Do you you ever take a scheduled "cheat" day ?

Posts: 14
10/13/12 2:25 P

I have one or two cheat meals a week but make it up during the week. I have found if I keep it to 1500 a day than I lose a pound a week. So if eat 1800 one day I have to make up those 300 calories during the week.

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10/13/12 1:29 A

No, I have enough unscheduled days.

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10/12/12 10:43 P

I never schedule a cheat day, but I also never restrict myself. In my opinion, having one set day a week where you can "cheat" makes too many people feel guilty if they break away from that day, which leaves them feeling miserable and like a failure. Instead, when I have a craving for something not so good for me, I give in. I don't go all crazy like, I just have a small serving, enough to quinch my craving. Instead of a day, I measure my habits over the week and allow myself to have so much of the "cheat treats" per week. I take into account the previous days to the beginning of my "food week" and see how my eating habits for that week look. If I seem to be doing a bit on the heavier side, then before I give in to my craving, I drink a glass of water and wait 30 minutes. Almost every time the craving goes away.

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10/12/12 9:30 P

No! Other than holidays I have too many cheats that sneak up on me!!

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10/12/12 8:30 P

Are you allowed to use the words flow and holiday in the same sentence?!?

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10/12/12 8:13 P

i do once a month, Normally around flow or if there is a holiday. I dont over due it because I will regret it in the end,

On a holiday i will work out twice as hard so I will not feel as guilty.

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10/12/12 5:23 P

Yes, but never a whole day, because I'd always regret that, but definitely a meal or an evening. If it's scheduled, I still find I can control what I eat. Like during thanksgiving, I allow myself a "little" of everything, gravy, stuffing, pumpkin pie included. I don't feel like I'm missing anything, still get to enjoy a special dinner with my family, yet don't blow it completely

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10/12/12 2:21 P

We bowl on Wednesday nights, so that is my "splurge meal" for the week. That being said, while I do track everything I eat, every day, if I want something, I have it. For lunch today I had a Whopper Jr w/cheese from Burger King. I tracked it, and I know that my calorie intake has just flipped to having a lighter supper. I haven't planned my meals this week, which is always trouble, but knowing that one "not the best" food choice isn't enought to throw of all of the other hard work I'm putting in. I give myself some leeway, and not get bent out of shape about a "bad" meal.

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10/12/12 1:08 P

I belomg to a TOPS group. we weigh in on Monday nights. We go out to dinner after and we have what ever we want. But its back on track Tuesday. However I will use this day to have that snack I've been wanting. It keeps me focused. If I want to have some chips or that pasta dish during the week. I tell myself... "wait till Tuesday." But I don't do a whole day. I use to, but found it lead to all week. I have to keep myself in control. Like part of our tops pledge says "I will control my emotions and not let my emotions control me!"

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10/12/12 12:15 P

I sure do! Family is a big motivator to schedule a "less than perfect" food/exercise day. Special family events, a party or a once a year trip to Disneyland, I add a little exercise and give myself permission to take a day off from the fruits and veggies.

I'm maintaining now but always feel that I'm "on the verge" of reverting to old habits. It's important that I give myself a break and don't fall into the pattern I've had in the past of having a bad day that turns into a bad week that turns into....well, you know. The snowball.

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10/12/12 12:07 P

YES! Sunday is normally my day to splurge because someone in my family is always cooking a big dinner.

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10/12/12 10:33 A

NEVER!

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10/12/12 10:23 A

I'm trying to allow them to come up naturally. I used to try and schedule one day a week, but I ended up thinking about it all week long! Now, I don't have any cheats to think about, so I just go with the flow, which allows me to go 3, 4,5 etc weeks without even wanting a 'cheat'.

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10/12/12 10:04 A

I don't call it a cheat day. I do take time to enjoy a good meal with friends and savor dessert and a glass of wine with girlfriends.

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10/12/12 9:33 A

To me, it is our free day. We try to stick to the 80/20 rule of clean eating and workout 5-6 days a week, also. We know that Saturdays happen to be our most social day and the day we get out and do fun things and so we relax and enjoy it.

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10/12/12 2:39 A

I don't cheat...I celebrate and enjoy life by realizing that there are times to balance out disciplined restraint with disciplined celebration of abundance! I am not a cop for my wellness; I am my own best friend and ally. I try to avoid language that creates shame.

If I find myself using "celebration" as an excuse to avoid discipline, however, it's not really celebrating. There's no joy when I know I'm hurting myself. If I listen to my intuition, I KNOW when it's really celebration, and when I'm simply avoiding something. Almost always my 'relapse' behaviors are linked to procrastination, anxiety, fatigue, or overwork/overscheduling. If I pay attention, I'll start to realize what is out of balance in my life that is influencing my behavior.

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10/12/12 1:17 A

Totally! I work my a$$ off during the week and I deserve to treat myself during the weekend.

Between Grad classes and work, I don't see my family that often (though we live under the same roof!), so on the weekends I want to enjoy my family meals, not think about my caloric intake.

It also motivates me more to track every little thing I eat knowing that I'll get a break during the weekend.

However, I don't pig out, I just don't track what I eat and I'm a little more easy on myself.

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10/11/12 11:27 P

Not an entire day, no. I feel like if I did that, it would put me in a mindset that I have given up and I just might not get back on track! If I can fit something I really want into my calories for the day, I will but I usually wait til the end of the day...that way I know I won't eat anything else for the day. I have a king size Hershey's special dark chocolate candy bar by my bed and I will have one bar off that everyday just to fill my chocolate cravings!

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10/11/12 10:54 P

Yes, and usually live to regret it, if only for a little while.

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10/11/12 5:55 P

I eat healthy throughout the week but the weekends are when I do let loose a bit. I love food so I feel like I deserve to enjoy a good meal once in awhile!

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10/11/12 4:47 P

Define a cheat day. Is it going over your range by a few calories or by thousands of calories. I have not been over my range since I started almost 3 months ago. I could see on Thanksgiving day or Christmas day at my moms allowing my self to eat a portion of everything she cooks and ending up over for the day. I figure any cheat day I give myself just delays the date I reach my goal.

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10/11/12 2:42 P

Absolutely not!! Having a cheat day does not help me build a better relationship with food. I try to find healthy foods that I love rather than deprive my self to the point where I need to dedicate an entire day to bad food.



-SweetWildCherry

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10/11/12 2:35 P

I don't have an entire day...Friday nights after work is my night. That way, if there's something I'm craving the entire week, I look forward to Friday nights. Plus, it keeps me on track the rest of the weekend. It's my reward for putting in a long work week!

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10/11/12 10:52 A

Sunday, if there has been something I have really been craving throughout the week, I allow myself to have it this day and then at the end of the day my family will go out for a little "treat" and that's about it, the rest of the day is still about staying on track!

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10/11/12 9:49 A

I was definitely craving some spicy chips yesterday and figured that instead of spreading out the calories over a few days, I just ate a bunch in one day. Does that make sense physiologically? Or would it be the same thing if I ate the same calories but over the entire week?

Of course I still feel ill after binging yesterday, which isn't healthy at all, but hopefully I'll eventually learn to control those weird cravings! Will power!

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10/11/12 6:14 A

When an event is coming up and I decide ahead of time that I don't want to track, I don't.

However, one day I did this I felt so sick because my body just can't handle super fried foods and more alcohol than water anymore. So now I just don't track and make better choices overall. I'll still have "naughty" foods, but sparingly so I don't feel sick. I'm probably over my calorie count for the day, but somehow I just can't seem to care!

It really helps because instead of saying "I can't have this" I just say "Not today" and know that there will probably be a day in the future when I will have it.

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10/11/12 5:13 A

When I was losing weight, I had one cheat meal a week but still tracked it and tried not to go more than 1,000 calories over what I ate the other days of the week. I also scaled my calories back the other days to compensate for it and if I went over on those days, it had to come out of my cheat meal. So it was really more like a calorie bank. I'm a bit more liberal now that I'm on maintenance but still keep it to one cheat meal a week and compensate for the extra calories the rest of the week. If I really let go for an entire day, it takes me at least 3-4 days just to undo the damage and get back to where I was before the cheat day. Talk about really slowing your progress down!

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10/11/12 3:42 A

I'm not on a 'diet' so I don't need to 'cheat' I eat whatever I like. I do however keep to a 8/10 rule. I keep to my rules on 8 days out of 10, the other two I let go if I want to. Sometimes I don't bother. I was interested in others feeling that 1,000 calorie dinners were bad! Mine routinely contain 600-800 calories, but I don't eat much at breakfast and dinner, just a slice of toast or soup.

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10/11/12 12:02 A

I pick a day not to track my food, random eating,grazing has become a thing of the past I am always aware and have a hard time potentially messing up the weeks efforts. I am feeling satisfied with my diet and seem to fit in the little cheats into my calorie range, the only thing that I resent is the time it takes to put a days worth of food together for work/lunches and supper, random throw something healthy or not in a bag was much quicker.

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10/10/12 10:26 P

Yes. My wife and I schedule one day a week when we eat what we want. We still try to keep our servings sizes normal, but we eat those things that we crave, like biscuits and gravy, or macaroni and cheese. That way, if we are craving something, we just say we will wait till our free day. It seems to be working. We are still losing weight, and are less inclined to cheat.

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10/10/12 9:39 P

Sometimes. I have two kinds - days when I eat what I want, but still keep track of it, and "feast" days when I just eat what I want without writing it down.

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10/10/12 8:13 P

Let's say I try not, if I do its my give up days.
But now as I'm just watching what I'm eating and seeing what my eating habits are. I'm realizing when I think I am having a "cheat" food, I later soon find out its my body telling me I haven't eaten enough. Because now my body is getting full or at least doesn't have the need to eat something as much when I do have the right combination of fat and protein.

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10/10/12 2:31 P

I'm an all or nothing kind of girl when it comes to eating. In reading these posts however, I'm realizing that "balance" is the key. I've been "dieting" all of my life - down and up and down and up, it is so frustrating. I'm hoping that the Spark will finally help me; then I'll be able to eat what I want in moderation and not worry about it

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10/10/12 2:24 P

Love the responses everyone wrote, I have been so good, that I'm afraid to even give myself a cheat day! Cause then I'd feel guilty and just BINGE! I've been doing what everyone posted, I give myself a treat during the day. Work is the WAR ZONE, so I make sure to keep some healthy goodies that I can snack on instead of all the HALLOWEEN CANDY!

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10/10/12 1:47 P

No way I would take a cheat "day"!! A cheat meal yes, Friday nights we eat out or get take out and have a drink or two. If I am not careful it turns into a cheat weekend.

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10/10/12 1:42 P

Yes. I have two cheat days per week, although I call them eat days. I use them for my date night with the wife or the occassional dinner with the boss or friends.

I came up with this after failing at all earlier attempts because it always seemed like there was something on the calendar (birthdays, anniversaries) that made it difficult for me to stick to any kind of plan. So I said...Okay, here's the deal, each week you will stick to your calorie count and pick out any two days where you can go above your limit.

Result: For the first time in my 12 years of dieting, I have been able to stick to my diet, and today I weighed in 49 lbs below my starting weight (with 31 lbs to go).

I don't know that cheat days are a good idea for just anyone. For me, they're key to long-term stick-to-it-iveness.

I need rules with clear boundaries. I don't work well with guidelines or fuzzy concepts like "portion control". What i need is 450 calories for this particular meal. Not 451. Not "about the size of the palm of your hand." It's 450 and that's the rule! That, I can work with. (and i got a food scale to ensure I stick to the rules :)



Edited by: REMEDYEDGE at: 10/10/2012 (13:48)

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10/10/12 12:02 P

I don't have a cheat day, but I do have a treat meal when I meet certain goals for myself. My next one will be my husband taking me out to dinner when I can fit into that little black dress. I treat myself for every 5 pounds I lose and when I meet certain goals in my jogging workout. These keep me motivated and help me to feel rewarded for a job well done.

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10/10/12 12:00 P

I try to keep my protein and carbs as close to even as I can and try to stick to lowest fat percentage I can with healthy choices. If I feel like I need a "cheat" I try to stay in my calorie range as much as possible, but don't worry as much about how my percentages will be affected for a less than perfect meal or snack.

I don't usually need to cheat for an entire day, so I eat super healthy before/after cheating, so I can do it with a minimum of guilt, but like a lot of other people said here, one or two cheats can lead to a lot of cheating. I find that the more I stay on track, the easier it is to stay on track, the more I cheat, the more I crave unhealthy choices.

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10/10/12 10:07 A

I don't take a whole cheat day, because I think it puts me in that mindframe of "going off" my eating plan. I do, however, have "treats"..as opposed to cheats. :) I somehow feel the word cheat puts the food in a bad light, and the most important thing I'm learning is all foods in moderation. I also don't log my treat. I feel if I log it, it just makes me feel bad about it. It makes me stress about how it fits into my daily intake. So I just eat good for the rest of the day, have my treat, and don't worry about it.
During the halloween season, I have daily treats:) I have a pumpkin on my counter with the fun size candies in it. Every night I have one or two with tea or cider:) yum
Like last weekend, I went to the bookstore, and the coffee shop smelled really yummy..they have those pumpkin spice lattes, you know:) so I thought to myself, You know, I'm having my treat..I want a latte. And I had one. And loved every sip of it. I ate good the rest of the day. And the next day when I got on the scale, the latte didn't make me gain weight:)
For me, it's the small treats that keep me from becoming too controlling of my eating- when I first started, I kind of had that drill sergeant attitude where I had to log every tiny scrap that went into my mouth..now I'm learning to relax and have faith in my body.
Hooray for pumpkin stuff!!

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10/10/12 9:47 A

Sunday

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10/10/12 7:54 A

For me, since I reached my goal a couple of months ago, I have days that I splurge. When I am at home every other week or so, I eat out and do not track. When traveling, I do not track at all. This is working out most of the time...if I gain a couple of pounds, I get serious when I get home and take the pounds off in one or two weeks. I keep a close watch on my weight, that if for sure.

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10/10/12 5:56 A

I can't schedule a cheat day bcuz it's hard enough to stay on track as it is.

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10/10/12 5:40 A

I do in a way. We always go out for lunch on Saturdays. I usually only eat 1/2 of what they bring me and take the rest home for the next day. I try to choose healthy items, but sometimes I do give in to ice cream.

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10/10/12 12:16 A

NO!

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10/10/12 12:03 A

My cheat meals are the weekly dinners at my moms and at my dads. I try to stay on track the rest of the time. But I have to say tracking the meal at my moms house makes me wonder why she is not as big as a house! Last week my meal was 1000 calories!!!! Oh my!

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10/9/12 10:02 P

I haven't done full "cheat" days -- I usually plan for special meals so that I can indulge a bit without guilt. Moderation really didn't work for me as a strategy -- I "moderated" myself all the way back to my highest weight pretty quickly. Being a little more rigid this time has helped me maintain much more easily.

I do have treats, but I make certain that they are truly treats -- something special that I rarely have, but enjoy when I do. That usually means one larger dinner (sometimes out, sometimes at home with friends/family) a week, but with real indulgences (like high-calorie desserts) only once a month or less. I haven't had a cookie, for example, since last Christmas. And had ice cream a total of 3 times this summer. You'd think I'd crave them more, but I think I enjoyed each of those very rare treats more than when they were a much more frequent occurrance. My daily treats now are fruits, yogurts, or maybe a square of dark chocolate. Things I really like, but that aren't going to start the craving monster going.

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10/9/12 8:38 P

No Cheat Days for me. This is a lifestyle change for me. I allow myself to eat what I want, but keep in mind the words moderation and portion control.Through this journey I have learned to make better choices and I don't have to have things like empty calorie sodas to survive.

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10/9/12 8:28 P

No, never a scheduled cheat, but sometimes a spontaneous on.

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10/9/12 8:21 P

one meal a week! It helps me stay on track the rest of the time!

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10/9/12 6:33 P

I took one yesterday with friends.

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10/9/12 6:22 P

Saturday evening I have dinner out with my oldest son - and his favorite place is El Charritos. But, I really do not overeat - last week I had their tamale with a salad and a taco. Really good - and just the right amount.

And I do not schedule exercise on Sunday - that is family day!!
barb

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10/9/12 3:37 P

Every Friday I have a cheat day and I can have what I want. It is usually my favourite meal at Red Robins and it surprisingly does not have me eating chocolate or junk food in bed.

I do love Costco ice cream and I will have that mid week in a cup.

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10/9/12 3:32 P

I actually have quite a lot of them. One weekend a month I skip tracking my food and make some good choices and some I know I normally wouldn't make - pizza or an indulgent dessert. So far this has had no apparent effect on my rate of weight loss, and I think of it as part of the "lifestyle change". Most days I'll eat healthy, and once in a while I'm going to say "to heck with it" and have something I just totally want. The next day I'm back to tracking and staying within my ranges. It helps me stay sane and not feel deprived.

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10/9/12 2:47 P

no cheat days really, but i when i feel like having something. i am going to have it, but i make sure that i can fit it in. One of my past mistakes , when i tryed to cut weight, was cutting out everything, but i learn thats not good either.

So when the next days comes, i go back to my usual routine, and try to cutback on the mineral (i.e sodium or fat) that was high after i had that something.

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10/9/12 2:18 P

I have a cheat meal on friday. That is my date night with the love of my life, so we usually go out for dinner and a movie or something else in Tampa.

Before I started wanting to lose weight I would shovel down the food on our date night, it'll be interesting what I chose this Friday since it'll be my first date night trying to count calories etc.

But I do have a little snack a couple of days a week that I throw in to throw off my sweet tooth cravings. Maybe a couple of pieces of chocolate or something along those lines to take the edge off.

Just remember it's about moderation, there really shouldn't be a need for a "cheat day." Since our body really does need all different aspects of the food pyramid..A cheat day to me sounds like releasing the hounds and eating 5000calories in food.

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10/9/12 1:59 P

Not a whole day, but sometimes one meal!

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10/9/12 7:30 A

I don't need a cheat day since I give myself daily and weeklyrewards. I am an ice cream fanatic. In the past that has always beat me. I would start a diet, cut out ice cream then after about a week find myself sitting in front of the TV with a half gallon of Blue Bell and a spoon. End of diet. Now I am counting my calories and fitting in a 180 calorie Snickers Ice Cream Bar each night as y second snack.No more cheating, I'm in control. I have lost 15 pounds in the last 3 weeks. I am so happy and proud of myself.

Edited by: RGOODSPEED1 at: 10/9/2012 (07:31)

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10/9/12 12:10 A

"When you're not on "a diet" you never have to "cheat".

Healthy balanced diets include some days of optimum choices, and some days of less than optimum choices. That is balance."

Well said!

I've only just discovered that in the last couple of weeks, and as such, I'm finally losing weight.

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