How many "cheat" days can you have a week and still lose weight?

85Cardinals

I love carrot cake with that rich cream cheese frosting. But I've never cared for carrots by themselves, go figure. I don't mind them in a stew or a slaw, don't get me wrong. A place for every carrot, and every carrot in its place.

cmtigger

tishie1 wrote: »

I have been having 3 cheat days a week where I don't count calories and I gain ALL the weight I lost ( the previous 4 days) back everytime. Has anyone else has this happen? How many days a week have you found that you can go off myfitnesspal and still lose weight in the long run?

I have days where I go over, but I still log. I think the most was 800 over. But if you just eat whatever, it's going to lead to a cycle of restricting too much and then binging. Have you thought of upping your daily calories and not allowing free days?

I do plan to allow free days if I go to thanksgiving or Christmas things.

cwolfman13

tishie1 wrote: »

I have been having 3 cheat days a week where I don't count calories and I gain ALL the weight I lost ( the previous 4 days) back everytime. Has anyone else has this happen? How many days a week have you found that you can go off myfitnesspal and still lose weight in the long run?

well, it would be pretty easy to wipe out any potential deficit you would have with three days of overeating. also keep in mind that if you're eating more, you're going to have more inherent waste in your system...waste has mass and thus weight that will show up on the scale. if you're eating more, you're also going to increase glycogen stores...glycogen has mass and thus weight that would show up on the scale.

GreenValli

How many cheat days a week? For me none!

I will not lose weight if I give myself cheat days. I log every day and stay under 1300 calories. If I go over that I gain and have to lose that weight all over again.

superhockeymom

Not sure why you have "cheat days" why not just plan meals out ahead of time work in things you want.

kommodevaran

How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?

rankinsect

kommodevaran wrote: »

How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?

42.

Nanogg55

rankinsect wrote: »

kommodevaran wrote: »

How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?

42.

It helps if he drinks a few of these.

kommodevaran

Who marked that as spam? It's not like you can get Gargleblaster at TJ

Nanogg55

Someone's not a Douglas Adams fan. Or maybe just a really strict teetotaler?

purplishblue

Nope, none. I just fit the calories of what I want to eat into my allotted daily amount. Cake for lunch? Sure! Not a daily thing obviously, but if it fits into my calories, no problem. I did have one "binge"/cheat day, and afterwards felt disappointed and annoyed with myself, cause it wasn't worth it. I know everyone does things differently, but perhaps let yourself have sugar? It might work better if you pre-plan on those days you're going out, that's what I do when I'm going out with friends/going to a function. It feels much better to know already that you can eat x,y, and z, without even going over your calories!

Orphia

tishie1 wrote: »

Thanks for the tips, guys. By "cheat days" I meant days when i don't log into myfitnesspal and I allow myself to eat sugar (I don't eat sugar the rest of the week). I have 3 because I have events that come up only on Fridays and weekends where sugar is served. However, not logging in means I have no idea how far I went over. So I am going to log in on weekends and see if that will make a difference in me losing weight. Thanks for the ideas!

Good plan, logging in on weekends.

Also, don't deprive yourself of sugar. Moderation is key.

Eat what you like within your calorie limit.

Slow and sustainable caloric awareness will keep you at a healthy weight for life.

Obnoxa

I'll echo everyone elses sentiments for the most part. Cheat day(s) are counter-intuitive, however subtle, it still implies that you're eating a temporary regimen that you can take little breaks from which reinforces a notion that you can return to that type of eating at a later time.

There are days when my meals are so balanced it's not funny, and other days when I throw caution to the wind and have four slices of pizza instead of the two I originally planned. Occasionally I blow over and I log it, I sleep well, and then move on with my life because it's not about deprivation or guilt; it's about not eating in a style that led me to need tools like MFP to begin with.
I can't even begin to imagine the havoc I would wreak on myself if I had a day to aim for or count down to until I could eat the things, or amounts, I have in the past. Actually, yes I can, when I went to weight watchers years ago I followed a similar model with "banking" points at the end of the week, obviously that wasn't successful because here I am. Weight loss and maintenance are a life-long commitment, 'diet' perpetuates a cycle of loss and gain, the reality is we don't get to cheat and we don't get to go back; not if we want success.

Eat, log, and move but don't designate a "cheat" time, if you really want something then eat it, but be accountable for it instead of trying to give yourself a free pass; you're body never takes a day off from counting what you put into it, so why would you?

Verity1111

If you mean eating at maintenance sometimes or going over your calories, 3 days is a lot...and it is a horrible idea not to track it. At least log. If you don't, you might hit 4000 calories in a day and not even realize it... Then of course you would not lose (unless you exercise furiously)