Is It Okay to Have a Cheat Day?

You look forward to it all week. The one day when you can forget about the rules and restrictions you put on your diet and indulge in all the foods you normally wouldn’t eat. It sounds good in theory, but is it okay to have a cheat day? If you look around the web, you’ll find plenty of nutritionists in favor of the cheat day.

I’m not convinced a cheat day is okay. Here’s why:

One // The name itself can conjure feelings of guilt. Nobody likes the idea of cheating and even though it may be delicious in the moment, the fact that it’s called a “cheat” may have you feeling shameful when it’s over. 

Two // It can lead to binges. If you get one day to do anything that feels “bad” or indulgent or something you wouldn’t normally do, do you play it safe or go all out? You better believe you go hard. This is what tends to happen with cheat days. It becomes a food free-for-all and things can easily get out of hand, especially if you’re prone to overeating.

Three // Recency. Have you ever eaten something and then craved the very same thing a day or two later? Recency is one primary cause of cravings. This means that something you recently ate can cause cravings for more of the same. A cheat day might have you eating waffles with ice cream, for example, but don’t be surprised if you’re fighting an uncontrollable urge to eat them again a day or so later when your cheat day is over. 

Four // They’re often misused. The intention of a cheat day is to treat yourself to something you enjoy. However, intentionally or not, cheat days can turn into a binge day (see #2 above). Even if this happens just once a week, it can set your progress back or keep you stuck from moving forward. 

Five // Food as reward. Congratulations! You made it another week on your diet or with your new healthy eating habits, but it’s time to stop using food as a reward, an unhealthy habit many of us picked up in childhood. When you can stop thinking of food as reward or punishment, healthy eating becomes just another way you take care of yourself and the cheat foods become less interesting. 

So what can you do instead of a cheat day? 

Treat yourself to non-food items or indulgent self-care once a week or when you hit milestones. Food-wise, if you’re feeling too deprived, designate a day of the week when you can enjoy something you wouldn’t normally, but choose one thing (or a pairing of two), just not all the things. Taking good care of yourself and eating well shouldn’t feel like you’re missing out.