Once-a-week Cheat Meals - Success Stories

I'd like to hear from forumers who have successfully incorporated once-a-week (or similar) cheat meals into their diets.

It's something I'd like to introduce into my currently strict diet. I think the occasional boost in calories might even get my metabolism going if I'm lucky. It's just that I've been unsuccessful in the past with them... i.e. they made me go up in the scales.

Thanks :) 

I am a strong believer in programs that you can stick to... one I was on for awhile before was Bill Phillips' Body for Life... and it had one full day per week of eating anything you want... there's a huge psychological reason for that... it's a lot easier to stick to a strict diet when you know that once in awhile you can have any food you want... that helps beating cravings and make it a long term lifestyle rather than a crash diet where you're doomed...

that being said... you still have to watch your calories.. meaning that you can't really pig out and double your calories in one day... energy equation still stands...

I think the trick is to not go over board.  As with anything, moderation is key.  I dont necessarily do the "cheat meal" thing, but I do allow myself to eat things that I crave--but a small portion.  For example, right now, its Halloween and candy is everywhere!  And if I want a piece, I will have it, but just one.  There are only 72 calories in a snickers fun size bar and I savor every one of them.  If I want pizza, I will have one slice to go with a BIG salad, and maybe add 10 minutes to my cardio workout.  

 

For me, this is about a lifestyle and in life, I gotta allow for pizza

 

 

I've found that when I give myself a cheat day, I never really cheat all that much. It's just knowing that I could eat whatever I want that makes me decide not to. No one likes to be told what to do or what to eat even when we do it to ourselves.

When I used to do cheat days, I'd pick a meal to cheat with, not all day. I usually picked dinner and I'd have mashed potatoes with extra gravy when normally I'd have a baked potato. I'd also have dessert, a real dessert, not fruit or a fat free pudding. Denying yourself everything only makes you want it more.

I've lost over 20 lbs successfully with cheat days. I'm a college student, and I'm not about to let dieting ruin my social life. I log my food on most days, but on the weekends I never do. I drink, go out to dinner, etc. I agree with abbynormal that you never really do as bad a you think you might. And I actually think it does boost my metabolism. Since I've come to school and started cheating more on the weekends, I've lost weight faster than over the summer. I know a lot of people on this forum disagree about cheat days, but I think they're great-a psychological break!

I'm not on a strict diet, I pretty much just want to maintain a healthy average of calories while making healthy food choices. I will have days where I overindulge on bad foods but I may cut back the calories the day before or the day after.  This in effect becomes what some term a zig-zag diet but I just do this naturally based on what life throws at me.  This is football season and tailgating is a major weakness of mine - so I just planned to work around it.  I'm hopeful that this will work for the holidays as well.

I am male and have a lot to lose so this may be an easier approach for me than for you.

I have been on a strict diet for 9 months but couldn't stop the urge to get some cakes from starbucks. I just had three today and I don't feel guilty about it but just want to figure out what is next for me.

I usually allow myself about three cheat treats (potato chips, sweets, ice cream) and one cheat meal (usually a hamburger, few slices of pizza, fish & chips or a muffin) on the weekends. For example, on wednesday I had a slice of birthday cake (albeit a very small one), on friday I had a Subway tuna sandwich plus a double-choc cookie and some potato chips. Whereas yesterday I had a nice, big, chunky Peanut Butter Kit Kat.

Is it working? Yes, but only because I get it all on the go and don't keep anything unhealthy in the house :)

im a HUGE believer in cheat days! 

i lost 40 pounds in less than a year, and the whole time i "cheated" every weekend, and every monday when i jumped on the scale, i ALWAYS had lost weight! it was so exciting!

for me, im in college so i'd eat carefully all week, then on the weekends i'd drink beer and go out to dinner (usually only once though) with my friends. someone else here said it, you can cheat just do it in moderation. cheat doesnt mean eat a whole box of oreos. for me, cheating would be eating 3 oreos, because otherwise i dont eat them at all!

good luck!!!! 

Count me in on this one too!

I lost over 40lbs as well, I did cheat days and still have them. I have one at least once per week. It definatly cuts down on huge food binges and cravings. I think if you give into your cravings a bit and dont overdue it you really make this whole healthy eating and exercise program your with really stick for life. So yes im a lifer for cheatdays and I swear this is the reason im doing so well and have lost so much thus far................

Congrats to all the cheatdays weightlosers whoooohooooo  GO US

well i started my journey counting cals every day including the weekends, but after a few weeks i stopped and let me weekends be count free. I still am mindful of what i eat, dont drink soda or overeat, but i will eat a slice or two of pizza, go out to eat, and snack a little less healthfully. I still have been able to drop 50lbs in about 14 weeks. I look at like this, at some point ill be at my goal weight and stop fastidious cal counting, but instead keep a general running number in my head so i know if im under or to keep from going over, which is basically what i do on the weekends.

I allow myself cheat meals (or sometimes even days) periodically.  I still track them though, but I don't enter any of the information in until the following day...that way, I don't think about how many calories I had.  It makes me feel better about it.  I am not a strict dieter either, but I can usually maintain a good average on my calories.

I had a "Cheat Weekend" a couple of weeks ago and allowed myself pizza and ice cream!!  I didn't go and calcualte any of the calories until the end of the weekend (I was out of town on a birthday trip with my 10 -year old daughter and I was going to eat all the fun things with her).  Funny part was when I did calcualte the calories...because I didn't have full meals execpt maybe one a day...I sitll only averaged 1200-1300 calories!!!  Not healthy by any means, but at least I maintained a good number!!

cheat days, on the weekend, help me keep my sanity.  Refuse to live a life where I couln't eat things I wanted.  My cheat days, aren't totally out of control through.  Pizza is my favorite, sometimes ice cream.  I am a happy and contented dieter because of them.

For me pretty much every saturaday is a cheat day, I'm religious, so saturday is a big family/meal/food/no exercise day, so I watch what I eat but always end up eating more than the rest of the week.

I've lost 40 lbs. since July.

But it also really works out for me to have a cheat day, because if I want to cheat during the week, if I have a craving, I tell myself "you can cheat, you cah have that piece of cake, just do it on saturday" that way I'm not telling myself no, but by the time saturaday comes I don't even want it, so its a win win, but it's still my cheat day since I inevitably eat more than the rest of the week.

I cheat sometimes but my cheating days have changed since I joined cc.

last weekend, I cheated but chose to pick sugar free chocolate, reduced fat icecream and fat free sugar free muffins. I also had two chocolate muffins and one apple tart from Strabucks but that is because I really wanted them.

After cheating days, it is time to be back on track. Hopefully.

I have cheat weekends too, and I've lost 27 lbs since Sept 4th...I drink and eat what I want on Saturday/Sunday, but I too have noticed that my cheating is never as bad as my meals would have been before.  I used to go to breakfast for a chorizo omlet w/ cheese and homefries with toast, not eat lunch, and then go out sat night and drink makers and coke and then go to jib and get med or large curly fries and a spicy chicken sandwich (soda has always been a mixer for me, not a drink).  Now I make breakfast after my walk, usually 1 egg scrambled with veggies, english muffin and some soy milk, lunch is usually a sandwich and 100 cal bag of chips, yes i drink, but its vodka and sparkling water, and then i might have a med curly fries on the way home.