Cheat Days when dieting?!

bugsbunny2000

bugsbunny2000

Proud to be a LOSER :)
I saw on a programme this week a personal trainer saying you should allow yourself a cheat day as "something to look forward to".

Does anyone else do this? If so has it helped/hindered your weight loss?

I never have done this - but my sister used to go to SW on a Thursday then have a Curry or take away that night!

xx
 
Hah, my mum thinks the whole of her weigh in day (she weighs in the morning) is a cheat day. I think a 7th of your whole week off plan is probably a bit self-defeating but lots of people have a meal which they don't count.

It's not really possible for me to do that as often as weekly to guarantee good losses. Maybe if I were on a calorie counting plan and doing lots of exercise I could relax for a day a week (but I would also be in hell :) )
 
I think cheat days set you up on the wrong mentality i.e if you eat food off plan you are cheating. Cheating who ??? It is much healthier to plan the odd meal in with flexi syns or to plan a holiday knowing you may put on a couple of pounds and be happy with that. there is a thread about people's opinion on eating after group just pop it in the search bar and you will have loads of answers.
Anyone can have as many days off as they like but may not get to goal x as quickly as they had hoped for
 
You don't cheat just because you're having a treat! You can have a takeaway within your syns really easily, especially if you count syns weekly. I eat out or takeaway once a week but it's not cheating as I don't exceed my syns (very often!) I totally agree that having something like that helps keep me on track, I think I'd have failed miserably by now if I had to go nearly 2 years without a curry!
 
I saw that programme too... and the woman did pretty poor considering she nutritionists and 3 pt on hand! You don't need to cheat on sw, just save syns for a naughty night.
I used to eat rabbit food sat-thurs, and then fri I was like an animal. I simply lost and gained the same 7lbs!
x
 
I never have a regular cheat/treat day. I also know people who after their weekly weigh-in get a pizza or curry. If that works for them then great, but it wouldn't for me.

If I told myself that every saturday was my treat day, I would scoff fattening food whether I want to or not. For me, mentally knowing it was the day I was 'allowed' fattening food would make me do it regardless as to whether I wanted it. I prefer to allow myself spontanious treats rather than planned ones. I like to wait until one day I really, really feel like some pizza or chocolate or whatever, and then I really appreciate it as the craving was there to be satisfied.

I have very few syns during the week so I can relax a little at the weekend if I want, but having a saturday night curry every week would totally wreck my mental mind set.
 
i once overheard a conversation between 2 people at the gym. the instructor was doing a plan with a lady and he said that having a 'blow out' encourages the body to work extra hard the next day as it goes into a kind of shock and wonders what's going on after having 6 days of good food. I used to have a treat on WI night but I'm going to try to avoid doing it this time, although I never gained weight last time it may have been stopping me from losing an extra lb but I would never have known.
 
have to say that I used to go out and have a nice meal once a week and I was losing ok, got to 2 stone and have played around with the same couple of pounds for 3 months, I always had the thought that the extra calories on that night kept the body guessing and gave the metabolism a boost, I guess its the same principle as making sure you eat enough as that can also hinder weight loss.

Horses for courses, I'd say if it works great if it doesn't then that'd be the first thing you would look at if you weren't losing :) x
 
I lost 3 stone in a year on SW a couple of years back but I would have lost it quicker as I would leave the class, have a 'treat' (bag of chips etc) and then find I couldn't get on plan until about the middle/end of the next day.

So for me it doesn't work but i know it does for others.
 
I thought that was the whole point of having our syns on the SW plan though.
 
I agree lucky7 and I certainly wouldn't call it a cheat day I think that makes it 'naughty' when its not, thats what you would have on a diet not a sensible eating plan like SW x
 
nettie said:
i once overheard a conversation between 2 people at the gym. the instructor was doing a plan with a lady and he said that having a 'blow out' encourages the body to work extra hard the next day as it goes into a kind of shock and wonders what's going on after having 6 days of good food. . .
Click to expand...

I have seen quotes from other trainers and gym staff, here and in other places, and it never ceases to amaze me what drivel they come out with!! :eek:
 
I think syns allow for treats and flexisynning for special occassions etc
There is rumour that having 'naughty days' can give losses a boost but not if very frequently and for everybody.
We are all so different and our bodies are different so its working out what works for us.
When I was losing I stuck to plan most of the time. Since being at target I have been letting myself have days 'off plan' but I want to try and work on not doing this so much as I think I go ott and its not a healthy relationship with food/eating even though generally I have been maintaining my weight by then pulling back on other days.
 
I used to when I was on Weight watchers, but I think thats becouse I felt so deprived & hungry on that anyway. On SW I dont. Before I was pregnant I used to have weekly syns and save them for when me and OH went out on a weekend, this time round, im expecting so I dont need to save them for beer. If i knew I was having a "naughty day/treat" on a given day, like someone else has said, I would eat crap regardless of weather I wanted it or not. So I plan to be 100% to plan all week knowing that sometimes this isnt always possible
 
AnnaFaraday said:
I have seen quotes from other trainers and gym staff, here and in other places, and it never ceases to amaze me what drivel they come out with!! :eek:
Click to expand...

Just remember that personal trainers often don't have any kind of nutritionist background, they are only going off empirical evidence they have seen themselves!!

I wouldn't believe a word of it. And yeah, I agree with other posters. SW is meant to be a healthy eating plan for life, not something you do as a fix. That's why you see so many people coming back after having lost weight on it before (myself included). If you treat it as a "diet", then that's all it can be.

You have to make the mental shift that it's FOR LIFE. Having your Syns IS your treat. Anything you fancy, as long as it's in moderation.
 
I hate all this demonising of certain foods, by calling it 'naughty' or 'bad'. Treats are part of a balanced diet, and so that's why SW gives us an allowance of 15 syns a day. I don't see my weekly WI as a signal to start scoffing, but just a way of measuring what effect that 7 days' food optimising has had on my weight. If SW is really going to work, then we need to stop seeing it as a short term fix, but a way of eating for life.
 
Some call it cheat, some naughty, some flexi syns. As long as you're sensible it shouldn't matter. I have pizza and chips once a week, accepting that my losses may be slightly smaller. But I don't mind that personally. I would rather have it now, and when at target, then suddenly introduce it later down the line.

I count it down as flexi syns. I don't like to say I cheat because I dont. Flexi syns are a part of slimming world
 
I am currently do an experiement on this!

I never ever had a blow out after WI from Aug 2011 to 4th Jan 2012. Hubby joined last week and says he has to have a treat after WI as his prize! I researched the lowest take out to satisfy this and we are having nyn free day on WI day and using the syns for a small donner kebab no sauce or mayo after WI. After a month I am going to see if this affects weightloss. The place we go has a small pitta, lots of salad, and a small amount of donner meat.Nothing else, no going mad and nmming through the cupbards for days! So we will see, i'll report back!

I think it's just a case of finding what works for you.
 
Lucia Lucia said:
I am currently do an experiement on this!

I never ever had a blow out after WI from Aug 2011 to 4th Jan 2012. Hubby joined last week and says he has to have a treat after WI as his prize! I researched the lowest take out to satisfy this and we are having nyn free day on WI day and using the syns for a small donner kebab no sauce or mayo after WI. After a month I am going to see if this affects weightloss. The place we go has a small pitta, lots of salad, and a small amount of donner meat.Nothing else, no going mad and nmming through the cupbards for days! So we will see, i'll report back!
Click to expand...

Well that's all within your syns anyway so it definitely shouldnt be a problem :confused: In what way is that cheating? :confused:
 
I find quite often that one cheat day can lead into another and another and before you know it you have been off track for days rather then just one meal which seems pointless.

The plans which allow one day of 'cheating' and six days of strict diets tend to be low carb based and therefore when you eat what you want on one day it does supposedly shock the body as it has been used to low carb for 6 days but I am highly sceptical as to whether they work or not.

I much prefer the idea of saving syns and have 5 a day then having a nice meal at weekend with the rest of my syns which is all within the plan.
 
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