Cheat Days; Good or Bad?

My fiance and I are just starting out on our new diet and exercize plan, and the cravings for naughty foods are crazy! We are thinking that it is a good idea to have a SCHEDULED cheat day twice per month; something to look forward to and help curb the day-to-day cravings. If we know that next weekend we have a cheat day, then it will help us stay on track for the current day and give us something to look forward to; incentive for doing well thus far.

Is this a good idea? Have you implemented anything like this? Did it help? Will these cheat days totally ruin our efforts for the rest of the month? Any input greatly appreciated!

I plan for them by upping my calories and scheduling the higher amounts.  Since it's planned, I don't consider it a "cheat day" either.  No, I do not lower the calories for the next day. 

hey! i usually have a "cheat day" once a week LOL but i make sure not to go over my allowed calories .. it helps stay on track, plus you get one every week so you're always looking forward to it hahaha

I do not have a cheat day, I leave room in my calorie count on some days to have a sugar free fugsicle only 40 cal!! It helps since i am a choco-holic!! I also just eat regular food in small portions so I do not get stuck in the salad rut and totally let cravings take over. You have to cut like 3000 calories to lose a pound so a binge of 3000 extra calories in one day, it would probably ruin a whole week.

I have a cheat meal every week. But I wouldn't go as far as a cheat day. That could end up going horribly wrong.  Every Tuesday for Dinner, I eat whatever I want, then I jump right back on the wagon. I workout 6 days a week and on Tuesday I work out extra hard so that I feel better about what I am about to do for dinner. I document every calorie I eat and most weeks my cheat meal almost works into my calorie goal. I normally burn 600 calories in the morning on the elliptical. On Tuesday I burn 1200. At the end of the day I have yet to hit the 3000 calorie mark, and that includes one tuesday at Golden Corral. People always make the mistake of thinking that certain foods are off limits. Truth is that they are not when eaten in moderation. You can't eat a box of cookies anymore, but you can have two once in a while. When you are able to open that pack and take out two and seal it back up, then and only then will you realize that this is a journey and not a destination. And you will be so proud of yourself for it.

First of all, you should just banish the 'D' word right from your vocabulary.  You're NOT on a diet... you're adapting a healthy lifestyle through making better, healthier food choices and exercising.  When you look at it that way, you don't need a cheat day.  You don't eliminate anything from your food repitoire.  If you want chocolate, eat it.  Just eat a portion of it.  If you want pasta, eat it.  Just eat a single portion.  As you mention, you're already craving what you're missing!  That's going to cause you to binge.  Don't think of any food as banished or 'naughty'.  You'll only want them more.  Adapt a total healthy lifestyle instead! 

Amen Pam 

It is perfectly acceptable to indulge every once in a while even if it puts you over your calories, just don't get stupid. Try to plan it in as much as possible and then jump right back on. At the end of the day we are all human and we have needs. But eating a whole cake, or an entire bag of cookies is never going to be acceptable. Good luck and remember that if it was easy everyone would do it.

Ask somebody from AA if they think it is a good idea for an alcoholic to have one or to cheat days a month to help with the cravings and see what they say.

That is a stretch.

If this was food anonymous then we wouldn't be able to eat anything.

This is more like responsible drinking anonymous, if you must go there.

Define "cheat day".  It's a good idea to have one day every week or two where you eat maintenance calories instead of weightloss calories.  On that day, you'll have an easier time fitting in dessert or a meal out or whatever treat of that type you want.  It's not a binge day though; that's not a good idea.

And I want to second the "Pam's right" sentiment.  There's no reason you shouldn't be able to fit small portions of treats into your regular diet.  I had Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream last night (a 1/2-cup serving) and my calories for the day were still fine and I'll still continue to lose weight.  You want 80% of your calories to be spent on good nutritious whole foods.  The other 20% go on whatever you want (which might be more good nutritious whole foods, but might also be a treat).

i think a cheat meal is better than a cheat day.

Every time I tried to diet I failed. It was not until I looked at it as a way of life did I stick to it longer then a few days. I eat chocolate every day. I have one Riesen its 43 calories and fits especially well into my caloric intake for the day. Sometimes I even have a whole serving which is 4 at 170 cals. On days like these I either cut a little off one of my snacks or I get on the elliptical a little harder to make sure I still have a deficit.

I never cheat on my diet because I am not on one. I even had Burger king with my husband yesterday for lunch. I had the kids cheese burger with apple fries and a diet coke for about 350ish calories.

Changing how you think about your food will really help. After logging my cals I no longer crave the fatty high sugar foods. For me I simply do not want to waste the calories on a triple cheese burger (thinking about it makes me ill) I rather have five small snacks.

Thank you all so much for your perspectives! I like the idea of a cheat meal better than a whole day, as I would go overboard, which is what got me here in the first place!

And true, this is a lifestyle and not a diet. Being so new to this change, I tend to think of it as a diet, and not as a good start to a healthy habit.

I think that even when having a "cheat meal," I will still track my calories and mind them, too, so long as I am aware what I am putting in my body. I don't think I will go from a 1600 cal day to a 3600 cal day, but I will be aware of my intake and adjust my exercise and other meals accordingly.

Thank you so much for your input; I have a lot to think about!

And I get the feeling that after a while, a cheat meal isn't going to be as appealing as it seems when I'm just getting started out!

You don't know how right you are about that. Week 2 of my lifestyle change, on "Fat Tuesday" I was all excited about going to golden corral and eating them out of business. I went there and after I ate my first plate, I was so full that I couldnt even eat desert. I went home and added up the calories that I had eaten and it was less then 1000. In the morning I had done a whole hour on Level 15 on the elliptical and burned 1200 calories. I was still well within my range. Now on week 10, I don't even have the ability to consume even close to what I used to be able to. My stomach has shrunk so much that I get full off of a normal serving. I used to look at a cereal box and say "who eats 1 cup". Now I know who eats one cup, me.....

Just stick with it and you will see how easy it gets.

Personally, cheat days are negative for me. If I know I can allow myself to eat something uber-savory and crave-worthy, I'll want to do it again and again. I've not an ounce of self-restraint so it's better if I just pretend other foods don't exist.

I should, however, be okay with a cheat meal~ Like, one day choose a meal to have something I really want...but not the entire day for cheating.

i choose 1 day a week (saturday normally) that i do not log my food intake.  this way i can go out and eat and not worry about having to figure out my portions, etc.  i still make better choices, but this is also the day that i might have 2 sweets in one day.  last saturday i had an almond croissant and a cupcake.  i have been doing this for 9 weeks now and have lost 12 lbs.  i like the idea that i dont have to figure out my foods instead of having a "cheat" day.

i would go with a cheat meal instead of a cheat day. I just had mine today...and then eat really slowly. and then try not to eat too much afterward. If you are doing atkins however this is not advisable because ONE cheat on anything will take you out of Ketosis, and you will crave carbs all over again....which sucks....because you might get all the side effects of cutting out carbs again and again. The same goes for anything really that involves cutting out a food group. I recently have been following a vegan diet for lent, and my doctor told me I would have to re-introduce meat/dairy again VERY slowly....so I guess my advice would be if you are cutting any food groups out for a while be careful because you don't know if cheating will make you feel ill/sluggish.

i would go with a cheat meal instead of a cheat day. I just had mine today...and then eat really slowly. and then try not to eat too much afterward. If you are doing atkins however this is not advisable because ONE cheat on anything will take you out of Ketosis, and you will crave carbs all over again....which sucks....because you might get all the side effects of cutting out carbs again and again. The same goes for anything really that involves cutting out a food group. I recently have been following a vegan diet for lent, and my doctor told me I would have to re-introduce meat/dairy again VERY slowly....so I guess my advice would be if you are cutting any food groups out for a while be careful because you don't know if cheating will make you feel ill/sluggish.

Original Post by shells12:

I do not have a cheat day, I leave room in my calorie count on some days to have a sugar free fugsicle only 40 cal!! It helps since i am a choco-holic!! I also just eat regular food in small portions so I do not get stuck in the salad rut and totally let cravings take over. You have to cut like 3000 calories to lose a pound so a binge of 3000 extra calories in one day, it would probably ruin a whole week.

 Sugar free fudgesicles are DA  BOMB! I'm eating one right now, lol.

Hmmmm personally I put a few cheat calories into my day everyday.....but i'm just maintaining so it's hard to say for actual weight loss....

even though it might throw you off track it might also help boost your metabolism by giving it a shock if it's only twice a month.  just make sure you aren't getting excessive....make sure you stay within a certain limit....keep in mind 3500 calories is a pound....so if you are eating an extra 1000 calories one day...that can be hard to work off.

for me it's all about sustainable lifestyle.  it's unreasonable to think that every hour of everyday you are going to be eating/excersing perfectly....but for me i'll maybe have some frozen yogurt after dinner or a cookie at lunch twice a week.....i find this easier b/c i don't binge on junkfood during a cheat day.