For those of you who have a cheat day per week where you eat anything you want for the whole day, maybe you can try this instead. Instead of waiting 6 whole days to scarf down 3 meals of junk, eat 2 cheat meals a week and seperate them by a couple days. It keeps you sane since the wait is shorter and your metabolism might be better off since you aren't at a caloric deficit for a sustained period of time which may cause your body to go into starvation mode, thus storing fat. I have a cheat meal on Wed. and Sun. which are the days that I go to my parents house and my mother cooks dinner for the family. I'm not sure if this is right as many of you will have your own opinions on this but it's working for me. Can anyone think of a reason why this may not be good as opposed to having a whole cheat day of 3 meals?

You will, in no way, go NEAR starvation mode in six days on a proper diet. That comes from WEEKS or MORE of under eating.

If multiple cheat meals works for you, OK. It gets in my way. As do cheat days. I keep it to one meal weekly.

You will, in no way, go NEAR starvation mode in six days on a proper diet. That comes from WEEKS or MORE of under eating.

If multiple cheat meals works for you, OK. It gets in my way. As do cheat days. I keep it to one meal weekly.


I know what you mean. I guess the reason why it works for me is that my cheat meals isn't really cheating too much. I don't like pizza, fatty foods and sweets (I never eat candy or deserts even when I wasn't dieting) by preference so I don't eat them. Even if my mother does cook something I wouldn't eat on a normal day, I still only want to have a little since I just ate something 3 hours ago and I'm not THAT hungry. So it all works out.

i think people who have cheat days aren't really eating 3 meals of junk, but moreso eating without counting calories and eating more than they would on a normal day.. maybe a 'junk' meal..

i think people who have cheat days aren't really eating 3 meals of junk, but moreso eating without counting calories and eating more than they would on a normal day.. maybe a 'junk' meal..

Yes - when I've had a cheat day (or a cheat evening), it's meant eating the same foods as normal, all clean stuff, but in higher quantities. The only time I eat junk is maybe 2 or 3 times a year if I'm in an important social or ceremonial situation where the stress of non-compliance outweighs the other detriments. For example, at my sister's wedding reception, I ate a piece of cake. This enabled me to share various social niceities with my family. It's a calculated compromise. Never a cheat.

On the other hand, the extra calories of healthy food roughly once a week _have_ been a cheat, in the sense that they were largely a concession to my weakness and desire to eat more. I've found it pretty counter-productive. You can't fix a dam by making a partial release! I'm now working on a new approach, which consists of finding new ways to stay in control of my desire to eat, partly by identifying various foods that seem to help or hinder my sense of control. Changing the frequency of the cheats wouldn't, I suspect, ultimately be a help.