interesting info on "cheat days/meals"
newyorkmo
Posts: 32 Member
from a study I was reading today:
participants who reported a consistent diet across the week were 1.5 times more likely to maintain their weight within 5 lb over the subsequent year than participants who dieted more strictly on weekdays. A similar relationship emerged between dieting consistency across the year and subsequent weight regain; individuals who allowed themselves more flexibility on holidays had greater risk of weight regain. Allowing for flexibility in the diet may increase exposure to high-risk situations, creating more opportunity for loss of control. In contrast, individuals who maintain a consistent diet regimen across the week and year appear more likely to maintain their weight loss over time.
From: Long-term weight loss maintenance, american journal of nutrition, 2005.
I am very consistent during the week but allow myself more latitude on weekends, holidays, and vacations. This makes me re-think my strategy a bit, as I definitely want to successfully maintain my weight loss!
participants who reported a consistent diet across the week were 1.5 times more likely to maintain their weight within 5 lb over the subsequent year than participants who dieted more strictly on weekdays. A similar relationship emerged between dieting consistency across the year and subsequent weight regain; individuals who allowed themselves more flexibility on holidays had greater risk of weight regain. Allowing for flexibility in the diet may increase exposure to high-risk situations, creating more opportunity for loss of control. In contrast, individuals who maintain a consistent diet regimen across the week and year appear more likely to maintain their weight loss over time.
From: Long-term weight loss maintenance, american journal of nutrition, 2005.
I am very consistent during the week but allow myself more latitude on weekends, holidays, and vacations. This makes me re-think my strategy a bit, as I definitely want to successfully maintain my weight loss!
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Replies
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That makes a lot of sense, and thinking back on my history of trying to lose weight, seem to be what i've experienced. If you allow "bad" snacks on a regular basis, but stay within your macros, you're probably less likely to have your diet get out of hand than if you were super strict all the time, but let yourself go one a week.0
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We all get craving for crap food. Mine is very minimal but still there. depends on what a cheat day is. I cycle my calories anyways so I don't have a suppose cheat day.0
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Crap. I was just getting ready to re-institute a cheat meal for every 5 pounds I lose for my remaining 20 pounds.0
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SInce I do not have cheat meals/days and eat whatever I want consistently, I guess I am on the right path!!0
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Crap. I was just getting ready to re-institute a cheat meal for every 5 pounds I lose for my remaining 20 pounds.
A cheat meal can still be in your calorie deficit.0 -
Curious as to whether or not the participants were counting calories, or tracking their food intake in any way.0
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IMHO Consistency is a good thing to get yourself rooted in your new habits.0
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Crap. I was just getting ready to re-institute a cheat meal for every 5 pounds I lose for my remaining 20 pounds.
A cheat meal can still be in your calorie deficit.
Nah, if you're still in a deficit it can hardly be called cheating. At that point it's just IIFYM, which I do anyway.0 -
Curious as to whether or not the participants were counting calories, or tracking their food intake in any way.
This. Plus I'm guessing the ones who eat more on the week end did not necessarily eat less than the other group during the week too... so they might be eating more overall.
Would need to know more about the study.0 -
JesterMFP: good question - I think they were...study participants were from the National Weight Control Registry...so perhaps not all of them monitoring, but I'm betting a lot of them were tracking intake to some extent at least.0
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Crap. I was just getting ready to re-institute a cheat meal for every 5 pounds I lose for my remaining 20 pounds.
A cheat meal can still be in your calorie deficit.
Nah, if you're still in a deficit it can hardly be called cheating. At that point it's just IIFYM, which I do anyway.
oh yes it can. If you eat something with lots of fat but still in calorie limit I would call that a cheat meal.0 -
Crap. I was just getting ready to re-institute a cheat meal for every 5 pounds I lose for my remaining 20 pounds.
A cheat meal can still be in your calorie deficit.
I agree with this.. but rewarding yourself with food seems counterproductive IMHO.0 -
Crap. I was just getting ready to re-institute a cheat meal for every 5 pounds I lose for my remaining 20 pounds.
A cheat meal can still be in your calorie deficit.
I agree with this.. but rewarding yourself with food seems counterproductive IMHO.
So you are going to lose 50 pounds I a strict diet the entire time. Your better than me. I could do that but then craving slowly come back. I know how to handle a craving and help a setback if it happens. I reward myself every week, but my goals are different from the majority of people on here.0 -
Exactly.Crap. I was just getting ready to re-institute a cheat meal for every 5 pounds I lose for my remaining 20 pounds.
A cheat meal can still be in your calorie deficit.
I do a fasting program 4:3. My weigh in day I fast until that eveing and have a great meal, dessert, pretty much whatever I want and still come in at, and even BELOW, my TDEE of 2200-2500. It is like a win-win!
I hate the term people use as a cheat meal or even worse....day. People can still eat what they want if they do it moderation.0 -
Crap. I was just getting ready to re-institute a cheat meal for every 5 pounds I lose for my remaining 20 pounds.
A cheat meal can still be in your calorie deficit.
I agree with this.. but rewarding yourself with food seems counterproductive IMHO.
So you are going to lose 50 pounds I a strict diet the entire time. Your better than me. I could do that but then craving slowly come back. I know how to handle a craving and help a setback if it happens. I reward myself every week, but my goals are different from the majority of people on here.
No... I meant using food as a reward for losing 5lbs. It seems like it could potentially lead to emotional eating... but those are just my thoughts. What works for one person does not work for all.0 -
Why not?Crap. I was just getting ready to re-institute a cheat meal for every 5 pounds I lose for my remaining 20 pounds.
A cheat meal can still be in your calorie deficit.
I agree with this.. but rewarding yourself with food seems counterproductive IMHO.
So you are going to lose 50 pounds I a strict diet the entire time. Your better than me. I could do that but then craving slowly come back. I know how to handle a craving and help a setback if it happens. I reward myself every week, but my goals are different from the majority of people on here.
No... I meant using food as a reward for losing 5lbs. It seems like it could potentially lead to emotional eating... but those are just my thoughts. What works for one person does not work for all.
If pizza is your favorite food, and you lost XX weight, there is no reason why the person cannot indulge and have some pizza.
I just suggest people to make it a win win though and eat your fav stuff and stay at your maintenance cals0 -
Crap. I was just getting ready to re-institute a cheat meal for every 5 pounds I lose for my remaining 20 pounds.
A cheat meal can still be in your calorie deficit.
Nah, if you're still in a deficit it can hardly be called cheating. At that point it's just IIFYM, which I do anyway.
oh yes it can. If you eat something with lots of fat but still in calorie limit I would call that a cheat meal.
Nope. That is not a cheat meal! If it fits eat it. Nothing wrong with that.0 -
We all get craving for crap food. Mine is very minimal but still there. depends on what a cheat day is. I cycle my calories anyways so I don't have a suppose cheat day.
This is what I was wondering about. As reported, it sounds as if it's saying cycling is worse than consistent calories per day, but to believe it supports that claim I'd have to see more details about what was looked at, how it was defined, etc.
Personally I sometimes focus on the week rather than the day and also often eat differently depending on whether I've exercised or not, but I never have days where I just go wild. However, I do tend to fit in restaurant meals on Friday or Saturday specifically and fully intend to allow for more indulgent meals on Thanksgiving and Christmas, etc. It's hard to imagine why that would be a problem for maintenance, but I'm curious about the methodology.0 -
We all get craving for crap food. Mine is very minimal but still there. depends on what a cheat day is. I cycle my calories anyways so I don't have a suppose cheat day.
This is what I was wondering about. As reported, it sounds as if it's saying cycling is worse than consistent calories per day, but to believe it supports that claim I'd have to see more details about what was looked at, how it was defined, etc.
When I go strict I get craving. sometimes they lend to overeating in the past earlier this year.0 -
Crap. I was just getting ready to re-institute a cheat meal for every 5 pounds I lose for my remaining 20 pounds.
A cheat meal can still be in your calorie deficit.
I agree with this.. but rewarding yourself with food seems counterproductive IMHO.
So you are going to lose 50 pounds I a strict diet the entire time. Your better than me. I could do that but then craving slowly come back. I know how to handle a craving and help a setback if it happens. I reward myself every week, but my goals are different from the majority of people on here.
No... I meant using food as a reward for losing 5lbs. It seems like it could potentially lead to emotional eating... but those are just my thoughts. What works for one person does not work for all.
You got to celebrate the mini goals somehow.0 -
Why not?Crap. I was just getting ready to re-institute a cheat meal for every 5 pounds I lose for my remaining 20 pounds.
A cheat meal can still be in your calorie deficit.
I agree with this.. but rewarding yourself with food seems counterproductive IMHO.
So you are going to lose 50 pounds I a strict diet the entire time. Your better than me. I could do that but then craving slowly come back. I know how to handle a craving and help a setback if it happens. I reward myself every week, but my goals are different from the majority of people on here.
No... I meant using food as a reward for losing 5lbs. It seems like it could potentially lead to emotional eating... but those are just my thoughts. What works for one person does not work for all.
If pizza is your favorite food, and you lost XX weight, there is no reason why the person cannot indulge and have some pizza.
I just suggest people to make it a win win though and eat your fav stuff and stay at your maintenance cals
I never said a person couldn't have a food that they loved... that's not what I meant at all. If I want pizza or whatever I eat it... but I don't celebrate getting healthy by eating. Why use food to celebrate? Why not a new workout shirt or running shoes... that's what I meant. Sorry if I wasn't clear.
As I said earlier though... that was just my opinion.0 -
If pizza is your favorite food, and you lost XX weight, there is no reason why the person cannot indulge and have some pizza.
Why couldn't you indulge and have some pizza without making it a reward. I do on occasion.
I'm not saying it can't work for anyone--we are all different. But the idea that reward=food is probably not a good mindset to get into for a lot of us. I just finished a big work project yesterday, and even though I've been working on breaking it (and even though I fit in what I want to my goals) the idea that I deserve a treat is still one that was floating around in my mind. I ignored it and ate within my calories and had room for some ice cream anyway, which was because it fit, not because it was a reward.0 -
I call BS. People without weight issues, people that don't ever log their meals or count calories - most of them eat more on holidays than regular days. It's called living - you have to be flexible or it's just never going to work. So, you lose the weight and you're never going to enjoy a big family meal at Thanksgiving anymore? You'll be over there weighing out your green beans or counting out 3 pieces of chocolate that you can fit into your calories...or being miserable the day before and/or after by hardly eating to "make up" for one day of indulgence? Screw that. If it's Thanksgiving or Easter, I'm eating whatever I want. A few days a year, or even a couple days a month, shouldn't derail your weight loss/maintenance. If having one day of high calorie foods makes you give up and just continue to eat that way after the holiday has passed, then I'm sorry but you're just weak.
Flexibility is what life is all about. In our diets and elsewhere.0 -
We all get craving for crap food. Mine is very minimal but still there. depends on what a cheat day is. I cycle my calories anyways so I don't have a suppose cheat day.
This is what I was wondering about. As reported, it sounds as if it's saying cycling is worse than consistent calories per day, but to believe it supports that claim I'd have to see more details about what was looked at, how it was defined, etc.
Personally I sometimes focus on the week rather than the day and also often eat differently depending on whether I've exercised or not, but I never have days where I just go wild. However, I do tend to fit in restaurant meals on Friday or Saturday specifically and fully intend to allow for more indulgent meals on Thanksgiving and Christmas, etc. It's hard to imagine why that would be a problem for maintenance, but I'm curious about the methodology.
I cycle carlories sometimes by a 1000. BTW if you look through my diary and say where, I do not really count calories anymore. This like fruits veggies there easy to count. Meats I dont weight it out just guesstimate serving sizes. I eat mcdonalds a lot more but still have lost weight. I never log salads if plain. SO little in calories. Never log salad dressings, .Portions sizes matter to.0 -
I call BS. People without weight issues, people that don't ever log their meals or count calories - most of them eat more on holidays than regular days. It's called living - you have to be flexible or it's just never going to work. So, you lose the weight and you're never going to enjoy a big family meal at Thanksgiving anymore? You'll be over there weighing out your green beans or counting out 3 pieces of chocolate that you can fit into your calories...or being miserable the day before and/or after by hardly eating to "make up" for one day of indulgence? Screw that. If it's Thanksgiving or Easter, I'm eating whatever I want. A few days a year, or even a couple days a month, shouldn't derail your weight loss/maintenance. If having one day of high calorie foods makes you give up and just continue to eat that way after the holiday has passed, then I'm sorry but you're just weak.
Flexibility is what life is all about. In our diets and elsewhere.
+1 you just balance it out. Workout more other days, eat less other days. weight loss or gain is not a one day thing.0 -
When I go strict I get craving. sometimes they lend to overeating in the past earlier this year.
Yeah, my suspicion is that they might be talking about being really strict most days and then having days where you just go nuts. I can see how that would lead to binge like eating for lots of people. (For me it mostly just leads me to stop being so strict on regular days.) If so, it's not reported very well (which wouldn't shock me), as the description makes it sounds like they are saying more, such as that cycling is bad.0 -
Crap. I was just getting ready to re-institute a cheat meal for every 5 pounds I lose for my remaining 20 pounds.
A cheat meal can still be in your calorie deficit.
Nah, if you're still in a deficit it can hardly be called cheating. At that point it's just IIFYM, which I do anyway.
oh yes it can. If you eat something with lots of fat but still in calorie limit I would call that a cheat meal.
Fat is bad?0 -
I call BS. People without weight issues, people that don't ever log their meals or count calories - most of them eat more on holidays than regular days. It's called living - you have to be flexible or it's just never going to work. So, you lose the weight and you're never going to enjoy a big family meal at Thanksgiving anymore? You'll be over there weighing out your green beans or counting out 3 pieces of chocolate that you can fit into your calories...or being miserable the day before and/or after by hardly eating to "make up" for one day of indulgence? Screw that. If it's Thanksgiving or Easter, I'm eating whatever I want. A few days a year, or even a couple days a month, shouldn't derail your weight loss/maintenance. If having one day of high calorie foods makes you give up and just continue to eat that way after the holiday has passed, then I'm sorry but you're just weak.
Flexibility is what life is all about. In our diets and elsewhere.
I agree but not totally...
I think the issue here is not just holiday's and weekends I think it is more about "weekends" as there are a lot more of those.
If you allow yourself more calories on the weekend...every weekend you will have issues.
Why not just eat what you want as long as it fits. For example tomorrow I might want ice cream...if I have room I will eat it...if I don't have room I will make room (maybe even take out my chocolate bar).
And I think this has some merit. Consistency is key. If you cut out your favorite foods or limit them you are asking for trouble imo.
If I want pizza I will eat pizza and I am in goal...even while in a deficit my main goal if it was an outing was maitenance...based on weekly numbers and I did not ever go over my deficit goal...for an entire year (except 8 days on vacation which were done on purpose with drinks and during christmas holidays...) but even those 2 weeks didn't put me over my average deficit..0 -
I lost 1-2 lbs a week netting 1500-1600 weekdays and 2400-3500 weekends for nearly 4 months (Jan-April), my diary is open, anyone can look, I've logged almost every day since Jan 2nd. But yeah, for the longest time my mantra was "anything goes" on the weekends and it didn't have any negative effects on my weight loss. It won't work for everyone because a lot of people seem to have trouble getting "back on track" after a "cheat", but that's why I didn't consider anything I did cheating or off track. If you set the limit for yourself and say weekdays are business and weekends are pleasure, it becomes a routine after a while. The thing is you can't say "okay, I'm cheating it's a weekend!" and not log it. I lost weight doing it because I was still netting under my weekly goal by creating a bigger deficit M-F.
ETA: I'm also not saying to set restrictions for yourself, like "no pizza/candy/chips/chocolate" on weekdays. I ate anything during the week too, just kept a larger deficit.
Right now my focus is elsewhere and I've been maintaining within 3 lbs for the past month and a half, for anyone who checks my diary. There are red numbers nearly every day :sad: .0 -
from a study I was reading today:
participants who reported a consistent diet across the week were 1.5 times more likely to maintain their weight within 5 lb over the subsequent year than participants who dieted more strictly on weekdays. A similar relationship emerged between dieting consistency across the year and subsequent weight regain; individuals who allowed themselves more flexibility on holidays had greater risk of weight regain. Allowing for flexibility in the diet may increase exposure to high-risk situations, creating more opportunity for loss of control. In contrast, individuals who maintain a consistent diet regimen across the week and year appear more likely to maintain their weight loss over time.
From: Long-term weight loss maintenance, american journal of nutrition, 2005.
I am very consistent during the week but allow myself more latitude on weekends, holidays, and vacations. This makes me re-think my strategy a bit, as I definitely want to successfully maintain my weight loss!
Not very surprising to me. Honestly it just comes down to maintaining your focus on your health in the long term. It's not very surprising to me that the more you make excuses for why it's okay to divert your focus (e.g., it's the weekend so it's okay), the more likely you are to deviate more and more. Not saying you can't or even shouldn't deviate from your plan from time to time, but just that I'm not surprised that people that strictly adhere to their routine have an increased chance of long-term success than people who are less strict.0
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