I hate cheat days!

Hello all. This is my first post and I hope I get a lot of feedback because I really need the support. Well, my major concern is cheat day. I know they say that it is good to have at the most one cheat day out of the week, but I can't seem to control my day. My cheat day usually turns into a " cheat weekend" and I usually get back on track on Monday morning. I exercise plenty, and I eat healthy on most days, but when I allow myself a cheat day, I lose all control and motivation. Can anyone relate? Does anyone have any advice?

Original Post by waley_bean:

I don't have cheat days. Not even on Easter Sunday. If I do eat say a small chocolate egg then the calories come off of my allowance which can be depressing but I think cheat days would throw me off track and encourage me to overeat again.

 

As others have said don't ban your favourite treats from your diet, just have them occasionally as part of your calorie allowance :)

but your calorie allowance doesn't have to be daily...different strokes for different folks ! Some of us prefer to work to a weekly calorie allowance which allows a "treat/cheat" day and averages out as an acceptable calorie intake over the week

I, also, do not have cheat days.  I have treat days and work the food into my daily intake.  Like others I may go over by a couple of hundred calories for that day but overall I am not over my needed calories for that day.  I keep some of my favorite things handy and allow myself a little of something instead of alot.  And, my downfall is potato chips.  I can eat a bag of them easily.  I started counting the number of chips.  And, you know what, I am just as satisfied with a few as with the bag.  Good luck to you.

I also do not like the term "cheat" - along with "bad" and "good" foods, all sound so punitive and like the adult in me is controlling the fat child - and that child WILL rebel!  I prefer the word "splurge" and someone else on this thread called it "indulgance".  I do have splurge meals from time to time.

I agree that having the meal out limits leftovers, but I also need to either split the entree with someone or get a to-go box at the beginning of the meal because the portions are so large in restaurants!  On the other hand, I can have a restaurant dessert, it is gourmet and yummy, and when it's done, it's done - nothing at home to tempt me.

Splurge days have not worked out for me - the longer I allow myself to eat unhealthfully, the more the momentum builds and eventually I'm scarfing down the worst kind of crap.  And I don't feel good - so a weekend vacation leads to a couple days of food hangover - that was fun?  I don't think so!

A splurge meal in the middle of an otherwise healthy-eating day - I do that once a month or so.

I don't believe in fake "diet" desserts - I want the real thing or nothing.  I also don't believe in sugar-based treats on a daily or even weekly basis.  For me, a healthy diet means I divorce myself from believing that I need sweets.  I have discovered that the best cure for cravings is to not have nutrient-free foods as a part of my daily lifestyle.  I just don't think about it - and I thoroughly enjoy fruit and other healthy foods all the more because my palate is more sensitive than it used to be.

I'm speaking as a recovering sugar-addict - a lifetime of daily sugar in almost all meals.  This kind of change IS possible!

Oh yeah, one daily sweet indulgence - I have honey in my morning tea.  I count the cals.  If I found I couldn't control it - wanting more tea or other sugars during the day, I would cut it out.  Some foods I can handle - others just trigger major cravings and physical/emotional unpleasantness.  Experiment and learn what your body has to teach you - that's what I recommend. 

I did cheat days for a while and ended up eating all weekend long as well. The reason: I spend/t my weekends at my parents who have their fridge and cupboards stuffed with goodies :(

So, I quit having a cheat day, but I got stuk at the same weight again, and I introduced a cheat day again but with a different approach. I can have 1 snack a week (like 1 chocolate bar or one small bag of chips), and I write down everything I missed that week.

For example when I want to have a chocolate croissant but I can't, I write it down and eat it on my cheat day. So basically my cheat day for this week is 1 croissant, 2 chocolate bars and pizza (and some other healthy stuff) and together is 2225 kcals. The average amount of kcals during my week was 1650 but I go to the gym every day for at least an hour.

This works pretty well for me, because I have all the foods I crave on my cheat day, and I usually crave for a certain type of food every one or two days. Hope this helps! :)

I know exactly what you mean! I've been dieting for over a month & my cheat 'day' turned into a cheat 'weekend', by the time Monday rolled around I was so off track it was harder then ever to focus.  It was just turning into a long peorid of not loosing any weight & I had to change something.

My fiance & I made a habit of going to our local frozen treat place every Sunday because they have $1 sundaes on Sunday! We even named it Sunday Sundae :) We've been doing this way longer then we should but it turned into a time we can spend together.  He works nights & I work days so we have very limited time together which made it very hard to give up doing this.

I just started to cut back a little through-out the weekend & push myself a little harder when I exercised.  That way I was still able to enduldge myself a little bit without going crazy.  The best part is that because the place offers this special the sundaes are basically mini ones, so it helped fulfill my sweet tooth & cravings & I wasn't doing anything crazy like eating a whole tray of brownies which I something would love to do :)

So my cheat day basically turn into an extra 100 calories on just one day but because I am walking the dogs an extra mile or running for an extra 15mins I don't feel as guilty about it.

If you have a cheat day where you go overboard then basically you are just making up for all of the calories that you aren't eat during the week.  A cheat day equals same weight or weight gain, so just be really careful on what you decide to do :)

GOOD LUCK!!

Also remember that McDonald's ice cream cones are low-fat, around 150 calories, so that is a nice low fat option as a treat :)  I try to keep extra fruit around the house for sweet tooth moments.  Graham crackers aren't very caloric either!  Good luck everyone!

Low-fat crap on a cheat day?  That's not cheating!  One slice of pizza???  That isn't cheating!  That's still dieting.

I've completely changed my fitness and diet practices since I found this site, and one cheat day a week has become essential.  I eat approximately 1900-2000 calories a day, but burn between 800 and 1200 calories a day doing cardio and some sort of aerobics, dance or yoga class.  I eat healthy, home-cooked meals all week, then once a week I get a cheat day.

And this, friends, does not involve wussy little low-fat pudding snacks.  For example, I've been eating homemade soup, flaky biscuits, veggies and sandwiches all week, and burning at least 800 cal a day.  Today is my day off exercising, with just one hour of yoga.  For lunch I ate a healthy, low-fat chinese food dish at a local cafe.  Tonight, after yoga, I get a Jack-in-the-Box ultimate cheeseburger and curly fries, followed by a yummy drink I'll mix at home.  (The drinks my husband and I mix are 400cal at most, and get us quite drunk.)  This brings me up to about 2300 cal for today counting the yoga burn (which isn't much). 

And you know what?  Instead of feeling guilty and hating myself for the cheat meal I'm having tonight, I'm actually going to enjoy the food!  There's no point to eating junk food if you're going to regret it anyway.  Besides, I couldn't do any real cardio today even if I wanted.  My legs and arms hurt from the aerobics w/ weights class on Tuesday, and my abs and obliques hurt from learning the backwards camel at the belly dancing class on Wednesday.  I guess the pain from the sore muscles helps remind me that it's good to take a break and refuel, especially with greasy meat and cheese.  It's bad for me, but hey, at least it's protein.

Original Post by yamisui:

Low-fat crap on a cheat day?  That's not cheating!  One slice of pizza???  That isn't cheating!  That's still dieting.

 well every since ive been into my healthy lifestyle i cant even eat that crap without feeling sick.. some people just truly enjoy the healthy food and a cheat day is considered a little extra.. everyones different.