Your definition of a cheat day

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  • Nerdybookgirl
    Nerdybookgirl Posts: 105 Member
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    I make myself log in even if it hurts. This means that a "cheat" day is simply just a day that I go over on my calories. I have to make myself record it. Yesterday didn't get recorded and that was scary. I want to know the damage I'm actually doing or else I go to crazy (why not finish the box of Easter cakes?). When I log it, I may go over but I usually only go slightly over as opposed to going crazy and eating every piece of junk I find.
  • kaetra
    kaetra Posts: 442 Member
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    A cheat day for me is going fairly far over my normal daily goals. But not so far over that I don't still have a deficit when the entire week is averaged.

    Sometimes I have a "sodium-only" cheat day where I stay within macros but don't give a crap about sodium.

    Keeps me sane and I time the full on cheat day to coincide with holidays and special occasions.
  • TriedEverything
    TriedEverything Posts: 167 Member
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    I'm the same as rhichi - on a cheat day, I don't bother logging at all, and may have several items to eat which I wouldn't normally have, as they are high in fat/calories/carbs etc. Up to now, I have done this approx once a week (& it's certainly given me something to look forward to!!) but as my weight loss is not going as quickly as I'd like, I am thinking of stopping the cheat days for the time being. But I don't expect it to be easy!

    I seemed to be able to get away with having a cheat day & losing weight when I was younger, but I think age is against me now. I have still been losing weight, but very slowly :frown:
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
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    cheat days don't exist for me-not wasting all my time and hard work!
  • Jade17694
    Jade17694 Posts: 584 Member
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    I eat and drink whatever i want and don't log it at all during the day.

    then later, for kicks, with a bowl of ice cream or a few beers, I sit down and log it all.

    Enjoy it guilt free, then laugh about it later................

    then I am greatful that i haven't been eating like that everyday, like i used to................

    same as me minus the beer!
  • casiopeiya
    casiopeiya Posts: 34
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    I don't call it a 'cheat' day or meal because I don't consider myself on a diet. :tongue: I choose to eat healthy most of the time, and to workout, tracking both food and exercise. Some days I indulge in less than healthy choices, and just log it. Sometimes I go over on calfories, fats, carbs, sodium, but I don't stress about it, and I don't go completely overboard with the less than healthy choices, like eating an entire pizza or a half a cake, etc.

    It's my lifestyle now, and days will come, such as holidays and birthdays, when there are goodies around. Rather than deprive myself, I have learned to control what I put in my mouth, enjoy the goodies without going crazy. :bigsmile:

    I like your way of thinking!!
  • PlasticPsycho
    PlasticPsycho Posts: 111
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    Well, if you're honest with yourself then eating "unhealthy" stuff (fries, chocolate, ice cream etc.) is cheating, even if it fits into your daily calories.

    BUT
    I think (if you're not trying to become a zero body fat bodybuilder) it's totally okay to sometimes eat something unhealthy, if you don't overdo it.
    So yeah, for me a "cheat day" is when I eat too much cajun fries (for example ;)) and go over my calorie goal.

    In general you should try to cut out the cookies, but if it happens sometimes I wouldn't be too worried about it :) We're all just human beings and have our natural cravings. It's okay to give in sometimes :)
  • cynthiaj777
    cynthiaj777 Posts: 787 Member
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    I don't call it a 'cheat' day or meal because I don't consider myself on a diet. :tongue: I choose to eat healthy most of the time, and to workout, tracking both food and exercise. Some days I indulge in less than healthy choices, and just log it. Sometimes I go over on calfories, fats, carbs, sodium, but I don't stress about it, and I don't go completely overboard with the less than healthy choices, like eating an entire pizza or a half a cake, etc.

    It's my lifestyle now, and days will come, such as holidays and birthdays, when there are goodies around. Rather than deprive myself, I have learned to control what I put in my mouth, enjoy the goodies without going crazy. :bigsmile:

    This. This is exactly my sentiment. I normally just log then move on and go about my day if I do have cookies or something unhealthy. I do have days where I overeat, and I have no idea how to log. For example, yesterday I went out being a tourist, I ate out for lunch, ran a 5K race then ate out for dinner. I have no idea what I ate. BUT I don't stress over it, and I try to make healthy choices even when I am eating as I want. I had a chicken and bree flatbread sandwich with a side salad for lunch yesterday AND IT WAS DELICIOUS!
  • kindra3434
    kindra3434 Posts: 177 Member
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    My definition of a cheat day is eating something processed and unhealthy but still staying within my TDEE .
  • amuchison
    amuchison Posts: 274 Member
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    Well my definition for myself is going off my plan I am on Medifast so to achieve my weightloss goals i have to follow the plan 100% and when i don't I consider it a choice I have made to go off plan this isn't a game!! But a lifestyle change...js:)
  • Enigmatica
    Enigmatica Posts: 879 Member
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    My definition of cheating is when people don't LOG stuff they eat in order to make it appear that they're doing better than they really are.

    Otherwise it's a matter of *choosing* not *cheating*. Ate something you shouldn't have? That's your *choice* - at least own it and log it so you're being honest with yourself and anyone you've asked to help you do better.
  • LiteBrite007
    LiteBrite007 Posts: 294 Member
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    My never go over my calorie goals, not even on a cheat day. Cheating for me is not going to the gym. HA!!! Today is TOTALLY a cheat day for me.

    P.S. I eat pizza, cookies, and what ever else I want. I just configure it into my calorie goal. If I go over. I go for a run to burn off the excess.
  • femmi1120
    femmi1120 Posts: 473 Member
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    To me, a cheat day is a day where I intentionally either don't log at all or I'll go through the day monitoring what I eat, but without controlling cals and logging at the end just for kicks.

    A day where I go over without intending to is labeled as a "total screw up", rather than a cheat day :tongue:

    And as long as I stay within cal goals, anything I eat is fair game for a normal day.
  • LittleSimoni
    LittleSimoni Posts: 24
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    A cheat day for me is an extra slice of pizza or not worrying about what I want to eat when I go out. This month my favorite cup cake place is having a bake-sale so my cheat day will be two of their delicious cupcakes (and probably a veggie/protein stir fry for dinner). I don't want to "diet" if I have to say "no" to everything, I'll fail.
  • 2Bgoddess
    2Bgoddess Posts: 1,096 Member
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    for me, i do a cheat meal. once every 14 days we go out for dinner and I eat what I crave. i log it all, and consider it a success if I am over what my maintenance would be. I try to eat lightly the rest of the day, though.
  • sweet110
    sweet110 Posts: 332 Member
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    I think a lot of folks just have a "diet" mentality. Where a cookie is "bad" or pizza is "bad" even if they don't overeat (I abstain from those things for health reasons and because I have a tendency to binge, but I don't think you need too if your objective is just to lose weight).

    A cheat day for me tends to involve eating a "non-everyday meal". However I define it. For me, it involves a little too much alcohol, cheesecake, or an Indian curry. Mmmm. But, I also don't want to get into the strict calorie accounting that involves thinking things like "if I skip dinner, I can drink." Or to indulge in gluttonous thinking like "Its a cheat day, lets go to an Indian buffet and gorge." Drinking one's dinner or gorging are not optimal behaviors for me, whether I'm fat or thin. But, losing weight requires a level of sacrifice that is different from everyday, maintenance eating, so an occasional high calorie meal helps me keep my sanity.
  • Donnacoach
    Donnacoach Posts: 540 Member
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    To mean a cheat day is eating junk food that I wouldn't normally eat, that would put me over my calorie goal. Otherwise if I happen to have room for cake or a choc. bar then I eat it and I don't feel guilty about it.
  • AVinmill
    AVinmill Posts: 88 Member
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    Build your diet of many different foods and don't deprive yourself of the things you want and then you never have to cheat. If I want chocolate I have it I just make sure it will fit within my daily goals and watch my portion sizes. If I want some chips I'll grab a small bag and build the rest of my day around it. Better to have things more often and in smaller quantities than to binge later and completely fall off the wagon. Depriving myself of things and then having a cheat day/meal has never worked for me because I'll be craving something like crazy and then go overboard on it.
  • wewon
    wewon Posts: 838 Member
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    I don't have cheat day per se, I allow myself 2-3 cheat meals a week.

    Usually its a run to a fast food place, or getting dessert. If I had to go into more detail, I'd say it was a meal that blasted out the carbs.

    But I like other's definition since it does take into account your caloric intake and macros.
  • XXXMinnieXXX
    XXXMinnieXXX Posts: 3,459 Member
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    Tomorrow is a cheat day. Its planned I'm about 200 calories over goal. I'm having my weekly cheat meal, tomorrow is a roast dinner. I'm good the rest of the day though and still 500 under maintenance so not too bad at all! X

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