How do you do YOUR cheat day.

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  • kvreeken
    kvreeken Posts: 137 Member
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    Recommendation: ALWAYS input your food to MFP. Even on Thanksgiving...you get the idea. It is incredibly informative.

    I usually give myself one meal (not day), on the weekend, where I indulge on my favorites (anything involving bacon, steak, big monster sandwich, etc.) Even if I'm over for the day, I make sure that when I am eating it i'm in the moment. Meaning I savor every bite and NEVER regret it afterwards. Get back on your healthy eating at the next meal.....Just a thought.
  • thepanttherlady
    thepanttherlady Posts: 258 Member
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    I'm not on a diet so there is no "cheating" for me. I enjoy fast food/eating out so once a week I get to eat what I want for one meal. Any other day I choose to eat out, I make a healthier choice and stay under my calories.

    I log EVERYTHING just because I still want to be accountable for what I've eaten. It helps me decide if I REALLY want that particular meal. If I go to Jack in the Box, the meal I like is easily 1330 calories with dipping sauce. Seeing the numbers on the diary has more than once made me change my mind and eat somewhere else where the meal I eat is less than 1k calories. :)

    If I go over my calories in a day then I "recalculate" my calories on a weekly vs. daily basis so I still maintain a caloric deficit. This works easily for me because I get 1630 calories in a day. This may not work for those that get less.
  • KareninCanada
    KareninCanada Posts: 795 Member
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    Our trainer recommended we plan a "cheat meal" instead of a "cheat day"... here's her math. Say you've kept a consistent 300 calorie deficit all week, netting you an 1800-calorie deficit by Friday night. Saturday is your cheat day.

    Breakfast - three 4-inch homemade whole wheat pancakes, 3 tbsp syrup, 2 eggs, apple juice = 770 calories (personal example - whoops)
    Lunch - McDonald's: 2 McMinis, med fries, small Coke, vanilla cone = 813 calories
    Supper - 2 pizza pockets = 460 calories
    Snack - can of diet Coke and a snickers bar = 271 calories
    Snack - microwave popcorn in the evening = 160 calories
    plus you skip your workout in favor of a movie because it's your day off... = let's say 300 calories not burned

    Now your cheat day is at 2774 calories... more if your usual workout burns more than 300 calories... enough to undo the entire rest of the week. And that's assuming there was no alcohol involved.


    That was pretty sobering. So was realizing that my 2"x2" piece of birthday cake this weekend cost me 200 calories. :grumble:
  • MrDude_1
    MrDude_1 Posts: 2,510 Member
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    my cheat day is very simple... its the weekend, so i go hang out with friends. maybe we order a pizza.. maybe we're all out and get food somewhere... in anycase, i just live my life.

    my life is not lived nor dictated through food. i am in the USA where theres so much food, it takes effort to not eat. so on my cheat day, i go do what millions of americans consider their normal diet... and of course thats tons of food. lol.
  • Sunshine2plus2
    Sunshine2plus2 Posts: 1,492 Member
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    Mine was not a cheat day but a cheat meal. Every saturday I would go out usually for a mexican food meal!
  • mgmlap
    mgmlap Posts: 1,377 Member
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    a cheat day for me is eating loads of processed carbs. Since I eat Primal...processed carbs are a no-no. My macros are 20 carbs/30 protein/50 fat....so I usually stay within my calorie goal..but carbs are usually 150 or so grams..which is way high for me. I do get carb bloat when its all said and done..but that drops off wtihin a day or 2
  • cynhip
    cynhip Posts: 33
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    I'm not a cheater. Whats the point? You got to have the commitment i think in order to reach your goals. Wasn't cheating what got us larger in the first place? Now that I started feeding my body the right foods and right amounts, my body craves wholesome good for me foods. I just don't see the point in having cheat days.
  • dolfn1972
    dolfn1972 Posts: 84 Member
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    My cheat day is actually a total free day. I do not count calories....(sometimes I log...but no biggie if i dont) I eat what I want ...and if i dont feel like exercising that day ...I dont. I have one free day a week..usually sunday. This was at the advice of 2 sperate trainers that I went to. It allows you and your body a day off. This is not for everybody..but it works pretty well for me. Also i know i can have what i want that day. The funny thing is that by sunday ..all the cravings I had during the week are gone..and i usually keep it in reason...unless of course i am having wings...lol. Good luck
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
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    We used to eat take out every Friday and Saturday and decided the best way to break that habit was just to have the last Friday of the month be our cheat day. So I'll have take out and I have a ton of baking ingredients left over from the holidays so I might buy some butter and make cookies too. It'll be interesting to see how it works out.
  • LuciaLongIsland
    LuciaLongIsland Posts: 815 Member
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    I'm not a cheater. Whats the point? You got to have the commitment i think in order to reach your goals. Wasn't cheating what got us larger in the first place? Now that I started feeding my body the right foods and right amounts, my body craves wholesome good for me foods. I just don't see the point in having cheat days.

    Agree!!!
  • LuciaLongIsland
    LuciaLongIsland Posts: 815 Member
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    ive cheated once, have no intentions of doing that again anytime soon...i just treat myself daily within limits

    :wink:
  • robinogue
    robinogue Posts: 1,117 Member
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    My cheat day usually is a cheat meal. For instance yesterday I had 3 ground beef tacos with the works. It put me over my fat allowance for the day but you know what - they were some damn good tacos =)

    My reward for my cheat meal today - extra 15 minutes on the treadmill....
  • Leola2011
    Leola2011 Posts: 192
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    I have what I call my spike day. It's once a week, usually Friday. I eat what I want to the degree I want. I only allow myself this day if I've stayed on track the other 6 days of the week. I don't feel deprived, I've lost fatty pounds, and I've enjoyed living my life. It's worked for me thus far. I'm always struck by the notion that you're undoing all your hard work by indulging once a week. I believe that part of living a balanced and whole life is to be free without condemnation. I've also found that, since changing my eating and exercise habits, my spike days look very different than they did 6 months ago. I'm not as ravenous or outrageous with my choices as I was before. Still, if I want 5 pancakes with syrup and melted butter drizzled all over them, I'm not going to deny myself that treat once a week.
  • Leola2011
    Leola2011 Posts: 192
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    My cheat day is actually a total free day. I do not count calories....(sometimes I log...but no biggie if i dont) I eat what I want ...and if i dont feel like exercising that day ...I dont. I have one free day a week..usually sunday. This was at the advice of 2 sperate trainers that I went to. It allows you and your body a day off. This is not for everybody..but it works pretty well for me. Also i know i can have what i want that day. The funny thing is that by sunday ..all the cravings I had during the week are gone..and i usually keep it in reason...unless of course i am having wings...lol. Good luck


    Yup!!!!!
  • Jensters25
    Jensters25 Posts: 9
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    I dont have any cheat days.....just if i lose weight on weigh in days i will give myself a little treat but thats all :)
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
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    my cheat days i eat whatever i want. i try not to eat above maintenance, but will eat whatever exercise calories i may have left over for the week. i still log everything, but i dont feel bad about the red numbers. my cheat day is also a rest day, so no exercise. i do exercise on monday but not any harder than i would if i hadnt had my free day. i used to do it every week, but it hasnt been that often lately (partly money issues)
  • caroldot
    caroldot Posts: 388 Member
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    The key is to log these "cheat meals" and be honest with yourself. Because that's the hard part - logging it and seeing it in front of you in black & white can be tough. However, with that said, don't feel guilty about it. This past weekend, I totally "cheated" - I had 1/4 of my daughters Auntie Anne's cinammon pretzel, homemade cheeseburger and fries. I was so dreading putting it in my diary but when I did I was relieved to see that I only went over my calorie count by 67 calories for the day! That's because I still went to the gym that morning and was careful because I knew I'd be eating unhealthy later in the day. Plus take into consideration your total weekly calorie intake & excercise.....did you really cheat?

    Go ahead and indulge - just don't OVER indulge. Use self control - think that applies to pretty much anything in life! Really I think its all about consideration & honesty with yourself!
  • merd0210
    merd0210 Posts: 32 Member
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    If I follow my diet and exercise all week I give myself 12 hours to do whetever: eat out, have drinks, veg in front of the T.V.. Doing this makes it all worth it and gives me the movitavtion to keep going throughout the week.
  • mjbrenner
    mjbrenner Posts: 222 Member
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    Two of my favorite things in this world are the foods that I should avoid and eating way too much of them. I eat at an extra calorie deficit six days a week so that on one day I can go crazy and eat the awful foods I love. I still track my cheat days, because I want my average week to hit my calorie goals. It's like saving your money for a big vacation.

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