Is it okay to have a cheating day once a week?

of course, in moderation.

I suppose it would depend. If you are trying to lose weight, and six days a week have a 500 calorie deficit( 3000 cal/week), but on your "cheat day" eat 1000 calories over maintenance, it's really like you only had a 2,000 cal deficit for the week, taking 1/3 of your deficit away. I would say just allow yourself small treats in moderation throughout the week?

Original Post by suckafolove:

of course, in moderation.

^ above has a good suggestion about small treats in moderation throughout the week if you feel like you will go crazy on that one day. Well, I say yes have your day however... it can make a difference with your mindset and how you go about it. If you do a cheat day, go into it with thoughts like this is my day, I get to eat what I want within reason and NOT FEEL GUILTY ABOUT IT. You may feel dismayed and possibly want to give up just because you had a "CHEAT" day... The word cheat has negative connotations so you may go about that with a negative attitude towards it, you know what I mean? Now with that out of the way.... Personally, I do not count calories on my free days since I do not usually go crazy but you might want to make sure you don't ruin all your work during the week because of that one day. If you do, just move on and keep working at it. Good luck!

I kinda agree with amandief.  Phrasing it "cheat" day implies that you are on a "diet" rather than a healthier lifestyle - that is to say that you are restricting yourself so much that you cannot continue it for the rest of your life.  I'm not saying you cannot relax every once in a while, have special treats, or such, but that is part of life.  Personally, when I feel like a treat, I have one.  At most, it brings me up to maintenance calories.

And as amandief said, sometimes phrasing it "cheat" day allows you to think you can go crazy, and might make you feel guilty later.

I know, this is probably just an argument of phrasing, but it just strikes me that way.

Instead of calling it a "Cheat" day why not call it a "Reward" day. Because in reality you are just rewarding yourself for all the hard work and effort you put in over the course of the week.

This way it will keep you motivated to do well or better the following week.

Again, another problem with "phrasing"... I don't like "rewarding" myself with food - it seems like totally going against my goal of weight loss.  Some people have an all out day when they reach a mini goal - I could not handle that.  I have a small treat about every other day - a candy bar, a skinny cow ice cream sandwich, even sugar free chocolate pudding will work for me - something under 300 calories.

I realize that what is good for me might not work for others, and I know I might be sounding kinda adversarial - I don't mean to.

Really, just see treats as part of life.  Have them frequently, have them in moderation, and enjoy life.  I really don't think that you should feel like you are putting in "hard work".  If that is how you feel, then what you are doing is not sustainable.  You should be working for a healthy lifestyle, not a short-term diet.

My personal opinion is YES, its OK to have a cheat day, but it may take a bit longer to loose the weight. I "cheat" on the weekends. I spend all week counting everything that goes into my mouth and sticking to fruits/veggies/lean meats/whole grains, and I work out 1 hour doing a combo of cardio/strength/yoga 6 days a week. Then Sat-Sun I eat whatever I want. Within reason of course. Anyways, I have lost 18.2 pounds in 7 months. So the weight IS coming off just slowly. 

Why cheat? If you're doing things right you shouldn't be able to exaggerate with the high calorie foods. Since I lost the extra weight I can't eat a whole chocolate at once anymore, or a whole big mac, or a bowl of pasta, a few potato chips make me full, in restaurants most servings are way to big. The stomach tends to shrink and the perception of taste changes - I used to love coca cola classic now I can't stand the taste, fatty ice cream is also out of the picture so is pork and many other foods I used to love. Calorie reduction over a period of time triggers drastic changes in perception of taste and aroma, cheating only delays the process and reduces the calorie deficit that's supposed to lead to weight loss. I do not reccomend cheating.

It worked for me.  I always bumped up my caloric intake about twice a week (usually Wednesday and Saturday), and it seems to have helped keep my metabolism guessing, as I lost over 70 pounds in about 8 months without plateauing, and have maintained that loss for almost a year now. 

Original Post by rsbritt:

It worked for me.  I always bumped up my caloric intake about twice a week (usually Wednesday and Saturday), and it seems to have helped keep my metabolism guessing, as I lost over 70 pounds in about 8 months without plateauing, and have maintained that loss for almost a year now. 

I always have a day that I bump my calories up (over maintenance) and have had the same great results - I've lost 32 lbs in the last 3 months with no plateauing.  I believe it keeps my metabolism guessing too.  The next day I usually eat what CC recommends (1200) and then bump it back up to between 1400 - 1500 for the rest of the week (and include little treats now and then during the week - a couple of Werther's candies, a popsicle, an ice cream sandwich, but stay within my calorie range).

Really, I think it just depends on the person and how their metabolsim reacts.  And there is nothing wrong with it as long as you view it as a treat and get right back on the wagon after.  If you are a person that once you eat something crappy, you can't stop, than probably a bad idea!

I'm currently on a plateau, but once I get off of it, I plan on eating one maintenance day a week :)  I won't go over my maintenance calories, which actually is quite a high number!

Don't call it a cheat day or a reward day. Don't call it anything. If you like going out to eat once a week, just tell yourself for that Saturday night dinner "I can't wait to have Thai food this Saturday!"

Don't call it anything. :)

As long as you don't regret it then a reward treat is the ideal way to keep plugging away at that diet!!