I kind of had a cheat day today. I had a lot of schoolwork to do for my last final of the year, so I told myself I'd give myself 3000 calories today, after cutting back just a bit the last 3 days. I ate 5 cookies a bit ago, and they were good. Can't tell for sure how many calories I have had, though. I think between 2500-2700. It's alot since all I did was sit/lay around and study.

heh, that makes me feel better about eating too much every now and then.

i find that after i eat healthy for a while, i can't even look at other food, almost as if im scared to touch it

I think a cheat day or just taking time to enjoy a meal (as opposed to eating the junk mindlessly) is a great idea because it is going to happen once in a while anyway and it is much better to think of it as an allowed cheat rather than a breaking point and give up ... and the people who are saying they are afraid to eat certain foods etc that is not a lifestyle change I think is sustainable in the long run ... depends I guess ... I am looking for slow steady and maintainable results ... not instant right now results ...

Friday is my "cheat day" I used to do it on Saturday, but found that I would cheat a bit too much since it was a free day. Friday seems to work best because I go out to lunch at work (I bring lunch all other days) and then I get to have something I wouldn't normally eat with my boyfriend in the evening. By scheduling my cheat day like this I am able to get back on track come Saturday morning and not let the cheat day slip into Sunday or Monday for that matter!

thanks alot man

heeeeelllp! im new i just started today.... 4/15/2009! i weight 278 lbs and i want to loose 100 lbs! anyideas? i would appreciate it!! ;(

hey nena, if you do an introduction post in the 'newbie' section you'll get a nice warm welcome and lots of ideas too. we're all in this to win this so just keep exploring the forum coz there's lots of useful info on here. all the best.

I agree with the people who say you gotta have "cheat days". we are all only human and for birthdays,christmas etc I thinks its healthy to eat what you want. But as alot of people are saying its a lifstyle change. Eat out once a week it thats your thing. Just skip the appatezier (sp?) and desert.

I'm kinda inbetween on this one. I try to avoid "cheat days" and just try to eat what I want within reason. For example if someone brings in a dozen cookies to work I don't feel bad or guilty if I eat one, or if I go to a cookout and bbq ribs are for dinner that is what I will eat. I just try to adjust the rest of my day to accomodate the indulgences. Workout more or cut out that 1/2 cup of ice cream/ eat a lighter breakfast. I like the term "indulge" better than "cheat" lol.

I used to do "cheat days" and once I did a "cheat vacation". 10 days of non-stop face stuffing, and that led me on a road to a 60lb weight gain. I find if I give myself free reign I really can eat a lot in a day... A day is a long time lol 18 hours or so. I work so much better if I just indulge a craving. IE if one day I'm really craving a DQ blizzard and I know i've been following my diet and excercise plan. Just to get it and eat it. If I were to declare the whole day a cheat day I would probably eat tripple the calories for the day and eat whatever was in reach lol.

When I cheat, I cheat on bread and cheese,lol

But I take fat grabbers,so do not put on weight,lol

Cheat day? I eat 10 bars of Hershey's chocolate... yummy! The ultimate cheat for me!

Aside from the pleasure of eating the yummy cheat food, do you think that there is an actual weight-loss benefit to cheat days?

E.g. 'shocking' the body with extra calories to keep the metabolism from slowing down?

Anyone ever include cheat days in their plan and then remove them due to bad results?

I actually have a bit of a different concept here. I HATE the idea of a "cheat" ... whether it's a day, a meal, or whatever.

A cheat is a shameful thing, something to be hidden; it's deceitful. The dictionary defines a cheat as a "fraud" and as "unfaithfulness". So if you "cheat" ... what are you cheating on? Yourself? Your life? Why set yourself up for the guilt and shame that follows when you "cheat" yourself?

I don't cheat. I don't always eat 100% healthily; very few people can achieve that. Our lives are full of things that aren't always healthy - there's always a birthday or a evening out with the guys/girls, or an office function, or a potluck, or something. When you go to those things and *make the choice* to eat something unhealthy, then you should do it taking full responsibility for it and accept that you are treating yourself.

TREAT, not CHEAT.

I choose when I eat something unhealthy - when I have a few pieces of pizza, when I drink a margarita, when I have cake or cookies. Those aren't cheats - because the only person I could cheat on is myself. Those are treats that I choose to have and choose to account for.

Don't cheat yourself. It's not worth it.

That's my exact outlook as well. My family knows that I eat healthy. When they find out I decided to treat myself to a burger, or something I don't normally eat on the weekends (especially when we're out on our weekend motorcycle rides), I get the response "Oh, it's cheat day I see". I always correct them on this. I'm not cheating anything, just treating myself to something delicious that I normally don't eat.