into dropping more fat at a faster rate. It was all a set up eventually so I had to just have a food plan that was steady.

    On my cheat days I would just vamp up my carbs (rice, potato) and sometimes corn tortillas making turkey tacos or something.

    But mostly, I don;t get into the cheat deal anymore.

    Want to really drop some fat, eat a food plan void of refined sugar, wheat and flour and make it a lifestyle change.
  • shannon121278
    shannon121278 Posts: 357
    My theory is that if I cut out everything I love and don't give myself treats and only eat healthy, that I will not succeed. I feel that one day I will just break down, and pig out and have junk and my favorite foods.

    So my plan for weight loss is that maybe once a week I will have a treat. Some french fries or a cheeseburger or a bowl of ice cream (the real stuff), or a candy bar or something I'm in the mood for that's not healthy for me normally and that I've cut out. However I still plan to log my food whenever I have a treat, and still try and stick under my calorie goal. Meaning if I eat a 600 calorie cheeseburger, that's 600 calories less on everything else I can have for the day. I'll still stick to my calorie goals, but still get a treat.

    But as for cheat DAYS, I don't think I could do it, because I would fall too much off track. I would rather have a treat here and there but still stick to my calorie goal. Best of both worlds!
  • CoachNYLA
    CoachNYLA Posts: 129
    Does anyone have a set cheat day that you don't log ? I have been useing Saturday as my cheat day I don't log but I do try to not go crazy.. just wondering. Sometimes I gain a pound or two on Monday weight in but by the middle of the week its gone.

    Just FYI, try checking your body composition rather than just scale weight. Most likely it's water weight your gaining and losing.

    Are you training for a sport btw?
  • CoachNYLA
    CoachNYLA Posts: 129
    My theory is that if I cut out everything I love and don't give myself treats and only eat healthy, that I will not succeed. I feel that one day I will just break down, and pig out and have junk and my favorite foods.

    So my plan for weight loss is that maybe once a week I will have a treat. Some french fries or a cheeseburger or a bowl of ice cream (the real stuff), or a candy bar or something I'm in the mood for that's not healthy for me normally and that I've cut out. However I still plan to log my food whenever I have a treat, and still try and stick under my calorie goal. Meaning if I eat a 600 calorie cheeseburger, that's 600 calories less on everything else I can have for the day. I'll still stick to my calorie goals, but still get a treat.

    But as for cheat DAYS, I don't think I could do it, because I would fall too much off track. I would rather have a treat here and there but still stick to my calorie goal. Best of both worlds!

    The best thing I have learned is to change my perception of food and my relationship with it. Most people think I am some fitness trainer who does not relate to these things, but from once from where I came...I used to weight almost 170 pounds and I am only 4'9" tall !!

    Cheat days and treats will always keep you stuck if your are foodie at heart. It will never allow you to change totally. It's like an alcoholic who keeps having a drink once in a while but someday, they get drunk again. If you know what I mean.
  • missikay1970
    missikay1970 Posts: 588 Member
    i have one meal per month that i eat whatever i want (and i do mean ANYTHING, chili dog, cheeseburger, etc.) and drink soda. i used to drink 2-3 per day, so one per month is a huge treat to me! i do not log anything into MFP that day, and don't go to the gym. it's just a way for me to relax and have something naughty. funny thing, this last treat/cheat day, i had about 2 bites of my cheeseburger and realized it wasn't all that i had remembered! LOL i still can't believe i used to eat like that every.single.day. i think having a day where absolutely nothing is logged or paid attention to is key for me. i get a bit obsessed at times, and i think having one day off per month is necessary (for me) also, on sundays, i don't go to the gym. i consider it my rest day. but my menu remains healthy on that day. :smile:
  • MsALMill
    MsALMill Posts: 75 Member
    I never explicitly plan a cheat day but I try not to kill myself if I do go over once or twice a week. Being that I only do a once a month weigh in it doesn't show as a problem at all. Each month I still lose about 10 pounds.
  • shydaisi
    shydaisi Posts: 788 Member
    I don't do cheat days really. I eat back a large portion of my exercise calories, so on my high burn days, I get more than enough calories to splurge on a high calorie treat if I want. I rarely go over my calorie goal.
  • mrblaze211
    mrblaze211 Posts: 23
    Not training for a sport just trying to drop some lbs I do thank-you for your advise !
  • mrblaze211
    mrblaze211 Posts: 23
    Thank-you for ur advise I will still have my cheat day but I'm gonna start logging it maybe it will help get me past this wall I have hit
  • luv2ash
    luv2ash Posts: 1,903 Member
    No cheat days here----
  • katkins3
    katkins3 Posts: 1,359 Member
    I don't really have a cheat day, but I plan ahead to have a treat at the bakery after Sat. gym visit.
    I usually know in advance the calories of what I'll have and add the baked item as a snack, but stay at my usual calorie goal for the day, plus the exercise calories I just got at the gym.
  • dianaskin
    dianaskin Posts: 66
    I don't think I could do a whole cheat DAY! That would completely take me off track. If I had a whole day of eating whatever and not being focused it would be TWICE as hard the next day to get back to the plan and I would probably be super hungry! For me, what works best is consistency and trying to eat balanced meals so that my hunger is at bay and blood sugar remains constant.

    But we all have to figure out what works best for us and what will keep us going for the longer term and as said previously, results in a lifestyle change. If, for you, that means a cheat day, then your best bet would be to log it because you'd still want to make sure you're not going WAY over the calorie requirements. (so if you've managed to burn off 3500 calories during the week, and then on your cheat day you splurge 3500 calories away, then you just put back the pound you could have lost!).
  • E_Cee83
    E_Cee83 Posts: 22 Member
    haha, I DO!! i have sunday as my cheat day and have done so for the past 5 years! I eat WHATEVER i want and trust me, i do!!
    AND i have exactly the same body response too... by sunday's end i am bloated (not neccessarily due to OVEReating naughty food- but just eating some wrong foods after a clean week) but yeah, by wed/thurs i am back to normal weight and by sunday i have lost another kilo... i HIGHLY recommend the cheat day as it gives you motivation to stay on track during the week and KNOWING that you can eat that special treat on sunday (or whenever) you are more likely NOT to fail. during the week. I am not a hardcore gym fanatic/body bulder/figure competitor, but i do go 6am and around 6pm everyday and even on my free days do aerobic and incidental exercise throughout the day.... I LIVE FOR MY FREE DAY.... but yes, it is bittersweet! LOL
    OH and no i do not log it... that would look bad! haha i do log exercise for the free day however and write FREE DAY!!!! in my food notes at the bottom...
  • Matttdvg
    Matttdvg Posts: 133 Member
    Calling them "cheat" meals or days is stupid. The idea that having an occasional treat is cheating yourself is just stupid. It makes it sound like you've done something wrong, even though you haven't. Treating yourself once in a while is an important part of weight loss for the majority of people. It keeps you focused on being healthy on every other day, and gives you something to look forward to. It isn't cheating at all.

    Also, I would still log these things in MFP. Your food log is there so you know what you've eaten. Not recording stuff is counter productive to that, and it reinforces the fallacy that treating yourself occasionally is a bad thing & it should be hidden away and never spoken about. There is no shame in eating treats, and there is no shame in having them on your food log.
  • katkins3
    katkins3 Posts: 1,359 Member
    Calling them "cheat" meals or days is stupid. The idea that having an occasional treat is cheating yourself is just stupid. It makes it sound like you've done something wrong, even though you haven't. Treating yourself once in a while is an important part of weight loss for the majority of people. It keeps you focused on being healthy on every other day, and gives you something to look forward to. It isn't cheating at all.

    Also, I would still log these things in MFP. Your food log is there so you know what you've eaten. Not recording stuff is counter productive to that, and it reinforces the fallacy that treating yourself occasionally is a bad thing & it should be hidden away and never spoken about. There is no shame in eating treats, and there is no shame in having them on your food log.

    I agree. When I plan to have a "treat", its just food that I don't schedule very often. I wish I had another word to call it, but cheat isn't it.
  • mrblaze211
    mrblaze211 Posts: 23
    Call it whatever you would like "cheat day free day treat day ding dong day" I just don't see the reason to say someone's post is stupid just wanted to know if anyone had a day that they took off of myfitnesspal but thank you for your help ill make a note of it
  • kitkat415
    kitkat415 Posts: 43
    When I tried a diet minus cheating, I would be great for 3 days, then like clockwork, I'd go snack crazy on the fourth day. It left me feeling really weak and sort of like a failure.

    Now, I plan to have cheat day about every 2 weeks. Usually, I do it on the day I weigh in, so I can have a full week to "recover." I keep a list of all my cravings throughout the weeks, and just tell myself I'll get to eat them on my cheat day. Usually, I end up not wanting these things, but writing them down keeps me from feeling deprived because I'm just postponing them.

    I enjoy healthy food, so it's really usually snacks I crave. On my cheat days, I'll eat a normal healthy breakfast and lunch; the only real cheat is that I let myself have whatever snacks I've been craving. This way, I'm still filling up on healthy stuff, but also getting to enjoy things I don't usually eat. Honestly, I eat so healthy normally that after a few unhealthy snacks, I'm pretty much over the cheating and reminded of why I don't eat those foods daily. I log my food intake as another reminder of why I can't enjoy those foods every day.

    Setting a cheat day means that instead of having 1 bad day for every 3 good, I have 1 bad day for every 13 good. Also, planning it means that I'm still in control of my cravings, not the other way around, and that empowerment reminds me that eating healthy and in moderation is something I chose to do for myself, not some sort of torture being imposed on me.
  • fordster99
    fordster99 Posts: 181 Member
    I think you have to do whatever you need to do to be successful. If you need a cheat day once in a while so that you can stick with this lifestyle change, then do it. I personally wouldn't go too crazy and eat everything in sight but if you have been craving something for a while and just can't get it off your mind then have some. I do still have some of my favorite things from time to time. I don't set a specific day but I make sure I get a good calorie burn in and if I go over on my calories once in a while, I don't beat myself up. Good luck.
  • kristennwinter
    kristennwinter Posts: 100 Member
    Honestly, I eat whatever I want every day to an extent. As long as I get close to my goals for the day, and do not go over my calorie intake, I allow myself to eat whatever I feel like eating in moderation. I've been doing this for three weeks straight now, and it's the only thing that's worked for me so far. I have realized though, that if I want to eat something high calorie now, I can't eat something filling, satisfying, healthy and low calorie later. I rationalize with myself that a 400 calorie muffin is SO not worth skipping supper and my bedtime snack!! I do plan to have a cheat day at the end of the month for my best friend's birthday! I can't wait for cupcakes! :D
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