Always here people say they have a cheat day or such ... can you cheat and still maintain without putting on ...

Lets say i had one whopper for the month ? any harm in that?

A few years ago I dieted for 6 months straight and got to my goal weight. Every 2 weeks I would have a "celebration" meal, which meant I would go out to a restaurant and eat whatever I wanted for one meal. That always worked really great for me. I was eating about 1200 calories a day but never hit a plateau when I would allow myself to eat out every few weeks. However, I hit my downfall when I allowed myself to have a celebration "day" on 4th of July. I ate whatever I wanted all day and for some reason never went back to counting my calories and eventually gained back all 60 lbs. If you're going to "cheat" it's probably best to keep it specific to one meal so it doesn't get out of control.

A few years ago I dieted for 6 months straight and got to my goal weight. Every 2 weeks I would have a "celebration" meal, which meant I would go out to a restaurant and eat whatever I wanted for one meal. That always worked really great for me. I was eating about 1200 calories a day but never hit a plateau when I would allow myself to eat out every few weeks. However, I hit my downfall when I allowed myself to have a celebration "day" on 4th of July. I ate whatever I wanted all day and for some reason never went back to counting my calories and eventually gained back all 60 lbs. If you're going to "cheat" it's probably best to keep it specific to one meal so it doesn't get out of control.

wow .... interesting that it helps with not plateauing

i think i can handle a cheat day for the month for one meal as you suggest ....

How could anyone possibly hope to stick to any eating plan long term without scheduling in "cheating" times? I have lost nearly 90lb to date and I often cheat so yes, it does work.

A whopper is what? 500 calories?

That means it is 1/7th of a pound of fat. That's if you eat it ON TOP of your maintenance calories.

So I doubt it would make you put on any weight at all.

Having the mind set you do will lead you to binge, you are restricting yourself too much.

I suggest you read the stickies.

I allow myseft to have a cheat day once a week...i eat whatever i want, but under one condition...i have to eat slowly and eat only when i am hungry. I am hoping that once i am at my goal weight, i can learn to maintain it with out really counting calories, so learning to eat with out overdoing it helps...

What about cheating at night ? is that a no no ???

What about cheating at night ? is that a no no ???It doesn't really matter when you eat.

Its a myth...calories are calories, though you should definatly eat in the morning, it pumps up your matabolism

I have cheat days...sometimes cheat weekends and I think it's important to give yourself a break.
The most important thing for me is to not feel the guilt attached. The guilt makes you dwell and brings you down, can be de motivating. The best advice I was given was "Eat it, forget about it, move on."

You should read the book "The New Controlled Cheating Weight-loss and Fitness Program" by Larry "Fats" Goldberg. Larry lost 175 lbs and kept it off for 32 years by dieting 5 days/week and eating what ever he wanted 2 days/week. True story.

You should read the book "The New Controlled Cheating Weight-loss and Fitness Program" by Larry "Fats" Goldberg. Larry lost 175 lbs and kept it off for 32 years by dieting 5 days/week and eating what ever he wanted 2 days/week. True story.

Yeah, I reckon this is a good way to live. It takes the pain out of it all knowing that your weekend is coming and it's yours to enjoy. Different for everyone though. I wonder how strict was his 5 day diet?

If you consider cheating anything you want then yes I cheat frequently,if you consider cheating going over your daily calories with "Good" or "bad" food then no.

I do like to eat so called cheat foods now and again,but can things be considered cheating in the caloric limit?.For my own experience a cheat is the amount not the type of food.

I personally have found the old adage everything in moderation to be spot on.1 bacon sandwich wont have a bad effect on your weight loss 12 will.Same the other way round as well 1 chocolate bar will have a better effect than mountains of wholemeal pasta.

Since I have eased up on my food choices switching back to white rice and white bread now and again throwing in the odd bacon sandwich or beef burger,I am happier,find the diet easier to stick to and am losing weight and training exactly the same.

If you consider cheating anything you want then yes I cheat frequently,if you consider cheating going over your daily calories with "Good" or "bad" food then no.

I do like to eat so called cheat foods now and again,but can things be considered cheating in the caloric limit?.For my own experience a cheat is the amount not the type of food.

I personally have found the old adage everything in moderation to be spot on.1 bacon sandwich wont have a bad effect on your weight loss 12 will.Same the other way round as well 1 chocolate bar will have a better effect than mountains of wholemeal pasta.

Since I have eased up on my food choices switching back to white rice and white bread now and again throwing in the odd bacon sandwich or beef burger,I am happier,find the diet easier to stick to and am losing weight and training exactly the same.

So, if it's still within your daily calorie intake, do you compensate for your cheat?

I personally used to be of the mindset that "cheat days" were a great idea.

My issue with them is that it makes the rest of the week feel too much like a diet and not a lifestyle. I believe in cheating more than once per week (yes I'm an RD!).

But the bottom line is whether it actually works for the person in achieving their weight loss goals.

Brian Dean MS,RD
Collaboration Coordinator, NutriYoga LLC
NutriYoga.com

Why do you believe that? Not suggesting I disagree, I'm simply interested in why.

Thanks.

I would look at your "cheat eat" as a "joy eat", "cheating" has such a negative connotation and suggests some wrong-doing on your part. I like the break down given by a fabulous weight loss coach, Brooke Castillo, who recommends that 80% of your food intake should come from fuel foods (you know, the healthy stuff that actually fuels your body) and 10% come from joy foods (like, say, a HoHo . . .). When you eat the joy food, really enjoy it, but only eat until you are physically fulll and/or the pleasure of eating it has diminished. If you are eating beyond fullness, the question becomes less about WHAT you are eating and more abut WHY you are eating. I have personally used food as a reward I felt I deserved at the end of a long day and I derived pleasure from it - for about 5 minutes. I started thinking of other ways to reward myself with non-food items (i.e. sitting outside just listening to nature at the end of the day works for me).

This doesn't mean I pass up my joy foods, they can still have a place in your diet - as a previous poster said, a calorie is a calorie. For example, I am currently in the process of losing 5 lbs, I'm adhering to my reduced calorie guidelines I've set for myself, but I recently attended a birthday party and I wasn't going to pass up cake! So I had a tiny piece (3 bites?), enjoyed the hell out of it and moved on. I didn't pine for other party-goers cake and didn't feel deprived. So, with your whopper example, maybe you could eat enough of it (1/4? 1/2?) to satisfy your taste buds and then throw the rest away. I notice, too, that after the first several bites of eating something, the pleasure of eating it diminishes exponentially. If you feel compelled to eat past fullness or past pleasure, then this would fall under the category of emotional eating (something I am quite familiar with) and that is definitely worth investigating - I could go on and on about that ;-) But don't give up your joy foods and don't berate yourself for enjoying them - do it with the intent of enjoyment and stopping when the enjoyment is over. Putting something off-limits is guaranteed to make you want it more.

Sorry - I meant fuel foods make up 90% of food intake (not 80% - math is not my forte, lol) and joy foods make up 10% according the model I described . . .

(like, say, a HoHo . . .)

Hahaha, for some reason I found this so goddamn funny.

But I think you're right. My cheating has entailed making a solid decision "I will get my favourite Creme Brulee at *fancy restaurant* for dessert tonight". Really savoring it, and not dwelling on it later. And also, that dessert would only be after a solid two-weeks of no "joy-eating". I know that's strict, but I'm still in the very early weeks of weight loss.

So, if it's still within your daily calorie intake, do you compensate for your cheat?


I'm not sure I understand you.My point is I consider going over my calories for the day cheating not the actual food I eat.If I had a cheese quarter pounder for lunch and hot dogs for tea but stayed around 2000 cals for the day that is not a cheat.But if I ate "clean foods" all day and got to 3000 cals that is cheating.

No doubt I will get shot down by somebody but it works for me,as far as I see it healthy foods are not the key to losing fat a calorie deficit is,yes they are good for you but that is not my point.

This is supposed to be a lifestyle not a prison sentence if the odd burger or pizza cant be fitted into your daily calories or macros if thats how you gauge your food, without guilt or calling it cheating,I cant see the point I for one am not living on brown rice broccoli and tuna for the rest of my life,its not like I am training for the Mr Olympia.

I have been on my lifestyle change for 3 weeks now. I had a birthday in between there and have had 1 " Cheat" meal.

Correct me if i am wrong. If i'm maintaining between 1000-1500 calorie a day diet, and one day i decided to eat a meal that maybe a bit high in calories, saturated fat, and what not. As long as i don't exceed my caloric intake by to much am i really hurting myself?

Is a month of eating right thrown off by 1 #6 from wendys? (Spicy chicken sandwich and fries)

I have been on my lifestyle change for 3 weeks now. I had a birthday in between there and have had 1 " Cheat" meal.

Correct me if i am wrong. If i'm maintaining between 1000-1500 calorie a day diet, and one day i decided to eat a meal that maybe a bit high in calories, saturated fat, and what not. As long as i don't exceed my caloric intake by to much am i really hurting myself?

Is a month of eating right thrown off by 1 #6 from wendys? (Spicy chicken sandwich and fries)

Firstly at your weight why are you eating so few calories? and secondly at 395lbs a good calorie deficit and exercise will produce fat loss "healthy" foods or not, no need to be too anal on food choices eat well where you can but dont sweat it.

Its a long way down from 300+lbs .If you are too hardcore straight away its hard to maintain,dont let a few good meals bother you keep your eye on the long term,if you eat well 80% of the time you'll do alright.

Just looked at your blog good luck man.Seriously I would up the calories though,no need to starve yourself at your weight,and personally try to add a bit of protein to your breakfast maybe something like eggs with oats.Foods dont have to be "diet" or "low fat" or "lite" to fit in,.I mean seriously if you can keep up with your diet you are a better man than me,there is just not enough food for a big guy

.Ive lost nearly 100 pounds in 5 months and all I do is weight train and eat around 2000 cals per day not extreme food choices either.

Hahaha, for some reason I found this so goddamn funny.

I know, something about the word "HoHo" is hilarious - I once read someone say they became "a ho for HoHos", I had a nice chuckle at that :-)

I agree with all the posts suggesting it's the amount of calories consumed that determine weight gain/loss - while I believe there are plentiful benefits to healthful eating, weight-wise, your body is only responding to the amount of calories consumed and expended. To lose: eat less, move more. It's simple, but not necessarily easy ;-) This is why I love the 90/20 fuel to joy eat rule and the accompanying caveat that you just eat until full or pleasure subsides. Creme Brulee is one of my faves - I'd so take that over Hohos anyday!

Why do you believe that? Not suggesting I disagree, I'm simply interested in why.

Thanks.

I believe this for two reasons:

1. Personal experience:
In the past, I have lived with a strict diet, which included "cheat meals". My happiness and relationship with food has greatly improved since having the paradigm shift from "diet" to "lifestyle". The idea of cheating is not congruent with the lifestyle attitude of healthy eating.

2.Professional experience:
With most of my patients, I see a negative relationship between extreme of diet and adherence of diet. Therefore, the more someone views nutritional change as a "diet", the more likely that they are to revert back to the old habits.

By emphasizing lifestyle (which includes the occasional cookie, hamburger etc.), weight loss success is much more likely to occur.

Brian Dean MS,RD
Collaboration Coordinator, NutriYoga LLC
NutriYoga.com

Well basically last night i have a cheat night ,,, i ate conservative most of the day, then had a nice cheat dinner ,, i was kinda scared to check the scale this morning, but to my dis-beleif the results didnt show a gain, reselts were just the same as if i were eating light..

I'm still slightly in that guily phase. The other day I ate just one of those peanut butter granola bars named Chewy's and I felt guilty. The next day realized that I only had one. If this were before my diet, I would have easily eaten at least 4 of them. I'm so proud of myself for just eating one and being satisfied with it.

Annnyways, I've come to the conclusion I "cheat" when I feel the need to "cheat". Whether that be after one day, one week, two weeks, whenever. However I do kind of set goals for myself, kind of like motivation saying "I wont cheat for this many days/weeks".

I'm not sure I understand you.My point is I consider going over my calories for the day cheating not the actual food I eat.If I had a cheese quarter pounder for lunch and hot dogs for tea but stayed around 2000 cals for the day that is not a cheat.But if I ate "clean foods" all day and got to 3000 cals that is cheating.



Um, I guess that's kind of what i meant. I've never done the calorie counting thing so I guess it's more exact than what i was thinking. I meant, you might say "I will have my slice of cake for morning tea, but I will only have a salad for lunch."
Would you say though, that if you did opt for the hotdog option, that you would still be hungry once you had used up all your calories for the day, like maybe these foods use them up too quickly?

I would look at your "cheat eat" as a "joy eat", "cheating" has such a negative connotation and suggests some wrong-doing on your part.

:iagree: So true!

Um, I guess that's kind of what i meant. I've never done the calorie counting thing so I guess it's more exact than what i was thinking. I meant, you might say "I will have my slice of cake for morning tea, but I will only have a salad for lunch."
Would you say though, that if you did opt for the hotdog option, that you would still be hungry once you had used up all your calories for the day, like maybe these foods use them up too quickly?

Thats the problem of eating crap calorie dense foods on diets.I probably would be hungry but thats where the diet becomes difficult and the old cliche willpower comes into play .you've got 3 options and 2 involve willpower, either turn down the food in the first place then fill your cals better,eat the hotdogs then put up with the hunger,or say sod it and have more cals than you have allowed and worry about it another day.

I stick to my cals regardless as It is easier to do than make it up with days more exercise.I like the rigidity of having x amount of cals and thats that,if I make bad choices that leave me hungry thats my fault,its the way I have found to work for me,I dont like just trying to "eat healthy" and not counting calories.

"You cant have your cake and eat it too" almost poignant when counting calories:drool5:

80% of the time I eat super healthy. And this way whenever I want something naughty I just eat it. I never feel guilty. And weekends I eat just about whatever I want.

However, I have been raised so what I categorize as naughty isn't really. A pig out for me is macadamia nuts, bread, avocados, creamy sauces on salads that sort of thing in larger quantites.

You are entitled to treat yourself if you are working hard at your nutrition.