cheat days ?

I absolutely love chocolate, so I wouldn't survive without having a bit here and there. I found a solution to my problem. The skinny cow fudge bars, are so yummy. I don't feel guilty eating a 100 calorie bar. It satisfies my craving without making me feel guilty. :-) I think there are ways around it. I can live without the rest. I'm really enjoying discovering new foods to like.

wow I was actually thinking abt posting this exact same topic...for me personally I'd like to see some results first b4 I cross that line...especially if ur starting out. Nothing like getting a motivating feeling seeing that whatever you are doing is working...plus also we all know everybody makeup is different so to test the dreaded weekly check in (knowing you cheated 1 day...i.e.a sun) may have negative feeling if ur not satisfied with ur results...imo

I have things on a daily basis that some people might consider "cheating". They fit in my calorie goals though, and I'm also eating plenty of healthy foods.

Nope, for me a cheat day always turns into a cheat week....I completely lose self-control...so thus I don't do it! Plus I really want to make this a permanent lifestyle change and cheat days just don't fall into that.

No...If I really want something special. I have to earn it...have enough calories for it....and be willing to stay on track for 2 days after I have it. I don't want to fall back into my old habits, amd gain weight back. It is to easy to put on....and so hard to get off!!

I've been consistently losing weight, but have had a bad couple of days although I wasn't all that much over calorie wise. Yesterday I had a bowl of chili from Steak & Shake and after found out it was over 800 calories. I still didn't eat over 1400 calories yesterday, but got on the scale this morning 2lbs heavier. That scares me. How is that possible?

all it is is the sodium from the restaurant food that will go away once flushed out of system at least that's my opinion.

I do whatever I want with the understanding of what it will do to me.

Exactly. I don't plan cheat days, but I don't beat myself up if I go over my calorie goal for a day or two. I've had days under by 300 and over by 700 calories. Sometimes you plan a workout that you end having to skip because something came up. Sometimes you're just hungry all day. Whatever the reason, it happens. I know the consequences of my actions.

I allow myself to eat (and drink) with friends every now and then. Couple times a month, at most. But I make sure to exercise daily, log everything, and keep at or under my calories when I'm not doing anything "special".

I can't see living any other way -- because, after all, this is LIFE not just some diet, right?

Now that I've reached my goal weight, i don't feel as guilty have a cheat food once or twice a week. (Like french fries, soda, ice cream, high fat/sugar dessert, pizza, or a bread item- I ate NONE of these for the past 4 months.) I am running and working out and still eating the same as I was when I was trying to lose weight. While I was trying to reach my goal weight I only cheated by eating plain potato chips, bread less hamburgers, breaded baked chicken, cream in my coffee, milk chocolate, or something not great for my diet, but not detrimental to my weight loss. I had a habit of making cookies that only included ingredients that were Paleo approved, except for the white sugar (otherwise they just did not taste good to me.) I will say I ate a lot of coconut flour/ coconut oil/ vanilla/ egg/ dark chocolate chips/white sugar cookies- I made them weekly. I felt like I was cheating, when I really wasn't going off my diet too far and each cookie was under 100 calories each.

I recently tried to splurge on some ribs from Sonny's and later looked online and found they were 1000 calories! Luckily I shared them, but still! I have NEVER eaten that much in one sitting! I was still full 6 hours later and ended up going for a run to help my body/metabolism out. I now make sure to eat from the "low calorie" options on restaurant menus- they are still high in calories, but I'm not going to go into cardiac arrest trying to eat something different.

One of the tips of weight watchers is to give into your cravings so you don't binge later. I really think this works for me. I don't always give into the 'exact' food i want, usually it's a healthier version:
french fries : home made sweet potato fries
sweet dessert : home made "healthy" cookies
bacon : microwaved turkey bacon
cheeseburger : turkey burger with avocado
ice cream : coffee with cream or glass of almond milk or yogurt

Good Luck!

I am struggling with this as well. I find that the day after my weigh in becomes my "cheat day", as I feel like I have the whole week to work it off. Unfortunately, I have this thought that if I eat one bad thing, I have ruined the whole day and may as well eat whatever I want for the rest of they day! It isn't worth it though...I find that I just end up feeling out of control and bad in general

I keep trying to remind myself of a quote I heard a few years ago..."Nothing tastes as good as thin feels".

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions!!

I don't call it a cheat day. I just designate a single day in a given week where I eat food I want in any quantity. It ain't cheatin' if it's on purpose.

I've eaten up to 5000 calories in a single day and lost weight the following week.

I agree, i do a zig zag diet, so there are times when i eat very limited calories and just one day a week i eat whatever i happen to want that day and dont worry so much about calories. I get to look forward to that one day a week, so that helps me talk myself out of cheating the other 6 days.

no cheat days ever! i make it a point to eat what i crave in moderation:) this about lifestyle not about a quick fix.

You have to know yourself to know if it's a good idea.

For example, I know that, if I didn't have a specific day for eating junk food, I would eat it every day, blissfully convinced that tomorrow is the day I behave to make up for it. I also know that, the less I eat junk food, the less I crave it. Lastly, I know that I don't want to give up on all junk food forever. The result is that I have one day a week plus holidays plus really special occasions where I allow myself to be significantly over. In practice, even with the splurge, I am still usually at my target calories for the week, and I rarely reach TDEE on those days.

A cheat a day keeps the cravings away! I used to buy a couple different bags of my fav candy. One a day and on the weekends 2. If i waited all week i would go way over.

What I am trying to do if I want something that I haven't had in long time I eat it because I don't want to go over board and eat and gain what I have taken off but make sure it's in my calories for the day.