taking a day to eat whatever you want and not count calories

Theo166

sarahbums wrote: »

I do, but I still count and log everything, even if I'm way over.

Same here, I enjoy it and log the calories. Logging the calories just keeps it in perspective, and dampens the urge to make the food an recurring habit.

TimothyFish

I'm not counting calories right now. I have a rough idea of how many calories I'm consuming and a get a readout from my exercise. I figure that that long as I am weighing myself regularly that I'll catch myself if I get too far from my goal range.

richardgavel

Personally I would feel if I didn't at least estimate those "eat anything" days that I was trying to avoid the consequences of my actions by only logging those days when I was "good". Logging calories and weight keeps me on track and I've accepted that one bad weight day or calorie day is not the end of the world.

geri1geraldinesuzanne

i do it every friday, although right back on satuday. works fine for me......

happysherri

Once a week I have 1 splurge meal (not the whole day). I feel this helps me stay on track the rest of the week. I do guesstimate the calories and enter as "splurge" meal, just to get an average of calories for the week. But I never feel guilty about it because I need my sanity and I love the taste of the more indulgent foods as well as healthy foods. *And you have to live life

brenn24179

thanks for all the comments. I sometimes get carried away and eat too much, temptation, emotional or whatever but as long as it is temporary and get back on track I think that is the key. No need to beat myself up like ya said, just log and weigh and I will know where I am at. Yes I need the taste of indulgent foods sometimes!

dancerlady399

In all things, moderation...including moderation.

lorrpb

Eating whatever you want for a day means different things to different people. Does it mean having one cookie you normally wouldn't have or eating a whole batch of cookies?! Just realize you can easily wipe out your weekly deficit doing this. If that's OK with you, have at it! Don't be surprised that weight loss slows down.

itsanewday

I have personally found that when I give myself a day off I can do too much damage. So instead I give myself a free meal rather than a whole day. This has worked very well for me and keeps me motivated to keep going, rather than feel like I have overdone a whole day of bad decisions and then may want to throw in the towel.

Squish815

Yep! I'll still try and log everything but I do have days where I eat/drink what I want and don't pay attention to how many calories I'm going over. I make sure I get back on it though.

trigden1991

I plan a time, ranging from a single meal to a whole week, where I eat at or above maintenance. Both "cheat" meals, re-feeds and diet breaks are all important when dieting for prolonged periods of time.

wellthenwhat

I can't really do that. I occasionally relax, but if I let myself go, I'll really binge

HowardSwann834

I am a Type 2 diabetic, and I can only indulge myself a little. Consider yourself blessed if you can have a eat-whatever-I- want day.

klingonbarbie

at the weekend (11th march) I went to a Vegan food festival & I just gorged ( i mean seriously gorged) on free samples (loads & loads of chocloates) & other lovely healthy food on sale....decided not to log in at all for the weekend although i most probably walked for about 5 hours!!! up & down the stalls & the hills of BRIGHTON UK

jimr5454

Hi .im jim ive been on this journey for 2 years lost 70 pounds and love the lifestyle . I would love make freinds here so please add me if feel like it .i run 3 to 5 miles a day on treadmill or reclined bike ... so maybe we can figure a way for you loose and tone whatever you want.i would love some support amd can offer my ofeas if your ever interested

caroldavison332

Another thing you can do is treat yourself healthily. My mom lives 200 miles away and I like to take her out when I visit. She likes lamb chops at the Chinese place, so i PLAN to take her there and eat their most healthy item, which is probably egg drop soup. Advice? This enables me to go to my favorite pizza joint.

fitmom4lifemfp

When in maintenance, I don't ever feel like I am "trying to be perfect" or that I need a break. But occasionally a day will come up where I am faced with an indulgent treat or meal, and I go for it. Obviously I have to be conscious of that choice the next few days to manage those extra calories, but "guilt" is really never an issue for me. Taking an entire day to "eat whatever I want", to me, implies day-long mindless eating, and I just don't want to do that. I can certainly slack off on days where I do things like hiking Dragon's Tooth, or a really long bike ride, or even a day where I am sightseeing and walking all day, but it's never mindless for me. Not paying attention to what I eat is how I gained back these 15 pounds, so it's just really too easy for me, personally, to lose focus if I let myself get lazy.

richardgavel

I will also plan my splurge meals on days when I have the most cardio and hence, the most burn. An hour on the treadmill is usually plenty enough extra burn for a decent cheat meal.

jodietownsend03

I behave all week and then I treat on a Saturday and then just have healthy Sunday lunch with lots of veg. I have put on 7pounds since I went into maintenance but I have now stayed at that so maybe that is my right weight if I do the same each week and stay the same. It's been three months now where I have stayed the same. I think when u go into maintaining you have to expect that to get to your body's happy weight you'll gain a few. Xx

CaptainHandsome

Every Sunday night for dinner I'll eat whatever I want. I need to at least once a week, but it's not an all day thing, and I still count the calories - I guess I don't feel guilty because I'm holding myself accountable for it. Last Sunday night I made a million nachos with a pound and a half of meat and cheese. I ate at least half the plate. I'm down 35 pounds from when I started just three months ago, so I feel no guilt.

MichelleWithMoxie

Yep I do this. Once a week, on Saturdays, I don't really track and just kind of have a "play day". I've been really successful with it thus far.

MsMaeFlowers

I did this yesterday. My cat had kittens and I was up all night and was tired all day and I just let myself eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it for the day. And now I'm back on track for today.