Do any of you do "cheat days"? And if so, do you just eat whatever you want one day a week, or allow yourself something outside of your diet one dday a week? Just curious.
Personally, I don't do cheat days. If I want a piece of chocolate, I'll eat a piece of chocolate. The hard part is eating only ONE. I'm afraid that if I do an entire day of "cheating"....the whole plan is out the window.
The best thing about calorie counting is that there are no forbidden foods.
So, no - I do not "cheat" or plan to go over my calorie limit. If there is a food I am craving that I don't normally eat, I work it into my plan - either by making it healthier, or controlling the portion size
The best thing about calorie counting is that there are no forbidden foods.
So, no - I do not "cheat" or plan to go over my calorie limit. If there is a food I am craving that I don't normally eat, I work it into my plan - either by making it healthier, or controlling the portion size
Yep, there is no diet so there's nothing to cheat on. Just like there is no wagon so there's nothing to fall off of.
I plan my beer/wine/chocolate/pizza into my day and enjoy it just like anything else.
I could never do any plan that had forbidden foods, that just seems like a big old set up to fail.
I don't do a "cheat day" in the traditional sense. For instance, I don't say, "On Saturday, I will eat whatever I want, all day long." For one thing, "whatever I want" now means a big old hunk of watermelon or some plain cheerios with banana, so that's not super exciting LOL.
But I do have this: Mondays, a group of us go out to pizza and salad. The pizzas are small, individual size with whatever toppings I want and I choose fairly healthy. On Fridays, I have another regularly-scheduled lunch out with a friend. Once in awhile, I might want a beer (or two). I simply count the calories from those events and move on. If it puts me over my daily limit, then I do try to be mindful of what I eat for the rest of that day or week, but nothing is blown or out the window. How could it be? How would eating MORE (because the day is "blown") for the rest of the day compensate for what I had for lunch?
I do have a few foods that are forbidden right now. I won't have cookies in the house, because they are my kryptonite. I don't buy fatty, "real" potato chips or Doritos because once I start eating those, I do not stop. I don't have a problem with baked Lays so I can have those in the house. For some people, this is like waving a red bullfighter's cape at them and makes them want the forbidden food MORE, but for me, it is simply removing the temtpation. If it's not here and available, then I don't think about it and don't want it.
It's so interesting how our brains and bodies are so different! I think the key is to find out what works best for each person. And for the OP--try not to translate a poor food choice into a "blown" diet or a wasted day or anything like that. It's a momentary unwise food choice; that's it. Nothing more and nothing less. Get right back on plan.
Good to know. I think I will incorporate my wine into my calorie intake for the day....hey, I can have my wine and drink it too. Life is good.
Dark chocolate and dry red wine are two foods that work their way into my plan most days
I'm here to tell you that you don't have to give them up, just don't go overboard on them. And it helps to be vigilant about getting the nutrients you need from the other foods in your plan
Last edited by CountingDown; 06-13-2009 at 12:23 PM.
I do kinda the same thing you do. I don't have a certain day that is devoted to eating what I want, just eat what I want when I see it. I've recently started to eat intuitively though, i.e. order what I want off a menu and eat until I'm full not until the food is gone, making sure to always leave something on the plate. It worked this week, I still lost a pound and a half
I can't have a cheat "day" because if I allow myself to eat whatever I want for the whole day....my eating good is toast. It's way harder for me to get back in gear with a good diet. So if I want something in particular I will just eat it and write it down because It needs to fit into my calories for that day. And If I am a little over my calories for a day its ok...but I won't let myself go more than a few hundred calories over.
I usually calorie cycle, so on Saturdays I have about 1700 calories saved up and tend to splurge - eating bbq, Indian or Vietnamese food. No guilt whatsoever, which is lovely. About every other day I have ice cream. I have 4 different kinds in my freezer and they range from 60-120 calories per serving, so I have whichever fits into my calorie budget for the day.
I've definitely bought a dark chocolate bar and eaten the whole thing in a day. That, along with my other food choices that particular week, did cause me to go over my weekly calorie allowance. I didn't beat myself up though - since I go to the gym I knew I would still lose weight and/or get fit. It doesn't bother me if I lose .5 pounds rather than .8 pounds per week! I'm still making progress!
On Sundays I definitely eat at or a little above maintenance. I really don't allow myself indulgences throughout the week, so I have an "on-plan off-plan" day. This doesn't mean I go crazy with donuts and nachos and beer, but I don't worry about measuring exactly a cup of cereal, or eating more than one handful of goldfish. Sunday is also the day that my family likes to go out to eat together. I still try to make healthy restaurant choices, but I can get cheese on a sandwich if I want it.
The key to having a "cheat day" (if you want to call it that) is that it has to be a part of your plan. The main reason my mom is having trouble losing weight with me is that we eat whatever we want on Sundays, but she doesn't watch her portions or try to make lower cal choices during the week. I've noticed a lot of people on 3FC are not okay with cheat days, but it has worked out pretty well for me over the last month.
For me a cheat day is a day I let my calories come up to, or barely over maintenance. I try to avoid doing that but sometimes it happens. Sadly I am going to have a few cheat days coming up since I am going on a trip and will be eating out with friends every night for almost a week.
I totally have a cheat day but I do it once a month. I try not to go too crazy but it helps me get past cravings that have no place on my diet. If the smallest blizzard is 500 calories it's kind of hard to fit it on a 1500 calorie diet. Plus there are all those wonderful local restaurants that don't have calorie information. It helps me to deal with cravings by saying "I can have that on X date" and usually by the time it comes I don't want it anymore. And if I do I can have it.
I don't call my days off 'cheat' days, as that doesn't really make sense to me. If I binge or something, I'm just cheating myself.
Though I don't plan my days off, I can generally feel when I start to need one. It may be one, two, or three days, but I usually get back to my diet when I feel like doing so. I'm very motivated by my own will and don't lose sight of what I want. I'm not on a diet just to kick my own a**, I'm trying to lose weight.. sometimes I just like to take my precious time.
Cheat Days
