Moderately active, one weekly big cheat day ok?

hinicetomeetyou

Hiya once again friends and strangers!

As I mentioned recently my stats are:

Female
5'4"
170lbs
Nearly 33 years old

(Goal-- some distant day: 140lbs)


I'm aiming for about 1500 calories per day. That said, I'm also working out 3 days a week (weights and a little cardio at the gym), nothing crazy but I feel it.

My query to you: is a cheat day of up to 2500 calories acceptable for a girl like me? In your experience is this a good idea weekly? Bieeekly?

Feedback is welcome. Thanks!

Alatariel75

Does it fit your weekly calorie goal? That's really all that matters.

mom22dogs

It depends on how much of a deficit 1500 puts you in. For me, that extra 1000 calories would almost totally wipe out my deficit for the week. I am set to lose .5 lb per week.

Nony_Mouse

If you're fine with slower weight loss, sure. Personally, I'd shave some cals off the rest of the week and 'bank' them, so that I was still at an overall 3500 cal deficit for the week, but it's entirely up to you . I also think having a 'day off' once a week can be really good for you, so long as you are mindful about it. I only have a tiny sliver of weight left to lose to get back to goal, and try to have a maintenance day every week, just to keep things humming along both physically and mentally. I don't call it a cheat day though

cheriej2042

I guess it would depend on whether one cheat day would be enough and for me I find I'm too tempted to make it a cheat few days, then it's a week etc. also I think it emphasizes too much that food is a reward rather than trying to eat sensibly and have what you want in moderation.

hinicetomeetyou

@Alatariel75 oh I didn't think of that!
Based on my activity level and weekly goal, it seems I'd be fine, numerically.

Guess I'll see what the scale says. If it's not working then I'll have to eat less or move more or both.

@mom22dogs I see what you're saying. Hopefully I can get away with my current cheat plan!

hinicetomeetyou

@cheriej2042 oh I hear ya. I'm not afraid of thinking of rewarding myself with food once in a while. Especially if it still yields results... but I understand your point of view.

hinicetomeetyou

@Nony_Mouse I suppose slow weight loss beats no weight loss! Lol.

And wow, congrats on getting nearly to goal. That's fantastic! One day I'll be there too.

Thanks everyone for giving me feedback.

Nony_Mouse

cheriej2042 wrote: »

I guess it would depend on whether one cheat day would be enough and for me I find I'm too tempted to make it a cheat few days, then it's a week etc. also I think it emphasizes too much that food is a reward rather than trying to eat sensibly and have what you want in moderation.

hinicetomeetyou wrote: »

@cheriej2042 oh I hear ya. I'm not afraid of thinking of rewarding myself with food once in a while. Especially if it still yields results... but I understand your point of view.

I think this is why it's important to not think of it as a cheat day. You're not cheating, you're accounting for it, you're not planning to just eat with abandon, you're just having one higher intake day a week.

saranne1015

Hi there! You and I seem to be relatively similar in age and starting weight. Last year, I had one big cheat day per week, usually 2500 calories per day or more, and I was still able to lose 1-2 lbs per week.

BUT. I ended up putting all of the weight back on over time, because one big cheat led to two days cheating, to a week, to two weeks. For me, it turned into a terrible habit that hindered my original weight loss and then made me gain it all back. I think the reason we're all on the site is because we need to reexamine the way we approach food. I have a weak personality and low self control, so I will be limiting my cheats to meals instead of days, and then only bimonthly, if that. Maybe that's excessive, but that's what's working for me! Good luck to you!!!=)

Nony_Mouse

hinicetomeetyou wrote: »

@Nony_Mouse I suppose slow weight loss beats no weight loss! Lol.

And wow, congrats on getting nearly to goal. That's fantastic! One day I'll be there too.

Thanks everyone for giving me feedback.

Slow weight loss is also better than too fast. I think your plan is very sensible.

And note the 'back to goal' Regained a little, for various reasons, including some health stuff that took a bit of trial and error to suss out the effect it was having on weight and how to counter that. But yeah, it's nice to be back to feeling slim again . And yes, one day you will be there too!!

hinicetomeetyou

@saranne1015 wow that's valuable insight! Thank you! There's hope for me!

And I hear ya. I'm all too familiar with the whole "eating outta control" thing; it can be a slippery but delicious slope. At least we had fun getting to this point!

"Cheat Day" may indeed carry a weird connotation. As a couple of the fellow MFP users mentioned above, the phrasing might be problematic for some.

Your plan sounds solid! And I bet you'll do amazing. Also, you don't sound "weak" to me!

hinicetomeetyou

@Nony_Mouse well good for you. From what I've heard and read, it's natural for ppl to fluctuate -- some even within the range of 10lbs depending on the time of year. Whatever the cause, you sound focused on staying fit and feeling good. That's great!

Nony_Mouse

hinicetomeetyou wrote: »

@Nony_Mouse well good for you. From what I've heard and read, it's natural for ppl to fluctuate -- some even within the range of 10lbs depending on the time of year. Whatever the cause, you sound focused on staying fit and feeling good. That's great!

Yep, fluctuation is normal. It's all about being aware, and knowing when to rein it in!!

neekonico

I have one day where I allow myself to eat maintenance weight. I've been doing really well on 1300 calories. I'm losing about 2 pounds per week. I feel nervous about eating more until I'm at goal weight because I don't want to slide back into bad habits.

MiniMexxxxx

It's really up to you and how quickly you want to lose weight. I'm at goal now but I'm always rubbish at the weekend. Not so rubbish I can't lose weight but rubbish enough that my weight loss was pretty slow. Just keep in mind a cheat day will slow you down.

amusedmonkey

Calculate it and see if it's worth it to you.

How much are you currently losing while averaging 1500 calories?
Would you be willing to lose 1/4-1/3 lb less than that a week?
If the answer is yes, then sure, go for it.

vivelajackie

Whenever I've had a cheat day in the past I'll change my goal to maintainance and make sure to not go past that caloric amount. Just log to the best of your ability.

If you're making it a usual thing, don't change your settings. Instead, do as others say and make sure you're still within your weekly allotment. I've been over cals by 100-300 for the past 3 days, however I'm still under by over 1000 for the week.

TonyB0588

@hinicetomeetyou Personally I don't like the concept of "cheat" days. Cheating sounds too much like doing something wrong. The idea here is to go for a lifestyle change, rather than an unsustainable diet. If your new lifestyle is 1500 calories, you'd hardly want to go almost double on a specific day!!

Wolfger

If you want a weekly splurge, and to keep losing weight, then do the math to have a weekly calorie goal rather than a daily one. Plan your "cheat" day (so it's really no longer cheating). If you don't plan it, then you're running the risk that you simple won't accomplish the goal that you're working for the other six days.

That being said, I don't do that. I stick to my daily goal every day, but there will be special occasions where I cheat (I try to make it no more than once a month). I just had a cheat weekend (Fri and Sat, back on track Sunday), but that also came with a lot more walking and stairs than I normally do, and dancing too. I'm amazed to see this morning that I only gained 1.2 pounds. So yeah, cheat days can work... but weekly is too often I think.

CiaIgle

My personal vision: if you have to cheat, then you are not in the right path.

Always think what will happen if you achieve your goal. Once that happen, there will be no need for a cheat day, since from them all days can be cheat days. Consequence: bounce.

You should build a steady path, not one filled with bumps (cheat days).

In my case I never cheated (intentionally), I confront high calorie events (parties, customer meals, etc), by anticipation and recovery path.

Squidgeypaws007

Hey, just to chime in with the other responses - we're fairly similar in stats and when I was losing weight successfully before I'd have a "cycling" system for calories where I'd eat slightly less on some days (maybe days I wasm't that hungry for example) and then just add those missed calories to the end of the week and eat a much larger amount that day.

It worked (and still works) like a charm (I put the weight back on in a year for a WHOLE different number of reasons).

Anyway, in summary I lost over 20Ibs and 15% bodyfat eating that way. Now I have the same system and get a consistent loss every week.

One addendum though, I don't like the idea of "cheat" days. You're not "cheating" you're just cycling

(and calorie cycling has a nice background in terms of fat loss and a couple of other things if you fancy doing a google search).

Anyway, good luck with your loss!!

cheryldumais

I occasionally plan for a cheat MEAL. Usually now only once a month or so in the beginning it was about twice a month. I am very close to my goal so 1000 calories extra would be devastating to me. What I've found with having a cheat meal is that I can look forward to having something I miss and because I do it so seldom I don't eat too much because my stomach has stopped stretching out as much. If I eat too large a quantity of food I feel nauseated and uncomfortable. I think if I had a big cheat day a week my stomach would not have adjusted to smaller quantities of food. For you it may work differently but that's been my experience. Good luck.

inertiastrength

Depends. I can safely have a 3K Sunday (I don't make it a regular thing lol) and still lose .75lbs of fat that week easily. If you think you're good with the psychological aspects (gaining 3lbs of water after and getting back to it anyway) and you're confident with the rest of your data sure. Obviously weight loss will be slower but still decent imo.

hinicetomeetyou

Great responses, everyone!

Thank you. I going to try to stay within my weekly goal. That said, I adjusted it so that I'm set up to lose 1lb per week. This means that I would need 1550 calories per day, but after a big day consisting of 2500 then I'd have to eat less through the week.

Looking ahead, based on my numbers from yesterday and the prior day, I have about 6900 calories remaining for 5 days. That's just a little under 1400 calories per day till my new week begins.

I like having a day each week where I can eat whatever I like, so while this may not be the fastest route to my goal, if it works, then awesome!