i dont do cheat days... but today wasn't awesome :/

Experts recommend a cheat meal every week. The spike in calories helps keep your metabolism in gear. Don't be too hard on yourself; it's good to indulge once in a while, and one meal in the scope of things makes no difference at all.

but am pretty sure i did not eat enough to go over my calorie goal. i haven't had anything remotely bad in well over 2 weeks, and i don't plan on eating anything else tonight.

should i be worried? i don't want to gain weight. is this a major setback, or just a once in a while indulgence (a "healthier" indulgence compared to how i used to eat.)

Yes, I think you should be slightly worried about your feelings toward food. You say you didn't go over your calorie goal. So there is no issue other than in your mind. This was neither a setback nor an indulgence. You won't gain fat in a calorie deficit. You may gain temporary water weight.

I dont have 'cheat days' as such, but every now and then life gets in the way . When that happens, I don't want to be that guy who sits in the corner sulking that he cant eat anything on offer. I live life, enjoy myself (within reason of course), and don't feel at all bad about it!

I had a spike day this week when I went out to a friends place for a bbq, ended up at double my daily caloric allowance, my solution... a hard workout the next morning and not an ounce of regret. I like to cycle my calorie intake a bit too, so over the week it is at goal, but not the same amount every day.

My wife and I went to the gym, and then were to eat out with my family. They cancelled and we decided to go out anyways. Not only did we eat out, I took down a 1,500 calorie Spicy Crispy Beef at Cheesecake factory, and followed it up with a piece of cheesecake. I ate huge! But I recorded everything I ate. I got right back at it today. I have no problems with what I did, as it was the only time for the week I allowed myself to get crazy. But it felt great!


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today i worked out, had a good breakfast, everything normal... until my BFs family got chinese food for dinner

i didn't eat until i was about to bust open (like i did before). i had a little bit of everything but am pretty sure i did not eat enough to go over my calorie goal. i haven't had anything remotely bad in well over 2 weeks, and i don't plan on eating anything else tonight.

should i be worried? i don't want to gain weight. is this a major setback, or just a once in a while indulgence (a "healthier" indulgence compared to how i used to eat.)

any feedback would be great.

Oh my. Girl you need to NOT REGRET and move on. Enjoy occasionally. You need to be able to follow a healthy program for life. Are you planning on not enjoying a Chinese take out feast forever!?

You definitely should not be worried. We're on a quest for a healthier lifestyle, not a life-long diet. Enjoying food is part of life, especially when it's in moderation and surrounded by great choices.

Don't call it a "cheat day"...it makes it sound like you're doing something wrong! shov is right, you need to mix up your caloric intake so that your body doesn't get used to a certain amount of calories and so that you can healthily lose weight (1. maintain metabolism rate, 2. retain muscle mass, 3. lose fat)..

Some people "zig-zag" calories (say if MFP said your goal each day was 1800 calories, they would average 1800 calories in a week, but not adhere to 1800 per day). You can train your body to not get too comfortable or efficient. Make it use everything!

What everyone else said. Also, don't be freaked out if you see the scale go up tomorrow - Chinese food has a ton of sodium and can bump up your water weight - it'll come right off as soon as your sodium gets back down to normal.

I feel you. Though I will be under my weekly goal by what is, if I'm honest with myself, too much, I was kind of hard on myself yesterday when I splurged a little on a cannoli and a piece of mochi. Put me almost 400 cals over. But today, I tried to eat a little better and exercised. No biggie

I don't do "cheat days" either - personally I don't like the idea of setting out to cheat - on who? Me?

But, of course there are some days when I'm over my calorie goal and some days when I'm under. I just aim to have the majority of them pretty close to my goal and don't get worried about days under or over as long as they don't happen too often.

This sounds like a positive day for you - you're learning to enjoy food (and social occasions) without having to end the day completely stuffed. I'd call that a victory!