Can I afford a cheat day this week?

You don't need outside verification. This is your body, your lifestyle, your mind, why would you need reassurance from strangers on the net regarding what you do with your life?
If you want a treat, then have a treat. You already know you have room for one, you didn't need to ask really.
I sure wouldn't not have a treat just because someone on the net told me I shouldn't or mustn't.

This!!!

It doesn't make sense that you only accept answers that say exactly what you want them to say. I would say that your thinking and some of the things you post are crossing dangerously into disordered eating. You have done great so far, have confidence in the choices that you make if they are working for you!

Do you log all of your food? Are you really consuming less that 1000cals a day most days and "working out and lifting more than ever"?

Don't think of them as cheat days, they are treat days. i had pizza hut yesterday, and one day is NOT going to harm 6 days of hard work. We are human and it's natural to want sweets or some kinda snack. I am at 22 ponds lost and I have treated myself once a week from the beginning. Hope this helps alittle. Good luck.

Sure helps ME, thanks for this encouragement.

It's okay....and then get back ON the band wagon the next day. I had dessert yesterday for the 1st time in 45 days and I won't have dessert again until the end of the month. Once in a while is okay and healthy for your psyche.

Why are you not having desert? You are torturing yourself right there. I eat one every single night. Of course not a BIG slice of cake or a HUGE ice cream cone but a portion of one of those things will NOT hurt you if it is within your calorie goals. A calorie is a calorie no matter where it comes from. Ever read about the guy who lost a ton of weight eating his calorie needs in twinkees?

I'm thrilled that you can do this but I have to be like the dessert a month person. I have a smoothie every night that is banana and strawberries with ice and milk but no added sweetener or sugar and if I have a piece of cake or pie or a "real" dessert then I would fall off the wagon. for some of us no dessert is what we have to do. I started this new lifestyle 3 days before my birthday and decided that if I was going to change my life then I was going to do it and I had a 70 calorie bourbon ball for my birthday cake lol... for me I haven't gotten to the place where I can exercise at first I'm just wanting to stick to the whole food part then after my first 6 weeks I will be adding exercise in moderation. I have never enjoyed exercise and even when I was young and fit I couldn't run so for me it will be walking on my treadmill or doing home improvements (heavy lifting of sheetrock is workout enough for me lol)

Razor...I agree cheat days or meals are good for maintaining a long term eating plan...we are not saints and that's why I've been able to keep my 70lbs off for the better part of 20 yrs. That being said, if you already took your cheats on the holiday and Denny's this morning, I would already count those as my "cheats" for the week if you expect to maintain those great abs you have in your picture. I, too, have to forfeit my Friday night cheat b/c I had pizza the other night and even though I stayed under my calorie goal, you and I both know that's not all there is to getting and keeping those abs....

The question is "Can I afford a cheat day tomorrow and eat some pizza" My calorie goal is like 2600 a day and I've been averaging about 1500 (not taking in account all the calories I burned just counting what I took in) a day all week. I think that answers my question with a "YES EAT SOME PIZZA AND HAVE FUN!" I would just like someone else to tell me that it is ok.

"YES EAT SOME PIZZA AND HAVE FUN!" :happy:

Look at it like this if you eat healthy one day and bad the rest there will be hardly any effect. Same thing goes for eating bad one or two meals once a week. Especially if my calorie has been severely low all week.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^LOVE THIS!!!!!

I'm posting again, because I care about you.

You say you want your life back? This is the beginning. Be a college student, have some junk food once or even twice a week! There is nutritional value to pizza too, you know. Grains, veggies, dairy, some fat, and protein. Try thinking of it in terms of nutrition instead of calories. Sure, it's not whole-grain rice and grilled chicken and steamed veggies, but I was reading over my first post... And who says pizza is a 'splurge' food anyways?!

asdfghjkl Okay I'm done. Take care of yourself. :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

Once you cheat, it becomes easier and easier to cheat again and soon the program is out the window!!

Basil

I'VE TAKEN CHEAT DAYS SINCE I STARTED MY NEW LIFESTYLE AND IVE LOST ALMOST 80LBS lmao Cheat days work. Ask any personal trainer. and once again I am not asking if cheat days work or not im asking if I can afford one from people who DO use cheat days.

I think it's really great you can manage that, and that you have lost so much. My cheat days don't end so well, and I have to ask the question "Do I want to maintain my weight through cheat days, or continue to lose?" Enjoy your cheat day, you deserve it. I on the other hand will continue to approach my weight loss like I approached smoking cessation. I quit cold turkey in December, and have decided I can do the same thing with my weight. We'll see if it works, and perhaps it won't...but if I have one Oreo today, I'll crave another one on another day, so I'm better off just not having one to begin with. Best of luck as you continue your journey.

But see eating bad one day will actually most likely HELP you boost your metabolism. Trust me I found that out by accident. I was restricting myself a lot back when I first started then I treated myself for my birthday but eating a ton and the next day I weighed A LOT less.

I don't know how that works. I usually gain a ton of water and it does come off in a few days and I manage to lose a pound or two by the end of the week. When I say a ton of water, sometimes the scale will say 10 lbs in one day. That unrealistic from one cheat day. So I started having my weight in on Saturday before I have a cheat day to see where I am at.