Thoughts on "Cheat Day"

Eating healthy has become a way of life for me however I live with my husband and son who - on the weekends - insist on eating out and they usually want desert. I am all for splurging for ONE MEAL on the weekend and then not for the entire meal - still eat a healthy meal and then have a dessert OR eat whatever you want for the meal and skip desert. It is all about choices and your weight loss goals. If you are exercising everyday - one meal is not going to break your diet - ONE BINGE DAY - will.

I experimented with this a few weeks ago. Over easter was when I decided to try this cheat day thing. Of course I had the "cheat day" mindset and ended up eating a lot of junk, chocolate mainly! It was delicious and I didn't feel too bloated. The next day however, I felt extremely bloated and it took a few days for it to go down. i did weigh one pound less a week later. So thought, well maybe cheat days are good, but I just won't over do it this week. So I ate a burger and sweet potato fries, with just a couple pieces of chocolate. Again, it took two days to recover. So, if you can seriously control your cheat days and not go all out, then i could see where they may be okay, mostly psychologically. However, this week I started just planning things into my calorie count. This helps me a lot, because if something sounds good and I have it right then and there, I have more control and can stop after just a little bit, as oppossed to totally binging. Now, last night, the family went to carls jr and I was worried about the nutritional and caloric count on their food. i ordered the turkey burger with no mayonaise. It was a whole wheat bun, the turkey burger, lettuce and tomato and was delicious! It says 490 cals, but without mayo I think it's closer to 400. So for me, that was very satisfying, but still not too bad for me and I don't feel guilty at all about it.

I think the periodic cheat meal or day is okay, but only after a few weeks of routine and clean eating. Getting past the hump that is the start of a new food lifestyle is so hard and incorporating unhealthy food choices early on in the process can completely derail your process. I set my cheat meal or day in the future and incorporate a date night or fun activity as a reward for my hard work. Like next friday will be a few weeks of clean eating so my reward will be a date night of dinner, a concert and over night with the lady. This works best for me as a cheat meat or day every week throws me off my momentum and makes things too difficult for me.

Actually, you should have atleast one cheat day in your diet. Your body gets bored processing the same foods and exercise which is why eventually you hit that plateau. When you give yourself one day to eat what you want, your body will start burning the bad food the same way it burns the good, meaning your it wont do much harm especially when your cravings are bad enough that you start justifying your inbetween snacks. Plus, going months without anything super unhealthy is good. But it becomes bad when you want to induge in something bad for you and your body can't handle all the grease or the sugars involved in processing it.

I agree with those who say it is "one step forward, two steps back" but I know for myself that I NEED to "cheat" sometimes to keep going. So instead of a cheat day or a HUGE cheat meal, I have a mini cheat. Basically I have something that I've been craving but a healthier version or a smaller portion. Or I find a new snack that I'm loving and want an extra serving of (right now it's Indiana popcorn at 150 cal. per 2.5 cups). I make sure to stay within my calorie allowance or make sure to work out longer that day. Too many cheats and that's not going to help you lose weight. I've dieted off and on for years and always fall off the wagon when I try to be too strict, hence why I'm starting over again, haha. My husband on the other hand has one of the best bodies at his gym, has mini cheats and has been eating this way for years. This time I'm taking his advice...it works for him and seems to be working for me.

I don't eat my exercise calories during the week so that I can have what I want over the weekend. I tend to see calorie goals on a weekly scale. My Monday weighins are a bit on the heavy side but then I come right back down and having lost weight by Wed or Thurs. The chart may have its up and downs but the trend is bearish.

I've heard of having a "cheat day" or just a "cheat meal". What do you think of this? I understand that you need to curb your cravings, but are we being counter-productive by doing this? I just want to know what you think about having a cheat day. Do you have one? How often? Thanks!

It's fine, but call it what it really is, a "Fail Day", or "Fail Meal". No one is perfect, but we can still be honest.

I've heard of having a "cheat day" or just a "cheat meal". What do you think of this? I understand that you need to curb your cravings, but are we being counter-productive by doing this? I just want to know what you think about having a cheat day. Do you have one? How often? Thanks!

It's fine, but call it what it really is, a "Fail Day", or "Fail Meal". No one is perfect, but we can still be honest.

I think fail is a bit harsh. Most of us will not eat a deficit our entire lives, so a stress reliever of any kind is not a failure.

I have a cheat meal or a cheat day. It all depends on how I am feeling. I don't get caught up in the eat clean every waking minute because I don't want to place those extreme limits on myself. I am human and every now and then if I feel like going off track, I do just that and get right back on track when I am done.

Yes I have cheat days. The bloating sucks for a few days but then it's all good.

I try and have a cheat meal rather than a day because I don't want to set myself back! Usually it is a dinner. I usually stick to low cal foods, especially fruit and veggies during the day (fill me up without overeating!) and then indulge at night so that the day balances out. Usually it involves a trip to the gym too!

The last time I had a cheat day it took me 3 weeks to lose the weight I gained from it. So now, if there is something I really want, I save up my calories and just have a little of it.

Today I'm saving up for a margaritta at the Jimmy Buffet concert!

I try to counter it. Two days ago for example, I had WAY too much sodium for my liking, and yesterday I balanced it out by watching what I took in. I lost 5 pounds over the last 10 days, so I had a waffle for breakfast. For lunch, I'll have a salad with hard boiled egg whites, I think it's okay to 'cheat' a little, but not over indulging, and balancing it out means the world.

If I have a good hard 2 hour workout, afterwards I can eat within reason anything I want. So instead of "cheat" I do "reward". :drinker:

Weekend is a cheat time
I'll either try to eat more but still healthy (not always succeeding) & have it around 2000kcl in total (my normal daily is 1200) or if I feel like pizza & ice-cream - I'll bloody have it!

The fact that I know I'll potentially have a bigger meal or ice-cream on one of the weekend days - does help me to stay away from the fridge, sweets & night munching through the week.

Edit:
as someone mentioned already - I'll still log it, even if/especially if most of what I've eaten is on rather unhealthy side.
also - as a kind of tradition, I have a long rock climbing session on one of the weekend days but I'll have a cheat day even if I don't happen to exercise, just be a bit more careful with what & how much I eat.