cheat days guide

Cheat days.

I’m really not a fan of the term, cos the word “cheat” kinda implies that you’re doing something wrong but it’s actually totally fine to have cheat days. I guess the more “correct” term would be a diet break. But then “cheat days” gets the message across faster so I end up still using the term. 

So, is it ok to have a cheat day?

Short answer, yes.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to take a day or a meal off from your regular diet. Chances are that one day or one meal off isn’t gonna affect your overall progress much assuming that after that you immediately get back on track. But it does get into more muddy territory if you’re starting to find yourself live and die by the cheat day, as in if you start finding yourself looking forward to the cheat day every week and that’s all you’re laser focused on. Could be fine for the first couple of weeks, but that’s low-key heading towards some form of eating disorder.

Is it possible that the one cheat day “ruins” your progress for the week?

One cheat day yes. One cheat meal very unlikely.

It comes down to the math. If you’re still in a weekly calorie deficit, you’re still gonna make progress. If you’re eating 200kcal less Monday to Saturday (so total 1200kcal less) and on Sunday you had a cheat meal and ate 800kcal more than usual, you’re still at a net 400kcal deficit which means you’re still in the direction of losing weight.

On the same example it’s way easier to eat more than 1200kcal excess on a full day of cheating since it’s 2-3 meals combined along with all the snacks in between, so the possibility of a cheat day exceeded your weekly deficit calories is definitely there 

But don’t read that in fear, realize that even if you messed up one week, you can get back on track the next week. It’s not a big deal if that cheat day “ruins” that week’s progress. Just adjust and get back on track the next week and keep going. Nothing is “ruined” if you keep getting back on track. True “ruin” is when you quit and stop trying.

What about an ideal cheat day?

Ideally, you should never need a cheat day.

Meaning, you can eat however much and whatever type of foods that you want if you just plan it into your diet. Ideally you’re so self aware with your eating habits and preferences that you are able to know and plan when to lean towards more enjoyment and when to lean towards more strict diet according to your goals because if you’re constantly aware of what and how much you’re eating, you’re technically never cheating.

That’s the ideal though, that’s something to work towards, I’m not saying that’s something you should be doing this very moment.

If you’re someone that needs to be more free on Sundays and eat foods that you love, plan that in. Take the time to do the math, adjust the portions accordingly to your goals and you could have a very enjoyable Sunday every week without it being a “cheat”. It’s just part of the plan.

Of course there will be days where you just really want a break, you don’t want to think about diet at all, you just wanna eat whatever you feel like eating and call it a day. Sure, no problem. Go do that. Take that break and get back on track the next day, nothing wrong with that either. Of course if you’re seeing yourself take these breaks every couple of days then maybe you wanna look a bit deeper and see what’s going on with your diet or life in general as there may be something else causing the frequent need of a break.

Oh, one thing I forgot to point out about cheat days is first defining the type of “cheat” you’re referring to.

Is “cheating” eating more calories than usual? Or is “cheating” eating processed foods? Or maybe both?

Cos if your definition of cheating is merely eating more processed foods, that’s technically not cheating on a weight loss journey. If instead of 200kcal of apples and bananas you decided you really wanted that vanilla ice cream that’s also 200kcal, you’re not cheating at all in terms of weight loss cos your end results will be similar. 200kcal is 200kcal.

If you define “cheating” as eating more calories and you wanna do it regularly, that’s fine too but then that’s when you’ll wanna do the math to make sure it still makes sense for your end goals.

Long story short, if you need a system like cheat days to consistently stick to your diet, go for it. That’s totally fine. If not, don’t chase cheat days and instead take more time into planning your diet.

Hope this helps!