Cheat days- My experience

I've found that once you're at a good weight, it winds up being much easier to maintain than it is to get there in the first place.

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I've found that once you're at a good weight, it winds up being much easier to maintain than it is to get there in the first place.

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You are 100% correct. One day I eat more then 3000 calories, weigh myself and see that I've gained a pound or two, cut my calories to 2500 for a day or two and I'm back down

I eat pretty clean during the week but will get a little wreckless on the weekends. I need to discipline myself to like one or two cheat meals on the weekends and not entire "eat whatever the eff I want" days. I'll tend to let the scale be my guide on when I need to dial it back. I'm always my heaviest on Sunday nights.

I’m not arguing with you, just commenting that it’s interesting that on the week you had a cheat day, you lost the least amount of weight.

My experience has been that it's good to have them. A few years back, I lost a lot of weight quickly. I eventually got back into bad eating habits largely because I didn't have anything like cheat days. When it gets to it, it's hard to deny yourself completely. I've got my weight back down, and it's sticking this time. I feel having one cheat day a week really helps keep on track. Yes it might slow weight loss, but, for me anyway, it seems more well-suited to keeping the weight off and not falling back into bad eating habits. It might be a little more slow and deliberate, but it sems worth it in the long run.

Different strokes for different folks.

Cheat DAYS are usually no bueno. But many people also are more successful including a cheat meal once or twice a week. A larger meal or two in a week is easy enough to plan for and accommodate.

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But many people also are more successful including a cheat meal once or twice a week. A larger meal or two in a week is easy enough to plan for and accommodate.

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I think a key to successful cheat meals is to not treat them like Thanksgiving but instead plan for a smaller increase in calorie intake while allowing for your choice of food to be wide open.

So if you’re eating 1800 calories per day, on a cheat day you only eat ~800 calories before dinner and then plan on eating 1200-1400 calories of pizza and beer or whatever. That way you only actually eat a few hundred calories above maintenance (depending on your calculated calorie needs) and do very little to your diet besides stall for a day.

And “refeed” days have been shown to help with weight loss so if you structure it correctly, you’ll benefit from the cheat days in the long run.

I’m 42. Started at 230 and got down to 180. Currently weigh 183. I lost 50 pounds in about 4 months just by changing my eating. Always went to the gym. Spend about 45 minutes in the gym when I go. I do HIIT training 3 times a week and weights 4-5 days