Are "cheat" days a wise idea?

I think it can help IF you still meet your weekly calorie goal. Or IF you have so much weight to lose that going 15% or more over your calorie goal for the week isn't going to matter much. Otherwise, I wouldn't.

It takes me a long time to burn off 400 calories through activity and about 60 seconds to take it in by eating a brownie. If I ate like a king for a day I could blow my whole week of deficits easily. No thanks.

I think it can also make you miss eating indiscriminately like that the other 6 days. I think it's good to learn that our food choices always matter. Overeating can be like a drug for some. You wouldn't want to just smoke cigarettes one day a week if you were trying to quit. A lot of people quit craving the junk food if they just give it up completely or eat it very rarely;

In my experience, a 'cheat' day every once in awhile actually helped in more ways than just the psychological benefits. It seemed (in my case) that an occasional switch up actually helped kickstart additional losses by giving my metabolism a bit of jolt. I didn't do it every week - I tried that, but it turned out to be detrimental to losses - but every once in a while. Define once in a while? I did a couple to three times a month - no set schedule. My attitude was that I was trying to accomplish a lifestyle change - but I still wanted to have a life!

I have one every Friday. It has not stopped my weight loss at all. These are the reasons why I think a cheat/spike once a week is good.

1. Mentally: It keeps me on track for the other 6 days. If there is something that I want to eat, I know that I can have it Friday.

2. Good Example for my kids: I think it is good for my kids to see that I eat healthy, but I can still have treats with them. Again, it is Friday when we eat out and have dessert.

3. I have read that as we eat less to lose weight, our bodies will adjust to that lower calorie intake. By spiking my calories once a week, this will keep my body from resetting to a lower calorie need.

Now, I can usually gain 2 pounds after a spike day, but by Monday that is gone. I think it is water weight from the carbs because I spike my carbs on Fridays too. There is no way that the 2 pounds is fat...that means that I would have to eat almost 10000 calories in one day to gain two pounds of fat. (3500*2 + 2250 TDEE) I am not eating that much on a spike day.

I think that it's a pefectly fine idea. It give you a reprieve if you're being really strict and so you don't get board, you enjoy some form of a reward.
No one likes monotony

for me cheating is cheating. The approach I have finally found is not ever being "too" strict and not getting bored. I dont consider my decision to limit junk like candy a deprivation. People who say they will be deprived if they dont have an occasional cupcake are setting themselves up. If you want a cupcake, then plan for it, or fit it into your calories and have it.

some believe a cheat day is helpful and some say it isnt necessary if your plan is already sensible. whatever works for you is what works for you. try it and see

Having “cheat” days in the past has certainly helped me with the psychological parts of dieting (i.e. sticking to it) as I believe that trying to be 100% strict 100% of the time will ultimately lead to failure.

This is enough reason to utilize a cheat day.

However from a purely physical point of view is it a good idea? Will one day (or in my case one evening) a week eating stuff I avoid the other six days of the week cause setbacks in my weight loss?

This depends on where you end up for energy balance by end of week.

Friends have given me conflicting advice so far. Some have said that eating high cal/ carb/ fat food(s) even on just one day will essentially erase all the good work I have done through the week.

They cannot say this with certainty unless they know your net deficit throughout the non cheat days and the surplus on your cheat day. Without this information they are probably talking out of their *kitten*. I also don't say *kitten* in normal conversation but it was so fun right there.

Another has said that my appetite will be naturally less now I’m losing the weight (which it does appear to be) so even when I have the opportunity to eat what I like I’m unlikely to gorge myself and a few extra cals/ carbs/ fats eaten periodically might even help kick start a metabolism that has adapted to having less.

In my opinion it takes much more than a single day of overfeeding to have an appreciable effect on hormone levels and metabolism. I could be wrong on that.

I say, incorporate a cheat day and monitor results for 1 month. Adjust the cheat day or the steady deficit (or both) as needed based on results.

I don't do "cheat days" because I don't want to stay in the mindset of rewarding myself with food.

If I feel like going out or eating something kind of junky I do it, I just try to make reasonably wise choices, not completely stuff myself, and compensate by doing some extra exercise.

I think it can help IF you still meet your weekly calorie goal.

^^^ This.

If by "cheat day" you mean simply going over your calories, but you go UNDER your calories for a couple of days and try to keep your weekly eating reasonable, then to me that's not a "cheat day", that's just learning to be flexible.

If by "cheat day" you mean one day a week where you log nothing and intentionally eat all the foods you are not allowed in mass quantities, this runs a real risk of derailing your progress for the whole week. But, guess what? Only you are responsible for deciding how you want to go through this crazy thing we called life, and if you can self-regulate well enough to continue losing weight then you're learning valuable lessons on how you can maintain your weight after you've met your goal, and that's a good thing.

I was about to post this same question, but what I want to know is it still ok with me just starting this monday. Please message me with answers. Thank You!

It's a personal choice of what works best for you.

Personally, I don't have "cheat" days. I see a lot of people write down everything they want for their "cheat" day and gorge. I don't think that's the healthiest approach, Again, it's a matter of opinion.

I focus more on controlling my portions, staying within my calories and macros and eating some unhealthier options whenever it fits into my daily goal. Yesterday I had chinese takeout but I planned the day around it to accomodate for higher calories, fat, sodium,etc. Will I have another heavy meal like that again this week? Probably not, but I will have a piece of chocolate here and there or munch on a few chips. It's all about balance, because you're right. Cutting out foods or completely eliminating them aren't long term goals, nor is it practical. But neither is stuffing my face for one day and regretting it for the next few days.