CHEAT DAYS!

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Breadoholic
Breadoholic Posts: 75 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Do you feel your weekly cheat day/meal is setting your weight loss back? I feel guilty about the food choices I made this evening at a party and I'm wondering if others feel the same. How out of control are your cheat days? How many more calories do you consume usually on your cheat day? I'd love to hear from you all, thanks

Christina
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Replies

  • Biancalee76
    Biancalee76 Posts: 107
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    I don't have a cheat day/meal.
  • clares06
    clares06 Posts: 71 Member
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    cheat days!! i didnt know you were having these, how often do you do it? if it was once every few weeks, im sure it wouldnt hinder you too much, but maybe more often may do??? although you have lost a lot of weight!!! your obviously doing very well
  • henney16
    henney16 Posts: 288
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    I like to think of them as "Treats" instead of cheats. On a mental standpoint - it may help with things. Hasn't really affected my weight loss in the big bigger. Maybe if I took too many liberties one week, it showed on the scale, but it just made me work harder the next week. Good luck!
  • sharonsjones
    sharonsjones Posts: 574 Member
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    I allow myself a cheat meal and dessert on Fridays every week. I will usually eat a burger and fries or chicken strips and ice cream or cake for a dessert. I'm usually over about 1,000 calories on my Fridays (sometimes a little more). But I do good the rest of the week so I don't worry about it. I mantain my weight and I have been doing this for years.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,668 Member
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    I "cheat" everyday! IMO, there's no reason to cut anything you like out of your diet as long as you stay within your calorie allowance.
  • maura5880
    maura5880 Posts: 346 Member
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    I call mine "spike" days, because I'm not on a diet, so I have nothing to "cheat" on.

    I usually do it once a week or so, and maybe go 500 over my goal. I'm finding that the more I'm eating healthy and working out, the less I crave crap.
  • kassied09
    kassied09 Posts: 397
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    Last weekend I had TWO cheat days where I went over probably more than 4000 calories total (EEK!) Luckily, I workout enough so it helped rather than hindered. 5 days after my cheat day I had lost all of the weight I had put on (8 lbs!) and an additional pound. I was so happy! I think that shock to my system did me good. (probably too much of a shock, but nonetheless). Cheat meals at least are good for you....less wanting to binge and a reward is always nice :D
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    Do you feel your weekly cheat day/meal is setting your weight loss back?

    No, but I don't have any all out binges. I have one day per week where I don't track intake because I want to give myself a psychological break from being anal.

    I feel guilty about the food choices I made this evening at a party and I'm wondering if others feel the same. How out of control are your cheat days? How many more calories do you consume usually on your cheat day? I'd love to hear from you all, thanks

    Christina

    I am going to give you purley opinion here:

    I think having at least one day per week where you AT LEAST eat at maintenance is a healthy thing. As far as "how big" of a cheat you can or should do, it really depends on your deficit. If you are somehow pulling a cheat that's putting you 4500 over maintenance, then you're going to have problems. If you're over by 400-500 I wouldn't sweat it honestly.

    The whole point of a cheat from a psychological standpoint (I'm ignoring hormonal effects in this discussion) is to reward yourself, and it's important to do this without guilt. You're doing this because you've earned it and I would argue that for SOME people, it's helpful because it keeps you on path the rest of the week.
  • Breadoholic
    Breadoholic Posts: 75 Member
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    I don't have a cheat day/meal.


    You don't let yourself eat something naughty?
  • debswebby
    debswebby Posts: 326
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    Yes my cheat day was/is/always sets me back. Me and hubby always like to have a treat meal every Friday. One day we decided to count up how many calories were in the meal I was just about to eat. We stopped counting when we reached 2,500 (yes! seriously!) It then dawned on me that all my hard work at the gym for the week was fuelling ONE MEAL! ONE MEAL!! And then it dawned on me that my plateau wasn't my body being mean it was me.
    I still have a treat meal on a Friday but it is a lot more controlled.
  • JamesonsMommy
    JamesonsMommy Posts: 771 Member
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    Cheat Days don't exist here. "cheat days" are the reason i have 50+ pounds to lose.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
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    I "cheat" everyday! IMO, there's no reason to cut anything you like out of your diet as long as you stay within your calorie allowance.

    ^ And in addition to the lengthy reply I gave, I fully agree with this and apply this myself (IIFYM).

    That being said, in the context of the OP's post I'm referring to a cheat day as one where you don't hit your macros.
  • stef_3
    stef_3 Posts: 173
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    I get 1,490 calories on a regular day to lose a pound a week so on Sundays when I have my free day I try to consume no more than 2,000. I think 500 more cals is good, if we go out I look to see if nutrition facts ar online first to try to plan my meal. 2,000 is the amount of cals to maintain so it's not really a bad deal cuz I shouldn't gain and I get to splurge/indulge a little bit.
  • Breadoholic
    Breadoholic Posts: 75 Member
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    cheat days!! i didnt know you were having these, how often do you do it? if it was once every few weeks, im sure it wouldnt hinder you too much, but maybe more often may do??? although you have lost a lot of weight!!! your obviously doing very well


    No I don't really have them but I've heard the term 'cheat days' used on this site by some members. Tonight I ate cheesecake and a few other naughty things and I just wonder how much it sets me back?
  • JohnFurie
    JohnFurie Posts: 45
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    Well I don't believe in cheat days, for me my quest to become healthy is 24/7. I just try to be aware what I am eating or drinking. And if you have a off day so what you just get back to it the next day. My mindset is this is a marathon, not a race.
  • bariachic
    bariachic Posts: 76 Member
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    I don't cheat. If it works for you, then that's great, I'm not about to tell someone what to do if something works for them, everyone is different.

    My eating plan is so strict that if the weight loss I have isn't enough of a reward for me, then I will fail.

    The last time I tried this I had ":cheat" meals and they just kept creeping in and pretty oon I was gaining and not watching what I ate at all. I have an addiction to food... so I don't plan on cheating. Not on thanksgiving, not on Christmas, not on my birthday! The rewards on those days is how much healthier I am because of my change in lifestyle, not a sugary cake or greasy chicken!
  • maryd523
    maryd523 Posts: 661 Member
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    I don't have "cheat days" because this is a lifestyle change and pigging out for the sake of pigging out just isn't going to be a part of that.

    However, along with a healthy lifestyle is the reality that some days you are going to go over. Sometimes way over, perhaps at a holiday meal or other special occasion. I simply don't worry about those days, they are a part of life and I don't want to be nibbling on carrot sticks while everyone else enjoys scrumptious food. I eat (as moderately as possible, but that doesn't always happen), enjoy it, and move on. I know that it's not going to derail my long-term progress.
  • brucedelaney
    brucedelaney Posts: 433 Member
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    I eat nearly 4500 calories in a day 1 time a week and nearly every week. I lose between 1.5 to 2.5 every week. Bearing that in mind, I do eat at a deficit the other 6 days and for the overall week which is part of what helps me lose weight the other part being that on the day that I do eat 4500ish calories I'm boosting my metabolism and avoiding the dreaded starvation plateau.
  • KiyaK
    KiyaK Posts: 519 Member
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    Every lifestyle requires some flexibility. I have personally decided that being nutritionally perfect everyday is not realistic for me. Therefore, I don't feel bad when I go over every once in a while (usually 1 or 2 days each week). It may be slowing my weight loss down a little, but I have decided that I am in this for the long haul, not simly to see how much I can lose as fast as possible.
  • Breadoholic
    Breadoholic Posts: 75 Member
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    Do you feel your weekly cheat day/meal is setting your weight loss back?

    No, but I don't have any all out binges. I have one day per week where I don't track intake because I want to give myself a psychological break from being anal.

    I feel guilty about the food choices I made this evening at a party and I'm wondering if others feel the same. How out of control are your cheat days? How many more calories do you consume usually on your cheat day? I'd love to hear from you all, thanks

    Christina

    I am going to give you purley opinion here:

    I think having at least one day per week where you AT LEAST eat at maintenance is a healthy thing. As far as "how big" of a cheat you can or should do, it really depends on your deficit. If you are somehow pulling a cheat that's putting you 4500 over maintenance, then you're going to have problems. If you're over by 400-500 I wouldn't sweat it honestly.

    The whole point of a cheat from a psychological standpoint (I'm ignoring hormonal effects in this discussion) is to reward yourself, and it's important to do this without guilt. You're doing this because you've earned it and I would argue that for SOME people, it's helpful because it keeps you on path the rest of the week.

    Thanks for this. It makes sense. I don't want to binge. It's not healthy and makes you feel so gross. When i first starting dieting i use to binge after 5 days of being on a diet, but now that I'm living a healthy lifestyle (not dieting per se) I guess it's easier having a little piece of cake or two once a week without having a full blown binge.

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