I was wondering how many of you allow yourself a cheat day or meal and if so is it once a week once a month? is it a full day or just one meal?

I have been going back and forth about allowing myself to have one. I feel like the great part of calorie counting is it's a way of life it's a lifestyle change and I'm teaching myself to eat the way I will have to eat the rest of my life. and lets face Will I never have another slice of cake again?of course I will. I could budget it in if I really wanted it but then I feel like I'll be "budgeting" bad things in more often if I allow it on a random un planned basis. So I feel like maybe allowing myself a day to be off plan will give me a way to make it the rest of the week or month or how ever often I allow myself to be off plan. that way I can tell myself "No you don't need that right now You can have it on Sunday if you still want it" or "No You get you have that at the end of the month"

So I was wondering how many of you allow yourself a day how often is it and how bad has it affected your weight loss?

The last time I allowed myself a cheat day/meal I continued to cheat for 3 months.

It has taken me a year and two months to lose 32 pds (I need to change my ticker) and the reason is because I do awesome during the week and I eat whatever I want on the weekends. For myself, I would much rather do it this way and lose slowly because in the past if I am strict and "mess up" I give in and say forget it and I get nowhere with weight loss. I'm starting to get a bit tighter and only give in to cravings on Saturday and increasing my workouts. This is just what has worked for me. Best of luck!

The following is what works for ME -

I do not plan cheat days/meals/etc. If I do, I tend to get off plan and binge 99.99% of the time.

A cheat meal that's within reason on special occassions. Have a slice of cake on your birthday. Have a nice meal on your anniversary. Have a burger during the labor day weekend. That's what I do.

If you plan for it, then it's not off plan, regardless of the food you choose or its calorie content.

I never plan, or have a cheat meal. I plan ALL my calories. Honestly, that is one of the attractions of calorie counting. If I want something special, or I am attending a special event, on vacation, etc. I can eat whatever I plan for - and it is NEVER off plan.

I must say, with this approach, maintenance has been a very smooth transition. Through calorie counting, I learned how to handle all types of eating situations - successfully.

The keys for me are: planning, and ENJOYING what I planned for. Example: Tonight was wine tasting at a local restaurant. Wine, a sample of strawberry shortcake and half of a bean burrito were part of the evening. All were chosen ahead, planned for and I am still totally within my calories for the day. I'm actually even balanced with my carb/fat/protein ratio. No guilt, I enjoyed every single bite/sip.

Like my avatar says - enjoy the journey - life is too short to have to plan to "cheat" to eat foods you like.

Wndranne has a great quote that I love, and it fits calorie counting so well, "I figure I can eat (1) anything I want, (2) as often as I want, and (3) in whatever quantity I want. But I only get to pick two of these three if I want to manage my weight, and more importantly, my health."

counting down i couldn't agree with you more.. the way you eat is exactly the way i do.. currently If i want something bad I budget it in I still stay with in my calories... but i guess what I was wondering is how often do you allow your self to "budget" something naughty in with in your calorie range.. I could fit a slice of cake into plan and eat a big mac everyday and still be within my range but I don't think that would be a smart idea...

I don't think it's realistic to think that you can set a certain number of calories and stick to that number every day for the rest of your life. That's not how most of us live. Sometimes we go on vacation and may want to eat a little more. Sometimes we go to a party and want to splurge. Sometimes we just crave a good burger and fries from McDonalds. If you are counting your calories most of the time and trying to stay to a certain limit on most days, then there is no reason you can't allow yourself certain meals or days that you eat more. Just also realize that those extra calories will affect your weight loss progress. It's all about choices.

I would maybe go more with a splurge meal instead of a splurge day. For instance, if you are craving that cheeseburger and fries one day, try to eat lighter for the other two meals. That will somewhat offset the extra calories and you probably will appreciate the meal a little bit more. In the past when I would go on vacation for a week, I would go all out and splurge at every meal. Of course I would end up gaining 5 pounds or more during the week. This summer I was determined to break the huge weight gain cycle for my vacation. I tried to eat two light to moderate meals and then one larger splurge meal each day. End result was I only gained about 1-2 pounds that week and I was able to quickly take the weight off the week after we got home.

I have to be careful budgeting splurge foods, but I definitely do it! The frequency depends on a lot of issues (like how long I've felt I'm in "control", how many occasions are looming, etc). I don't like the word "cheat" but I also know that I will have treats or splurges from time to time.

For me there's a slippery slope. One ice cream out -- planned for -- will not hurt. But if that splurge is going to make me crave MORE the next day or week, then perhaps it isn't really worth it. Especially if I start giving in to those cravings.

Good question. I eat MOSTLY a whole foods diet. Yet, I do plan for red wine and dark chocolate every day. Just a bit

As I look over my food diaries, I eat "clean" about 90%. I select healthy choices when I dine out, but I don't worry too much about them being "naughty" foods.
That being said, I haven't eaten in a fast food restaurant in years - being a vegetarian, I find few foods that I can eat, and even fewer I enjoy. I'm far more about quality vs. quantity these days. Give me a really good piece of cheesecake over a fast food dessert any day of the week

One real key for me I hinted at above. We dine out/vacation quite a bit. But, we ALWAYS split an entree. Often, we just split an appetizer or a dessert with a beverage.

And the bonus lesson I learned (you would have thought I had mastered this lesson a long time ago, since I'm really good at math) is that by split, I mean share. I USED to spit 50/50 with DH - and I wondered why I weighed the same amount he did. NOW, I split 30/70 with him. I'm a much wiser (and smaller) chickie, indeed

I guess, what I am saying, is that I really do believe in Anne's quote - I eat less healthy things very frequently, but in very small quantities - and I savor every bite. They are completely satisfying, and I don't feel deprived at all.

Now, 10 minutes ago DH said that he has a yen for cheesecake, and we made a coffee and cheesecake date for after work tomorrow. But again, just a few bites (and the place we are going has a low-fat variety) will be enough. I will take an ever-so-small amount on my fork and really taste it - mindfully. I will repeat this periodically while sipping my coffee. Over 20 minutes, I will eat about 100-150 calories of cheesecake.

I know, it probably sounds weird - but it really works for me

I also do some calorie shifting in preparation for social events/vacations. I will undereat my calories for a period before an event, and then plan more calories for the special day/time. It works great, and I always come home from vacation at my maintenance weight. However, I always try to plan in extra exercise (usually walking and hiking) when we travel. It really does help

Once a week I'll pick something, last weekend I was craving a whopper so I got a whopper jr with no cheese (320 calories). It was exactly what I wanted and I scheduled it into my day

A few weeks ago when I went out with my husband's family they wanted mexican. I had a few chips (5) and salsa and then loaded up on hot carrots. When my food came (grilled fajitas) I ate as much as I wanted. When I was done his family said I hadn't touched my meal! lol

I would never plan a whole day cuz then I'd go out of control.

I do well with staying well on plan during the week, and having "whatever I want" on the weekend. But that's with the understanding that what I want has changed due to my consistent good eating, and that I keep in mind all the effects of my food when I decide what I "want," I never eat past full, I hold my food to high standards, and I rarely ever do refined carbs anymore. So it's not really a free-for-all. I guess "relaxed" is more the way I think of it. I would normally only have dessert once, but if circumstances bring me more than one spectacular dessert, I go with it. And if nothing really special comes up, I don't have to have any dessert or other indulgence. I find that the weekdays don't feel deprived at all, and the weekends don't feel depraved either . It's a nice balance. But I think it takes some work to reach that place, and it's not always smart to have that leeway if it doesn't work for you.

This. Right. Here.

For me there's not such thing as a cheat day, I can't for some reason just have ONE DAY or even one meal (though occasionally I have a "sceduled deviation" were I alot calories for the meal out).

I think you'll find out pretty fast that budgeting for fast food doesn't work so well... since a Big Mac is 460 calories... It can be done, but it can sure leave you short for the rest of the day if you don't work things out right.

But, as long as you COUNT EVERYTHING, it is not cheating.

Jay