One cheat day a week ?

haaaleyx
haaaleyx Posts: 83 Member
edited November 10 in Food and Nutrition
My boyfriend has one day off from work a week and we like to go out for lunch or dinner or something like that and when I go out to eat, I want to enjoy going out to eat. Is one cheat day a week really bad ? I mean i'm not talking 5 pancakes for breakfast, McDonalds big mac for lunch then a huge bowl of pasta for dinner. Just like cheating on one meal basically. Just your thoughts on it and if anyone has cheat days ?
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Replies

  • lmknelson
    lmknelson Posts: 2
    There is nothing wrong with this but the first thing you need to stop doing is calling it a "cheat" day. This indicates an action that makes you feel guilty and guilt can cause some people to eat more or to eat certain "emotion" foods. Just enjoy your meal out without guilt and get back to business afterwards.
    Just my opinion anyways!! :)
  • haaaleyx
    haaaleyx Posts: 83 Member
    There is nothing wrong with this but the first thing you need to stop doing is calling it a "cheat" day. This indicates an action that makes you feel guilty and guilt can cause some people to eat more or to eat certain "emotion" foods. Just enjoy your meal out without guilt and get back to business afterwards.
    Just my opinion anyways!! :)

    That's a good idea, thanks !
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
    i have cheat days - usually once a week.
    i also have no issues calling it a cheat day, i never feel guilty about it.
    however, i always make sure i dont go over my weekly net goal, so its usually just that i use sundays to make up the exercise calories from the week that i didnt/couldnt eat at the time.
  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
    Spike days are actually good. BTW, that's what you call them, you are spiking your calories.

    The idea is it gives your metabolism a kick start. It can also help keep you sane. As long you still have a weekly deficit (and your goal is to lose weight), your good!
  • haaaleyx
    haaaleyx Posts: 83 Member
    Spike days are actually good. BTW, that's what you call them, you are spiking your calories.

    The idea is it gives your metabolism a kick start. It can also help keep you sane. As long you still have a weekly deficit (and your goal is to lose weight), your good!

    haha okay I'll start calling it that.
  • HotBodUnderConstruction
    HotBodUnderConstruction Posts: 420
    Most people do really well with cheat days....I don't...I usually end up craving the food even more after eating it and I end up slipping up more times throughout the week than if I completely abstain This is just me personally though. Plenty of people on this site are incredibly successful with their cheat meals...I'm just not one of those people lol :)
  • shaycat
    shaycat Posts: 980
    I try to make sure I have one "cheat" day a week so I dont feel like I am not able to eat anything good ever.
    Also I try to make it more a cheat meal and if I dont go over my calories that is a plus.
    So NO nothing at all wrong with one nice meal a week :)
  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
    My wife and I have a spike day or meal once each month. We look forward to it. We both still log our calories, but we don't worry about the numbers.

    I'll often time hit the gym extra hard that day just to lessen the blow. Last time I ate half a large round table pizza in 1 sitting! :)

    Edit: When I had the pizza, I wound up losing close to 2 pounds that week!
  • jennieolds442
    jennieolds442 Posts: 5 Member
    I agree w/ not calling it a cheat week. What I find myself doing is that when I know Im going to eat alot of calories for a specific meal, I try to think ahead and plan my counter meals extremely low cal so I dont blow it. I feel that if I blow it on a day @ say Red Lobster just as I did this past weekend, that it takes longer to get back to where I was before the splurge.... Its just not worth it. So think out your meal. Asian is a great low cal fix if you leave out the rice. Also if you know where your going ahead of time, type in the resturant and get an idea of how much calories you will consume if you eat what you want to eat. Then you can workout hard that day. My goal is to STAY OUT of THE RED :) good luck.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    I don't call it a cheat because this is a lifestyle change for me... not a diet. As such, I do watch my calories but I will, on occasion, really enjoy myself. I will be doing so on Saturday because it is my birthday. I refuse to give up my favorite birthday dinner just because... that would make me unhappy. I would feel deprived or like I did something wrong and THAT is not healthy either. So, I enjoy my meal and get back on the horse the next day.

    Now, this doesn't happen very often and I usually save it for special occasions, but I find it worth it because it keeps me MENTALLY happy and healthy.
  • Scorpioangel
    Scorpioangel Posts: 951 Member
    Spike days are actually good. BTW, that's what you call them, you are spiking your calories.

    The idea is it gives your metabolism a kick start. It can also help keep you sane. As long you still have a weekly deficit (and your goal is to lose weight), your good!

    I agree with this and have been told this by many people :)
  • jamiek917
    jamiek917 Posts: 610 Member
    i dont understand how it can work for everyone except me. one cheat meal- meaning 500-1000 extra cals that day, when there is a good deficit every other day and working out hard 5-6x a week, seems to bring 2 lbs back for me- and it stays. its not fair- its not scientifically possible for that too happen! i know what im eating-im not taking in an extra 7000 cals that week!
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
    There is nothing wrong with this but the first thing you need to stop doing is calling it a "cheat" day. This indicates an action that makes you feel guilty and guilt can cause some people to eat more or to eat certain "emotion" foods. Just enjoy your meal out without guilt and get back to business afterwards.
    Just my opinion anyways!! :)
    ^This! And if you plan for your meal, it shouldn't affect your eating habits. Life happens. Restaurants happen. If you eat a large meal, then scale back on the rest of your intake for the day. Or do an extra workout. Don't think you can't enjoy food as a part of life anymore.
  • minadeathclutch
    minadeathclutch Posts: 375 Member
    i dont understand how it can work for everyone except me. one cheat meal- meaning 500-1000 extra cals that day, when there is a good deficit every other day and working out hard 5-6x a week, seems to bring 2 lbs back for me- and it stays. its not fair- its not scientifically possible for that too happen! i know what im eating-im not taking in an extra 7000 cals that week!

    sodium!
  • jadedone
    jadedone Posts: 2,446 Member
    My wife and I have a spike day or meal once each month. We look forward to it. We both still log our calories, but we don't worry about the numbers.

    I'll often time hit the gym extra hard that day just to lessen the blow. Last time I ate half a large round table pizza in 1 sitting! :)

    Edit: When I had the pizza, I wound up losing close to 2 pounds that week!

    Most pizza I can stay pretty close to a serving or 1.5. Round Table on the other hand....I love the sauce! I have to abstain. It is way too easy to finish off 6 pieces of Round Table. :P
  • jadedone
    jadedone Posts: 2,446 Member
    Before I could have some sort of "cheat" meal. Now it is really hard. I feel overly full around 600-650 calories. I guess I could have a cheat meal if it lasted for 3 hours.

    If I know I'll have more than usual, I just try to budget for it for the rest of the day. A little more daily activity, and less food at snack time.
  • PositivelyFlawed
    PositivelyFlawed Posts: 316 Member
    I have one spike day where I eat to maintenance, which is nearly double my daily. This one day allows me to mentally relax a bit and allows my body to enjoy a change. I do have the few treats, but for the most part i get to that higher calorie level by eating healthily. My spike day is Sunday and Monday morning I am in a great position to start my week. I've been losing steadily since starting a lil over a month ago.
  • zml_mom
    zml_mom Posts: 270 Member
    I do one meal a week and about once a month I have a full day where I eat whatever I want and its been fine
  • LHAMON2009
    LHAMON2009 Posts: 55
    I certainly have 1 day a week where I dont beat myself up for going out to eat for a nice meal. This weekend my husband and I are going out to Kobe to eat and believe you me I will not in any way feel guilty about that :)
  • Jpgibbs
    Jpgibbs Posts: 29
    Definitely nothing wrong with splurging on a meal once in a while. You can actually use that meal to your benefit. Having a meal high in carbs will pack your muscles with glycogen. If you do a workout, particularly one that focuses on a body part that is lagging, a couple hours later you are giving those muscles every reason to develop. Besides, if you've been in a calorie deficit for a significant amount of time its not as if you're going eat a cheat meal and put on a couple pounds. It helps keep you sane and if you can use it to your benefit, all the better.
  • mmstgr
    mmstgr Posts: 578 Member
    I don't "cheat".
    There is nothing that I can say that I would not eat.
    It all depends on if it fits within my daily calories. and if it caused me to go just a little bit, that's quite alright.
  • claire7090
    claire7090 Posts: 67
    Don't call it a cheat day - I always tend to go over on Sundays because it is a family day and involves a roast dinner and a pudding. I think it is good to have a day where the calories are logged but not worried over. I have reached my goal - it took nearly 6 months to lose 28lbs but I am confident that I can keep it off because I understand the food/exercise equation much more having had mfp by my side. Life has to be life otherwise you will never suceed - if you were exceeding your calories every day then it would be a worry - but a family day each week where life does not revolve around the calories is good for the soul!
  • Dianekent2
    Dianekent2 Posts: 5
    Your right!!l
  • simplykate09
    simplykate09 Posts: 7 Member
    I'm not going to sit here and tell you that what anyone is saying is wrong but I am going to tell you what works for me. 80/20 I believe most people call it.. where 80% of the time you eat healthy and the 20% is eating what you want. Throughout my entire weight loss never have I denied myself what I want. The key is this, instead of eating that entire serving of chips or candy, take 2 chips or take a piece of candy. If you want to eat what you want on that Sunday, then make sure you eat lighter meals the rest of the day. I did read about someone having a weekly intake.. that's great!

    Don't focus on one day, focus more on a weekly basis, say your intake is 2000 cals/ day your weekly intake for that week is 14,000 ... now say sunday comes around (think of it as a spanish calendar week.. Monday- Sunday) and you've only consumed 11,000 calories Monday-Saturday, you have that extra 1,000 calories anyways.

    The point is don't call it a cheat day, don't limit yourself, just eat healthIER for the most part and don't make yourself feel like you can't have this or that just learn little tricks for you.

    Hungrygirl.com has some tips for eating out

    Best of luck :)
  • ItsVJ
    ItsVJ Posts: 107 Member
    Hi there. My usual Spike Day is Sunday, unless I have some big event coming up (special dinner out, etc.) The whole point is totally psychological. I feel the "freedom" of eating what I want, but the reality is I still find myself being careful about what I eat. I say go for it. Most of us need all the emotional help we can get, and if "relaxing" about your food intake one day a week does that, then all the better.

    :-)
  • ryansgram
    ryansgram Posts: 693 Member
    Dr Oz said its ok to have 1 cheat day a week. Just don't over do it. I do it and still lose weight.
  • woou
    woou Posts: 668 Member
    I think one meal is fine. Try it out for yourself. It only doesn't work for some because 1 meal could turn into rationalizing it into multiple meals or some other reason.
  • jcrooks85
    jcrooks85 Posts: 21
    I think it's pretty common, and from what I have heard from others it seems to help. My day is friday.
  • stephm112
    stephm112 Posts: 297 Member
    my sister lost over 50lbs and still went out for a pizza on saturdays it was her one thing and she still lost the weight and has kept it off for 4 years
  • GennetteD
    GennetteD Posts: 33
    There is nothing wrong with a fat day.

    There is a proven fact that you stick more to your diet, if there is one day where you get to cheat and eat whatever you want.
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