rest day /cheat day?

Hi

I dont have a cheat day per say, I have a couple of cheat meals (pizza, burgers etc) usually a friday night, but i alternate between a workout day and rest day, I still stay under my daily caloric intake, if I happen to workout on that friday sweet, if its a rest day then i know ill be working out the next day.

i think the idea of 'cheat' day stinks. it alludes to the idea that you doing something the rest of the week that needs to be cheated on, and depriving yourself. if you eat balanced and allow yourself the foods you like, in moderation, then there is no need to cheat.

i usually rest once every few days, but even on those days i am still really active, i just dont plan an actual workout. 7 days a week i log my food and stick to my plan.

yogavegan is right as rain.

Nobody takes a cheat day from how they eat -- they take a cheat day from a "diet." That is to say the idea of cheating emphasizes the temporary (and perhaps fleeting) nature of the dietary adjustment.

I think that if you're eating right you don't *want* to cheat, because the cheat-worthy foods seem kind of gross. Fast food (or the equivalent) starts to feel like exactly what it is: a punch in the gut.

Cheat foods often make you feel poorly. The healthier you are the easier that is to notice.

What is a cheat day?

Personally, I do not plan for a rest day. If I feel I need a day off, then I take it. If I feel fine then I will workout as normal.

My reason for this is that you never know when something will come up that may cause you to miss a workout. So say that you plan to take Monday's off, then come Thursday and you have to be at work late/early and you can't workout; all of a sudden it is two days off in a week.

The only type of rest I plan for is an easy day after a hard weekend or a day or two off during a taper.

From a doctor/trainer/nutritionist perspective I've always been told taking one day of rest is necessary, even body builders do. when you are resting and sleeping, is the time your body is changing the most and its vital.

i think the idea of 'cheat' day stinks. it alludes to the idea that you doing something the rest of the week that needs to be cheated on, and depriving yourself. if you eat balanced and allow yourself the foods you like, in moderation, then there is no need to cheat.

^^^ this! This is a plan for the rest of my life. Besides....the first 43 years of my life were cheat days....

i think the idea of 'cheat' day stinks. it alludes to the idea that you doing something the rest of the week that needs to be cheated on, and depriving yourself. if you eat balanced and allow yourself the foods you like, in moderation, then there is no need to cheat.

^^^^^^^ I agree with this! ^^^^^^^^

I completely agree with BrooklynBeast!! First off, what exactly IS a cheat day? Most likely a way out or a way to not be completely committed to what you're doing. I used to plan rest days into my week but I found that I only ended up losing out on workouts because I work in the OR and quite frequently have to stay late! Give up on the cheat days for sure.... if you need a rest day try and make sure that it's a day after a really hard workout.

Cheat days mean you're only cheating yourself out of all the hard work you've done all week. What I like to do instead is have a "relaxed day". For me, that means I still work out (this worked out better for me in the Summer, when it was still warm) & I didn't record my calories. This would typically be on Sunday. Now just bc I didn't record my calories doesn't mean I went all crazy. I just took a break from having to log everything in. Good luck!

I usually have a rest day once a week or so, though often I'll walk for longer than usual so I still burn some calories but don't put my body under strain by running or weights. Today though, I'm exhausted after a busy week and weekend so it really is a rest day - just the usual short work to and from work but no extra walking or workout.

Like lots of other people here I don't do "cheat days" - I don't see the need to "cheat" on myself. I eat more than my calorie allowance sometimes and that's OK, I just don't feel the need to label it in a negative way. I also eat under my calorie allowance on other days - and I don't have to have a label for that either.

But, to answer your actual question - I usually eat around my calorie allowance on a rest day and do some extra exercise on a day where I know I'll be eating more than usual. This isn't necessarily planned - it's more that it just happens that way because I usually do a long run on a Saturday which is also the day we usually go out if its a special occasion.

There isn't any right or wrong here, try it out and see what works for you.

My rest days are on my cheat days. I don't want my body becoming too comfortable with my eating/exercise habits and then quit losing all the weight I wanted to lose. I allow myself to rest on the weekends and I don't worry about my calorie intake too much (though, I try not to go overboard with it).

i think the idea of 'cheat' day stinks. it alludes to the idea that you doing something the rest of the week that needs to be cheated on, and depriving yourself. if you eat balanced and allow yourself the foods you like, in moderation, then there is no need to cheat.


I completely agree... although I don't always practice what I preach. I have one day a week in which I usually go wild, much to the detriment of my weight loss. I'm yet to find a balance.

rest day, cheat day are both on a sunday, still stay within my carb, pro, fat allowance and still eat same food but i will allow myself something i normally wouldnt have,,, yesterday for instance i swapped chicken out for minted lamb

should my rest day overlap my cheat day
or
should i work out extra on my cheat day?

I don't think it matters, it's the overall calories in / calories out over a period of time. Personally I sometimes exercise on my 'cheat' day, sometimes not, It doesn't seem to make a difference as long as I exercise at least 3 times and only have one 'cheat' day a week.

For those who bash the idea of a cheat day, I have to disagree. If I stick to my calorie allowance everyday I end up feeling drained after a couple of weeks and my weight loss stalls. For me, a cheat day refuels me, gives me more energy for a few days and kick starts my weight loss again. I'm not talking going mental and eating everything in sight but having a meal out where I'm not thinking 'I can't have that' or having a pizza and some chocolate in front of a movie. I probably have about 2000 - 2200 cals on a cheat day (my normal allowance is 1200). Works for me.

and i do have cheat day, more like cheat meal. and i disagre with the above, i think its important. i dont look at it as "oh im cheating on my diet and misbehaving" and I def never feel poorly after because I earned it. Everyone deserves to have some pasta or cake or whatever it may be here and there in moderation, so having that during those "cheat" meals makes it easier to find that balance so you dont go crazy or crave things so bad that you binge. be proud of being healthy and working out and then enjoy treats here and there for your hard work

As a body builder who competes and coaches others, I get them all to have a cheat meal as they desire. Thats a starter, main and desert. I'll see how their body reacts to the cheat meal and either get them to increase or decrease the size of the cheat meal based on weight lost.

It helps increase the output of leptin in the body and so keep the release of the triiodothyronine high and so the metabolism does not slow down as much (hence people lose less weight as the diet goes on, the body trying to promote homoeostasis and maintain weight and stalls weight loss).

Definitely not a case of binging however.