How strict should I be?

Saltwaterinmyveins

I have about 60 pounds to lose and so far have only lost about 3, but that is because of yo-yo dieting. I know that this is a common struggle, however during the week I meal prep and stay within my calorie limit (1520) and eat very healthy, and it's easy for me to not cheat. On the weekends I tell myself I will allow myself one cheat meal, however I'm realizing that week after week I continue to blow my diet every weekend. I do indoor cycling 3-4 times a week and at this point I am just maintaining my weight but would like to lose 2 pounds per week if I can. My question is, should I eliminate the cheat meal all together? How strict should I be? How do I not blow my diet over the weekends? Any suggestions on how you stay focused over the weekend (especially when going out with friends) would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Old_Cat_Lady

Cheat meals would undo everything I did for months. Bad idea. How did I ever fall for it?
Now, if I want to have pizza on a weekend I plan ahead and eat 100 calories less a day to "bank" those calories. I call it a savings account keeping track in notes section.

TeaBea

Instead of cheat meals, you might zig-zag your calories on the weekends. That way you are still accountable. Example: if you dropped 150 calories Mon-Thurs that would give you 200 "extra" calories for Fri - Sun.

hydechildcare

I did a cheat meal this week after 2 weeks of meat, protein, high fiber diet. I wanted pizza, I even tried making a super healthy homemade pizza. It didn't help. So I said I will order a pizza and have 2 slices give the rest to hubby. (He can eat what ever he wants and not gain weight), I did that. Then about 6 hours later I was so sick to my stomach I don't know if I will be eating pizza any time soon. I feel like once your body gets use to your healthier diet that you will start noticing how your body feels after eating not so great things.

To example when going out with friends since starting my diet.
We went for Mexican.
I moved the chips away from me.
Then order anything meat and vegs. Most Mexican restaurants will let you trade beans for rice so I did that.

Then the following we went for Chinese.
We decide a sit down was better than buffet. (they know I am trying to be healthier and are very helpful, try seeing it they would be willing to help you out.).
I got the steam vegs and rice and the sauce the side. I had the restaurant put the rice in a box to go and took that home for my hubby lunch the next day.

I am hoping to make it more than two weeks before the next craving hit.

I am hoping to have kids in the next year or so and want to loose the weight I can and developed a healthy lifestyle so I can show my kids that food isn't something to fear and you don't always need junk to feel full. I had a very unhealthy lifestyle for eating due to how I was raise. My family didn't blink at having spaghetti, fried potatoes, and garlic bread. So for me I find having any of those things will cause me to over indulge. I am hoping by the end of my weight loss journey I have a healthier relationship with those things and can enjoy with the over enjoyment.

MegaMooseEsq

I'd encourage you to stop thinking about this in terms of "cheating" - that attitude will sink an attempt to eat healthier and lose weight real fast, and I'm guessing it's why you've been dealing with yo-yo-ing for so long. It shows that you think of the diet as something you're either "on" or "off." Do you want to lose weight as fast as possible, or do you want to be healthier for the rest of your life? The trick is to learn how to eat fewer calories and still have fun weekends! There are plenty of strategies to help get to a place of healthy moderation, but the most important thing (I think) is to view weekends like you just had as learning experiences, not setbacks. I'm a foodie and love going out, so figuring out how to do that in a healthy way has been a huge part of learning how to get into a deficit. And it took a bunch of time eating at maintenance to do it! It's completely possible, but only YOU know what that will look like for you.

cwolfman13

2 Lbs per week is pretty aggressive and will require greater adherence and being "strict" with hitting your calorie targets most of the time. Personally, when I was losing weight I ate maintenance at least one day on the weekend...sometimes two...but I wasn't in a huge rush or anything and I wasn't going over maintenance so I wasn't blowing my diet up every weekend...

jasummers76

I at this point do not have cheat meals or for that matter restrictions on what I eat. With the help of my nutrionist , calorie counting, eliminating sauses and dips and knowing what a portion is I find myself happy. Also most places have a calorie app online. They may be off but it can give you a idea. I was eating 400 to 600 Cal's a day with ketchup on my morning eggs, Mayo on my sandwiches, and bar-b-que sauces. Not to mention my so called healthy salads.

ladyhusker39

To go from maintenance to 2 lbs/wk is a very large change. Take it slow and decrease your calories a little bit at t time.

Polo265

TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »

Cheat meals would undo everything I did for months. Bad idea. How did I ever fall for it?
Now, if I want to have pizza on a weekend I plan ahead and eat 100 calories less a day to "bank" those calories. I call it a savings account keeping track in notes section.

This would be me too. If I were to have a whole cheat meal, all of my meticulously planned calories would be undone for weeks. I agree with banking the calories, but I would go for a small splurge and not a big meal. You will be glad you did.

spiriteagle99

When I was doing high protein low carb dieting, the only way I could stick to it at all was to have an occasional high carb treat. One thing that worked was to choose one or two items as the only high carb food I would eat that week. i.e. one beer and one potato, or ice cream and a banana. Not a whole meal or a whole day of indulgence. The rest of the time I stayed within the diet.

If you aren't doing such a restrictive diet, then it's a lot easier because with CI-CO nothing is forbidden, you just have to make it fit within your weekly calorie goal. By skipping lunch or just eating a yogurt, I can eat the pizza. By exercising more I can eat the ice cream.

By creating a goal that is so ambitious (2 lbs. is a lot) you are making it a lot more difficult to stick with your food plan. Being hungry and feeling deprived makes it much much harder. Setting a 1 lb. a week goal will give you a lot more calories to play with, so you can include some of the foods you are missing and you learn how to balance CICO in the real world.

displaced1

I think it's common for people to believe "everything in moderation ". For some people, though, moderation may be a slippery slope to binging. Personally, I find it's easier to avoid certain meals/foods/restaurants. When I start, I can't stop and I make multiple bad decisions. Also, be careful with alcohol as there's usually a lot of calories in drinks. Plus the effect is to have you loosen up your desire to restrict yourself.

As stated, you can restrict more during the week to help a weekend cheat, maybe consider changing cheat meals by looking up nutrition values before you go out. Sometimes, at a restaurant, options A and B both sound good, but the B option may have 800 less calories. I choose B, but it's still a great meal out, etc. I make a smarter decision. If I want dessert, I'll almost always have to share, plus no appetizers, plus a smart dinner option.

laurabadams

Saltwaterinmyveins wrote: »

My question is, should I eliminate the cheat meal all together?

Yes.

How strict should I be?

Stay within your daily or weekly calorie allowance.

How do I not blow my diet over the weekends?

Maybe aiming for a weekly calorie goal would work best for you. Tighten up during the week for a weekend splurge. Measure, weigh & track your foods & keep within your deficit.

Any suggestions on how you stay focused over the weekend (especially when going out with friends) would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I don't lose sight of my goals. It's far more about doing it than it is about intangibles like motivation or just believing in yourself. If I wanted to be an astronaut, being motivated & believing in myself is only going to get me so far. I'd have to put forth a lot of time & effort studying, reading, planning, writing, testing & just plain hard work to get to my goal. Weight loss is no different.

GottaBurnEmAll

I agree with the poster upthread who said that maybe your goal of 2 pounds per week is too aggressive.

If you have an active social life and want the extra calories, isn't it better to lose weight at a slower pace and just budget the calories to eat more on the weekends?

Your losing control on the weekend suggests that your goal might be unsustainable as well. With a smaller deficit, it will be easier for you to bank calories for your weekend outings while still being on track to lose a pound a week.

It's better than spinning your wheels!

Saltwaterinmyveins

Thanks everyone for your awesome advice! I really appreciate it and think I am going to make the adjustment to 1.5lbs per week and try to eliminate the cheat meals and cheat meal mentality.

DebLaBounty

You are only cheating yourself. It's like you are yo-yo-ing every week. I calculate how to have a dessert just about every day. I think that keeps me on the right path on weekends. Truly, I wouldn't treat a Saturday any differently than a Tuesday. You've got to decide why you want to lose weight and why you choose to sabotage your efforts all the time.

estherdragonbat

I don't go over my calories. On the weekends, it's fair to say that I'm less concerned about macros and more concerned about having a few indulgences. (Saturday breakfast is a frosted shortbread and 2 pieces of potato kugel, but that's about 380 calories. I also make a point of walking for at least 2 hours to give myself a cushion. And give myself a bagel with sliced cheese for supper.) But everything is planned and prelogged. And as a final check to keep myself on track? I've designated Sunday morning as my weigh-in day.