[Rafaella]

Ok, I know million people have asked about cheat meals before and actually I once started a thread about how bad I felt after a cheat day... but today after another cheat meal I do feel bad again, do you have cheat meals/days? and more important than that how do you deal with the guilt???

[SunshineRunner]

I don't have any "cheat meals" scheduled per se. I don't allow myself to not have the things I want...when I feel I deserve them or just really crave them...but I do them in moderation. One night last week I really wanted some french fries...so I had them...I didn't feel great, but I only ate about a small serving size and I was done....I didn't feel bad about that! I also never gain weight from "cheat meals" because I don't make a habit of over stuffing myself....while at the same time not prohibiting myself from having the things in my life that I feel I "need".

[RememberHowToSmile]

I understand what you mean about feeling guilty. Its just something that comes with time. One thing I telling myself is that if I hadn't changed my lifestyle then 1. every day would be a cheat day and 2. that every day would be 100 times worse then what my "cheat day" is. It is important to realize that you can have everything in moderation.

[Get n healthy]

I have a cheat meal once a week. A cheat day once a month...that time of the month, i gotta have chocolate. But to get past any guilt. i just remind myself that it is good for my metabolism to have a little extra once in a while. If your body gets used to the low cals EVERYDAY, it doesnt work as well. i have always heard it is good to give it a kick once in a while with a "bad" meal or two. And since it was planned and "earned" i dont feel too bad about it anyway. I only feel bad when i am not planning and "off" meal and have one. Then i feel shame and guilt.

[Lyria]

I kind of do I guess - it's usually a saturday evening when I go out on the town with the girls which involves alcohol and usually a few nibbles.

However - that day I eat a good breakfast and lunch and usually do a bigger workout than usual. Then on the Sunday I eat cleanly and do one or two work outs to balance things out a little bit.

I have actually found for whatever reason this little saturday indiscretion has kick started my weightloss again - i've dropped off the plateau and have lost about 6-8 pounds since I started doing it about 6 weeks ago.

I also allow myself an occasional indulgence to keep my sanity - a piece of chocolate or my favorite at the moment - a teaspoon of nutella. Mmmmm....nutella lol.

I don't feel guilty about it - that leads me down a very nasty path of negative thinking. Instead I just go for an extra long run or might squeeze in a walk after dinner or an extra class at the gym. Sometimes I just suck it up entirely and enjoy the indulgence for the pure sensual delight it brings! I love food to much to feel guilty about enjoying it.

[just_a_dreamy1]

I don't feel the need for cheat meals/days. If I want something, I either substitute with something healthier, have a small portion of whatever I want, or just work the whole thing into my calories for the day.
I find that if I restrict too much, I set myself up for failure. At the beginning of my healthy lifestyle, I tried the cheat day system, but I found that it just led to cheat weeks - and a whole lot of guilt.
Best of luck finding something that works for you!

[JigglyBits]

I have an off day where I don't plan my meals but stay within my calorie range and try to limit my portions. During that day I usually have one big meal where I eat out or get take away. Sometimes I don't feel like outside food and just cook something at home that I like or was craving.
There is no way I will sabotage all my hard work during the previous week with one off-day :S

[Rafaella]

IŽve tried to get rid of the cheat meals but I just canŽt (at least 4 now I havenŽt been able) after that I feel really guilty but now IŽve heard it may be actually good I feel better and IŽll try to compensate with an extra workout today (today I had free workout day but IŽll squeeze in some elliptical time)

Thank u so so much.. i do feel better now and ready to go on!

[Bikini Dreader]

I dont like cheat days for myself because I dont like to create strict rules. I try to eat when I'm hungry and recognize when I have a craving for something that is not true hunger. It doesnt always work but with rules comes guilt for me which leads to overeating. Also with rules comes the possibility of slipping back into disordered eating (as a recovering anorexic that is not a good path to look down). So I sometimes have a treat but only when I think it is necessary or whatever. And I just move on afterward. I keep my ultimate goal in mind - weight loss to a healthy point. And try to make concious decisions taht will allow me to get there.

[xFatKidx]

I lost the bulk of my weight based on the concept of cheat days. At least for my personal case, it was the reason I was so successful. I think I would wallow in the fact I was being deprived of my favorite foods, but I knew that if it was ok to have them on certain days, it wasn't really cheating. It was sticking to my diet! Either way it helps exercise self-control so its probably not a good idea for ppl who tend to overeat. I was very strict and so even though I would "cheat" (eating foods not allowed on my diet) I never overdid it. It was more like just tasting the foods I craved. Eventually I found that I would look forward to eating a favorite junk food only to be let down when I ate it. It no longer tasted good to me.

[nimbus3007]

On Thursday or Friday evenings, I like to get a bottle of wine and just have as many glasses as I feel like be my dinner. Judge me if you like but it actually fills me up, makes me feel like I've been "bad" enough to get rid of the cheating cravings, and somehow stays within the calorie margin.
Cheat days are a funny concept, because allowing them in a diet almost seems to betray the effectiveness and control that the diet was there to impose. I do have them from time to time, but I play strange mind games with myself each time...
I agree that xFatKidx that it is good to allow for them; otherwise that feeling of deprivation will make things even worse.

[Erika79]

Up until this week, I had a cheat DAY Horrible for me! I would have a frozen pizza for lunch, McDonalds for dinner.. it was just the whole stinkin' day. I did that for 8 weeks.. and I decided this week it's STOPPING. I would always do it after I weigh in on Mondays.. and the next day I would be up a good 2+ pounds. I always got it off (much of it being water weight)... but it was still frustrating.

AND it's just not how I wanna live. I don't WANT to eat like that, and there's no reason for it. I was basically rewarding myself with food.. and looking forward to that day ALL week.. and I don't think it was healthy thinking for me.

I want to lose weight, of course, but even MORE so.. I wanna be healthy, and think healthy thoughts. And that one day of pure junk was preventing this, and really made me feel gross.

Will I still have McDonalds? Sure. Unfortunately, I love me some fast food! But I have a goal right now of 3 weeks without ANY. And after that? Everything in moderation. There's no reason for ME to have a junk DAY. A meal? Sure. BUT not a PLANNED one. I'll have it when I want it, and NOT once a week.

That said- you have to do what works for YOU