Discouraged after cheat day
Options
kprimaverab
Posts: 32 Member
So it's been about 25 days and I've lost 16 lbs. I had cheat day on saturday and gained a whole 3 lbs (i had some pizza and icecream). Is this just water weight? The past 3 weeks I have been eating low sodium , low sugar and non dairy in order to improve my general health as well as 1200-1500 calories daily. I felt so good but am feeling discouraged now. Will this weight drop off soon? Im drinking water a lot today and plan to do 70 mins of cardio.
0
Replies
-
16 pounds in 25 days is not healthy or sustainable2
-
Okay... did you really think you could "cheat" and not have any consequences?
Take the experience and learn from it. Use what you learned to do better in the future.
4 -
16 lbs in 25 days...Actually it is healthy considering I eat an average of 1300 calories per day of veggies, lean protein and fruits. I have 90 lbs to lose.0
-
It is probably water. My advise is don't do cheat days. You can work Pizza and ice cream in on a regular basis. Maybe not on the same day (if you are at 1200) and maybe not as much as you are used to but if you watch your portion sizes then it is fine. I also agree that 16 pounds in 25 days is not healthy or sustainable. You need to make changes that you can stick with and completely cutting out your favorite foods backfires for a lot of people.
2 -
Pizza and ice cream in and of itself is not "cheating" unless you went way over your calorie goal. Your 3 lbs is water weight that will likely come off in a few days. Although, why have a "cheat" day if it causes you to stress so much? Why not just fit the foods you want into your calorie goal?
Also, with 90 lbs to lose, 2 lbs/week is a healthy rate of loss. Anything more than that is too quick.1 -
kprimaverab wrote: »So it's been about 25 days and I've lost 16 lbs. I had cheat day on saturday and gained a whole 3 lbs (i had some pizza and icecream). Is this just water weight? The past 3 weeks I have been eating low sodium , low sugar and non dairy in order to improve my general health as well as 1200-1500 calories daily. I felt so good but am feeling discouraged now. Will this weight drop off soon? Im drinking water a lot today and plan to do 70 mins of cardio.
When you put your stats into MFP and tell it you want to lose 2 pounds per week, how many daily calories does it give you? I bet it's way more that 1200.
Don't let shows like The Biggest Loser be your guide for healthy weight loss.5 -
For it to be fat gain, you would have needed to eat 10,500 calories over maintenance. So yes, it's water and food weight.
You do lose weight quickly at the beginning due to said water weight, so you should be starting to slow down. If not, then you'll need to up your calories.4 -
I wouldn't worry if you are generally losing weight well. I started on a low calorie regime and lost about 3lbs a week to begin with. If you have lots of fat to lose that's not a problem. But it will become a problem if you start to yo-yo between high and low calorie days. That's called binge eating.
Don't have cheat days. You are only cheating yourself and why would you want to defraud yourself of the chance to be slimmer and healthier?
If you fancy pizza and ice cream then just go for a smaller portion or eat less for breakfast and lunch to allow yourself a little room for more dinner. (You can leave stuff on your plate, even if you are in a restaurant).
The biggest pizza and ice cream portion won't cost you three lbs. 3500cals=2lbs.
Have you checked your scales? Most misread if they are knocked or jolted.
When you have lost half your target weight loss you might consider increasing your calorie limit by 100cals each week, so that your metabolism can catch up. It's not a good idea to jump straight from a low calorie diet right up to maintaining. (It plays havoc with your metabolism). As you increase calories consider increasing activity too. You need to get your metabolism buzzing by the time you are nice and slim.1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »kprimaverab wrote: »So it's been about 25 days and I've lost 16 lbs. I had cheat day on saturday and gained a whole 3 lbs (i had some pizza and icecream). Is this just water weight? The past 3 weeks I have been eating low sodium , low sugar and non dairy in order to improve my general health as well as 1200-1500 calories daily. I felt so good but am feeling discouraged now. Will this weight drop off soon? Im drinking water a lot today and plan to do 70 mins of cardio.
When you put your stats into MFP and tell it you want to lose 2 pounds per week, how many daily calories does it give you? I bet it's way more that 1200.
Don't let shows like The Biggest Loser be your guide for healthy weight loss.
Yup, this. Although depending how much refined sugars/carbs you cut out when you cut calories, a big chunk of that initial loss is probably water weight to begin with and not fat loss. I mean, I personally lost 5 lbs this weekend from my previous low weight, but I'd been gaining and losing the same 2 lbs over and over again for the past 3 weeks, so it averages out to about 1.5 lbs/week, and clearly water retention was masking my actual losses.
Oh, and while I've got 72 lbs left to lose I've lost 45ish already. I eat 1600-2000ish calories per day. There's no need to deprive yourself by eating 1200 when you can have a nice deficit and eat more. Over-restrictions lead to bingeing for many people (myself included).1 -
kprimaverab wrote: »16 lbs in 25 days...Actually it is healthy considering I eat an average of 1300 calories per day of veggies, lean protein and fruits. I have 90 lbs to lose.
No, actually it's not. Crash dieting is never healthy. There's a reason MFP will only allow up to 2 pounds per week when you set your goals. Losing faster than that is not good for your body nor your long term prospects for keeping the weight off once you get there. If you're losing more than 1% of your body weight per week you risk losing more muscle, rather than fat. Lose enough muscle and you slow your metabolism. Do enough of that and it'll be harder to keep the weight off once your reach your goal, if you ever do. When you gain the weight back, which is more likely because you didn't learn how to eat to maintain your weight loss, it'll be all fat and you'll have an even harder time trying to lose weight the next time around because your body fat percentage will be even higher than it was.
Take it from some of us who have been around that block a few times. Lose weight more slowly, start strength training now to maintain more of your muscle mass, learn how to eat to maintain the weight you want not just how to starve yourself into losing weight every time you decide you've gained too much.
Cheat days are something you should avoid as well. The term "cheat" has negative connotations and you really don't need to feel like you're doing something wrong or illegal. Instead, give yourself more calories, lose more slowly and incorporate some of the foods you like into your diet instead of feeling like you need a day to go hog wild to keep your sanity.4 -
kprimaverab wrote: »16 lbs in 25 days...Actually it is healthy considering I eat an average of 1300 calories per day of veggies, lean protein and fruits. I have 90 lbs to lose.
No, actually it's not. Crash dieting is never healthy. There's a reason MFP will only allow up to 2 pounds per week when you set your goals. Losing faster than that is not good for your body nor your long term prospects for keeping the weight off once you get there. If you're losing more than 1% of your body weight per week you risk losing more muscle, rather than fat. Lose enough muscle and you slow your metabolism. Do enough of that and it'll be harder to keep the weight off once your reach your goal, if you ever do. When you gain the weight back, which is more likely because you didn't learn how to eat to maintain your weight loss, it'll be all fat and you'll have an even harder time trying to lose weight the next time around because your body fat percentage will be even higher than it was.
Take it from some of us who have been around that block a few times. Lose weight more slowly, start strength training now to maintain more of your muscle mass, learn how to eat to maintain the weight you want not just how to starve yourself into losing weight every time you decide you've gained too much.
Cheat days are something you should avoid as well. The term "cheat" has negative connotations and you really don't need to feel like you're doing something wrong or illegal. Instead, give yourself more calories, lose more slowly and incorporate some of the foods you like into your diet instead of feeling like you need a day to go hog wild to keep your sanity.
All of this...0 -
Well, considering you don't put on fat overnight, of course it's water...the pizza had a crap ton of sodium and sugar in the ice cream replenishing glycogen...and if you're eating more than normal, it would be logical that you would have more inherent waste in your system.0
-
Yes ! This is water weight! A lb of fat is roughly 3500 calories. Do you seriously think you ate over 10,500 MORE calories than what your body burns? No. You didn't. It will fall off, just get back on the wagon like usual and you will see it fall off quickly. Don't stop letting yourself have a cheat now and again, or you wont stick with it. I gain 5lbs or so after a cheat meal, and I don't like it either, but I do understand its water weight and the actual weight of the food I ate, and not fat storage. Hope this helps! Happy Eating!
1 -
Don't get down. Depending on how you eat, a higher carb day (similar to what you get from Pizza/Ice Cream!) will result in water retention due to an increase in glycogen and the resulting water effect.
I would recommend that you avoid those types of "cheat" foods, and focus on compromising a bit with your "treats". I look at my "cheat day" instead as a moderate carb refeed day (sometimes only half a day), and I've always done them few and far between (maybe every 10-15 days). I don't do it to recharge my will, I do it for a very specific reason. And note: My diet is low carb in nature, so even when I refeed carbs, I'm still only at about 200g a day.
Saturday was my last carb refeed. I had: a serving of sweet potato fries (baked), 2 eggs, my favorite yogurt, an apple, too many blueberries, mandarin oranges (2), a mountain of veggies, chicken breast, and a piece of toast. And then a couple vodka/sodas at night. And a handful of gummi bears after the vodka!
When I refeed on carbs, I always feel like CRAP the next day or two, and get a little puffy. It goes away quickly, and I believe doing these every so often stimulates my metabolism (read up on leptin) and the net result is easier weight loss over time (maybe even faster). As time goes on and I thin out, it becomes harder and harder to lose weight, which is my body's way of saying "aight, boss, we're nearing your natural weight".
Note: if you're athletically capable, you may do better by performing some HIIT or sprints after a cheat day. This will help reduce your glycogen stores and get back your body back to fat burning. I'm assuming you don't eat high carb/suger in that suggestion.
Final word: lose as fast as you feel healthy doing - don't listen to what people declare is or isn't healthy. You're your own person. But at the same time: eat like a normal person (eatlikeanormalperson.com) and look at your weightloss experience in windows of at least 3 months or you may just end up failing. Best of luck.
1 -
I don't understand why you would have cheat days if you're going to be upset about the inevitable water weight?3
-
Don't ever weigh yourself immediately following cheat days.2
-
kshama2001 wrote: »kprimaverab wrote: »So it's been about 25 days and I've lost 16 lbs. I had cheat day on saturday and gained a whole 3 lbs (i had some pizza and icecream). Is this just water weight? The past 3 weeks I have been eating low sodium , low sugar and non dairy in order to improve my general health as well as 1200-1500 calories daily. I felt so good but am feeling discouraged now. Will this weight drop off soon? Im drinking water a lot today and plan to do 70 mins of cardio.
When you put your stats into MFP and tell it you want to lose 2 pounds per week, how many daily calories does it give you? I bet it's way more that 1200.
Don't let shows like The Biggest Loser be your guide for healthy weight loss.
It gives me 1450 .... And i eat around 1300... More if i work out0 -
kprimaverab wrote: »So it's been about 25 days and I've lost 16 lbs. I had cheat day on saturday and gained a whole 3 lbs (i had some pizza and icecream). Is this just water weight? The past 3 weeks I have been eating low sodium , low sugar and non dairy in order to improve my general health as well as 1200-1500 calories daily. I felt so good but am feeling discouraged now. Will this weight drop off soon? Im drinking water a lot today and plan to do 70 mins of cardio.
Don't let 'some pizza and icecream' break 25 days. Stay/get back on track, you'll be golden.
I guess one thing is.. you can go about "being good", improving health and such, but there isn't really a reward that comes back at you, at least not how you think. In this game, the rewards show themselves when you stay in a calorie deficit, and that's it. You take it or leave it.1 -
kprimaverab wrote: »
It gives me 1450 .... And i eat around 1300... More if i work out
If it gives you 1450, eat 1450. I'm also a huge advocate against cheat "days", because one cheat day tends to snowball into a cheat weekend then a cheat week and before long you end up falling off the wagon entirely. It's better to enjoy a meal that is a bit indulgent for special occasions rather than have an entire day dedicated to making unhealthy food choices. My other advice would be work out the morning you know you're going to splurge on a meal and don't weigh the following day. Immediately keep your water intake steady and get back on track.
0 -
kprimaverab wrote: »I had cheat day on saturday and gained a whole 3 lbs
Who were you cheating?0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 393 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 938 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions