Do you allow yourself a day off?

Pirate_chick

Yes, but I log it.

fallingtrees

There are some days where logging my food would just be impractical. I let those go. But not very often. My 80/20 plan is more like 93/7.

jpaulie

depends what I am doing. If I am cutting (working to lose fat and preserve muscle) then no. If I am bulking then sure.

JustinAnimal

I won't allow a cheat day or off day because those were my downfall. A week's worth of progress ruined with a day of beer-swilling and chicken wing munching. But that's a fairly new rule for me. My new "cheat days" are eating at or slightly under maintenance calories.

yestowellness

I count everything even if it's a cookie. I like to see what I'm eating even if it's not the best thing for me. It just makes me aware of my calories. When I'm craving a particular thing I generally eat it, but I don't go crazy. If I want something sweet I have individually packed cookies. I eat one and I'm done. When I go out and I want dessert I make sure I burn at least double my normal intake and eat small plates or and app. But at the end of the day just log it log it log it!!

lemurcat12

It's interesting, because on threads about eliminating foods you get lots of people pointing out that it can be dangerous to eliminate foods since that can set up a dynamic where eating the food is a failure and you react by thinking what the heck and going nuts. Better to be accepting of the idea that anything is okay in moderation (or occasionally not moderation, if that's rare).

However, whenever an "off day" thread starts, lots of people claim that taking an off day leads to going way overboard and thus must never occur. But OP specifically stated not going nuts on the day, just not logging. The idea that if you don't log you spent the day shoveling food in your mouth, that the alternative to not logging is gluttony, strikes me as the same dangerous dynamic warned of with eliminating foods or thinking of them as bad--that one either exercises perfect control or an extreme lack of control. Isn't it better to try to understand how to eat sensibly (if a bit more indulgently at times) without logging too, even if you think that for you logging most of the time will always (or for the time being) be an important check on letting the calories creep up?

I'm not saying that some people won't, in fact, need to log, just as some struggle with moderation and so will need to eliminate trigger foods, but there seems a conflict between these two common positions.

(For the record, as stated above, I also generally agree with the "I always log for the information" position many have presented.)

CarolPre

I go off my diet on special days, like my birthday next week. I'll be good all day and get my exercise in, but we'll go out for dinner that evening. I don't plan to overeat, but I will have a margarita or two and, unless I really plan for that, will blow my diet out that day. Then, I'll get back on track the next day.

Sued0nim

Why would I want a day off? I don't deny myself anything, I make it work over the week

Happyme2009

Two days off for me.... Although I usually end up undoing all the good work from Mon to Fri. I can't help it, I'm human and food is a pleasure of life. For me it's necessary or I completely fall off the wagon when I fall.....

vgnfarmer

I have plenty of days where I go over in calories but I still log everything. I think in terms of "reducing" , "maintaining" and "gaining" days. My goal is for mostly reducing and maintaining days and if there are a few gaining days in there thats ok. Usually just eating @ maintence is good enough overage for me.

Amanda4change

I recently took over a week off of logging everything (I just did enough to keep my streak going) because of being ill (I had kidney stones and a massive infection caused by them). I was barely able to keep anything down (the joys of Cipro) and it was to complicated to try to figure out how much of what I was throwing up. Aside from that I log everything, even if it means I go over, that way I can look back at the week if the numbers aren't what I expect on the scale.

TimothyFish

rabbitjb wrote: »

Why would I want a day off? I don't deny myself anything, I make it work over the week

My off days are usually days where I'm somewhere that I don't have access to the Internet or when the social situation would make it difficult to spend a lot of time figuring out what everything is. Like lemurcat12 said, I'm not sure where this stuff your face idea is coming from. Sure, I might eat a piece of pie that I wouldn't normally eat, but in the grand scheme of things, I'm not going to go over by so much that I won't have made up for it in a couple of weeks. My weight loss was pretty flat in December, but in four or five months, I expect to every month to be pretty flat.

dubird

I do for holidays and special occasions, like State Fair. I do try to log what I can, but I don't pig out and since I've gotten to the point where I actually can't eat large meals like I used to, I don't worry about if something is going to fit in my calorie goal. If I'm celebrating something, I want to enjoy it, not worry about it.

dougpconnell219

No.
When I want to eat a big high calorie meal, I try to "pay for it in advance" by a combination of eating really light the rest of that day, and extra exercise.

I know me. An untracked day will quickly go off the rails back to lazy town.

Vanilla_Lattes

No I've logged every day since I started. I want it to stay a habit. Have I ever gone ever? Hell yes. Haha

Lounmoun

WickyDunn wrote: »

Just wondering if people do this? Not go totally overkill with eating everything in sight but do you allow yourself a day when you just don't count?

I have been logging every day for 95 days including holidays and special occasions.
I eat what I like regularly and have never been a binge eater so I could see not logging occasionally at some point for a day and not being concerned. If I'm eating food that I have eaten before I would kind of know what amount fit my calorie limit because I've logged before.

salembambi

once in a while yup some days im just like "fvck it" but this only happens maybe once every couple months

valentines day will def be a "fvck it" day

I have other days where they are just a high calorie day too not really planned or whatever it just happens...most likely when menstruating

47Jacqueline

I'Ve been maintaining for about 2 years. I don't cheat because I don't have anything forbidden. Sometimes I don't log - like this weekend I'm out of town.

maxit

I didn't count when traveling/visiting various folks for two weeks over the holidays because there were too many eat-out meals that I wasn't able to deconstruct to my satisfaction (with predictable result of dining out so much, i.e., 3-4 pounds weight gain - which is taking a month to lose lol). Otherwise, I have counted calories every day. Now there might be a day, like yesterday, where calories in= calories out, but not too many of those in a month. Yesterday, I was under-slept and over-exercised so just plain hungry.

PeachyCarol

No

lemurcat12 wrote: »

It's interesting, because on threads about eliminating foods you get lots of people pointing out that it can be dangerous to eliminate foods since that can set up a dynamic where eating the food is a failure and you react by thinking what the heck and going nuts. Better to be accepting of the idea that anything is okay in moderation (or occasionally not moderation, if that's rare).

However, whenever an "off day" thread starts, lots of people claim that taking an off day leads to going way overboard and thus must never occur. But OP specifically stated not going nuts on the day, just not logging. The idea that if you don't log you spent the day shoveling food in your mouth, that the alternative to not logging is gluttony, strikes me as the same dangerous dynamic warned of with eliminating foods or thinking of them as bad--that one either exercises perfect control or an extreme lack of control. Isn't it better to try to understand how to eat sensibly (if a bit more indulgently at times) without logging too, even if you think that for you logging most of the time will always (or for the time being) be an important check on letting the calories creep up?

I'm not saying that some people won't, in fact, need to log, just as some struggle with moderation and so will need to eliminate trigger foods, but there seems a conflict between these two common positions.

(For the record, as stated above, I also generally agree with the "I always log for the information" position many have presented.)

I don't think it's necessarily that the idea that not logging equates to gluttony. I just think a day off... if you're inclined to take one... should be something like "an everything in moderation" policy. Something you plan for and log. Say, for that day, you set your calories to maintenance and log.

One of the steps on a slippery slope with a lot of bad behaviors with dieting starts with hiding things from ourselves. Your body will still log those calories even if you don't put them on MFP. Part of being here is establishing a good habit and accountability to yourself. It's learning to accept the ups and downs of your behavior. If you're going to have a day where you eat more... embrace it... not as forbidden behavior that you hide... but as part of your overall plan.

One of the reasons that restriction, which you mention, often leads to binges on the restricted item is because once you give in to the temptation of the forbidden fruit, you gorge on it because... well, you're going to stop after this awful incident and never, ever going to have it again, so might as well make hay while the sun shines and go for broke. Whereas, allowing yourself to have everything in moderation? Meh. You can have a cookie or two and know you can have more tomorrow or three days from now.

It's the same idea, at least to my mind, with logging a planned indulgence day. Make it part of your ongoing plan and it loses the aura of forbidden fruit. You'll know there's another one coming along in another few weeks or so.

RBXChas

8 years ago, after I was first married, Saturdays used to be my "cheat days." My husband and I would go out to eat for dinner and have dessert. Sometimes we'd go to the movies and sneak in snacks or share an enormous tub of popcorn. Either way, I'd eat myself sick.

Sunday was always awful because I had the worst time getting back on track and eating like I should've been. Usually the scale caught up to me by Monday morning, and I'd spend until Thursday or Friday losing the extra weight, then making minimal progress, if any, before gorging myself the following Saturday.

I've been at this MFP thing for nearly 4 years now. I was successful in losing, then had another baby, and after a full year of nursing I'm trying to get back where I was trying to balance the craziness that is life, full-time work (self-employment), being a room parent, and having two kids now.

What I've learned is that, for me, "cheat days" or "cheat meals" don't work. They might work for others, just not for me.

There are days that I know logging for the day (or for the meal) would be silly or plain impossible (due to not knowing ingredients, weights, etc.). Last Saturday was a family member's birthday party at a nice restaurant, so I made sure that I stayed on track before and following the party. I did not starve myself to compensate. I enjoyed my meal, which was reasonable yet delicious, and had a cupcake. Those events don't come around often, so I just shrugged and moved on. The scale apparently didn't notice, and I didn't feel like a pariah asking for a salad with no dressing.

My philosophy is to log when I'm in control of things, and when I am not in control, just do my best but realize that I have to live my life. You can't avoid things like cake forever if you actually want to have friends and family in your life!

kbmnurse

I usually take Sundays off.

Jagerin

Day off from logging? No.

Occasionally going over my daily limit? Yes (though I rarely do it intentionally).

A "day off" for me is a day of misjudging. I log it and move on. It happens. I get over it. It's not a cheat day or an off day. It was just a day that I went over. The other night, I had a really bad night at work and I was super tired. Husband and mini-Jager wanted pizza. I could have got off my *kitten* and made something for myself, but instead I ate two pieces of pizza. I logged it, I went over, I got over it the next day. It wasn't a day off or a cheat meal. It was just food.

If I want a night of doing rum and tequila shots with a cheeseburger. I have it. Sure, I'll go over my daily limit, but there are many days that I'm short 50-100. I just make sure to log everything. That way I can see the big picture instead of just the daily picture. 100 calories in rum one day, but two days prior I might have been 100 short. It all adds up for the week.

Eat. Log it. Move on.

chouflour

I spend a lot of time not logging, and often log just one meal in a day.

For me, calorie tracking is a tool, and I use it when I need it. I'll usually log new recipes/meals once and see how they fit into my usual diet. If I have unusual dinner plans (really high or low calorie) I might track the whole day to make sure it's reasonable. Beyond that, if my weight trend is doing what it should - I don't track. If my weight trend isn't behaving, I track for awhile.

I'm trying to maintain, and currently tend to lose weight, so days I'm particularly not-hungry, I log. If I were trying to lose weight, or was gaining in maintenance, I'd log days I was particularly hungry.

Laurashar34

I've only been doing this for three weeks (so might feel differently three months or three years down the line!) but I log everything. I have eaten or drunk things that have taken me over my daily limit on a couple of occasions, but by logging it and seeing it in black and white, it's stopped me using it as an excuse to give up. It's also helped me save on calories the following day to help offset it.

I have no plans to eat 'perfectly' all the time (and wouldn't have the will power to) but this is a lifestyle change so needs to be sustainable and doable in the real world.

dawnna76

no, but i cant. i have food addiction issues and unless i plan and account for everything i will go on a major binge and it will take days to rein it in. but that said i also plan into my week pizza, a burger and ice cream (just not all on the same day)

joaniegray

Sometimes, it's unavoidable at times. I read recently if you are going to take a day off, eat all your "extras" before noon so am going to try that tomorrow -am treating myself to hummus and pita

acjmomma

girlviernes

I really like have complete logs for the past 160 days. I use the excel spreadsheet to figure out my TDEE. Great info to have! Even then of course it's not exact, my exercise burns are overestimated, and when I eat out or at parties the calorie counts are not going to be very exact. But I think I'm close enough, and my weight loss numbers support that

dlvuyovich

I personally come up for air every once in a while. I am currently on a 2 week at a time no alcohol challenge and as a result, it has kicked me back in gear, especially after these past holidays. I was letting my 'cheat' meal/day carry over and needed a clean break.

Keeping on this schedule has made me not fall into the traps. I am more likely to maybe have a bad meal then that is it. It helps me make better choices when I am not getting food from my own kitchen, like this weekend I will be attending a conference out of town.

Since I have been 'clean' for the past two weeks, I am actually looking forward to continuing to make better choices.