Hi all! It's been a while since I've posted, house hunting and four kids keep me busy , but I've been plugging right along and making strides.
So, I've got a question for all of you! Do you have cheat days? That is, a day set aside each week/month/whenever that is reserved for eating whatever you want (or eating more that usual)?
A couple of years ago I was doing Body for Life (awesome program imo, and once I find and unpack my book I'll probably revisit it! ) and that program actually recommends that you have a cheat day each week. It sounded crazy to me, but it worked great. So, I was just wondering if anyone here does something like that?
I do. I find it next to impossible to keep on track with dh around on his days off. So instead of fighting it, I decided to embrace one of those days as my designated cheat day. It helps when there's a cook out or party to go to, I don't end up feeling awful if I slip up because I knew I was going to anyway. Kwim?
I used to have a "cheat day" once a week, but now I'm cutting it back to twice a month. I need to have those day, too...otherwise I feel too restricted and likely won't stick to it.
I am a calorie counter, and what that means is, I count everything I eat. There are no "cheat days," and I don't feel as though any food is off limits. Obviously, though, I do have a calorie target. So high-calorie foods must be fitted into the day's plan.
Even if I have a day where I'm going hog-wild with food, I list everything I eat in my tracker. Why? Because my body counts everything I eat! It doesn't care whether I call it a "cheat day" or "July 4"!
Some people do well with a "day off plan"; for others it's a disaster and a path back to overeating. It all depends on what works for you!
I sort of do and sort of don't (and I don't call that a chat day, since I don't follow any particular diet). I don't set a specific day per se, but I keep in mind that, say, social circumstances may arise that will prevent me to eat exactly what I have planned; so I do my best to eat in a sensible way as often as I can, so that I can enjoy such days without immediately going "OMG, I had my cheat day yesterday, what am I going to do NOW? I can't possibly have a second one!".
'Course, if you count campus restaurant meals as cheat meals, then I probably have them three times a week, haha.
I have a cheat "meal" once a week, but ALWAYS eat a low cal salad and drink a big glass of water first. Then I SAVOR every bite of that cheat meal because I know I won't have it for another 7 days.
When I was actively losing weight (the first 7 months or so), I had TWO cheat days - my birthday and Christmas day. Now that I am maintaining my weight loss, I have one treat meal a week in a nice restaurant. Even though I order a glass of wine and split dessert, I still do not go "crazy" like I used to in a restaurant. I make an effort to stay out of the bread basket (or limit myself to one piece, and I try not to butter the bread), I don't order fried foods or foods in cream-based sauces. I also avoid lots of cheese (although that's mainly because cheese wrecks my stomach these days).
To lose weight and keep it off, I had to change my life. That means making responsible food choices as much as possible, even when it's a treat. I definitely NEVER let a treat meal become a treat day or a treat weekend. One meal - then it's back on plan.
I don't consider days where I eat more than I want to "cheat" days...to me, that word is like a license to eat myself silly. I have days where I am less on-plan than others, or eat more than my typical calorie goal, but like Jay, I count them all the same.
I also tend to have these days on special occasions...my or my partner's birthday, major holidays, or going out to eat with friends/family to celebrate something. To me, the easiest days to stay on plan are the days when my routine is the same...at home, same gym time, same healthy foods in the fridge...so I don't really go off plan if I'm just at home, even if it has been a month since I last had a higher day...its less about the frequency and more about the event, for me.
Since I follow the " Rennie plan " I don't really have a cheat day lol. I do every couple of weeks have something I wouldn't normal have. Last weekend I wanted the strawberry/banana crepe at Bob Evans. I got the information on it and said ok I still want it. Only ate half of it. I got what I wanted, didn't kill my body and enjoyed every bite.
I can't have cheat days. If I have a cheat day, I find that I always end up eating too many bad foods which leads me to falling off the wagon and I feel like I have to start all over.
Like jay said, If I want a treat... then I'll fit it into my day and try to stay at my goal calories. I plan to have this lifestyle for the rest of my life... and I'm not going plan my life around a cheat day.
I wish we could get rid of the term "cheat". This isn't a test; it's trying to come up with a healthy way of eating that we can stick to forever.
Personally I don't eat anything that most people would consider cheating. At this point the wrong foods seem to make me kind of sick to my stomach. Even if I account for them in my calorie total, that doesn't mean my insides are going to like it.
But people need to do what works for them personally. I do think, though, that if you spend a lot of time looking forward to "cheat" days then there is a problem with what you are eating on a regular basis. Your regular food choices shouldn't make you feel deprived.
I don't set aside days, but I cheat. Does that count?
Seriously? I stay on plan on the weekdays, but on the weekends I always end up slacking. I'm trying to stop that, though, seeing as how I am so close to goal.
Maybe setting aside 1 or 2 random days a week to cheat is a good idea, but I kind of enjoy spontaneous cheating
I've never really known what to call it either - it's not really a treat, cheat or offplan meal. Since I normally plan to eat a nice meal in a restaurant once a week, it's not cheating or offplan (since I plan to do it!). However, during that meal, I often eat foods I don't normally eat during the regular week - like a glass of wine or a piece of white bread. In that respect, they are "treats." But, a lot of the healthy food I eat every day feels like treats (waffles with natural peanut butter, greek yogurt with blackberries).
So, I'm kind of at a loss what to call it. Maybe "weekly planned indulgence?" It definitely feels decadent and indulgent, although perfectly okay and not offplan or cheating.
I only count calories on the weekdays, and don't usually track on the weekends -- though, I almost always end up eating on plan on the weekends, anyway. I know I'd be losing faster if I stayed strictly on plan all the time, but I'm in no rush to get to my goal. I'm doing a plan that I can personally keep up long-term.
I also don't know what to call it. Treats just don't seem right, for the reason Glory said. I have some fresh raspberries and that is a wonderful treat. I make myself a mango/strawberry/red leaf lettuce/balsamic vinegar salad and that's a treat as well.
Cheat, no way. I'm a big girl and a fairly good one at that and I don't "cheat". I don't always eat what I inteneded to, but that doesn't make me a bad person. I'm no cheat. That word has just too many negativity attached to it.
Off plan, doesn't quite describe it either, ESPECIALLY since I PLAN the OFF-plan stuff.
Regardless, when I was in the losing portion of my journey, I really wasn't all that interested in going off plan, even if it was, well, umm ... planned. I wanted so badly to lose the weight and so badly to have a good weigh-in week after week, that I didn't find it worth it.
Now that I'm maintaining, I do allow myself an occasional "extra" something or a splurge, shall we say, from time to time. But never a whole day. I'm still early in the game, so at this point, not really a whole meal yet either. I plan on having these little splurges when it's a special occasion or a holiday or I'm socializing. Not just because it's the third Tuesday in the month or something like that.
Do you have a cheat day?
, but I've been plugging right along and making strides.
) and that program actually recommends that you have a cheat day each week. It sounded crazy to me, but it worked great. So, I was just wondering if anyone here does something like that?
