A Cheat Day

Hi everyone!

I am new to Calorie Count, just been here a week and I am doing great.  I haven't lost any weight yet but I am not worried.  I am just trying to get a handle on what I consume in a day.  I work from home with kids so it is VERY easy for me to snack all day.  Which is what I would do.  It was nothing for me to eat an entire box of Whoppers candies in an hour.  I have a major sweet tooth. 

I was blessed with a high metabolisim but it is starting to lower the older I get.  I have gained 20 pounds since I had quit my job to stay at home.  Like I said I am doing well and not having any problems with major sugar cravings but I do allow myself a "cheat day"  It is Friday.  I don't go over board and only eat candy and cake all day but I do go over my daily calorie goal which is 1600, I probably hit 2200-2500 on a cheat day.  I don't want to cheat too bad because then I feel bloated and groggy from a sugar crash. 

I was just wondering if anyone else has a "cheat day" too and if so does it work for you or does it work against you?

I don't personally have a cheat day, but that's mainly because I have to psychologically train myself not to think of an occasional indulgence as cheating.  If I say that I can "cheat" I have a hard time reining myself in when I go overboard, and then I feel guilty.  For me guilt is the kiss of death in reagards to my motivation for change.  I've been trying to allow myself a smaller portion of a treat that I enjoy one to two times a week without regard to a certain day as a part of my new lifestyle.  On the flipside, I've read a lot of posts on here by people who've said that having a cheat day works wonders for them.  I guess it's sort of a personal choice depending on how it works for you.  I wish you luck!  :)

i tend to call it a 'cheat day' as well but it's not really a day of cheating.  I allow myself one 'no no' meal (like takeout) and one good sweet treat.  once a week.  like sweetjuney, sometimes its not good as i tend to WANT MORE following my cheat treats.  ....give an inch, take a mile! ya know? 

It might help if you think of it as a maintenance, rather than "cheat" day.  On my cheat days I'll have a little extra dessert or soda or something greasy that brings my calorie count to the same level as my burn for the day.  It helps me b ehave a little better the rest of the week. 

I have always recommended to others whom are trying to lose or to gain (both are diet control) a "cheat meal" once a weak. It can be considered a reward and therefore give one something to look forward to other than to give up the diet totally.

I have 'cheat days' on Sundays. This means that after I weigh myself in the morning, I don't count my calories nor work out. I still watch what I eat but allow myself a treat, maybe half a cheesecake or something, and if  do eat more than I should I know I have the entire week to work out and it actually motivates me to work harder!... I've only been doing this for about 2 months so we'll see how I hold out!

Original Post by sweetjuney:

I don't personally have a cheat day, but that's mainly because I have to psychologically train myself not to think of an occasional indulgence as cheating.  If I say that I can "cheat" I have a hard time reining myself in when I go overboard, and then I feel guilty.  For me guilt is the kiss of death in reagards to my motivation for change.  I've been trying to allow myself a smaller portion of a treat that I enjoy one to two times a week without regard to a certain day as a part of my new lifestyle.  On the flipside, I've read a lot of posts on here by people who've said that having a cheat day works wonders for them.  I guess it's sort of a personal choice depending on how it works for you.  I wish you luck!  :)

im the exact same way! if i tell myself that im going to have a cheat day i will go completely nuts and eat everything i can get my hands on just because i can justify it by saying its a 'cheat day.' but i allow myself to eat treats every once in a while as long as i control my portions and keep my caloric intake below my calories burned. i try to stay away from the word 'cheat' because then it makes me think i can eat anything i want. its all a mind game...

Cheat days for me really just run into cheat weeks, and soon enough cheat months.  For the past 2 years I've been keeping around the same 15lb range 240-255ish.  And whenever I get to the low end, I'll celebrate but then one thing leads to another and it's hard to get that feeling of "It's okay, you can work it out"  As much as I love my cheat days when they work, be careful!  I really like the sound of a cheat meal though, just once a week something that's fun but not too crazy.  Good luck everybody.

One thing I have found to be true which I read is that indulgences actually lead to more indulgence. I get the mindset "Why just stop here - I blew my diet anyway. " And I keep going until I gain anothe 10 pounds or maybe even just two.  I find ways to beat the indulgence - like substitute out on thing for the healthier version. I find this to be actually kind of fun.

I have the same difficuties as a lot of you - one indulgence leads to another and then turns into a whole weekend of cheating.  It's overwhelming and I feel gross and guilty afterwards. 

So, I reviewed my food journal and discovered that I am likely not getting enough protien in my diet for the amount of working out that I do.  I have only recently been making more of an effort to get in more protein and I feel much more balanced.  Where the cheat comes in?  I bought myself chocolate protein bars....I did A LOT of label reading...there are many bars that are really more like a Kit Kat than a protien bar.  Anyways, the few that I have had I have surprisingly felt satisfied, not busted through my calorie limit and feel more well-rounded with my diet.  So far so good, but it might be worth a shot...

Good Luck Everyone.

I use Sundays as my cheat day but if I have  a social event such as a party or going out to dinner I will trade out that day to ensure I only have 1 cheat day a week.  I think you need to have a day where you can indulge A LITTLE and enjoy some of you favorite foods that you are unable to consume on you diet plan.  If not you will go crazy!  If I cannot fullfill a craving like such, I will just munch all day trying to get that craving to go away and end up over eating anway.

I've just started my diet, and after much research and asking around I think I am the same as sweetjuney and crissy144 in that a cheat day will probably mean that I'll go crazy or might even turn into a cheat weekend or worse, so I've decided to do the following -I'm following a diet where I am allowed to eat 100cal of unhealthy fattening calories a day, things that provide calories and fat, but little else (i.e. sweets, snacks, junk food or alcohol). I however don't eat these things on a daily basis, instead I save them up for special occasions, like going out for dinner or drinks with friends. If in a week I haven't used up those extra calories, I allow myself a special treat on Saturday or Sunday, but only somthing small in the 100-200 cal range, which still means I save up calories for future nights out - which means that while I might occasionally go over my allowed calorie intake on a given day, it all balances out when you look at the bigger picture and it seems to work for me as I am a big fan of the "do (or don't do) this now so that you can do that later" school of thought.

I've only been identifying/counting calories since May 6th, so I'm not an expert. (That's my disclaimer) But, I don't have "cheat days", and personally I don't use the word cheat. I like to think of it as a "Reward" for doing well, or maintaining my focus for the week.

And my "reward" is simply I allow myself a Sausage, Egg & Cheese Sandwich at Panera bread on Saturday mornings IF (notice the large IF) I have been a good boy.

Keep up the good work!

I have a "cheat day" every Sunday, it is the only day of the week that I have red meat, and some snack foods that I would stay away from during the week. It is also I nice way to do things because then Monday does not seem as bad, when you have had a bit of a guilty day before. Now mind you that I don't completely off track but I do allow for some goodies!

I do not reward myself with food as that made me fat in the first place. Nor have I banned any foods from my diet. I choose filling low calorie most of the time. Sometimes I enjoy a reasonable serving of a particularly appealing high calorie food. No guilt, no punishment. It's all part of a healthy way to eat and encourages a frame of mind that will keep it off.

It's a slippery slope, that's all there is to it.  My wife and I have been on low calorie, low-no fat, low sodium, high protein, high fiber diets for almost 18 months now and have both lost a considerable amount of weight each (> 45 lbs).  It's all a matter of perspective, we don't view it as a "diet" so there is no such thing as "cheating".  As part of our "lifestyle" we allow ourselves treats.  We cook things that we enjoy, like muffins or cupcakes or cookies, using variations on recipies and substituting good stuff for the bad (Hungry Girl under 200 calorie recipes is a good place to start and you can freeze them so you don't eat em all at once).  She works from home and we have 2 y/o twin boys so she has alot of opportunity to cheat. We don't completely disregard what we're eating once a week, we reward ourselves daily with something reasonable that we like.  You can't eat a bunch of whoppers or half a cheesecake on a "cheat day" and call it a reward.  You can eat ONE skinny-cow ice cream sandwich at the end of the day everyday and call it a reward if you manage your calories right.  If you don't find a way to manage what/when you're eating and still get to eat things that you enjoy you won't be successful, it will be like a "diet" and when you hit your goal weight you will feel more comfortable, "cheat" more, and ultimately gain it back.  Think about it in terms of a cigarette, you can't reward yourself for quitting smoking with cigarettes, lol...  Good luck to all...  ;0)

I have lost 17 lbs this month, but of course, we know that is not fat but mostly fluids.  I have 100 lbs to go and do not have a cheat day, as this only gives me permissiong for carte blanch!

I spend the weekends with my boyfriend, so I relax things a bit then.  I'll eat mainly proteins on Saturday, have a couple drinks and maybe some chips and salsa on Saturday nights, then eat pretty much what I feel like having on Sunday, although I do try to keep an eye on the calories involved so I don't go wild.  But I also keep some 100-calorie Weight Watchers or Skinny Cow ice cream bars or sandwiches in the freezer so if I have a major sweet craving (one that fruit won't satisfy), I have something fairly safe to take care of it.  I usually sort of hold back on 100 calories till later in the day when I have a good idea if it will be a just chicken and veggies night or if I'll need that little treat for dessert.

I just received an email about this and thought you might find it interesting. I haven't tried any of the products I've just read what Info I can find about this diet, but I thought I'd pass the website on to you in case you wanted to check it out for yourself.

http://www.cheatyourwaythin.com/invite/index. html

As long as you eat healthy most of the time, having an occasional cheat day can actually benefit you more by motivating you. As long as you dont' go overboard of course! When I started eating healthy and montering my calories, etc I was really bad for sticking to it on the weekends when I'd go out with friends yet I was still losing weight.

Hope this helps! :)

I do have cheat days but that is when I am not logging all my caloric intake for the day.  Since I am also new to this program, of which I love, I am finding that when I eat something, I run to the computer to log it in.  I just don't have time to be on the computer all day, therefore eliminating the cheat days and less to consume, less to log in.  It seems to be working for me so far.

donna

I don't have a cheat day but I do make sure that part of my daily intake is something delicious that keeps me from cheating. For example, I just discovered "Skinny Dippers" which are icecream bars dipped in chocolate and are only 80 calories. They're a great way to satisfy my sweet tooth but not deviate from my daily plan/calorie goal.