And this is why you're not losing weight... cheat days

Francl27
Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Real eye opener this month. I was so good, stuck to my goal so well... you know, except the couple days when I didn't, but it was only a couple days... not a big deal... But I only lost 0.7 pound. I'm set to lose about half a pound a week...That makes no sense, right?

Except it does. If you check the app, you can see your total deficit for each week. That week I was a bit hungrier and ate a bit over? I was 750 calories over that week (my goal is just a bit under my TDEE, so it's easy to see exactly what my deficit was). Add it all up for the last month, I actually only had a 2500 calorie deficit... so 0.7 pound is really all I could expect to lose.

Bottom line, those cheat days really add up. Heck I'm still 1.5 pound over what I was before I went in vacations 6 weeks ago.

Science just doesn't forgive cheat days so well.

Replies

  • michikade
    michikade Posts: 313 Member
    You're absolutely right that the weekly number (or even, the monthly number) is where the real change happens. However, depending on your deficit goals and your general complete intake on the cheat days will determine whether or not you have comparable losses.

    For example, I completely cheated all weekend long. Stuff I usually don't eat - higher fat levels, less nutrient rich, etc - but I still ended up losing a half pound this week (my usual deficit is closer to a pound to a pound and a half per week). I knew I wasn't going to end up with as big of a deficit over the course of the week as I usually do and I was prepared for that.

    If you want to have cheat days - which I feel are absolutely fine, btw - you have to take that into consideration. The closer you are to goal, the splurge could affect you a bit more. Of course, the closer you get to goal, the higher your overall calories may be (because you require less of a deficit) so there's a little more "wiggle room" in the every day eating than someone who has a lower calorie goal.

    I usually just eat what I want if it fits into my macros and is fairly well balanced (this weekend sooooooo didn't, hahaha) so I don't, generally speaking, have "cheat days" so much as days where I don't look at my calorie goal and macro goals quite as hard.
  • janine2355
    janine2355 Posts: 628 Member
    This was so inforative. Thank you so much. I never no we had this feature on our app so it was quite interesting to see what my weekly deficit was and then to add it all up and calculate my monthly deficit. You are so informative when it comes to calories and weight loss, etc. I am so glad you are my friend on here. Thank you so much. It truly was an eye opener for me, and it's a great tool to use to track our weight. Thanks.:heart:
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    You're absolutely right that the weekly number (or even, the monthly number) is where the real change happens. However, depending on your deficit goals and your general complete intake on the cheat days will determine whether or not you have comparable losses.

    For example, I completely cheated all weekend long. Stuff I usually don't eat - higher fat levels, less nutrient rich, etc - but I still ended up losing a half pound this week (my usual deficit is closer to a pound to a pound and a half per week). I knew I wasn't going to end up with as big of a deficit over the course of the week as I usually do and I was prepared for that.

    If you want to have cheat days - which I feel are absolutely fine, btw - you have to take that into consideration. The closer you are to goal, the splurge could affect you a bit more. Of course, the closer you get to goal, the higher your overall calories may be (because you require less of a deficit) so there's a little more "wiggle room" in the every day eating than someone who has a lower calorie goal.

    I usually just eat what I want if it fits into my macros and is fairly well balanced (this weekend sooooooo didn't, hahaha) so I don't, generally speaking, have "cheat days" so much as days where I don't look at my calorie goal and macro goals quite as hard.

    True, but I also firmly believe that apart from immediate water weight, it takes a few days or a week for your body to really register a higher calorie day. You might still lose that week, but you might not lose the next one.

    By 'cheat' though I mean going over your TDEE. When you have a lot to lose, it's actually harder to do, as your TDEE is higher.
  • Schimmel1
    Schimmel1 Posts: 1 Member
    I've found that "cheat days" don't necessarily have to be CHEAT days :) On my cheat days I like to find new recipes, things I wouldn't normally eat during the week, and try them at home! Or I try to make a healthier alternative of the high fat, high carb, high sugar foods that I love so much! That way, I still feel like I'm cheating because I'm having something I wouldn't normally eat!

    I'm certain this is not a new theory. I agree that cheat days are necessary to maintain some level of sanity! I refuse to stress myself out if I don't meet my goals for the week! However I make a conscious effort to get better each week! If I take this all too seriously, I end up pushing myself off the bandwagon!

    Thanks for explaining the TDEE a bit more! Definitely great info there!
  • michikade
    michikade Posts: 313 Member
    You're absolutely right that the weekly number (or even, the monthly number) is where the real change happens. However, depending on your deficit goals and your general complete intake on the cheat days will determine whether or not you have comparable losses.

    For example, I completely cheated all weekend long. Stuff I usually don't eat - higher fat levels, less nutrient rich, etc - but I still ended up losing a half pound this week (my usual deficit is closer to a pound to a pound and a half per week). I knew I wasn't going to end up with as big of a deficit over the course of the week as I usually do and I was prepared for that.

    If you want to have cheat days - which I feel are absolutely fine, btw - you have to take that into consideration. The closer you are to goal, the splurge could affect you a bit more. Of course, the closer you get to goal, the higher your overall calories may be (because you require less of a deficit) so there's a little more "wiggle room" in the every day eating than someone who has a lower calorie goal.

    I usually just eat what I want if it fits into my macros and is fairly well balanced (this weekend sooooooo didn't, hahaha) so I don't, generally speaking, have "cheat days" so much as days where I don't look at my calorie goal and macro goals quite as hard.

    True, but I also firmly believe that apart from immediate water weight, it takes a few days or a week for your body to really register a higher calorie day. You might still lose that week, but you might not lose the next one.

    By 'cheat' though I mean going over your TDEE. When you have a lot to lose, it's actually harder to do, as your TDEE is higher.

    I agree re: a "cheat" going over TDEE -- when you're closer to goal, you don't have as much wiggle room in overages because your daily caloric goal is close to or at TDEE, whereas when you're further from goal there's a little more wiggle in there because the daily deficit is larger. Apparently I didn't explain what I meant in that.

    I also agree that it takes a little while for the body to process what you eat and big splurges can cause stalls on the scale. In my case technically speaking it shouldn't cause an issue on the scale (because my overall weekly deficit was still nearly 3500 cals even though the scale was only different by a half pound) but I'm almost 100% certain it'll affect working out tonight, heh. I've felt pretty heavy all day and I'm pretty sure it was because of the heavy, less nutrient rich food this weekend. You live and learn, and I've learned that much delicious, delicious richness is less agreeable than it used to be.
  • Runnnergirl89
    Runnnergirl89 Posts: 10 Member
    If you check the app, you can see your total deficit for each week.

    How do I do this?
  • doctorregenerated
    doctorregenerated Posts: 188 Member
    Following for the answer on how to find the weekly deficit
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    I don't like the word "cheat" because the only person you can hurt is yourself, so you aren't really cheating.

    I think of them as "indulgence" days.

    And I try to avoid them. I want to lose weight and be healthier. That doesn't change because it's Monday. :)
  • toolhead87
    toolhead87 Posts: 10
    cheat days for me are when I go 200-300 calories above my recommended amount (2370)
    And even on cheat days I still do 65 minutes on the elliptical.
    On good days I stick around 1600-1700 calories plus the almost 1100 calories I burn on the elliptical.


    edit:maybe I should add originally weighed 305lbs now I'm down to 229ish.
    I'm almost there. :)
  • btc1987
    btc1987 Posts: 94 Member
    For the people asking where to find the weekly totals:

    http://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/questions/8226581-weekly-calorie-average
  • smarieallen85
    smarieallen85 Posts: 535 Member
    I see this. Now where can I find what my weekly deficit is supposed to be?
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    I see this. Now where can I find what my weekly deficit is supposed to be?

    You told MFP this when you setup your account. Check the bottom of this link:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

    1 lb = 3500 calories. Do the math from there based on how many lbs per week you'd like to lose

    For those interested in using the app to follow a weekly deficit, you can also lock down the day of the week your "week" starts rather than the default, which I believe is the last seven days

    Go to Settings -> Weekly Nutrition Settings
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    Francl, this question may be a bit too elementary for you, but being so close to your goal, why still on 1 lb per week? .5 lb per week may give you a bit more wiggle room?

    My theory on "cheat days" that still result in a drop is that we were going to have a drop anyway, and perhaps just experienced a bit less of one :)
  • 970Mikaela1
    970Mikaela1 Posts: 2,013 Member
    This could very well explain why my 5000 calorie Saturdays are slowing down my rapid rate of success.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Francl, this question may be a bit too elementary for you, but being so close to your goal, why still on 1 lb per week? .5 lb per week may give you a bit more wiggle room?

    My theory on "cheat days" that still result in a drop is that we were going to have a drop anyway, and perhaps just experienced a bit less of one :)

    I'm at a 200ish deficit at this point. My goal is 100 under deficit but I try to keep a deficit most days still.

    And yes finding the weekly deficit in the app is under 'nutrition', just click weekly at the top instead of daily.

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