This Dieting and Exercise Stuff Works

naderabed
naderabed Posts: 4
in Getting Started
It was my brother's birthday yesterday and last night, after I had finished logging my food for the day, my sister-in-law invited me over for a "simple dinner" gathering. I accepted the invite, letting her know that I am now on a vegan diet and she shouldn't count me in on the food, but I'd drop by to wish my brother the best on his birthday.

When I got there, I saw the food and besides the meat dishes that I wouldn't eat, there was a quinoa salad, some rice with pine nuts, steamed veggies, and a regular salad with avocado. It was all great and I had two small servings of each. The problem was I had already logged my calorie intake for the day and although this was healthy stuff, it was much later than I planned to eat and put me about 500-600 calories overboard. I was caught off guard but considering that I've already lost 33 pounds since November, I thought of it as a "cheat day". I didn't add the latest calorie intake to my log however. What the hell, I was "cheating" anyway.

The good news is, that I had a great work out a couple hours earlier, ate healthy all day, drank about a gallon of water, and had a great night's sleep. I weighed myself this morning thinking that I'd be a couple pounds heavier, however I was thankfully half a pound lighter!

Moral of the story: What you've been told really does work, and it works very well. Eat small and often and eat those greens. Make it a priority to drink plenty of water, you need it for digestion and to feel full. Exercise exercise exercise exercise! I know they say that 70% of weight loss is dieting, but exercising to the point of exhaustion for at least 30 minutes every day truly hooks up your metabolism. And if your metabolism is naturally slow (like mine), you need to do something to counter it. And shoot for at least 8 hours of sleep. This is when you shed the pounds so trade in watching the late show for losing a pound.

This is what works for me and I believe there's no reason why it wouldn't work for other humans.

Replies

  • craigheon
    craigheon Posts: 167 Member
    I have also been surprised with losing weight AFTER having a cheat day. It doesn't make sense to me, but all the other hard work you are putting in with your caloric intake and exercise outdo everything else.

    Also, don't really think of it as a diet... think of it as a lifestyle change. Either way, you are doing it right my man! Congrats to you!
  • SwimBikeRun27
    SwimBikeRun27 Posts: 6
    Great post! Keep up the great work!
  • ChrisM8971
    ChrisM8971 Posts: 1,067 Member
    Congratulations on your weight loss 33 lbs since November is quite an achievement. I am glad you have found a way to maintain a calorific deficit that works for you

    My way has been to eat whatever I like (would be lying to say that I don't eat more vegetables and fruit than I used to and far less in the way of high calorie foods) and enjoying the odd few drinks as well.

    One of these days I will even ramp up my exercise from next to none to some (its the next planned change)

    I do think the moral is more if you find a method that is working well for you stick with it but don't be afraid to try new things as well
  • 60aday
    60aday Posts: 20
    That's funny I have been only at this for a week and checked the scale every morning at the gym. Every morning was
    The same. Then we went out to dinner for my daughter's birthday I didn't do bad and only went over by 200 calories.
    The next morning I expected the same result or worse but was surprised to see I had lost
    2 pounds. :)
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,566 Member
    I don't want to get jumped on for this post but I know someone who allows herself a "cheat hour" every 10 days or so and in that hour she can eat whatever she wants and as much as she wants - steak and fries - 3 pieces of cheesecake - as much as she can or wants to cram into herself in that time. The rest of the time she is strict with her diet and calorie intake.

    I wouldn't be able to do that right now but she is very fit and extremely disciplined with her food and exercise but her trainers also do this and they all say they have never been leaner. Something to do with fooling the body into not storing fat.

    Just sharing and not recommending this to anyone - personally I would string myself up if I did it right now.
  • verptwerp
    verptwerp Posts: 3,659 Member
    Super job ....... congrats on your weight loss !

    I don't do cheat meals ...... I just make the best possible choices each day, and throw in an extra workout or walk around the block if I've been overdoing it a bit. Whatever works, right ?

    But once we hit a winning strategy, no matter what it is, keep on truckin' !
  • stanleypoobrick
    stanleypoobrick Posts: 71 Member
    I really hate to be the one to say this but the main reason why people seem to lose a couple of pounds after a cheat day is because it stirs up some err ... colonic movement ... when you eat more than usual. You don't put on fat from food for 2-3 days, so you wouldn't notice extra pounds the next day; it's more likely to creep up a few days later (probably after you've had a fantastic dieting day) making you think "oh god what did I do wrong?".

    You've lost a fantastic amount of weight overall so you're obviously doing it right. Cheat days/hours/meals are a part of lots of people's diets and it works for some - not for others - but if it works for you then keep it up. Just remember that dieting really does depend on your calorie deficit, so cheat days will affect your weight loss if you don't make it up for the rest of the week.
  • naderabed
    naderabed Posts: 4
    Thanks and you're absolutely right. I guess it really was more of a "cheat" regarding the time of day that I ate rather than what I ate since it was pretty healthy after all.
  • naderabed
    naderabed Posts: 4
    Absolutely right! Makes much sense actually.
  • JNettie73
    JNettie73 Posts: 1,211 Member
    Congrats on your weight loss and success.

    I just wanted to add that I hope you thanked your SIL for making sure you had plenty of options to eat at the gathering. You are extremely blessed that she did all that for you. I am vegetarian. My husband's family's idea of dinner for me is throwing a veggie burger on a paper plat, microwaving it and handing to me for dinner. :noway: Needless to say I always bring my own food to his family gatherings.
  • stanleypoobrick
    stanleypoobrick Posts: 71 Member
    Congrats on your weight loss and success.

    I just wanted to add that I hope you thanked your SIL for making sure you had plenty of options to eat at the gathering. You are extremely blessed that she did all that for you. I am vegetarian. My husband's family's idea of dinner for me is throwing a veggie burger on a paper plat, microwaving it and handing to me for dinner. :noway: Needless to say I always bring my own food to his family gatherings.

    yes! this too!

    I'm vegan and my family used to try to add meat into my dinners (swapping onion gravy with beef etc).

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