anyone here use a "cheat day" re: diet?

[JW]

I've been trying to avoid it but I do get powerful cravings.

 

This is probably going to extremes but I remember reading an article by Christian Boeving (actor/fitness model) where he layed out his cheat day.

He actually uses a window of 4 hours where anything goes.

He has this wierd theory that the body can only handle a certain # of calories in a given time period, the rest goes to waste.

 

This is distictively non-vegan but in 4 hours he would eat

2 cheeseburgers, a milkshake, fries, buttered popcorn, pie, 6 donuts, ice cream, fried chicken

 

His reasoning is that as stated above the body can only convert so many calories in this time period, it gets his metabolism revving, and he doesn't even think about junk food for 3-4 days afterward.

 

bizarre but interesting. don't think I would do THAT though

[Matt]

I think he fails to mention that he probably has days of digestive problems when he binges like that. I know I certainly used to...when I binged that was...

[SeaSiren]

I used to have a cheat day. It worked very well for me. I really made me stick to my diet for the rest of the week knowing I could have what I wanted on a given day. Or if I slipped it was OK because I used it as my cheat day. After a while I didn't need it, I would eat my cheat food and realize, it wasn't really THAT good, or would end up with a stomach ache.

 

But it doesn't work for everyone. Some people really need to buckle down and push through it. So it just depends on you.

[compassionategirl]

lately, every day has been my cheat day. That doesnt really help you out much does it though JW?

 

Yes, my cheat days (and my rest/off days) would once a week - Sundays.

[VeganGirl2006]

I try not to have a "cheat day" because in my case I find that it undoes a lot of the good work that I have done already during the week. I do have a "cheat meal" from time to time where portion control goes out the window and I stuff myself full. *LOL* It helps with the cravings and then I get back on track for the next meal.

[JW]

Thanks for your input ( even yours CG )

 

I'm trying to avoid the cheat day but I still have to deal with some nasty cravings

 

My latest method for dealing with my sweet tooth is mixing some chocolate soymilk with soy protein powder. Takes some getting used to but at least I'm upping the protein a bit.

 

I also find that by eating every couple hours, I really don't eat as much at one sitting. anyway, I'm crossing my fingers that I can stay away from the chips and dark chocolate

[vegdad]

I used to have cheat days, seven of them every week and then I went to one a week. It worked for me for awhile but then I started slipping. Lately I've liked having three or four beers on Friday night and some popcorn or chips and leaving it at that.

[CollegeB]

I cheat when i want to. I mean how bad can fried potatoes and clif bars be? Not that I eat them together, its just those are usually my cheat foods.

[Kathryn]

I don't 'diet' so I don't think of 'cheating.'

 

The concept of 'anything goes" once a week is promoted by a lot of diets, and some even say you MUST have a cheat day. It just seems to me like it sets you up for getting into a ritual of eating 'bad' ( or 'really bad'!) one day a week, whereas if you didn't think of having a cheat day, you might have something not as good once in a while.

 

I think it makes more sense (if you're actively 'dieting'--but if you eat a primarily whole foods, high raw diet, it shouldn't be necessary) to allow yourself a certain number of 'cheat foods' during the week (depending on your tolerance).

 

Or maybe even rethinking what a 'cheat' is, instead thinking of it as a 'treat' day, and gong wild with ripe organic mangos or something!

[endcruelty]

you guys mean cheat days as in eating crap or eating meat/dairy/eggs???? cuz if its the 1st i have cheat days whenever i damn well feel like it ...... the latter tho i never cheat on that, its too important to me not to have cheat days where i dont eat vegan

[CollegeB]

Hear hear endcruelty!

[Odidnetne]

I had organic vegan rice krispy treats with pb instead of marshmallows and brown rice instead of whatever comes in that processed crap cereal, and people laugh at me when I called it junk food.

 

I've come to a point where I think that if you eat enough natural food, you don't need a cheat day. So many things on supermarket shelves technically are vegan, from certain types of Pop Tarts to Teddy Grahams, but why would I want all the different kinds of Corn Syrup & hydrogenated crap when I can have nature's candy, some fruit?

[Guest]

I'm on a new system for now...cheat my diet every day by eating 1500calories more than normal but burn and extra 2500 on my bike with 50exta miles later in the day. I'm happier for it. I'm more full even though I'm burning more for intake than before.