My Cheat Day always becomes a Cheat Weekend

I know an entire cheat day would not work for me because it would last at least two (at least that's what happened over Christmas!) Would you be willing to forget the cheat day and strive for a weekly treat? Pick one awesome thing you're dying to eat, and enjoy it! I just ate two chocolate creme eggs. My weekly treat never exceeds 400 calories, and once I'm done eating it, it's back to business!


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

This sounds a lot like me so you can either do 2 things:

Not do the cheat at all so you dont get the taste for it

or forward plan, if you know you are due to go out sat and sunday for example. eat less in the day, do more exercise. Most restaurants have menus online (and if your lucky the calories too) so you can roughly work out in advance what the meal, nightout etc is going to cost you calorie wise in advance so you plan not only how much you can get away having when you are out but also factor this in while planning what to eat and what exercise to do before (or after) the event

hope this helps

Before Christmas, I logged M-F and took weekends off and still lost almost 40 pounds from May-December. A few things that I did to try and minimize the effect of the "cheat weekend":

1) stuck to my normal workout routine
2) tried to eat a healthy breakfast and lunch. If I knew I wanted to go out for dinner and a drink, at least the whole day wasn't a free for all.
3) switched from mixed drinks like rum or rye and coke to a glass of wine. Or, if I wanted to have a mixed drink, I used sparkling water with natural lemon/lime flavour instead of coke.

Post-Christmas, I want to try and move from the idea of a cheat weekend or day to, as another poster suggested, one treat.

Thank you for this post I just finish blogging about the same thing. Its almost like self destructive I work so hard during the weekk with morning workouts and 1400 low fat calories per day and I feel successful. Ive lost about 15 lbs since January 1. However, when the weekend comes.....here comes the partying and the calories are out the window. I really needed this post. Thanks!!

i'd try to keep your cheat day for a day during the week. that way, you aren't tempted by the weekend. this use to happen to me and i make sure that my schedule is even mroe strict on the weekend so i don't mess up all my hard work during the week!

I've learned through trial and error that cheat days just fuel our bad habits. Why call it a cheat when you can have anything you want in moderation?
I eat very clean all through the work week. Recently I've given up cheat weekends to just having any type of food I want on the weekends but this is what I do. I either take a saucer (smallest one in the house) and that is what I eat the "bad" food or whatever on. Or, I carefully figure out my calories for that meal and I eat that amount of calories for that meal and I walk away! That is it.
Moderation is the key.
Also, remember you can work out more so you can have more. It really is all about CHOICE.

good luck.

Nichole

I'm in this too! At first the weekend was one cheat then the following weekend 2 cheats, then well you know the rest...free for all wekkend! Well today I've decided no mor free for alls and record everything to make it honest and for real..I hope to see better results with the mindset of it's ok to cheat on a meal or a snack but no more ALL WEEKEND STUFF:noway:

I love the cheat day myself but it always gets me in the end especialy on the the weekends. I too need to just stick to a plan and up hold it. I also know that I have to do a revaluation sense July of last year and see where my body mass is and such sense I am working out 5-7days a week now. Good luck to you I hope you find a happy medium something that works for you. I know I have I just need to stop the late night snacking.!!!!!!

Boy, I am with you. I have made homemade cookies to weekends in a row. I love the raw cookie dough. I don't think cheating two days in row will sabotage your diet totally as long as you remain faithful to your diet Monday through Friday. Remember don't beat yourself up!

Limit yourself to one day of going out with the friends. Why does it always have to be out to eat and drink? Invite them to do something exciting and different that doesn't require food and drinks so you can still enjoy your friends without jeopardizing your fitness and eating goals. If that isn't appealing, I would workout twice on those days, if you want to play hard, you have to work hard!

'Cheat meals' (NOT WHAT I CALL THEM, I prefer the term, RELAX days) have helped me to loose around 20lbs in the past, I am now two weeks into following this routine again after over a year of stupid dieting that did not work, I find (for me, this is) that if i restrict myself too much endlessly, yes I might loose a few pounds quicker than my tried and tested way but, these pounds never stay off for long as I cannot stick to a diet that doesn't allow me to indulge every now and then on something i have a craving for or enjoying eating out with friends/ boyfriend so this is what I do (or did very well for approx 8months, which got me to my goal weight) and what I am slowly getting back in to now...

mon - fri calorie restricted diet (was on 1100 net cals a day, currently on 1200 or there abouts) almost no food was banned (except for pasta as I am gluten intollerant and pasta seems to be my enemy) but I planned for everything, and logged EVERYTHING I ate and DRANK, exercised 4 days a week then come saturday and sunday, would still have low cal healthy breakfast and lunch but at dinner (or lunch instead some days) I would be able to eat and drink whatever I wanted, in moderation (in moderation to me just means think sensibly) and this really works for me, yes monday morning the scales often claim i have 'gained' a pound or two, but come tuesday morning I have lost them and some extra! it means i am able to stick to my calorie goals in the week because I know that come the weekend I can have that dinner out I fancy or homemade curry (tonight's indulgence! :-) ) if its unavoidable to go over calories in the week, I plan for that too, so the following weekend, I have one relax day instead of two to make up for the indulgence in the week.

in the end, you just have to do what is right for you, as long as the majority of the week calories in = less than calories out you will get there, remember slow and steady wins the race.

good luck to you :-)

I can't speak for how anyone elses diet and exercise works for them, but I religiously log Monday-Thursday (try to on Fridays but it's hit or miss) work out 4-5 days a week, usually Monday-Thursday (sometimes Friday) and eat whatever I want on the weekends without feeling guilty. I haven't lost the weight quickly, but I didn't expect a quick fix. Since beginning to watch what I eat most of the time and joining MFP, I've lost 30 lbs. At first I wasn't losing as much because of the weekends, but over time the amount of food I could eat decreased so I'm not as bad on the weekends and I was to start with. That's what works for me and keeps me motivated to stay on track all week!

I don't like the word "cheat", that being said. I've only been here a week.:happy: I am just getting used to logging my meals and being honest about what I'm eating.

I like the idea that I can have a cookie, just shouldn't waste my whole day of calories on empty calaries. Pay attention maybe to how you feel, physically. I have been surprised at how much better I've felt energy wise with lots more veggies and less sweets. I read a post this morning from the sucess boards that really hit me. She said she wouldn't let her self have junk until she had given her body 5 veggies and 2 fruits a day. Great strategy I thought. Good luck!!

I have one cheat meal a week. Usually a take-away( and a bag of sweets after!) on a Sat night.

Try looking up menus of where you are dining and select a couple of meals that won't kill your diet. As far as cheating I allow myself one cheat day weekly no questions asked. Any more than that and I am with you it could easily lead into days of cheating. My day was yesterday and I feel like crap today. Oh well, we live and learn. Cheating NEVER good no matter what situation.