Is it okay to have one "crazy meal" a week?

rhinomidget

I am 5'1 and 100 lbs. I am not trying to lose weight, but I want to avoid gaining weight. I exercise (mainly just cardio/HIIT) for 30 minutes every day 6 days a week. I also eat clean, healthy, and vegetarian (I also try to avoid gluten as much as I can, but I'm not religious about it).

I do not count calories. The one time I tried, I ended up gaining weight and my body was extremely unhealthy and unhappy, so I just eat whatever is clean/healthy and whatever my body is able to process.

However, I go to my grandparents' house once a week and although they prepare very delicious food, it is not usually healthy (they do prepare vegetables/fish/whatever, but they usually have a lot of oil/butter on them). I do not eat a LOT of this food (I just eat a normal amount), but I can't really bring my own food because I don't want them to feel bad...plus, that would be a gigantic act of ingratitude.

As I said, it's only one meal a week and I eat the same stuff for the rest of the week. I know it sounds paranoid and extremely mental, but can that one meal make me gain weight or does the fact that I go back to eating normal balance it out?

californiagirl2012

No it won't hurt you to eat at your grandparents house once a week. If you start gaining a little it's simple, eat a little less. You can treat your "portions" like a budget, the same way everyone does it on here with calories. It's the same thing. It is just less accurate. But counting calories is only an estimate anyway.

So, it doens't matter if you call food portions, calories, carbons, points, meal plans, whatever you want to call it. If you intake too much you store it as fat. So you intake it a little less and you lose the fat.

It's not like any of us gets to our goal and turns into a statue. We all have to manage these little cycles like a debt. If we over eat one day then we have to make up for it another day or a few days of eating less.

For the most part we can't eat as low of a deficit after we reach our goal because our body doesn't have as much body fat to draw from. So that means we can't have too many of those "peak" over eating days too often. So I'm sure if your normal diet during the week has some slight deficit, the one peak day of over eating energy will be fine. See how it goes. If you start gaining a little and your pants get a little tight, no big deal, just eat a little less. You can even use some portion control when you are at your grandparents house without offending them.

janjunie

I'm not actively trying to lose weight right now, though I have lost a lb this month. I have probably 2 crazy days a week and it's been fine. Saying that, I'm 5'4 and 112lbs, so I'm at about maintance.
***just want to add how sweet it is that your grandparents cook for you, cherish it

Lounmoun

One normal sized meal once a week of slightly higher calories than you normally eat is not going to make you gain weight.

maxit

@lilylenz enjoy your meal with your grandparents

cityruss

Deficit is all that matters.

0 -10 cheat/treat/crazy meals a week/day/hour makes no difference.

Remain in a deficit and you'll lose, eat at maintenance and you'll maintain, eat at a surplus and you'll gain.

The way this deficit, maintenance or surplus comes about matters little.

scastor27

cityruss wrote: »

Deficit is all that matters.

0 -10 cheat/treat/crazy meals a week/day/hour makes no difference.

Remain in a deficit and you'll lose, eat at maintenance and you'll maintain, eat at a surplus and you'll gain.

The way this deficit, maintenance or surplus comes about matters little.

^^10/10