Cheat Day Truth

[Newgrl08]

So when people are saying we should have a cheat day/week. Is this right from the beginning or maybe two weeks in...or down the road?

And what constitutes a cheat day? One meal? eat anything we want all day? Alcohol? Even a bag of chips? I'm just curious...or does it mean just increase calories and allow higher carbs or white flour perhaps.

 

[Bikini Mod]

The term "cheat day" is very broad.

Alcohol is NEVER a cheat.

As for the rest, I am not competitive so the definition is broader. For me (and those who I advise who are also not competing) it means that you can eat/drink whatever you wish (except booze lol) for the day. After eating clean for 6 days I can assure you that you will most likely get sooooooo sick the less clean you eat that your cheat day will probably be cut short. Not to metion that in order to keep progressing or to maintain you need to change up your calories. Too much uberclean dieting will actually cause a halt in your progress. (If that is your goal. Maintenance is less stringent.)

Some like to keep it to a cheat meal. Whichever works best for you, is what you should do. just my .02

 

[Gymgurl]

I agree with kini......a cheat meal would be a better choice....then the whole day...but some do the whole day. Usually once a week if not competing

 

[Tatyana]

I also think a cheat meal is a good idea. A cheat day can do too much damage IMHO.


Cheat meals are also important for your mental and social well-being.

There is nothing worse than having some big family, friend or work event, and you either don't want to go because you are 'dieting' and don't want to be tempted, or you bring your own food and have to spend the evening explaining what you are doing to everyone instead of having nice conversations.


If you find that eating the foods that trigger you to seriously fall off your diet for several days, then I would still recommend having a day a week when you eat more calories than you usually would so your body does not adapt to the same old calories every day.