Another cheat day post

Far2shy

I recently just introduced myself and I mentioned in my post that I have a cheat day once a week.

My cheat days are diabolical but without them I feel as if I wouldn't be able to get through the week. Both my boyfriend and I are dieting and when we do cheat days he gains 2-5 pounds and I gain 2-4 pounds. We always end up losing those pounds plus more by the next week. I do sometimes worry that our cheat days are ruining the dynamics of our diet though. I know without it we'd probably reach our goals by now.

We had a cheat day a little early within the week because our friend is visiting us for a few days. We had tapas bacon wrapped, ham and cheese croquetas, calamari, mac and cheese, skewers, foundue, basically we had all our craving plus drinks in one day. We always tend to go overboard.

My problem is the next day I feel so ****ty. And I crave something unhealthy.

I think the reason is because our diet is so strict during the week that all I can think about is the next time I'll be able to eat something that I crave.

My diet consists of 600-800 calories per day for 5 days a week. No dairy, no sugars except when I have fruit or granola cereal. Then we have our cheat day and I fast the next day and drink water and tea or limit myself to just dinner.

I'm afraid to alter my diet because I've gotten so use to it and I feel as if I got it down to a tee. I don't want to start back at square 1 but I also don't want these cravings.

What are your thoughts?

quiltlovinlisa

My thought is, it's worth working in treats in moderation so you don't feel deprived and then you won't feel like crap after binging.

I use to binge and starve myself and what you're doing sounds dangerously like it.

MrsFowler1069

My thought is, it's worth working in treats in moderation so you don't feel deprived and then you won't feel like crap after binging.

Yes.

Also, your daily intake is extremely low. I believe that it is sabotaging you every bit as much as your treat days are. And honestly, although you are making progress, you don't sound terribly satisfied. Maybe a less stringent, steadier plan would serve you better in the long run and be more sustainable.

shadow2soul

My diet consists of 600-800 calories per day for 5 days a week. No dairy, no sugars except when I have fruit or granola cereal. Then we have our cheat day and I fast the next day and drink water and tea or limit myself to just dinner.

This is not healthy. Eating to little can be just as bad for your health as eating to much. Overtime doing this will cause your metabolism to slow (harder to lose weight, easier to gain).
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/12/15/very.low.calorie.diets/index.html

Diets of less than 800 calories can lead to numerous complications, according to Jampolis, including heart arrhythmias, which could lead to death. Extreme dieters are also at risk of dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, low blood pressure and high uric acid, which could lead to gout or kidney stones, she says. Also, losing weight quickly could lead to gallstones and thinning hair because dieters are getting the minimum amount of nutrition, which can affect hair and bone density.

"Absolutely these diets must be done under the care of a doctor. These things are not without risk."
--Dr. Melina Jampolis

Unless you are under close Doctor supervision, you could be doing yourself more harm than good.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/low-calorie-diets

To be healthy, we need a balance of foods from different food groups. It's quite difficult to get good nutrition in as few as 800 calories (even a dietitian would have trouble doing this), especially if one eats the same foods every day.

Also, once you go off the diet, you will likely regain your weight unless you change your lifestyle and commit to healthy eating, regular physical activity, and a new outlook on food. By sticking to a long-term commitment, you can prevent your weight from increasing.

Jsneel

Eat a light breakfast under 200 calories and then eat lunch that's 350calories then u have 650-700 calories for supper. Be sure to drink the 8glasses of water daily or close to it. My supper just now was high in calories but bc I watch calories for breakfast and lunch I feel I can splurge plus be sure to log everything food and exercising they add up!
Hope that helps!

DianneP6772

Well, you said you don't want to change your diet plan. But, I can see why you go so overboard on the cheat days. 600-800 calories a day would drive me bonkers! I would be so hungry, that yes, on my cheat day - i would go crazy too. I would be irritable too - does that happen? Its really too low to maintain that level, so i think if you continue at that level, your cheat days will continue to be extreme. I would try to add more on your regular days as i think you will still lose and try to go a little easier on your cheat days.

cupcakes_and_cardio

Eating 600-800 calories can sabotage your metabolism, binging may not even be the problem, it may actually be helping your body if anything. I eat 2000 calories a day, I couldn't imagine just eating only 600-800. IMO, you need to up your calorie intake to at least 1200 that way when you do have "cheat days" you won't binge as much.

Alwayssohungry

Sounds like you are setting yourself up to fail. How are you going to maintain this 'diet' ? When you reach your goal weight, then what ? Your method is setting both of you up for disaster and that will not be a healthy long-term outcome for either of you.

guessrs

600 to 800 cals a day you won't be able to maintain longterm. You have to do 1200 min you'll feel satisfied and will love your healthy living lifestyle. You have to think long run this is not a sprint. I lost 60 pounds on 1500 cal diet all year. Didnt need one cheat day, loved what I was eating, healthy. I am at 139 pds and had to go down to 1300 a day, I'm finding it harder but still feeling full, just have to make very good smart choices. Think long term, you have worked too hard to gain it all back one week.

This is not about cheat days it's about you loving every day what you eat.

Your body will love you for giving it more food and pounds will fall off. Patience.

belladonna99

how about you just gradually change to allow yourself 1000 cals on diet days and just cheat a bit less on the cheat day ie still have some of the things u love but not quite so much. That way u will be setting yourself up not to put back the weight once u r at your target. I have yo yo d for years because I try to starve. Now I am aiming at a slow weight loss that I can keep off and I am doing it in small steps. Good luck

EmilyEmpowered

I really dont do well with cheat days. If I am craving something, I fit it into THAT day. Because like you said, once you go overboard one day it is REALLY difficult for some of us to get back on track the next day. For me, cheat days became cheat weekends, became "I'll just take this week off..." And at that point, its like a train that been derailed.

I believe that the reason you are having such heavy cheat days is because you are waaayyyy too deprived during the week. 600-800 calories is NOT enugh to sustain you. My suggestion would be, fit those treats in throughout the week and up your calories so that you feel satisfied all week long and dont feel the need to binge one day a week.

NonnyMary

I think the fact you feel you have to cheat, your diet must not be fulfilling and sustaining and something you would enjoy living with.. the fact that you said you have to cheat with fattening food in order to survive a week of dieting, sounds like you are going to a bad place.

so you need to change your food. something to look forward to.

I think - go do a google search for some delicious recipes and make those.

Make a few changes at a time. That may be all you can handle right now. but make it a change that will have meaning. and also give a diet time for your tastes to prefer healthy food. like me, i gave up salt and deserts and i missed them a few days but then my tastes changed. so now it is doable for me.

so rethink your foods and start to learn to enjoy healthy food. find a way to eat a salad that is enjoyable, maybe you have to have regular salad dressing at first, but at least you will be eating a salad versus a Big Mac. then when you are in better shape to handle more, then do more.

Oh, your granola cereal, it probably has a lot of sugar and when you eat sugar you will crave more sugar. if you eliminated that and ate fresh fruit, you would not crave the sugars that are screwing you up.

PunkinSpice79

Wow! How are you going to sustain this long term??? I just upped my calories because I was feeling deprived. Please rethink your plan - this is dangerous!!!

bajoyba

I think the reason is because our diet is so strict during the week that all I can think about is the next time I'll be able to eat something that I crave.

Bingo.
The weight gain you experience is probably a combination of food weight and water retention from sodium levels.
However, you really should rethink your extremely restrictive diet. It's physically and mentally unhealthy, and you're not teaching yourself healthy habits for the long run.

Rather than eating a VLCD 6 days out of the week and binging on the 7th, why not just eat in moderation all week long? Plug your info and weight loss goals into MFP and let it calculate your calorie needs for you, and eat back at least half of your exercise calories. It works.

If you really like the idea of being able to eat more on the weekends, you may want to consider looking into intermittent fasting. You can vary your daily calorie amounts throughout the week, but you want to make sure you're hitting your weekly calorie goal every week.

There's no need to starve and deprive yourself for the sake of weight loss when there are much healthier, easier, and more sustainable ways to achieve the same goal.

Far2shy

Writing this out really helped and caused me to re-think my dieting. I'm not sure what I'm going to do but maybe within the follow weeks I'll increase my caloric intake to 900. I may have to go back to daily MFP entries as well if and when I increase my calories

DianneP6772- To answer your question. I do not feel irritable when I am doing my 600-800 calorie days. The irritability usually comes the day after my cheat day. It makes me feel like I'm missing out.

My boyfriend isn't doing the same diet as I. He actually has a higher caloric intake and this diet for him is more short term as he will be ending this diet at the end of August and I will be continuing until September, but we both restrict dairy on our dieting days. I miss cheese so much during those days =( and that's the only food I crave during those days. I restrict it because I believe that restricting it will help to lose belly fat.

Alwayssohungry- That is my biggest worry. Not being able to maintain our weight after the weight loss. I never dieted like this before, I've never dieted for this long really so Idk what the outcome will be. But I do have a plan. After this diet. I will increase my caloric intake to 1200 and motivate him to not put back on the weight that he lost. I am hoping to stick to home cooked meals without any limitations but smaller portions and go out to eat once a month instead of 4x's a month. And definitely no fast food! I will also continue my work out routine.

Our biggest problem- We love food and lots of it. When we're not dieting we're eating a lot of take out and just pure crap. But one positive aspect of dieting is learning to cook meals you enjoy. I'm excited to cook better tasting meals when I'm off this restrictive diet.

NonnyMary

Hi - well just do something, even take one food that is messing with you and deal with that. find something else to substitute for it.

i think if you are eating too little , your body may be trying to tell you that you need to eat a little more nutritiously.

I think try to add more nutritious food that you can eat more, and try to let go of the things that are stopping you.

If food makes you sick, if its greasy, then that is a good way to tell what your body wants or doesnt want. getting sick is a good incentive haha to not eating it again.

maybe you could go see the doctor and let them give you some ideas of what is the right amount for you to eat, calories, etc.. they can help you. it might not cost you anything either. at least you'd have some professional advice, i think it could help. someone to help steer you in a better direction.