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One day a week is probably fine, but I've found that cheat days don't work for me.
Basically, by the time the cheat day rolls around, I'm looking for random things to "cheat" with that don't even really satisfy me. And then I feel deprived all week when things that WOULD have been worth it to me come around.
Instead, I focus on portion control and making better choices overall. I eat what I want in small portions and make small swaps that make them a little healthier.
And if the Chinese buffet is calling me (I love it too), I go and enjoy myself, and then I don't go back for a while.
Chinese Buffet once a week is a bad idea. As is having an unhealthy breakfast followed by an unhealthy lunch/dinner. That makes for a detrimental cheat day.
For me, a cheat day is a day where I'll go eat dinner at restaurant and order whatever I want...or have a bagel a cream cheese for breakfast (one or the other, not both). It's not a whole day of pigging out. Sometimes I'll do a couple cheat days a week, so long as I'm on track with my workouts for the week. It's really not as exact of a science as people make it out to be. The key is just being reasonable.
I do work out 3 days a week. Just some running and weights. I don't overly exert myself. Probably 30-45 minutes a session. And then 20 minute HIIT workout on Friday.
But I've found out the only real way to lose weight/fat is to lower caloric intake.
Just noticed this.
I *do* exert myself during my workouts, not ridiculously so but enough to get my heart rate sufficiently up. I don't do HIIT cardio but I'm not slow and steady either. I usually do 40 mins. I also lift 40 mins per session as well. So if your workouts are on the lower end of moderate and your intake is 2,000/day (though you're a guy so that might be different), you may need to scale back the cheat day damage.
I just go by what my body tells me (via weight gain or loss, or maintenance).
I couldn't truly eat non stop all day anyway, I just don't have the appetite for that. It's usually one big cheat meal, followed by assorted other crap. But on a cheat day, I give no effs. Makes me sane, like I said. And the extra calories make for great workout fuel when I hit the gym the next day. A calorie surplus translates into more energy to be burned.
One day? It takes me over a week to just burn off the weight I gained from one cheat meal. I used to do a cheat meal every week, but that really slowed down my progress. Now I only do it maybe 1-2x a month to help with plateaus, and when I just get really tired of eating certain foods. I agree that if you're closer or already at your ideal physique, then you can cheat more often like once a week, but it's a bad idea to cheat often if you're not.
Well, for me, yeah, a cheat-DAY is a bad idea......Chinese-buffet, candy, chips, yikes.
A cheat-MEAL is much more manageable and forgiving.....at least for me .
So why do you say it is a bad idea? Do you tend to not be able to get back to your norm during the week or does your body not rebound back to calorie management and weight loss? What is your goal?
One day? It takes me over a week to just burn off the weight I gained from one cheat meal. I used to do a cheat meal every week, but that really slowed down my progress. Now I only do it maybe 1-2x a month to help with plateaus, and when I just get really tired of eating certain foods. I agree that if you're closer or already at your ideal physique, then you can cheat more often like once a week, but it's a bad idea to cheat often if you're not.
Agree. Would rather eat smart and have discipline and not pig out.
Agree. Would rather eat smart and have discipline and not pig out.
Actually it takes a LOT of discipline to have cheat days. Do not misunderstand the concept. You're disciplined, maybe to a hyper extent, throughout the week. One day you're not. It takes a lot of self control and not everyone can switch on and off. Only you know your body. If having one unrestrained day derails your progress then don't do it. As for me, my goals were simple..I wanted to lose weight without spartan deprivation dieting. I'd rather lose one pound a week with cheat days than lose two without. I had no timetable when it came to weight loss. Most importantly I have not regained, which is just as important as losing it
A lifetime of dieting taught me you can't always deny yourself everything you want to eat. Your diet has to be something you can live with long term. Not just until you lose X pounds. Otherwise you will just gain and lose the same pounds over and over. And it gets harder every time you do it. If I deny myself everything for long enough, I will give up on the whole diet and just drown my misery in a bucket of chocolate sauce. It took me decades to figure that out.
We are all different. Black bean turkey chili with yogurt is not a cheat to me. And the whole idea of a cheat is to eat what you want. Turkey chili is just another diet meal. A cheat to me is candy, cheetos, pizza, a cheeseburger and fries, twinkies. I could list a lot of things. But it's what you want.
My recipe for success is a cheat weekend every month. If I have activities, holidays, or get togethers scheduled that revolve around food, I will pick that weekend to cheat. Vacation trips are cheat time too. There is nothing worse than going out on vacation and everyone else is sitting down to a big steak and you have a dry salad. This system has taught me control. I am not willing to go without a peanut M&M for the rest of my life, but I CAN wait 2 weeks for my cheat weekend!
I think there is some strange psychology behind this too. Just knowing I can have whatever it is I want, somehow makes me want it less. Forbidden fruit and all that.
So why do you say it is a bad idea? Do you tend to not be able to get back to your norm during the week or does your body not rebound back to calorie management and weight loss? What is your goal?
For me, I feel best if I have a disciplined diet most of the time. A cheat-day, yikes, I would be groggy for a few days.......doing a cheat-day every week, out of the question.
I think psychologically, a lot of people want to keep a dysfunctional-relationship with food alive by having cheat-days.......for SOME of these people it is taxing and can be just another way to live in their addiction.
An unplanned and reasonable cheat-MEAL, when you really want it, sounds much healthier to me.
If you divide your week up into days......having a cheat-DAY means your diet will probably be
kinda crummy at least 14.2% of the time.
If you divide your week up into 21 meals and you have a cheat-MEAL once a week......that means your cheat-meal will have much less impact on your overall diet, as-in 1/21 = 4.7%
Back when I used to be a really serious BB and health nut, I so looked forward to cheat days. But I had an unconventional way to help deal with the aftermath. Before I went to bed on a heavy cheat day, I took 2 Dulcolax so I can poop it all out early the next morning to take away the bloated feeling...lol
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