So I was asked this on Instagram (which you can follow at Instagram.com/ChrisRaynerson) about cheat meals and cheap days. Which one should they choose? Well, I have a complicated answer for all of you.

First, this is a great question to ask during my month of not going over my calorie deficit goal. That’s my February goal. So let me tell you what I wish i could do. I’d love to go to the supermarket and get some Salt & Vinegar chicken wings, a box of chocolate chip cookies, and then order some Dominos. I wish I could do that every day. That would be my cheat day if I did one. But I don’t, at least anymore.

For me personally, I feel like meals make me feel a lot better. There is less damage to my progress with just a meal, and I could space it out properly. When you do a cheap day, you are really hurting yourself. And would that keep you off track, doing further damage to your weight loss journey? It did to me.

So what I like to do is small cheat meals throughout the week. I’m human. You’re human. We like stuff that are bad for us, and that is okay. I’ll for example eat an apple, cottage cheese and a protein bar for breakfast. Yum. Maybe I want a chocolate bar for a snack?

Okay, sure. I go for it. However, I follow that cheat meal with a healthy meal right after. So after that chocolate bar, I’ll follow that up with a turkey sandwich and grapes. Delicious!

Notice how I also choose healthy meals I find tasty as well. What’s the point of life if you eat stuff you don’t enjoy all day? It will only lead you to falling off the wagon.

So the formula is this:

Healthy Meal - Cheat Meal - Healthy Meal - Healthy Meal - Healthy Meal

Don’t give yourself anxiety over this. If you want to have a donut, go ahead. Just make sure you follow that up with a healthy meal. So I prefer cheat meals.

THIS WEEK’S WEIGH-IN & GOAL!

Last Week: 269.9LBS

This Week: 269.5LBS (Down 0.4LBS)

So a very successful weigh in this week. I’ve also been looking at other ways of tracking my journey. Seeing how I have gained so much muscle since August when it comes to working out. I took a picture of myself today and compared it to January. So much difference!

Just want to remind you all that your weight loss journey is more than seeing a change on the scale. I have started to measure my body as well, so we’ll see how much fat I lose as well!

Last Week’s Goal: Drink 50oz of Water every day!

I accomplished this easily. So easily, I think I should up that amount this week.

This Week’s Goal: Drink 75oz of Water every day!

So I am a few days late to announce this goal, but I have been doing this goal so far this past week so I still want to announce it for all of you. I have not been very consistent and we need to be real about it.

I've been staying in my calorie deficit for 6 straight days, and then will all of a sudden fall off the wagon for 1-3 days after. This has been going on since the beginning of the year. Calorie deficit is the most important thing when it comes to weight loss.

So I want to focus on counting calories and staying in my calorie deficit all month for February 2018. Time to get back to the basics!

So this is the results of my January 2018 goal, which I made in a podcast a couple of weeks ago.

My January goal was to be more & do more positive things in this world. This was coming off of the end of the year, where everyone said 2017 was the worst. I didn't think so, but I wanted to spread some love and positive vibes around the world.

Here are the things I listed as major positive things I did:

1. Helped a friend of mine move.

2. Helped someone find their phone at work.

3. Helped bench someone at the gym.

4. Donated money to the ACLU

5. Sent my mom a personal video for her birthday.

I think all of these are good positive vibes I brought to the world. Sound weird to have to list them, but I don't know how else I could showcase why I completed this goal. I hope all of you go out of your way today and do something positive today.'

Last Week: 269.6LBS

This Week: 269.9LBS

⬆0.3:LBS

I already know why I gained the weight this week. I overate last Monday. Not today, but last Monday. I'll be real with you, i've been very inconsistent when it comes to eating in my calorie deficit. I will go 6 days of being very strict, and then go overeat for a day/two/three. It's not very good.

Hopefully I'll be successful in my February goal so that won't be a consistent problem. It'll be a battle I will always have to battle though. No ignoring that.

Last Week's Goal: 15 Minutes on the Stairmaster.

Completed that goal! Every workout this past week, I've been on the Stairmaster for 15 minutes. The ultimate goal is to get up to 30, and then gradually increase the speed. But I don't want to rush all at once to not burn myself out. So I'll make a slow increase in that.

This Week's Goal: 50oz of Water Every Day

I have been slacking when it comes to me drinking water every day. A huge help in my quest to be more full should be to get enough water. So the goal is to at least get 50oz of water every day. More than that is cool, but the goal is 50oz.

In this episode of My #WeightLossJourney, we discuss the weigh-in & goal for Week 3 and how well I did. I give my goal for Week 4. I discuss what to do after you start binging. I give some love and hear feedback from YouTube comments. And I discuss why you don't have to exercise to lose weight.

In this episode of the podcast, I discuss how to create the best goals for your weight loss journey. I answer a Snapchat question where I was asked how I find time to workout. We talk about how walking has helped me lose 50lbs. And finally, I discuss the pros & cons of counting calories vs. tracking macros.

Hope this podcast helps you all out. If you have questions, comments or feedback for me, e-mail me: [email protected]

In the very first "episode" of the podcast, I discuss how the setup of this podcast will be and discuss all of my goals! From goals for this week, to this month, and this year! It's a new year, and it's time to kick butt!