confused??

emilysparey

Ok so my friend is also on a calorie controlled diet and she seems to have lost loads of weight which is great! however today she told me something which completely threw me and i just want to ask if this is true,
ill copy and paste her exact words


"You should be taking one day every week completely off a diet. To boost your metabolism as when your dieting your metabolic rate slows down and if you don't 'cheat' to get it back up, any diet food you eat, your body will just cling on to all it can and therefore you won't lose weight as quick as you could. "

is this true because for the last four weeks ive stuck to my calorie intake and havent cheated but im not losing weight as fast as her so is this true?

sorry if i sound silly :S

x

anna_b1

You don't sound silly at all. In fact, I know several people who do Weight Watchers who play around with their points and go up and below their target (I think they call it the Wendy/Wendie principal, but I'm not sure). That's not exactly like what you're suggesting, but in theory it's a similar mindset re: playing around with your metabolism.

I've heard that having an "off" day makes it easier to diet for metabolic reasons and because you don't feel as though you're giving up so much. It gives you a day to look forward to.

I haven't tried this yet, but I just naturally have days when I'm over my calorie allotment. Overall, I think it's best to just stick to healthy eating and using moderation when it comes to "treats".

imagymrat

I think it's a load of crap, a day off? seriously? what does that accomplish, i'm not a fan of cheat days, or cheat meals, or whatever you call it, I think people should make the right choices all the time. As far as her mindset goes, she thinks she's on a diet, that'
s a huge problem, because to me that means temporary. I think that you should strive for healthy eating everyday 7 days a week, will you have the occasional fries or milkshake of course, but having an entire day of CRAP?! wow..never heard of that one...I'd stcick to the healthy eating and exercise it'll pay off, the longer it takes you to lose the weight, the more success you will have keeping the weight off...good luck.

brwneyes71

are you combining any type of gym time along with the caloriing counting? Because that will help you with your weight loss. And i have never heard of what your friend is telling you to do. I have been calorie counting since may25 2010 and i have lost 13lbs without even doing what she is saying. but don't give up keep trying and give it sometime.

LeahSylina

I used to do the Body for Life program (loosly) and this is part of their principal. You have 6 days a week where you eat well and exercise, and one day a week where you can do nothing but be lazy if you want and you can eat anything you want. I don't know if it is true about the metabolsim thing, but it does make dieting easier mentally for me.

I also found that over time I didn't go 'overboard' on my day off. I'd enjoy some cake if it was offered or I'd splurg on some take out and I wouldn't track my calories or anything, but overall I would still reach for healthier options. I don't think it's wise to go totally crazy on your day off and load up on calories - I don't think that helps anything. But you can treat yourself now and then.

emilysparey

im doing plenty of walking and hopefully will be able to join a gym soon (which im so excited for)

i actually sighed a big gasp of relief reading your replies....i dont want to completely demolish my diet and im so glad i can just stick at what im doing

her diet sounds completely random but she did make a good point

she can keep her diet and ill stick to mine ^_^

Rynatat

Sometimes you just have to give your body time to gets used to a new routine. It takes 30 days to re-write your bods blueprints, so if your stick with it, you'll notice a difference. You may not lose weight as fast as your friend, different genetics & body types come into play - for instance, I've been exercising & eating healthy for the last 7 months & only lost 9lbs, but I've toned up to where I can fit into stuff I wore when I was 10lbs thinner than I am now: that means I'm gaining more muscle as I'm losing fat & my body weight appears to be stagnant. The truth is that I'm setting long term goals and re-writing my blueprint so that 10 years from now, this will be ingrained in me & I won't have to diet, I'll just be "naturally healthy".
Don't get me wrong, I'll still have some junk food sometimes (gluten-free pizza, cookies or cakes) but I don't crave them as much - I would rather have an apple or celery or even a chunk of steak!
Be persistent & consistent & you can achieve anything you want :happy:

MissingMinnesota

My first thought is how restrictive are her calories. Is she on an atleast 1200 calories a day diet or is it less and they are giving her the cheat day so she doesn't go into starvation mode. I myself do not keep my calories the same every day. I don't have cheat days but I am not going to kill myself if I go over 100-200 calories over/under what my allowable for the day is.

Cytherea

"You should be taking one day every week completely off a diet. To boost your metabolism as when your dieting your metabolic rate slows down and if you don't 'cheat' to get it back up, any diet food you eat, your body will just cling on to all it can and therefore you won't lose weight as quick as you could. "

What she said here makes some sense in a specific context. First of all, if your diet is eating under 1200 calories a day, you will be in what is called starvation mode, which causes everything you eat to be converted into fat right away. Your body stores it because it does not know when it will be fed again and if it will be sufficient. If you are doing that, then yes, you metabolic rate WILL slow down and your body will store everything. However, one cheat day a week eating whatever is not the right way to fix this... it is much more simple than that. Just eat more, at least 1200 calories, every day!!

Even if you aren't doing that, your body can still get used to the way you are eating and your weight loss might stall. The way to fix this is called zig zagging. Basically, instead of eating 1200 calories every day, you vary it and eat less one day and more the next. But when you do this, you still have the same calorie total over the course of the week, you aren't having a free cheat day where you eat whatever you want, you just eat a lot THAT day but you're sacrificing and eating less another day.