Cheat Days?

I have cheat meals once a week. but i try to keep it in moderation. I don't go and eat a gallon of ice cream just a cone from mcd's for example. And it's only if I need it. If I don't I stick to healthier options. Sometimes my cheat if I don't really need it might be a little extra healthy fat at a meal.

My husband says im obsessive about logging my meals, but when we were at the chinese buffet on sunday for lunch i logged everything BEFORE i ate it and it helped me keep the meal under 800 calories. In the end i really wanted a chinesse donought and was shocked that just one was 120 calories-- so i halved it with my hubby, got my fix and kept the calories at bay.

I allow myself to "cheat" on holidays such as New Years Eve or on vacations. Mostly I cheat with alcohol, which spikes my daily calories WAY up. But on days where I know I'll be drinking or eating a lot I do an extra hard work out. Even so cheating DOES set you back! I gained three pounds I'd lost when I was in Florida, mostly from drinking. I feel like it's important to let yourself have the foods you really love sometimes. I LOVE french fries and chips so I have a really small portion of those sometimes for a snack and then eat a super healthy dinner or I go to the gym for an extra half an hour. It's all about balance, you know? But anyone who says they NEVER cheat or never have a day where they eat too many calories/don't burn them off is lying. We all have at least one day like that. Just try not to make it a habit because if you're really good during the week and then blow it on the weekends then you won't make much progress. But not allowing yourself to succumb to cravings sometimes only leads to binging, so you don't have to be ridiculously strict with yourself.

First off, please don't listen to those who say you are weak. They don't know anything about you.

Thanks! Sadly some folks can't feel good about themselves without putting others down.

I wasnt putting YOU down. You asked a general question about doing cheat days. My full answer said that unless you plan for it and exercise for it, you are only cheating yourself. If people want to have a "cheat" day, but plan for it, then it really isnt a "cheat" day. Some call it a spike day or whatever. Taking "cheat" days , imo, sets up a negative mentality as the word cheat is negative. So....my answer did not say you were weak...my answer said those who cheat are weak. There is a difference.

Well I think you made it clear what you meant. You weren't attacking anyone. I actually agree, I hate the word "cheat", I'm kind of a perfectionist and that is why I wouldn't "cheat" on my diet. It's a simple word change going from cheat to spike, and it's basically the same thing, but making it a positive instead of a negative is a huge difference for my mentality.

i give my self an "off" day on sundays. i dont track and enjoy what i usually wouldnt go near during the week. in our family sundays is family day and we have our amazing italian meals. i look forward to this every week , so i let myself enjoy it. on monday i am back to tracking and in the gym.
i get what your saying about cheating being a negative word, but calling people weak isn't nice either.

First off, please don't listen to those who say you are weak. They don't know anything about you.

Thanks! Sadly some folks can't feel good about themselves without putting others down.

I wasnt putting YOU down. You asked a general question about doing cheat days. My full answer said that unless you plan for it and exercise for it, you are only cheating yourself. If people want to have a "cheat" day, but plan for it, then it really isnt a "cheat" day. Some call it a spike day or whatever. Taking "cheat" days , imo, sets up a negative mentality as the word cheat is negative. So....my answer did not say you were weak...my answer said those who cheat are weak. There is a difference.

First off I'm on maintenance mode. What I do is at the end of my week (Sunday) I look back through each day and count up how many calories I have unused. I allow that number of calories OVER what I'm normally allowed to maintain for that day. So really, I'm just saving a bit each day and using them up on a particular day that week. If I look at the whole picture (look at the week not the day) I'm still not going over on my calories.

and by the way before having my newest baby i lost over 40pounds with having a "off" , "cheat" day. so it can work

i give my self an "off" day on sundays. i dont track and enjoy what i usually wouldnt go near during the week. in our family sundays is family day and we have our amazing italian meals. i look forward to this every week , so i let myself enjoy it. on monday i am back to tracking and in the gym.
i get what your saying about cheating being a negative word, but calling people weak isn't nice either.

First off, please don't listen to those who say you are weak. They don't know anything about you.

Thanks! Sadly some folks can't feel good about themselves without putting others down.

I wasnt putting YOU down. You asked a general question about doing cheat days. My full answer said that unless you plan for it and exercise for it, you are only cheating yourself. If people want to have a "cheat" day, but plan for it, then it really isnt a "cheat" day. Some call it a spike day or whatever. Taking "cheat" days , imo, sets up a negative mentality as the word cheat is negative. So....my answer did not say you were weak...my answer said those who cheat are weak. There is a difference.

I don't understand what the big deal is. I would still eat a hamburger for dinner, without cheese to cut back, and I am still under my calorie goal for the day. I even had a very small slice of apple pie at lunch. Not something I usually do, but I fit all that into my calorie goal. This is what I love about MFP, I still get to eat what I want, I just decide to make good decisions throughout the rest of the day like eating more fruits and vegies and working out.

Ok, of course you need to use cheat meals. this for several reasons :

- If you take your diet as a serious thing, and not a one-month extreme diet (as most people do) you need to allow yourself rest, so you make sure you can hold your diet on a long-term basis (we are talking about months, years here)

- The body is not pure numbers, it the sum of very complex reactions managed by hormons in that case (here we come)... the one i'm talking about here being the leptin. When you restrict too much yourself, the leptin level lower, thus the diet loose it's efficiency (eg starvation mode) Cheating allow you to reboost the body (biologically and psychologically)

- Cheating doesn't mean you'll need to do extra exercices at all, if the diet is clean 90% of the times, it's not a day that will ruin everything. In fact it has been proven that the nutriments consumed in high amounts (let's say once per week), are not stored at all

- If you feel the need to eat much, that could also means you are not eating enough during most of the times :-)

- We also sometimes encourage people to fast the day after the cheat, if that one has been huge. That will boost even more your body.

- Beware, a cheat day should occur max 2 times / per week, more cheat days could lower the diet quality. In the bodyduilding world, we have a rule for that : if it's a ""small" cheat (let's say 2500-2800 kcal on a day) you could afford it 2 times /week max. For huge binge (5000-6000 Kcal) it's once every two weeks.

- In fact after I read tons and tons of people diet story, the only conclusion that comes is "Listen to your body, being too restrictive is the worst thing to do".

cheers - Razique

I prefer to call them TREAT days, not cheat days. I do plan for them, and I do enjoy one a week. Most of the time, I don't log my food, and I allow myself to have what I want in moderation. The rest of the week, I eat very clean and workout hard. When I don't take these days, I find myself struggling more. When I know a TREAT day is coming, I can put off my cravings until then.