Just curious to how everyone else out there is doing their cheat/reward meals?

When I had more weight to lose than I did now and the weight was just flying off I could take one day and virtually eat anything I wanted to. In fact, I would almost gorge myself out. However, it didnt affect my progress at all as I'd lose all that food and even more within 2-3 days. However, now that I'm near my ideal body weight and have less to lose, eating anything and everything I want for one meal completely throws me out of wack.

Nowadays, when I do my weekly cheat/reward meal I do it on my day off. I also make a strong point to eat it as early in the day as possible (this kinda sux because I love to watch TV at nite while snacking) so as to be able to spend the day working it off. I also try and go for a walk immediately after my reward meal.

However, how I determine my reward meal is to take the total amount of calories I've allotted myself for the each day add 200 calories and eat whatever I want within my calorie range. This is opposite to my eating calories with the proper distribution of protein/carbs/fat.

...and i love grease. I really love everything it provides... but... no more on reward meals.

How about you guys?

I have ventured away from having food or cheat meals as rewards.

I consider my meal plan as a relationship with food... and I don't want to cheat in this relationship.

Having Cheat meals created this paradox of "Sucess Breeds Failure" and started me in a vicous vortex and unhealthy relationship with food.

Now, I celebrate by buying new clothes, throwing away old clothes (too big), buying gadgets that will help me with my workout, doing stuff with my family that I never had the energy to do previously, etc.

I don't want to sound preachy... and everyone is entitled to celebrate in whatever method. I simply choose to celebrate in a way that will promote a healthly lifestyle for ME.

Others, may be able to have cheat meals and be able to stay on plan. I have realized that I can't.

Rinse and Repeat... Results May Vary.

KM, this is very good advice (as usual). While some people may be able to cheat here and there, it is a very slippery slope. It doesn't make sense to me to celebrate a milestone (say losing 5 pounds) by allowing yourself to cheat, which will then diminish your accomplishment. I think your idea of treating yourself to other rewards (new clothes, gadgets) is much more appropriate.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - cheating on your diet is like cheating at solitaire: you're only cheating yourself.

Used to do that cheat meal thing, and I kept forgetting which day of the week was my cheat day and so on. It would be a hamburger sandwich and a pint of ice cream a week was the plan. I don't really do that anymore, it sort of phased out. Maybe once a month or so I'll get some ice cream and if I really want a hamburger, I'll buy some ground sirloin and fix it at home.

I think the idea behind a cheat meal is to take your bad food and have a certain day for it, put it in a corral, take it out of daily habit, get some control over it. You'd have to prioritize your favorite bad foods in order to do this because you only got one go at it a week.

So it follows, if it's a cheeseburger you crave, make sure that it's a really tasty one, not some nasty fast food processed sort of meat product. Whatever it is, make it good, and keep your promise of limiting it to once a week and cut out all the crap food for the other 6 days. All of it.

Eventually you may find your cheat meal to be the worst tasting meal of the week.

yeah i hear ya.

however, i no longer really crave fast food nastiness. but damn... life isnt worth living if i can have a turkey and brie sandwich on french bread with a candy bar once a week. or to possibly order that extra sushi roll etc...

i will only reward myself with this if my numbers have done what i want them to be.

to tell you the truth, the only time it would make me feel nasty now is if i eat my reward meal and going to bed shortly after. its alllll about eating it early in the day.

its all about moderation right?

I think cheat meals do nothing but slow your weight loss as well as your retraining yourself how to eat properly. They also keep you in diet mode where in your mind, "normal" people get to eat whatever they want but "dieting" people have to limit calories. The truth is, most thin people do eat less calories and move more than most fat people. IT just might be that eating whatever they want translates into eating 80% healthy, low fat, high nutrient foods and 20% junk foods. Where a person with a weight problem often has those values reversed.

Cheat might seem like they work for some people, but for most of us it doesn't work. That doesn't mean I don't treat myself to things I enjoy, I just figure out how to work them in. I tend to eat to a net calorie goal, so on a day I workout more I can eat more. For example, if I run a long run of at least 10 miles, I reward myself with a Reese's PB Cup. It's something I won't eat otherwise (not worth the calories) and it's just a little incentive. I don't really "need" an incentive at this point...but it's fun.

That said, I've got 13 miles to run! Laterz!