can I EVER cheat???
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ds6099
Posts: 98 Member
Can I EVER overeat and still successfully lose weight? Such as a weekend indulgence?
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Replies
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Can you? Yes. Should you? That's debatable.
If your deficit is set as lose 1lb/week, that's 3500 calories under maintenance. If you eat whatever your calorie allowance is for a day plus the additional 3500, then you've eliminated your deficit for that week, thus slowing your weightloss. Eat more than that and you may see a gain.
I would encourage you to log everything, even if you know you'll be going over your goal. This will help you see if you need to cut back.
Some people prefer to eat a little less throughout the week so they have more calories on the weekend. I generally have 400 extra or so which helps.
For what it's worth, I'm just maintaining my weight right now and going over by a couple hundred 1-2 days in a week hasn't done any harm. I've seen some upward fluctuations but I've also eaten more sodium than usual so it's bloat from water weight.
~Lyssa0 -
It depends. What is your definition of "cheat". How many calories is it? Is it enough to wipe out the deficit you created during the week?0
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Your going to have special occasions where you go over on calories. That's life. A special meal once a month or so won't hurt in the long run.
If you eat everything in sight every weekend, that will undermine the deficit you've built up during the week.0 -
Of course. It will slow down your progress if you don't burn the extra calories off, but unless you have a massive binge or frequently overeat you probably won't notice much difference. I like to let myself eat to maintenance once a week or so. Usually its just one indulgent meal, but I find it helps me keep on track in the long run. It can be really, really hard to track your eating every single day of your life. If you worry about the occational slip up too much you'll just stress and feel guilty.
Honestly if you see a weight gain on the scale the next day it will probably just be water retention due to eating more sodium than normal on your cheat day. As long as youre staying at a calorie deficit overall, a cheat day now amd then wont hurt.
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If a random person eats an all inclusive all you can eat buffet on 14 out of 15 days, and during 1 out of the 15 days eats nothing. Is that 1 day enough to balance out the other 14 days of over-eating?
Why would the opposite not be true, too?
For me, it is one thing to have the occasional (even more than occasional) off day. These days will slow down your weight loss a bit, for sure, but it is all good because: life, friends, family, they all happen!
Having said that, I personally believe that a weight loss plan based on scheduled "cheat" days is not the right way to go.0 -
(0) You're only cheating yourself
(1) If you feel the need to cheat, you're doing it wrong.
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You can do whatever you want.0
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TANSTAAFL - there ain't no such thing as a free lunch. As others said, weight loss is about calories over time. If the overall amount for a time period like a week is a deficit, you'll still lose, though you'll probably have water weight a little while.0
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SergeantSausage wrote: »
(1) If you feel the need to cheat, you're doing it wrong.
I don't think that's fair or applies to everyone. The 1/2lb homemade bacon cheddar burger with real mayo, potato salad, bratwurst with a big fat bun, chocolate chip cookies and 6 Michelob Ultra's I had on the 4th of July was cheating. It wasn't necessarily inside of "good nutrition". It wasn't part of my healthy eating and it was definitely out of my calorie allotment for the day.
I had an awesome time! Great family and friends, good food, good times. I'm not obese but I need to lose around 20lb. I'm losing pretty well, .5lb a week is my calories. I'm seeing results.
Did I do it wrong? That is an individual choice. For me, no, I didn't do it wrong, I did it right. What is the point to good health if you feel you aren't living and are only a slave to your food scale?
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I had an awesome time! Great family and friends, good food, good times. I'm not obese but I need to lose around 20lb. I'm losing pretty well, .5lb a week is my calories. I'm seeing results.
Did I do it wrong? That is an individual choice. For me, no, I didn't do it wrong, I did it right. What is the point to good health if you feel you aren't living and are only a slave to your food scale?
You had a single "cheat" meal on the 4th of July with family and friends. Life happens. Glad to hear you enjoyed it.
You don't regularly have the urge to cheat because you impose so many restrictions on yourself that you will explode if you don't regularly cheat. And then spend all week waiting for your cheat day to arrive.0 -
your body will be your judge...it doesn't cheat...it counts for you perfectly EVERY calorie you eat.
If you want or not0 -
SergeantSausage wrote: »
(1) If you feel the need to cheat, you're doing it wrong.
I don't think that's fair or applies to everyone. The 1/2lb homemade bacon cheddar burger with real mayo, potato salad, bratwurst with a big fat bun, chocolate chip cookies and 6 Michelob Ultra's I had on the 4th of July was cheating. It wasn't necessarily inside of "good nutrition". It wasn't part of my healthy eating and it was definitely out of my calorie allotment for the day.
I had an awesome time! Great family and friends, good food, good times. I'm not obese but I need to lose around 20lb. I'm losing pretty well, .5lb a week is my calories. I'm seeing results.
Did I do it wrong? That is an individual choice. For me, no, I didn't do it wrong, I did it right. What is the point to good health if you feel you aren't living and are only a slave to your food scale?
Yes
You definitely did it wrong.
But not at all in the way you think.
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SergeantSausage wrote: »Yes
You definitely did it wrong.
But not at all in the way you think.
I know. I should have had ice cream with my cookies
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Cheat/reward/refeed/ whatever the cute little words are... YES. I say do it. They keep me focused. Delayed gratification... maybe. I want nothing. I crave nothing. It is all handled through the cheat/reward. I want to lose X amount of lbs for my next cheat/reward. Success! Reward. Back on track for next goal. Enjoy it too OP!0
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Can I EVER overeat and still successfully lose weight? Such as a weekend indulgence?
Cheating implies you are doing something wrong. In my book, there is no such thing as cheating on your diet.
If you want to include something in your diet, make it fit in your weekly calorie goals. That's it.0 -
SergeantSausage wrote: »(0) You're only cheating yourself
(1) If you feel the need to cheat, you're doing it wrong.
And, this.
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Make whatever you want, fit into your calories. I get a treat or two daily.0
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Of course you can! You will just lose more slowly. One night I went over to my step-daughter and son's house for dinner. Dessert was individual chocolate lava cakes, with ice cream. It was delicious. I enjoyed it with not one qualm. Logged it. Lost a pound that week. These indulgences for me are very occasional treats, as I am on 1200 calories a day and there's no way I can fit that into my calories on any sort of a regular basis and still lose.0
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I think of it this way.
I am not on a diet, I am learning to eat and live healthy. It is a lifestyle change. If I had to live the rest of my life without having unhealthy food once in a while, honestly I would rather live shorter and be fat.
It is about realizing what food is everyday food, and what is occasional food. Apples=Everyday, Dinner at Cheesecake Factory=Occasional.0 -
My opinion is that you can allow yourself a cheat day but be aware that it will substantially increase the time it will take you to lose the weight if you do it often and will defeat the purpose. Logging everything so that you are aware of how much you ate (even if you go over) may motivate you to exercise to help meet your weekly deficit goal.
Just my opinion anyway.0
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