Cheat Days

Thanks everyone for your input!!

I am with everybody else on this one.  The only thing to consider is if it is working for you, and it is, so no stress.  If at any time it stops working, just be open to reevaluate.  That's my mane deal.  Do what works and keep a close eye on the results.  For me, eating treats for a whole day would not work, I would be in carb hell for the next week.  But I do have treats.  One of the treats I eat pretty regularly is PinkBerry yogurt with dark chocolate chips and blueberries.  I eat this from two to three times a week.  It is 250 cals. and I really love it and plan it into my eating plan.  Also, if I see something that REALLY attracts me, like amazing dark chocolate or an apple dessert, I would have a little and not feel guilty in the slightest.  I use the scale as my arbiter of how I am doing.  If I am under 105, it's full steam ahead, if I am over, I pull back for a few days.  It works for me for now.  I would change the whole plan or tweak it if the scale said it was no longer working.  No moral police here, just do what needs to be done and no more. 

I wouldn't call it a 'cheat' day either...implies that it is wrong or forbidden. I usually have those off days where I don't journal what I eat. During the summer, I am cycling on avg 10-12 hrs a weekend, so I'd have a hard time doing too much damage foodwise. The funny thing is that if I do go back and add up what I ate on those days, I am usually well under what my calories for the day would have been anyway.

For instance, tonight I had pizza and there is a piece of german chocolate cake waiting for me in the kitchen...but I also rode my bike 50 miles.

mary

I don't believe in "cheat" days because this is not a test. Hence, there is no "cheating".

I just think of it as food and some days I make better choices than others. As long as I make good choices 80% of the time, I'm good.

My personal trainer calls them "reward meals". She does fitness competitions so she is on a very strict diet.

If she stays on her eating plan all week, and she is at her target weight, she allows herself a reward meal where she can eat absolutely anything she wants. So it's a motivation for her to stay on plan, and during the week no matter what she craves, she can promise herself she'll get it at that meal.