Hi All.
I've been asked a few times about cheat days, so I will try to explain it.

how to cheat
Once a week, you can go a little crazy with your "diet". For example, each Saturday, you can have a huge pasta dinner with your favorite desert.

how does this work
Our bodies love balance. The longer you are at a certain weight, the harder it is to move from it (up or down). This is why a lot of people go on crash diets ... they want fast results. As soon as they go back to their old diet, the weight comes firing back on because that's where the body is confortable (or even higher because it's preparing for another crash diet).
Your body needs time to adjust and become happy again. "Diet" is a lifestyle, not a 5 week plan to lose weight. The only one that is going to be successful is one that you can stay committed to.

Warning
The only real exception is if you aren't getting enough calories. What happens here, is your body will store any extra food over your recommended intake as fat because it is in starvation mode.
It shouldn't be how much you eat, but what you eat. I've heard this many times "eat more to lose weight". It's obviously not that cut-and-dry, but it does make sense for those people that are not eating with their goal to lose weight.
When I switched to my 6-7 meals / day, I started losing weight after about 6 weeks and it's been easy to keep off because that's where my body is happy now. My metabolism is going hard all day and melts any food I eat with ease.

summary
Eat healthy for 3-4 weeks and then start your "cheat days". The cheat days are quite important for your body too. It needs time to adjust and you will find that you will have some pretty huge cravings if you've made some drastic (but needed) changes to your diet. You need to satisfy them to a certain degree to keep yourself steady on that path. Over time, your body will lose those cravings and the food you eat on a regular basis will make you quite happy.

Cheers,
Sean

thanks alot Sean

Oh man, last afternoon I had a banquet burger with Mayo and everything on it. And a greek salad with chunks of feta so big they rivaled the tomatoes.

And that's my cheat for the month.

i have always viewed cheating and seeking somthing you should not have. and feel guilty about it. but when you put it that way then having somthing that you like once in awhile is not so bad so thanks.

aye i do totally agree with the concept but it shouldnt be called cheating!

after all what are you cheating? nothing really
you are just looking after and enjoying your own body

I think that we all still need to be aware of exactly what we are cheating with and how it really can sabotage all of our hard work.

How can one freakin' hamburger have 1400 calories!! That one mistake was more than I usually eat in 1 day.

Just be mindful of what your cheating with--this way when you find out that that burger you just shoved down your throat is 1400 calories you don't freak like I did.

That's true Kaitie. My cheat days usually consist of having a little more pepsi than usual, and something for dinner I don't normally have anymore, like a regular pizza, or ice cream for dessert.

I don't know. This approach may work well for lots of people, but I'm pretty sure it would be a bad idea for me. When I made the decision to be healthier I swore off many old favorites cold turkey. While I think it would be very appealing for me to allow myself to indulge in these foods every once in a while I think I might "open the floodgates" to the possibility of eating in an unhealthy fashion again.

Guess I'm destined to be a continuously recovering food addict from now on. I better "just say no".

John

I really do like having my junk food day. Friday night is fried chicken & chips, washed down with a beer or two. Mind you, I wouldn't allow myself this if I did not follow my eating plan during the week, Friday night junk food is a privilege I earn!

I don't eat like I used to, because I used to have some snacks, then chicken & chips, beer, then maybe some chocolate, and some ice cream, and maybe some more snacks later. Even though I was full.

Ugh.

I can not believe I used to eat like that.

cheat days aren't so bad they remind you that your still human lol. All you have to remember is it's a cheat day and not a binge day.....

A good method I use is to go out for your cheat meal, it gives you a sense of accomplishment for the week (If you stuck to you new lifestyle), and well... It tastes good. Going out helps because the food is not in your place, its a lot more tempting if there is ice cream in the freezer, not if you have to go out to get it.

You might be surprised that when you have your treat that you don't enjoy it like you used to.

When I first started making better choices I cut out two things that have since totally lost their appeal when revisited. I seriously can't believe what I got out of eating them anymore.

It's emotional eating revealing itself, I didn't eat it 'cause I wanted it, I ate it 'cause I thought I wanted it.

The cheat days are never a problem with me . It's getting back on the wagon that is the potential problem. A cheat day can turn into a cheat week.

I don't really like the thought of "cheat days"...but sometimes I eat Ramen Noodles! They're completely overprocessed and full of salt and offer no nutrition, but they're just so GOOD. it's also less than 400 cals for a pack so I don't feel completely full or guilty afterwards. I am vegan so I don't eat pizza or cookies/cakes/pies so this is my "junk food."

I have "cheat days" but I don't consider them that, for example I wanted a burger so I went and got one but ... at a place where i know they are grilled ( not fried) and I skipped the cheese. No condiments ether, just red onion and tomato. With it I had literally 5 fries and a small garden salad.... woot for cheat days