Info on Cheat Days Please??

Ok, first of all, I lost four pounds in the last two weeks.

I have started to think.  I have heard of people talk about cheat days every now and then.  When you do a cheat day, do you just eat until you are full and not worry how much you eat, or do you still try to stay within the range of the burn meter?  I'm just wondering.  And how often do you do a cheat day?  Once a month, twice a month, every other month or what?  Thanks in advance for your answer!

Its up to you
All calories count
But with "cheat days" you can chose not to count and just deal with the numbers at the end. Hopefully also your body will have  abit of a shock and just burn it faster.

I do a cheat meal once a week but the rule is I have to stop when I am almost full and I have heaps of water with it and it ONLY lasts one meal. Thats just me. some ppl just binge all day but to me thats bad cos you leanr how to stretch your tummy and thats not always making a healthy choice.

You could also just plan a day where you stay within cals but eat more unhealthily. You'd eat super low cal brekkie using fruits and diet yogurt on, say a weekend when you get up later, then prolong lunch (no morning tea, or very low cal, or just hot water) and have alike a mushroom based pizza, then allow yourself to have a decadent dinner and dessert. But its up to you really.

I would also try and reward yourself with non food things - makes it a whole lot healthier

Firstly, congrats on your loss so far .

Alright, for 'cheat days' or 'cheat meals', my definition might be different than what the regular meaning is, but nonetheless, I will explain the way I look at them.

I don't have 'cheat day's, only 'cheat meals' or 'cheat snacks'.  First, if whatever I have will make me stay within my day's calories, then it's not cheating.  I allow myself to eat whatever I want, but in small portions.  So a cheat meal will usually be when I go out to dinner, and have a big meal with some booze.  Usually happens about once a week maybe.  Sometimes more, sometimes less. And for my cheat snack, its usually like chips, or a chocolate bar, maybe twice a week. 

On those days, I try to get more exercise in, and drink lots of water. 

edit: deleted, double post

I have my cheat days on the weekends.  I don't try to record anything, but I try hard to not eat over maintenance (guestimating).

Some weekends I am just so busy that I way undereat, too, but I try not to worry about that either. (I either overeat by 500ish or undereat by 500ish when counting, so I guess weekends have to be the same too, haha!)

i usually have one big cheat meal a week. i eat whatever i want, and i usually eat till i'm stuffed. and i'll have dessert too!

i've maintained a healthy weight for well over a year.

I agree with everyone that chooses 'cheat meals and snacks'. I don't agree with a 'cheat day'. Because the more you go over your daily requirement the more will stick with you the next day, and the next day. So you could be undoing a half weeks worth of work.

I chat by eating sweets once in a while in place of a snack, and then having a very sensible dinner. So instead of my 700 cal. deficit daily it may be 500-600. Just so long as I am under I don't worry about it too much. I'm sure there are days that I get close to my cal. requirement with no deficit, but I think as long as you aren't overly indulging just to overindulge you will appreciate it more in the long run.

I usually have one day a week when I allow myself to go up to maintenance calories...I try not to go above that so I don't feel like I've really blown my diet. And it allows me to have some of the things I miss...usually really chocolaty :)

this tends to be on the weekend, when I get more exercise than during the week too...but for me that's a reward too...oddly, but I'll do something I love like play tennis, or when the trails open I'll go hiking :)

Original Post by josielynn:

I have my cheat days on the weekends.  I don't try to record anything, but I try hard to not eat over maintenance (guestimating).

Some weekends I am just so busy that I way undereat, too, but I try not to worry about that either. (I either overeat by 500ish or undereat by 500ish when counting, so I guess weekends have to be the same too, haha!)

 Yes, I understand that, most days, I try to stay within my limit, but on Sunday's when I go out to my parents, or when I go to my parents-in-laws, or to Bible study, they always have somekind of sweets there.   I still try to stay under or at my burn meter, especially at my parents and Bible Studies. 

Edited: (added)  I try to stay a 1000 calories below my burn meter, but if I get close to that, maybe by only 500 or 300, I think, oh well, I'll try better tomorrow!  Some days, I may also not eat at much, especially, if I keep walking and so forth, I mean it seems the more you exercise, your calories intake or whatever, (the burn meter) goes up!  But oh well. 

Well sometimes I cheat more than I should (theres the time of the month or those weekends where you just don't care lol)

The day I usually chose to cheat (not to all extremes) but that day is mostly Saturdays...I'm out and about and usually go to a restaurant for lunch/dinner.

Sometimes what I consider cheating is something that I can't measure out or find on this website lol...

I do a major cheating binge type thing at most once every two weeks and yes I do allow myself a small piece of chocolate after dinner during my non cheat times when I wanna change the taste in my mouth after dinner..

Once a week I do a cheat "meal".  Like last night where I had pizza and breadsticks to celebrate my 3 year old son pooping on the potty at school for the first time (sorry, probably TMI).  But, I tried to keep it within my Burn Meter also.  I had one piece of pizza and four breadsticks.  More than my "loss goal" of 1350 calories but less than my Burn Meter "reading".

Samantha

2 pounds down, 7 to go!

I call what I do a cheat day but it's not really cheating. Once a week I go to lunch with my friends and this day is my cheat day. I still pick healthy options I still have a defficite(or at the very least maintanence) but if I feel like I want to "cheat" at dinner also this is the day I do it.....I don't eliminate any food from what I eat so I don't ever feel deprived I just make sure it is within my calories. I find that I usually am still at 1000 deficite even on my cheat days but it just feels good to have a day where I don't have to be as strict with myself.

Ok, this turned out to be long...I appologize.

I usually do a cheat day (or a weekend, depending on what I have going on) once a week.  I eat whatever I want, don't count a thing and do minimal exercise.  I've done this since I started and I've lost 50 pounds since May of last year.  This mainly started because of football Sundays, big breakfasts with my boyfriend and stepkids on Sunday and all the million birthday parties it seems we attend. I dont' want to ever feel guilty because of something I ate. 

As I've gotten into better shape, I find that I still don't completely go crazy...I can't eat as much as I used to.  If we go to a restaurant and I get a burger, fries and an appetizer with my boyfriend, I end up taking over half of it home, usually.  Not that I'm saying that makes it healthy or something, but I'm in a lot more control of myself than I used to be.  Before, I would have ate it all without batting an eye.

I do a cheat day because then I don't feel I'm depriving myself.  If I want to go out drinking with my friends or to the movies or out to dinner, I don't want to worry about every single thing going into my mouth every day.  This way, I really stay on track 6 days a week and still have a day "off".  Sometimes, I save my cheat day for PMS days.

But, I'm not saying I recommend this to everyone since everyone's body is different.  I don't know you, so I'm not sure how this would work for you. Some people have a hard time readjusting to a healthier lifestyle after having a cheat day. Personally, it works for me and I find I don't crave things if I know I can have them on the weekend.  And honestly, my diet isn't extremely strict anyway (but a million times healthier than it was), but I want to have some flexibility there.

I used to have an extremely physical job that allowed me to eat whatever and never gain (I even lost and toned).  Once I got a desk job, I gained a ton of weight.  So, I know that as long as I'm physically active most days, my metabolism really picks up.  So, I can usually afford a day or two of cheating and it doesn't really hinder me.

I'm still trying to lose about 20-30 pounds and since Christmas, I haven't been exercising and have slipped some on my eating.  I haven't gained at all (whew!!) and I'm back at being hard core about weight loss again.  But, I'm still allowing my cheat day once a week since it worked before.

For me I have a cheat meal once every two weeks, My trainer told me to, cause he did not want me to go crazy. He said go out and get you a nice size steack 10oz porthouse even.. I looked at him like he was crazy. But he told me you need to understand how to control your mind and your body. the same way you reward children when you send excess money like for disneyland or cruise. treat your self to a dinner.

So for me I have one cheat meal every two weeks. The goal is not just to loose weight but to keep your sanity while doing it.

Sunday's my cheat day because the dispatchers I work with at my on-campus job always make an elaborate dinner that night.  I wake up, eat oatmeal and drink a cup of milk, then head to the gym to run for a half-hour or so, and also to lift and do some crunches.  I have pancakes when I get back (just one serving with sugar-free or lite syrup), and by that point in the day I usually have eaten between 500 and 600 calories.  That way I can have 1,000 calories at work without really thinking about it!  And they DO bring in that much food, and always have Coke or Pepsi (not diet, either). 

Sometimes I feel guilty about it, but then again, I try really hard to eat well until 5:45!  Haha.

Try substituting the word "Reward" for "Cheat".  If you are working out and being diliegent toward fitness goals, I think you will find that you are in fact NOT cheating but rather REWARDING yourself for your hard work. 

My rewards are 1xmo - UNO"s pizza - as much as I want, 1xweek - Ice Cream Blizzard (Peanut Butter Cup)

       &nb sp;               &nb sp;   

Nope, no cheat days. This is not a diet, this is my new life. If I want some doritos, I'll have them. They will be weighed and will fit into my caloric allowance for the day mind you, but I will have them. Everything in moderation is my motto.

Original Post by iknowmychicken:

Nope, no cheat days. This is not a diet, this is my new life. If I want some doritos, I'll have them. They will be weighed and will fit into my caloric allowance for the day mind you, but I will have them. Everything in moderation is my motto.

Calorie counting in moderation is my motto. ;D

I have a 'cheat' day every week or two.  It's just a day when I let myself eat what I want, as long as it is above 800 calories and below my maintenance calories.  I'm a bit lazier with the counting/measuring/weighing that day, too. :]

My "cheat" day is when I get paid twice a month I buy a piece of really good italian cheesecake from the grocery store. But I usually have it instead of a regular dinner so I don't really go over my calories (or if I do it's not by much).

Original Post by iknowmychicken:

Nope, no cheat days. This is not a diet, this is my new life. If I want some doritos, I'll have them. They will be weighed and will fit into my caloric allowance for the day mind you, but I will have them. Everything in moderation is my motto.

My thoughts exactly.  I don't have cheat days.  That doesn't mean that some days I don't go over my limits, I do.  However I do what I can over the next few days to offset those calories.  And, so far, I've pretty much been able to do it without depriving myself.