Absolutely! I’m all the way pro [controlled] cheat days.
I have whole clean foods eating habits now, but only 28 days a month. Twice a month I allow myself to eat any crap I crave and as much of it as my stomach can hold. I call them controlled binging. I do it by choice, not because I’m out of control and can’t stop. This is highly important to me because it keeps cravings at bay the other 28 days of the month that I eat healthy (although eating healthy nutritious foods also helps keep cravings out). If I try cutting out cheat days altogether, at some point I know I’ll break, so there’s no point or need to quit cheat days. To me, not having cheat days does more harm than good.
Since I plan my meals for a whole month in advance, those cheat days are already scheduled and I’ll even know exactly what I’ll have, with quantities included. I suggest you to plan them kind of the same as to not go overboard. (I mean I still go hella overboard, but I actually plan for it - you can plan decent portions or whatever works for you).
Ah, and worth to mention that I still fast even on cheat days. But that’s up to you really, you can have a no fasting day along with a cheat day to eat outside your healthy habits. Whatever works for you as long as you remain in control.
By the way, big congrats on cutting out fast and junk food! I hope you keep going on this path.
My rule is to eat healthy homecooked food most of the time, but I am allowed to live life and have something unhealthy now and then.
Yes, it can cause your weight to stagnate and even go up a bit for a few days after (this is most likely water weight). So I find it’s best to go a couple of weeks or more between each time I eat unhealthy stuff.
I recommend you test and see how your body responds.
Everyone has a preference, I’ll share mine here. No, I no longer allow cheat days for myself personally. The reason being that every single time, without a doubt, my cheat meal turns into a cheat week. And I’m back to square one. Me eating a Twix (or whatever) sparks thar craving within me and then I’m off on a week-long binge. This is something that might change in the future, once I’m in maintenance. But for now, I’m staying away from all the junk.
The most important thing to do is not beat yourself up! I’ve quit so many times because “I cheated” I could’ve seen the results I wanted a long time ago had I just gotten back on track instead of beating myself up over a “cheat”
It’s quite a complicated question and one that is very personal to you.
At its simplest, a few less than ideal meals will make little difference in the long enough term. More pertinent might be to ask how it changes the way you feel about your diet? It shouldn’t feel like a slog or a sacrifice or just something to endure in the short term. If it does, then you may not have given it enough time to fully form the new habits.
IF doesn’t tell you what to eat. Prioritize nutrient dense, filling foods but still eat whatever else you want in moderation.
On the other hand, you also don’t need to grind out a calorie deficit day after day to lose weight. You just need a calorie deficit over the long term to lose weight.
Aiming for a few hundred calories below maintenance six days a week and a seventh “cheat day” can lead to weight loss. But, there are a few problems for long-term success. A small deficit each day can be negated by a cheat day, as well as regularly slipping up on those other six days. So, with that plan, best case scenario is losing weight from grinding out calorie deficits day after day after day, with a splurge day as a reward. Worst case scenario is that you end up with little to no weight loss despite putting in a lot of effort, and you quit.
When daily IF is working best, you might eat at or just below maintenance level a couple times a week, maybe a splurge once a week, but also have a significant calorie deficit a couple of days a week when you are really active or just aren’t that hungry and don’t eat much. You’re not trying to eat just to hit a calorie goal. The large calorie deficit days are manageable because the regular fasting windows and insulin regulation also regulates appetite.
I use my eating window of 4 hours to eat what I like (first nourishing myself with a good balanced meal, getting my fruits and veggies in, then for sure I’ll hit the ice cream or chocolate some days near the end of my eating window). I find this way easiest to maintain the 20:4 fast, I don’t feel deprived at all.
16:8 all week till 12 noon Saturday then I eat whatever I would like till 8pm Sunday when I go back to 16:8. Works great for me but may not be for everyone. I don’t go wild with it. Basically take a break from calorie counting and watching the clock.
I have 2 “cheat meals” a week, but don’t go outside my eating window or my calorie budget. Maybe for one of them I’ll eat at maintenance instead of deficit. That will probably change with Christmas coming, but I’ll still stick to my eating window, because I feel like crap and don’t sleep well if I eat after 6pm
This works for me because I’m eating things I like, and I don’t cheat between times because I know that Wednesday and Saturday are just a day or two away. Sticking to 12-6 I can do without thinking. So overall it feels very low-key and sustainable. Maybe I’m not getting results as quickly as I could? But I’m happy, not stressed, and it’s all trending in the right direction.
Ever since I started fasting a year ago I’ve always had a more relaxed weekend schedule. I usually do 18:6 weekdays and 16:8 weekends (maintenance), when I was loosing weight I did 20:4 weekdays and 16:8 on weekends. I should probably eat healthier, I eat take out twice a week and cook dinner other days. I make reasonable meals but I could probably eat more vegetables 🤔