Are cheat days bad?

I've been trying to lose weight most of my life, doing better at times than others. Well, my biggest problem is that I LOVE sweets.  When I try to keep myself from them (b/c I'm not good at eating them in moderation) I end up having a really bad day and just binge.  Is it bad to have one day a month that I just eat whatever I want?  It seems like that may help me stay away from the sweets on a day to day basis - just knowing that there is a day that I won't worry about it.  Will one day a month keep me from losing weight (Considering there is no telling how many calories I may consume on that free day)? Thanks for your input!

Hi Ashley! well I'm kind of new here, but, just like you, I've been struggling with my weight for about all my life!. I've lost 50 punds now and one of my "secrets" is a cheat day every week! I don't now if that's too much for some people, but for me, it has made easier all the process. You can also try to have maybe one sweet treat a day, something not to high on calories or not that big, maybe a square of chocolate or a low-calorie ice cream.

I guess it all depends on your metabolism, but I don't think one cheat day a month will keep you from losing weight, as long as you keep on track the rest of the days.

cheat days are fine...but i wouldn't recommend having a big binge on cheat day.

i try to keep my "cheat days" at maintenance - meaning if i burn 2,000 calories, i eat 2,000 on my cheat days.  that way, i at least won't be gaining.

if i'm on track and doing well for a week, i'll often buy a candy bar or a cookie at lunch every now and then.  other than that, i rarely buy sweets and bring them home.  it just seems to be asking for trouble.

I try to have a little sweet everyday but i have gotten good at keeping it around 200 calories. I never thought I could control myself with snack packs and what not but I do.

Every so often I have a "no count day" not really a cheat day, just a day I dont count my calories, maybe I am going to a party or having dinner with my family.  I let myself have the treat but since I am not thinking of it as a CHEAT DAY or feeling deprived the rest of the time I find I dont binge, I may eat more and maybe not the same but I dont just slam down snack food and junk.  I think I at least stay at maintence.

Nope, because your body will eventually get used to your low caloric intake and reset there.  So if you were burning 2200 and eating 1400 for a while, sometimes it only takes three days it will reset there.  One or two high days is appropriate to keep weight loss going. 

I actually build in an allowance for cheat days... I eat a little below my maintenance calories, and then once in a while I eat a treat so it all balances out.  I am in maintenance mode, however.

I have something small and sweet everyday! It makes the 500 calorie cake or ice cream or pie that's gone in 5 minutes not seem too good, when I could have a whole dark chocolate ghiradelli square, broken up into little pieces, savored over an hour, for only 70 calories!!!! I love things that you can savor :)

I save my cheat days for weekends at home, or when I'm going out for a few beers, or to the movies for popcorn.  I don't plan them, they usually just happen.  On those days though, I try to incorporate a long walk or something more than usual to burn off some of the extra.

I do holidays and b-days as cheat days. It usually turns into a cheat weekend. This past weekend was my kids b-day, I had 6 slices of pizza over a 4 hour period. and beer and chips and candy. (MMMM pizza) and I gained 2 pounds from Friday to Monday.

Its all off today and then some :).

It helps me to know that there is a cheat day coming up (next one is memorial Day :( ) This is for the rest of my life so a cheat day/weekends are going to have to be part of it.

When you're losing weight it's more pleasant if you make every day a day when you feel that you've 'eaten what you want'.   If you feel that you're only choosing foods because you have to, it's a miserable business.  If your regular menu becomes boring and repetitive it's downright depressing.  And then if you're denying yourself foods because you've been told they're bad in some way you'll end up overeating those foods just to cheer yourself up.   (I don't like the word 'cheat' because it goes with 'trick', 'swindle' and 'dishonest'.  Very negative) 

So choose your meals really carefully.   Food is there to be enjoyed and healthy food should be cheering, not depressing.  We have access to a bigger range of healthy delicious foods than ever before that you could eat something different every day if you wished.  Pick your favourites, include plenty of variety and lots of colour and it stops feeling like a diet.  Include the occasional not-so-healthy food in the mix and you appreciate it all the more.  

I like the word "treat" or "free" better than "cheat".  For me, I plan that Friday nights, when we get together with friends, I'll have something extra - a 70% cocoa bar, a piece of pie, whatever, and not count or worry about it.  It may slow down my weight loss slightly, but it makes it sustainable, which in the long run is more important for me.

Well thanks to you all for your input! I guess I will go forward with the "cheat" day.  It just makes me feel like I can stick with this for good! Unfortunately I can't have a little something sweet everyday b/c for some reason - it's like pringles - I can't have just one.

Crosschk - thanks! That is exactly the kind of cheat day I'm talking about! I'm glad to hear that it works for you!  

 

 

 

I have a cheat day once a week!

I am not trying to lose though so when I say cheat day that means go out to dinner have wine and desert and forget it. I still exercise and make pretty good choices aside from that on cheat days.

I will also say that if I want a piece of dark chocolate I eat it!

Constant deprivation brings on binge eating. It is hard to eat sweets in moderation. My friends still tease me because I can and have sat and eaten an entire bag of Halloween candy or a half a carrot cake.

I guess I have just learned that sometimes it is better to savor and appreciate a little bit of a good thing!

These days I stick to a piece of candy or a piece of cake and I eat it slowly and love every creamy sweet bite! That way I can enjoy it more often and guilt free!

I had a great day today. I have decided to only drink water, because it has no callories, But I love these thin chochlate cookies. Only 150 calories for 6!!!! Anyways that is all I had today!! I ate around 5 cookies an hour!! It was a great day and I only burned around 1800 calories!! Go cookies go!

Ashleydeason- have you tried diabetic sweets? It is so hard to deny yourself something you love so why not substitute it for something better.

I had a look on the internet and found these links. Hope they help

 

http://www.avidlite.co.uk/acatalog/SWEETS.htm l?gclid=CPOy0I_nmJICFRIB1QodUVNNow

 

http://www.sugarfreesuperstore.co.uk/sitemap/ Diabetic_Sweets.htm

 

http://www.yoursweetshop.com/shop/product_cat .asp?catid=Sugar%20Free

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Demanding_munch - thanks for the help! Unfortunately I can't eat sugar free candy - it does really bad things with my stomach. My problem is just that I LOVE sweets - I'd live off of them if it wouldn't kill me.  I have will power when it comes to any other food but when I eat something sweet - it's over, I'm likely to eat the whole bag.  I'm just wondering if it will ruin my dieting efforts to have a day once a month where I eat sweets.  What I do now - and this may sound crazy. When ever there are sweets around me and I really want them I write them down on my list - just to tell myself, "you can have that on your free day but not today" then on my free  day I look at that list (obviously I couldn't eat everything on the list) and I pick the thing or things that I REALLY REALLY want and eat them. It seems to give me that will power thoughout the month I just don't want it to ruin all the work I've done!

The trick to not going crazy with the sugar is to not deprive yourself. If you're having a craving for sugar, it might be because your body feels deprived of carbohydrates. Including more sweet fruits like pineapples and peaches and whole grains can help take the edge off day to day.

As for a cheat day, you don't really need one. There are so many 'healthy' sweets available on the market today like soy icecreams and dark chocolate that you can have it as many as three times per week without feeling guilty.

In general, though, having a 'cheat day' will eventually lead to cheat DAYS and then cheat WEEKS, and then before you know it, those 25+ pounds are back.

Sugarfree candy is horrible fore you, anyway. The artificial sweeteners are so full of carcinogens and toxins that you might as well smoke.

Ashley, I do the thing with the cheat list too!  I thought I was the only one.  Then once I have it, I put a check mark next to it, and tell myself, "Ok, you've had that muffin (for example.)  You know what it tastes like, it was amazing, but next week maybe treat yourself to something different."  That way I always have something delicious to look forward to.  If during a non-cheat day, I think of something I'm really craving, I just add it to the list and figure out how to work it in!