Anyone have a "blow the eating" day a week?

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  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
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    Absolutely not. Your either doing it or your not, can't have it both ways.
    Most I have done in 16days is go over cals by 200, every other day I have been below. I'm down from 90.3 to 86kg.

    Put foods you enjoy in your allowance and eat wise with the rest of it.

    Cheat days are for those with weak discipline set to fail!
    Sixteen whole days? Ah. Well, I suppose that makes you an expert.

    Good luck.
  • blakerb29
    blakerb29 Posts: 74
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    Absolutely not. Your either doing it or your not, can't have it both ways.
    Most I have done in 16days is go over cals by 200, every other day I have been below. I'm down from 90.3 to 86kg.

    Put foods you enjoy in your allowance and eat wise with the rest of it.

    Cheat days are for those with weak discipline set to fail!
    Sixteen whole days? Ah. Well, I suppose that makes you an expert.

    Good luck.

    At no point did I claim to be an expert and it was a opinion, one which I have already agreed wasn't thought out.
    The last time I checked a forums main purpose was to share opinions rather than to try belittle people xwith sarcastic comments.

    Not that its all that important I have for more experience with fitness than 16 days anyway.

    Good luck to you too.
  • iecreamheadaches
    iecreamheadaches Posts: 441 Member
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    I wouldnt call it a "blow it" day, but i eat a little more on thursday then I would on any other day cause its 4 mile thursday within my group of gym buddies (we do 4 miles on the elliptical) and I know I can afford a few extra calories. But I never go massively over maybe 100-250. I dont do it every week, but I do it more often than not.
  • sofitheteacup
    sofitheteacup Posts: 397 Member
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    It is good to increase your daily caloric goal for one day of the week while on a caloric deficit diet. If you stay eating a low calorie diet for a long period of time, over time your metabolism will find ways to preserve energy, and lower your basal metabolic rate- therefore putting you out of a deficit. This process doesn't happen over night, and it affects some more than others, but by increasing calories by 500-700 more than your deficit you will slow the process of your metabolism slowing itself down a lot.
    This happened to me, and sucks.
    OP, keep it up.
  • MelsAuntie
    MelsAuntie Posts: 2,833 Member
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    no, never.
  • MelsAuntie
    MelsAuntie Posts: 2,833 Member
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    I cannot understand the logic behind 'cheat' days. The only person you are cheating is yourself and you are making eating unhealthy, or too much, food, into something to look forward to and to aspire to. Surely you should be aspiring to that overworked phrase, 'a lifestyle change'? Part of my lifestyle change is that things I used to snack on daily are now something I eat in small quantities occasionally and always within my calorie allowance. Even then I find my tastes changing and the candy type chocolate I used to eat a lot is now too sweet for me, so I eat more healthy and less calorific dark chocolate, and not very much of it.

    To me it's like cheating at golf, going out one day a week and not counting all your strokes so you can boast about how good you are.


    Ron, the first three sentences sum it up PERFECTLY. Making food into a "reward".
  • pippywillow
    pippywillow Posts: 253 Member
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    Wow people are being so snarky in this post :huh:

    Anyway... Usually my only cheat days are holidays or birthdays, occasionally a date night with my husband. And it's not really because I want to eat a lot, I just don't want to be bothered with counting, I want to enjoy myself.

    I started eating better because I love the way it makes me feel. If I cheat once a week than I'd feel icky once a week. It just doen't seem worth it.

    I'm trying not to see food as a reward but as something to fuel my body.
  • wickedwendy6
    wickedwendy6 Posts: 117 Member
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    Absolutely not. Your either doing it or your not, can't have it both ways.
    Most I have done in 16days is go over cals by 200, every other day I have been below. I'm down from 90.3 to 86kg.

    Put foods you enjoy in your allowance and eat wise with the rest of it.

    Cheat days are for those with weak discipline set to fail!

    ^^ I respect your choice to not do this but I totally disagree. I also find your opinion a little offensive - I do NOT have weak discipline, in fact I may actually be more disciplined than you because I can control it. And I'm NOT set to fail. You might not be able to have it both ways but I can! I'm down from 77.6kg to 65.4kg.

    In response to the OP - Every Saturday I have a free day, where I eat whatever I feel like - not a binge day, just a 'eat not so healthily' day. And every Sunday I jump straight back on the bandwagon and carry on as usual. :bigsmile:
  • uscooleys
    uscooleys Posts: 34 Member
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    I am fairly new to getting back to a healthy weight and have learned from past failures that I need a bit of flexibility - especially on weekends. My goal is to stay under my calorie goal during the week and be a little more flexible on the weekends. Also if I am planning a night out, I try to incorporate some extra exercise to offset it. For example, last night, instead of cooking, my hubs and I decided to go out to a local place for margaritas and new mexican cuisine --- I knew I would go over my calories goal so instead of driving, we rode our bikes (about 10 miles roundtrip) and I took forever to order while I studied the menu for the best choices. Bottom line --- I have found for myself, I can have a "flex" day as long as I stay focused.

    I do agree that it is different for everyone and you have to find what works best for YOU.
  • velodreams
    velodreams Posts: 6
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    For better or for worse, I had an unintentional splurge day last Sat. I had basically 1000 calories over my norm. I wouldn't recommend it but the great thing is that in the past, I would've spiralled into shame, self-hatred, powerlessness & the cycle prolly woulda continued for a week. Since my roomie introduced me to MFP, the culture of openness allowed me to laugh at myself & disconnect the shame normally associated w/this. That's changed everything for me. Now if I could only apply that to all areas of my laugh lol.
  • blakerb29
    blakerb29 Posts: 74
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    Absolutely not. Your either doing it or your not, can't have it both ways.
    Most I have done in 16days is go over cals by 200, every other day I have been below. I'm down from 90.3 to 86kg.

    Put foods you enjoy in your allowance and eat wise with the rest of it.

    Cheat days are for those with weak discipline set to fail!

    ^^ I respect your choice to not do this but I totally disagree. I also find your opinion a little offensive - I do NOT have weak discipline, in fact I may actually be more disciplined than you because I can control it. And I'm NOT set to fail. You might not be able to have it both ways but I can! I'm down from 77.6kg to 65.4kg.

    In response to the OP - Every Saturday I have a free day, where I eat whatever I feel like - not a binge day, just a 'eat not so healthily' day. And every Sunday I jump straight back on the bandwagon and carry on as usual. :bigsmile:

    Indeed, I did not word it very well, if something is working for someone or even if not it is their choice and good for you.Thank you for responding in an appropriate manner.
    I could eat more and control it, I could probably eat a fair bit more and be okay but I just choose not to and its working for me at a pace I can be happy with.

    I eat over 2000cals a day but also workout a lot so its balanced out, to me nutrition is first and calories second.

    Sorry for the offense but in hindsight, their not even really my proper views as its not black or white.

    Good luck in your goals & making the most out of life!


    -Blake
  • inshapeundergrad
    inshapeundergrad Posts: 2
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    I had a tonsillectomy 8 days ago, so I haven't been able to eat very much at all lately. I have been significantly under my calorie goal every day since the surgery, so you better believe that on the day I can eat normally again I will probably go over my daily goal! However, I don't have a cheat day in general, usually just one cheat meal or snack per week. :smile:
  • bhdon
    bhdon Posts: 117 Member
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    I tend to look more at my weekly calorie trend, rather than daily intake. Some days I don't feel as hungry, others I feel like I could absolutely eat an entire horse ( I don't of course - but the point being some days I'm a lot hungrier than others) Looking at weekly intake allows me to listen more to my body day to day rather than abiding by a strict caloric intake day to day. I still seriously watch the quality of what I eat and try to stay within a reasonable caloric range one way or the other. What I've found is in a month's time, overall, doing this, has only amounted to about a 1 pound discrepancy of loss, one way or the other. For me, part of this new way of doing things, is establishing some reasonable guidelines to live by, trying to learn how to 'honestly' ( key word here) listen to, and trust, my body's signals again, rather than a formula that imposes rigid rules each day. I don't know how this will work long term, when I get closer to my goal weight, but so far, it's worked out ok for me as I'm down almost 23 pounds since April 1st.
  • eugeniavlasova
    eugeniavlasova Posts: 3
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    My strategy is absolutely the same: saving calories for a blow-eating day, so the weekly budget is still fine.
  • Kai81109
    Kai81109 Posts: 52 Member
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    Do not do a free eat for all once a week that is actually bad. I have been talking to a personal trainer and a nutritionest so that i can lose the weight. Give yourself a 2000 calorie day every 2 weeks.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    When I was losing, I usually had one day per week when I ate to maintenance or thereabouts. I never considered it cheating...I ate to a maintenance level of calories which means I wasn't over-eating. I think a lot of people are just way to hard on themselves and/or they don't understand that even if you go over your calorie goal, you're often still at a deficit of calories, just not as big of one.

    OP...@ 2,500 calories you're probably close to maintenance (I'm 38 and 5'10" and maintain at around 2,700 calories)...I would't worry about it too much if it helps you keep your sanity. Just do understand that it might slow you down a little bit though (not much in the grand scheme of things).
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    Do not do a free eat for all once a week that is actually bad. I have been talking to a personal trainer and a nutritionest so that i can lose the weight. Give yourself a 2000 calorie day every 2 weeks.

    For a male of his height and weight, I guarantee you that 2000 calories is still a substantial deficit from his maintenance level of calories. 2,500 calories is still probably a slight deficit for him and at most would be maintenance. Nothing wrong with eating maintenance once in awhile. It's when you over-eat that issues arise...eating maintenance isn't over-eating.
  • Kai81109
    Kai81109 Posts: 52 Member
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    I completely agree with you... your most likely right that is just what they recommended for me mine is 1300 calorie diet so on my one day ever 2 weeks im not aloud to go over 2000 .. Im 5'9 female so yes his would probably be more
  • Sactown900
    Sactown900 Posts: 162 Member
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    Thanks everyone. Not really "blowing" the diet or "cheating."

    I asked a 60 year old bodybuilder at my gym (with a garage full of trophies from the 70s and 80s) what his eating was like as he got VERY muscular to peak for a contest. Even no longer competing his vascularity is incredible.

    His reply was "whether it's me or preparing a client, I eat very low GI carbs, but have one day a week to have fun and go over calories. If you deny yourself, you will binge one day."

    He said at a family gathering he would "have a small piece of birthday cake," and pass on the ice cream, "The day after a contest I would have cake and ice cream maybe once a week, but then I have been working out twice a day-six days a week."

    Mine yesterday was a whole cup of raw cashews and a micro brew. (It was heavenly). Back at it this morning.

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