Diet-free days
aliaa209
Posts: 6 Member
Are you with or against a diet-free day every week? And why?
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Replies
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If by "diet-free day" you mean a day where I just eat whatever I want in whatever quantities I want, I don't do that. With my appetite and preferences, I could easily wipe out an entire week (whether my goal is to lose weight or maintain) in a single day.
If it works for someone, then that's cool for them. But it absolutely wouldn't work for me. And I see enough people posting here asking questions about their lack of progress and subsequent questions revealing they have a weekly "cheat day" to make me question whether or not it's really a reasonable strategy for the average person when it comes to weight management.17 -
Are you with or against a diet-free day every week? And why?
Totally against.
What would happen if you had a budget free day once a week and spent your money on anything and everything you wanted?
Permanent change requires living in a calorie budget most of the time. Sure you can go a little nuts on vacations and holidays but most of the time you have to live your life inside your new weight managing normal.
If you are struggling to stick with your plan explain what you are doing and perhaps we can help.
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I don't think it's a bad idea to have deficit days and maintenance days. Not 5:2 fasting, which is more extreme, but say you followed your MFP calorie goal 5 days a week, and ate maintenance calories 2 days a week.
Your weight loss would be slower, but you would still lose weight. I guess that's the same as having a "diet-free" day.
You can also "bank" calories for a special meal or occasion...eat a little below your calorie goal for 6 days, and then use those extra calories you saved that week for a higher-calorie day.
They key in any case is still to count the calories, not have a free-for-all day.8 -
Everyday is a diet free day for me since I don't diet
. What do you mean by diet free day though? When I was losing weight I would have two refeed days on weekends, they were higher than the rest of the other days but still reasonable. I pretty much could eat whatever. But.. my idea of whatever and yours could be two different things. Also my calorie allowance allows for higher flexibility. 8 -
I do meals off..but not days. Too much could be undone.4
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All your answers and responses were very insightful and encouraging.
I'm following an intermittent fasting diet, with adherence to my calorie limit. And it helped me to contain my craves and hunger big time. But, during the lockdown it's become really hard to stay on track. I keep thinking about eating all my non-fasting hours. Also, my family have the greatest choices in food
There's always a Cinnabon roll available or a mighty burger sandwich in hand.
I love the calorie-based diet that it helps me eat anything I want, but still with limits and after doing my math. But, sometimes, I just wish to go BANANAS
I really loved the calorie bank idea :like: ... I always eat below my calorie limit. And maybe I should exercise more, and add more calories to my bank account. and have a diet-free day every 2 weeks or 3 weeks, instead!6 -
I bank calories on week days to account for eating slightly above maintenance calories at the weekend.2
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Against diet free days, with diet conscious days regardless of how many calories they contain. It's okay to eat more calories if that's part of your plan, like if you're banking calories or having variable calorie days. It's also okay to make a conscious decision to eat more than your weekly budget knowing that it means slower loss or no loss. As long as you're aware of your intake (regardless of your intake) you're in control of your diet.7
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I chose a diet where I can eat without excluding things. If I want ice cream I eat ice cream, if I want pizza I have pizza, etc. But I've trained my body not to crave fatty, sugary foods, and I also don't like to overeat so I naturally stop eating when I'm full now. I prefer fruit over candy for example.3
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All your answers and responses were very insightful and encouraging.
I'm following an intermittent fasting diet, with adherence to my calorie limit. And it helped me to contain my craves and hunger big time. But, during the lockdown it's become really hard to stay on track. I keep thinking about eating all my non-fasting hours. Also, my family have the greatest choices in food There's always a Cinnabon roll available or a mighty burger sandwich in hand.
I love the calorie-based diet that it helps me eat anything I want, but still with limits and after doing my math. But, sometimes, I just wish to go BANANAS
I really loved the calorie bank idea :like: ... I always eat below my calorie limit. And maybe I should exercise more, and add more calories to my bank account. and have a diet-free day every 2 weeks or 3 weeks, instead!
Sounds like now that your lifestyle is different, your plan isn't the right fit any more. Time to change it up.
I do like 6 days at a moderate deficit and one at maintenance usually per week. But i can wipe out a weeks worth of effort in an hour if i eat what I want without consideration for how much (hello, Doritos).3 -
I like to bank calories if I know I have something coming up or want a particular meal. I think the mindset of "I'm learning to eat as I should be eating and this calorie counting is permanent" is important to me. I know if I stop keeping track I'll regain when I've come up goal weight. So I'll need to put conscious effort in. Also if I'm feeling like I'm tired of low calories (well lower) I'll happily take a week or two at maintenence calories and then get back to a deficit. It just puts me back by a couple of weeks. It's important they are still tracked though or I'll just gain on them as I go nuts.4
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I'm going to go against the grain here.
I've found over a period of many years that an off-plan day here and there makes zero difference to my weight. I'm talking 1000-2000 extra calories once in a while, like 2-4 times per month. I've done that for over a decade.
I suppose we could say maybe I'm under-eating the rest of the time, but I already eat 400-500 calories per day above the MFP recommended amount, so I'm not depriving myself at all and I don't go to bed hungry. Maybe I'm just lucky? I dunno. I'm not gonna argue with success.
Plus my birthday is coming up and I have every intention of eating two day's worth of calories on one day. It won't affect me long-term.
I do get daily exercise. If I didn't, I would be eating over my calories every day and that wouldn't work. Having a larger calorie day I may see a bump up on the scale for a couple days, but it always goes back down within a few days afterward.6 -
I'm another banker too! I follow my own version of the 5/2 diet... 5 days at 1800 calories and 2 days at 2500 calories. I rarely need to go over 2500 but if I knew in advance I would need to, I'd bank more ahead of the high day.
While I agree in principle that an off day here and there would not be that detrimental, I think for many people, an off day wouldn't stop at one day and that's when it does become detrimental to maintenance. Probably a planned off day is way better to manage, than an off day that just creeps up on you unexpectedly and you're overcome by this desire to overeat.
I've been in maintenance 5+ years and I've had a few of these unplanned off days. Very, very scary when that feeling of not being in control slaps you in the face again! Luckily I've pulled back, and got back on track.
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cmriverside wrote: »I'm going to go against the grain here.
I've found over a period of many years that an off-plan day here and there makes zero difference to my weight. I'm talking 1000-2000 extra calories once in a while, like 2-4 times per month. I've done that for over a decade.
I suppose we could say maybe I'm under-eating the rest of the time, but I already eat 400-500 calories per day above the MFP recommended amount, so I'm not depriving myself at all and I don't go to bed hungry. Maybe I'm just lucky? I dunno. I'm not gonna argue with success.
Plus my birthday is coming up and I have every intention of eating two day's worth of calories on one day. It won't affect me long-term.
I do get daily exercise. If I didn't, I would be eating over my calories every day and that wouldn't work. Having a larger calorie day I may see a bump up on the scale for a couple days, but it always goes back down within a few days afterward.
I don't believe this is the same thing. You put in your time and made the changes you needed to make. You have been managing your weight for a long time and you know where your balance is.
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cmriverside wrote: »I'm going to go against the grain here.
I've found over a period of many years that an off-plan day here and there makes zero difference to my weight. I'm talking 1000-2000 extra calories once in a while, like 2-4 times per month. I've done that for over a decade.
I suppose we could say maybe I'm under-eating the rest of the time, but I already eat 400-500 calories per day above the MFP recommended amount, so I'm not depriving myself at all and I don't go to bed hungry. Maybe I'm just lucky? I dunno. I'm not gonna argue with success.
Plus my birthday is coming up and I have every intention of eating two day's worth of calories on one day. It won't affect me long-term.
I do get daily exercise. If I didn't, I would be eating over my calories every day and that wouldn't work. Having a larger calorie day I may see a bump up on the scale for a couple days, but it always goes back down within a few days afterward.
I don't believe this is the same thing. You put in your time and made the changes you needed to make. You have been managing your weight for a long time and you know where your balance is.
Well this IS the Maintaining weight forum.
I did this even when I was losing because life happens and I'm not going to ever be that person who is strict all the time. It's not reasonable to me. So whether you want to name it a cheat day, or whether you want to call it what I do - Life - the results are that a few days like this do not affect the long game.8 -
Are you with or against a diet-free day every week? And why?
Totally against.
What would happen if you had a budget free day once a week and spent your money on anything and everything you wanted?
Permanent change requires living in a calorie budget most of the time. Sure you can go a little nuts on vacations and holidays but most of the time you have to live your life inside your new weight managing normal.
If you are struggling to stick with your plan explain what you are doing and perhaps we can help.
Hey if you had enough money you could definitely get away with it without making a dent
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LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »I bank calories on week days to account for eating slightly above maintenance calories at the weekend.
I'm doing kind of a version of this.
I entered maintenance back in May and been trying to find that way of balancing out my calories, but I still tend to eat a bit below maintenance. So now that things are opening up again and we can go out, I've been having one kinda big meal where I might go 1,000 calories over that day (nachos, drinks, burger, whatever) and that erases my deficit for the week.
I was just updating my tracking and doing the math this morning and I'm within 0.4 lbs of when I started June, and my average weight this month is 0.1 lbs from where I started. So it seems to be working!
Now here's the key: I LOG EVERYTHING! Even my big meal out. I usually have to guess/estimate the meal, but I always go with the higher than average option to make sure I don't under report. At worse I've been jumping up about a pound and a half after my big meal and within 48 hours I'm back to "normal".3 -
Not for me. I have things I like ''little and often'' and that usually prevents me needing a binge day. I can't be perfect all the time, but when those times I happen I don't feel too bad about it because they're infrequent and it's not an entire day dedicated to it.2
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If you feel like that, you need to find ways to keep your mind occupied during fasting hours or build a routine so that you aren't left with 'nothing to do' time. Because it is those times where you can find yourself wanting to go wild (the devil makes work for idle fingers).. So stay vigilant!0
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I can EASILY undo an entire weeks dieting with one day eating unlimited. So I'm against it (for me).1
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I have been on maintenance for over a year after losing 75 pounds. Since being on maintenance I do have two meals per month ( every other Saturday night ) where I eat whatever I want, no calorie counting. This has worked very well for me.1
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All your answers and responses were very insightful and encouraging.
I'm following an intermittent fasting diet, with adherence to my calorie limit. And it helped me to contain my craves and hunger big time. But, during the lockdown it's become really hard to stay on track. I keep thinking about eating all my non-fasting hours. Also, my family have the greatest choices in food There's always a Cinnabon roll available or a mighty burger sandwich in hand.
I love the calorie-based diet that it helps me eat anything I want, but still with limits and after doing my math. But, sometimes, I just wish to go BANANAS
I really loved the calorie bank idea :like: ... I always eat below my calorie limit. And maybe I should exercise more, and add more calories to my bank account. and have a diet-free day every 2 weeks or 3 weeks, instead!
Just a thought but could this be lockdown related I.e not going out, seeing people, talking to people as much as you were prior to lockdown has resulted in you feeling more ‘down’?
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In maintenance since October 2019. I have turned into a weekly banker. I eat 100 calories below maintenance 5 days per week, and then have 500 extra calories for one of my weekend days (usually Sunday). I’ll use them to add an indulgent dessert or restaurant meal. Everything is tracked (Estimated when I can’t weigh things).
I still practice what I guess I’ll call “responsible restauranting.” Unless it’s my birthday or a similar very special holiday where I track but don’t stick to my calorie target, I still pre-log the rest of my day (including an evening treat, for psychological comfort 😂) and get an estimate of how many calories I have to play with for the restaurant meal. Even if it’s more indulgent, I will still look at the menu beforehand, decide what I want to spend my calories on, and pre-log an estimate (editing after the meal for better accuracy based on what I consumed). I usually don’t drink alcohol at these meals because I’d rather be able to finish everything on my plate and enjoy the food itself. I also don’t shy away from asking for changes (salad instead of a starchy side that I’m not thrilled with, for example, or sauce on the side) if it will make me more satisfied. I usually don’t have appetizers or bread before the meal or dessert afterwards, again, because I’d rather get one delicious plate of food and fully enjoy it.
It took a BIG shift in mindset. For my childhood, we only went to restaurants during yearly vacations, so it was like a highly-coveted experience. Into adulthood, I could go whenever I wanted, but I always have gone all-out and eaten all the richest most delicious things in huge quantities because my kid-brain was still there going “this is rare! This is special! Get EVERYTHING because you don’t know the next time you’ll be able to do this!”
While losing weight in 2018, I really had to work on this. Had to change my view of restaurants to be more about the experience of enjoying time with loved ones, with the food being a fun addition rather than the main focus. Had to get over my fear of not having food in front of me at all times. Had to tell myself that these foods are always available, and I can have them whenever I want, just not all at once, and that i would feel wonderful if I chose one really exciting meal and fully enjoyed it, without all the bells and whistles of the basket of chips and the mediocre dessert that doesn’t really add to my joy in the experience.
Anyway, all this is to say, I don’t have diet-free days. I have days where I get a bigger Indulgent meal, that still gets tracked and fits into my weekly calories. It took me a while to get here, but i like this mindset 1000x better than how I saw it in the past.6 -
Agreed that a diet free day every week is fine. Maybe try not to eat 5,000 calories. But the whole point of maintenance is that you don't have to be as strict as you do while running a deficit, so there's usually room for it. YMMV, but it sure works good for me! Physically and socially.0
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