I am curious what everyone's opinion is on cheat days. So far I have had one cheat day a week and it's actually been a pretty good thing. I thought I would hate it bc I tend to be pretty militant when it comes to a diet. But I kept gaining back so I figured I would take the advice of someone who has been successful. I have lost ten pounds in a week. I am exercising 6 days a week and watching calories very closely those six days. I don't go crazy and binge on my cheat day but I definitely enjoy it. So far so good... For me anyway. Has anyone seen trouble down the road with cheat days? So far it's helping to keep me motivated throughout the week but I want to be careful! Any input is appreciated 😊

I usually "cheat" on Thursdays and maybe 1 weekend day. I am diligent throughout the week, mostly because I have to be bc of being Diabetic. Of course, losing weight too!!! When I do have "cheat" days, I still have to be mindful bc of the Diabetes (I suppose a blessing in disguise!) TBH, I think having those cheat days is helping me lose weight! Go figure

I think cheat days are important, but they can get out of hand. If you are doing it once a week you might want it to be a cheat meal rather than the whole day. And like Jesika said, still be mindful of what you are eating.

I don't believe in cheat days. It takes a while for the millions of tiny digestion organisms to get used to a new diet. To bounce back and forth will probably cause problems with your stomach. As a person who decided that Low Fat Vegan was the best thing for me, I cannot simply eat a fatty slice of meat and cheese because after a while Vegans actually become sick when they eat too much fat, oil, or protein. A lot of people get sick switching their diets back and forth simply because the millions of bacteria which helps to break down food in the lower intestines is specific to each diet. A person who eats a lot of cheese and meat is going to have a completely different bacteria population than a person who eats no oil, sugar, and only vegetable protein. Having a cheat day is just asking for stomach upset, and maybe diarrhea.

That does make sense, if you are eating a very strict (or different) diet than what you'd be cheating with. I personally don't diet that way, I just try to make better choices as I go along. I think of it sort of how a "naturally skinny" person eat. Eat pretty good, then maybe one day have french fries, or next week have a slice of cheesecake. Basically just allow little luxuries into your diet.

I've found that I go overboard with a cheat day once a week. I'm thinking of trying it maybe twice a month and see how things work.

My diet consists of food that I really enjoy. I just try to stay within my calorie parameters that I have set for myself. Nothing is off limits - so I really don't need a cheat day. However, there are days when I am really hungry; and If I have stayed on plan for over a week or two, I will give myself a free day. I'm sure it has slowed my weight loss over the past year - but at least I have consistently lost pounds and am still on plan.

I find I only "cheat" once or twice a month. If there's a birthday, PMS (lol) etc, then I go off plan. Ironically, the scale is usually in my favor a few days after a cheat day. Must be good for my system I'm pretty good about getting back on plan once the "celebration" is over.

All of this.

I've read a few articles that have said that cheat days can be mentally beneficial! So far so good for me 😊

I think having cheat days for me right now as I re-start is important. I am trying to phase certain things out, so a cheat day is a perfect solution. It is easier not to have my one soda a day when I know I can have it on cheat day. Something I am doing differently this time is still tracking my calories on cheat day and not going overboard. I had a friend who would start her cheat day at midnight and eat for 24 hours. I can't see how that is healthy or sustainable. Maybe it worked for her but it couldn't work for me. I'd like to eventually be to a point where I don't need a cheat day, and instead am just in tune with my body.

But right now it is a very useful tool! Can't wait till next Saturday

i have one every friday but DO NOT EVER extend it into Sat-Thur, i eat healthy and within cal limits the rest of the week but ENJOY my Fri!

Honestly depending on what you eat sometimes a cheat day can set you back and you might lose less weight than you wanted.

For me I normally have a cheat meal no more than once a week. Once I start having "cheat days" I eat too much and go crazy. Making it hard to go back. So a cheat meal doesn't set me back and tends to be around my maintenance calories, so I don't gain weight.

I'm changing my routine to this, also. Limiting it to one meal, probably bc after going on Zoloft, i've been gaining even though i've limited my cheat day A LOT (thankfully i'm weaning off that med) but i do enjoy my cheat meal and don't feel bad about it at all and it helps me actually keep on track the rest of the week

I kind of do, but not quite. Basically I alternate days of very low calories with a bit higher. Like one day no more than 1000 calories. Then the next 1600. then 1000 the next, 1600 the next. But I go over sometimes on my higher days-but only if we go out to eat, then I don't count the calories I just try not to go crazy and stuff myself. And I switch days around depending on what we are doing(like I will do two 1000 days a row if I know that Friday we are going out to eat but that's my 1000 cal. day, I'll switch it to a higher day and then just eat 1000 on Sat and Sunday to get back on track). I was losing 2-5 lbs a week this way for a couple of months, but then I stopped(had some family emergency stuff, going out of town, etc, and blew it off for a while). Just started back on doing this again. I didn't/don't feel too deprived, because if I am feeling deprived on a 1000 calorie day I just tell myself I can have it the next. And I did. And as long as I didn't go nuts on my higher calorie days, I was losing weight well(and I wasn't even exercising). I had read about a diet plan in a magazine that was alternating 1000 calorie days with 2000 calorie days, and it said mixing it up like that helped keep the metabolism up. I don't know, but it seems to work for me to go up and down with my calories. But I know I go over 2000 calories some days, so if I am not eating out on a higher cal day I try to keep it around 1500-1600.