What are your views on cheat days?

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  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
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    I don't call them cheat days and I don't believe in the concept or incorporate them anymore than I believe that eating 6 meals a day is the "right" thing to do, even though I'm constantly eating.

    I do have days that or not healthy and clean. With lots of beer and wings and food that's not good for me. But instead of eating like that 5 times a week, I eat like that once, maybe twice a week. (twice now that it's camping season). But I also acknowledge that I need to manipulate the other 5 or 6 days with food and exercise in order to make up for it.
  • nill4me
    nill4me Posts: 682 Member
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    The connotation of the word itself is negative, in my opinion, and i think we just need to use our brains and realistic.
    I like food, and i don't want to think of it in a bad light.
    I like sex too. Should I havea "cheat day"? mmm...probably not...lol

    Some can't live without them, and it helps keep them sane. I'd like to learn to just find my happy medium.
  • SpydrMnky27
    SpydrMnky27 Posts: 381 Member
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    Yes, once a week I have an eatwhatevertheheckiwant day. I don't pay attention to my macros for the day and I eat above maintenance. Works great for me as long as there's no leftover junk food in the house the next day.
  • ShilohMaier
    ShilohMaier Posts: 135
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    I have them and am a firm believer in them. I know they are highly recommended in the Body-4-Life book/plan. I don't use that specific plan, but I have friends who have had great success with it, and they would go hog-wild on their cheat day. There is the theory that it helps reset your metabolism... I don't know if there's a ton of science to back it up, but plenty of anecdotal evidence.
  • MelanieSkittle
    MelanieSkittle Posts: 43 Member
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    I don't think cheat days are a good idea. After all, the goal shouldn't be to go on a strict overly lo-cal diet where you need cheat days to stay sane. The goal should be to improve your diet to eat healthy food of reasonable sized portions. I do believe in having the occasional treat however. On my birthday I wanted to have a slice of cheesecake and a glass of dessert wine, so I arranged my other meals accordingly so that I still stayed within my calorie range for the day.
  • Jhs1987
    Jhs1987 Posts: 40 Member
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    I tend to have higher calorie days on the weekends when I want to go out with my boyfriend, have a few beers and some not so healthy food. I try to plan ahead for this by building a calorie deficit earlier in the week. I don't necesarily classify this as "cheating" as I try to look at my net calories for the week rather than day by day. I still try to make wise choices in what I eat during the weekend and it all seems to even out as I have been losing 1 - 1.5 pounds per week, which is what I am looking to accomplish.
  • Esther50
    Esther50 Posts: 252
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    I think I just figured out that I can't do cheat days. BUT I can eat something that isn't really good for me, but then I need to get right back to healthy eating. A whole day of not eating good would be bad for me, so I am not even going to test the waters. I am going to eat what I want, but count my calories and adjust to keep within my limits.
    I also noticed that having one Hershey kiss or ONE piece of chocolate whenever I feel the need keeps me from eating the whole bag.

    I want to thank every one who commented here, because it was a real eye opener for me!

    And a big thanks to the person that started the topic!
  • mrsmarit
    mrsmarit Posts: 229 Member
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    I don't have cheat days either. For me it would be a sabotage of all I am trying to do.

    Now I do have meals that kill my daily goals... like my Tommy's Burger Stop lunch once every three weeks... I tried the vegetarion substituions and I will take a real burger every time.

    Or on a SUPER rare occasion I will have chicken wings... I LOVE chicken wings and the last time I had them.. when I figured out the caloric content... let's just say that has become something I hardly have.

    But as for a whole day... I don't think at this point I could even do it. I am really trying to stick to this new lifestyle change and "cheat days" to me would be counterproductive.
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
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    I don't have a cheat day although I tried it before but it just made me binge for more so now I would rather have a small piece of something that I want rather than waiting for a certain day for it. In that way, I won't feel deprived & furthermore I'm doing this lifetime & I don't think having one cheat day is realistic enough for me to maintain.
  • JoseP204
    JoseP204 Posts: 16
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    Well, I actually call them treat days. I am rewarding myself with a "normal" meal, that can be my parents traditional mexican food with all the good bad stuff or some Korean BBQ.

    At the same time, I am consious of what I am eating and I am not just going to throw out all the rules out the window.
  • monyango
    monyango Posts: 166
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    I have a cheat day once a week and that day varies but is usually on the weekend. I don't go hog wild but do have things I wouldn't normally have on the week days.
  • trud72
    trud72 Posts: 1,912 Member
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    personally if you have weight to lose there is no such thing as a cheat day,,, :cry: as you still have to did it and if you allow yourself to have a "day off" then you are more likley to be naughty the next day :devil: that's the way i see it! :wink:
  • konalove3
    konalove3 Posts: 79
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    its okay to not deprive yourself constantly, if you do you'll just drive yourself crazy and end up eating 3 bags of oreos or something ridiculous. that being said i dont give myself a certain day of the week that i am "allowed to cheat" on. instead i just stick with what im doing and wait til something comes up, for example if youre going to a wedding or having a family dinner out somewhere or someone bakes something awesome or if im going out with a friend i havent seen in a while.... i've found that if i do it that way, so i know that itll be okay when something does come up like that, then i find myself not running to the junk food or craving bad stuff at all like i would if i had a designated "cheat day". also when you do it the designated cheat day way people find themselves expecting that every "friday" or whatever, i'm going to eat badly. youre setting yourself up to make unhealthy choices and creating a habit of it. if you do it how i do you'll find that you end up having a lot less "cheat days" pop up than you would expect.
  • LadyL2012
    LadyL2012 Posts: 127 Member
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    I currently have a cheat meal rather than a cheat day once a week normally on a Sunday, the cheat meal will also have a dessert on the end!

    I did my cheat day yesterday and only ended up eating approx. my calorie goal. My cheat was a roast dinner and dessert, but I only had a bowl of cereal for breakfast, so i think that's why it came in so low.

    It keeps me sane and it tells my brain it's OK to turn down the cake and crisps etc because I get a treat at the end of the week where I can indulge. My problem was never junk food as I've always had a healthy diet, but it was the amount I was eating coupled with not getting enough exercise. I don't stuff my face when I cheat and I won't eat 2000-3000 cals in a meal or anything, I eat a regular meal, but just a bigger protion than I should have. If I go for junk then I'll eat what I want, but I try to keep the junk cheat meals to a minimum.

    It works for some and for others it triggers a binge. If you know you can have your cheat and then hit the plan again the next day, go for it. I have read that cheat days can be good for your metabolism as well as psychological wellbeing and is more likely to keep you on track.

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