How many of you do a 'Spike' day?

KKOLB1

Where you eat wayyy over your calories to kinda trick your body so it won't be used to the same old so you don't plateau? Also, do you always eat the smae amount of caliories daily or do you vary from day to day by a few calories?

Nailrep

Once a week - like a religion! :drinker:

Nailrep

Oh, and normally I stay within 100 calories of my goal except my cheat or "spike" day! (I LIKE THAT TERM!!)

JenniferTasso

Yes once a week for me as well...I tend to stay between 100-400 calories behind what I am supposed to...Only when I exercise..M-F...Sat and Sun I eat what I am supposed to

Cella30

How do you do your spike day? Do you have one large meal or spread it over the day? About how many calories do you go over? I want to try this...just curious how it worked.

Vanishing_Gordies

I read on another blog that a "spike" day and a "cheat" day were completely different. A "spike" day is where you eat over your caloric intake with healthy foods. A "cheat" day is where you eat whatever your heart desires...not so healthy though. In other words - that yummy steak dinner with loaded mashed potatoes and cheesecake for dessert with a bottle of wine (yup...sure did say a bottle of wine) - that's a cheat day.

BrianJLamb

I do this. I eat under my calories all week. Usually a good amount under. I havent been losing muscle, because I can still lift what I was lifting before. I come in at about 1100 calories a day and the on Saturday and Sunday I take it a bit easier. On one of those days I dont have a problem killing calories. I have been losing about 2 lbs a week doing this. I also work out really hard the day AFTER I kill those calories. My energy levels are through the roof the next day.

FaeFae

I dont do this but i was at a bit of a plateau and then i hurt my arm so i wasnt working out and eating horribly and I ended up losing weight once I started eating healthy again....im assuming i tricked my body!!! lol

Nailrep

One cheat meal, not day. Anything I want for about 30 minutes!! Nothing after that!

Becky1971

So it's not a bad thing I went over today like 150 - 200? I often eat what I shouldn't after I have weighed in, I think it's sorta like a reward maybe, I don't know. Or a letting go maybe. But probably it should be healthier stuff right not a bag of Carmel bugles?

jon_dub

I think when i get to where i want to be i will have one.. It will keep me sane

tassles

Yes I have a spike day too!...usually on the weekend when I feast on Indian curry!! yum!!....sometimes I have 2 spike days in a row! (the whole weekend) I find I may put on a little afterwards...but the weight drops off with a little extra drop by Tuesday. I've tried going with out spike days for a couple of weeks and believe it or not ..it caused me to plateau instead....so back to my spike days it is!!....with pleasure!:drinker:

niknik43

Once a week - like a religion! :drinker:

HAHAHA! I love it!

amandarusco

maybe I should try this....I also feel this could possibly help keep u away from temptation the rest of the week.

tassles

How do you do your spike day? Do you have one large meal or spread it over the day? About how many calories do you go over? I want to try this...just curious how it worked.

well my spike day is probably more of a cheat meal ..... i'll eat well the rest of the day but really enjoy a dinner out. i'll go over anywhere between 200 to 400 calories.

Nigel99

No "spike" day here. I don't think I've ever gone over my cals (though I usually try to get at least somewhat close). Not that I think it is terrible if you go over - just that I haven't done that or needed to jolt my weight loss in that way. I'm sure that it is a big help for a lot of folks, however.

marniebigelow

This is a very interesting thread...I never would have thought that a cheat day could actually improve your weight loss.
My fear especaillt just starting again is that I will quickly relapse in to old habits or just habits I havn't gotten out of my system yet How do you guys control yourselves?

ChassityGetsFit

I like this idea! I often feel really hungry at the end of the day so maybe having a spike day (eating healthy) might help me in knowing that on that day I can eat a little more! I was once on Weight Watchers and they allow you a weekly allowance on top of your daily allowance, so with that in mind, I don't mind if I go over my daily calories!!!

_CowgirlUp_

This is all new to me. Very intriguing to say the least. I hope more people will post with their thoughts and input. I'd love to not feel guilty for going out to eat on the weekend or to the movies for some sinful popcorn!

So, how does this work? What's the physiological reasons for doing this? How does doing this "trick" your body from hitting a plateau?

chrisdavey

How do you do your spike day? Do you have one large meal or spread it over the day? About how many calories do you go over? I want to try this...just curious how it worked.

well my spike day is probably more of a cheat meal ..... i'll eat well the rest of the day but really enjoy a dinner out. i'll go over anywhere between 200 to 400 calories.

If that is all you go over (your regular cal deficit) by then I wouldn't call that a spike. That would just be getting back to a maintenance level if you were set at 1lb loss per week.

I have seen people (friends on here) hit 5000+ on a spike/cheat day where regular is 2000ish.

The cheat day is a huge part of the slow carb diet from 4 hour body book which there is a whole thread on here about. For anyone after more info, go check out that thread

Macacadopai

I do spike days, still eat healthy but go over my calorie intake levels. It work really well for me

zoink66

I have a cheat day once a week, usually at the weekend, mostly because I just want to go out and eat and drink! I'll sometimes try and save up calories from that day (eat fewer calories for breakfast and lunch), but I'll still end up being maybe 500-800 over my daily goal (mostly because of booze! :laugh: :laugh:). Sometimes the weekends are a little lax for me as well, so in addition to my cheat day, I'll also have one day where I'm maybe 200-300 cals over my goal. The rest of my days I'm right at my target.

I've been losing about 1/2 to 1k a week this way (with exercise too!) and I'm 7k from my goal weight.

StaceG1986

I don't do this regularly, but on Valentines Day I did go over by a fair amount (600), around this time I had reached a plateau and was either gaining or maintaining, well I weighed in the next day and had lost nearly 2lbs! That was after caesar salad, steak, cheesecake, wine and Baileys! So I wouldn't make a habit of it, but if I'm struggling then I may do it again! :laugh:

MsChevyStang

I tend to have a 'spike' day over the weekend. I try really hard throughout the week to follow within my suggested intake range. I usually end up being a touch under by the end of the day. On my spike day I may even get a little crazy and have a slice of pizza or have eggs for breakfast instead of egg whites. I decided to do this after reading a few articles by several college/university health and obesity centers. If you google "Calorie Shifting" you will find some of the articles and find a whole diet plan dedicated strictly to calorie shifting. I dont follow the CS diet plan but I do understand and agree with the medical centers on the research.
Simply put they say your body will adjust to your diet/caloric intake levels if you do/eat the same thing day after day. Your body's metabolism will adjust (slow) to the level it needs to for you to maintain your weight at the level of calories you are providing it. By having a cheat/spike day, you are increasing your calorie rate on that day and keeping your body from adjusting to your low calorie lifestyle, therefore keeping your body from lowering its metabolism to maintain your body at a 1200 calorie diet. Its not a new concept, there are research studies that go back into the 1980s but its resurfaced and has become a popular option again.

BrianJLamb

This is a very interesting thread...I never would have thought that a cheat day could actually improve your weight loss.
My fear especaillt just starting again is that I will quickly relapse in to old habits or just habits I havn't gotten out of my system yet How do you guys control yourselves?

Marnie, I feel like a free or spike day actually helps me to control myself. It is like raising a kid with too many restrictions. At some point, when the kid feels like everything is pointless because he will never get what he wants, he rebels and does everything he wants and more. Eventually, he winds up doing stupid things completely out of character that you would never expect and it becomes harder to reinforce the correct values. If I don't give myself a controlled outlet, then I lose motivation and at some point I become more likely to binge. That binge feels like a disappointment or failure, like I let my parents down, and rather than face the humiliation or shame that comes along with failing and admitting I was wrong, I would prefer to keep doing wrong. If I tell myself that these things are alright, then I keep stride for longer, maintaining healthy eating habits for 6 out of 7 days. That 7th day is not a failure, it is a permitted day off. I appreciate the downtime and revel in it and because I have established healthy patterns, as time progresses those healthy days become easier and easier, eventually becoming habit and nature.

ejha77

I do, because you have to have a life, don't you? I know I won't stick to 1200 calories a day for the foreseeable future unless I know there's some wiggle room on special occasions, etc. I tend to do one spike day a week. The stupid thing is that I feel a bit sick when it comes to filling in my diary on here afterwards. I want to lie to myself, kind of. Does anybody else do that :ohwell:?

nibbynoo

i must admit i have been doing this without realising and feeling guilty about it!
i think it may have started to get me off of my plateau though and people have started noticing.
sundays are the worst day for me! (usually hungover!) i relax and feel hungry every couple hours! its a nightmare!

will adopt the spike day properly now though!

thanks guys, i feel enlightened!

csgsurveyor

No "Spike" day for me. Sodas and italian are like a drug, I try it once and I will be hooked again. I stay to about 150 to 200 calories within my goal each day. Sometimes over sometimes under. I usually go over when the portion size is bigger than it should be, but darn it, sometimes it is just too good to not have more. I am losing weight without the spike, and I hope it continues.

KKOLB1

I've had 2 kids & this is the third time I've had to lose a few lbs. Before my body would get used to my daily calories day in & day out & it'd hit a plateau & not lose for a couple weeks. When I have a spike day in there it made my body think, well finally, something different! I used to do '150 calorie days' also, where I'd eat bkfst, snack, lunch & snack, each under 150 calories & then eat a sensable dinner. i did that 3x a week all diff. days, never the same to help jolt the weight loss.

This is all new to me. Very intriguing to say the least. I hope more people will post with their thoughts and input. I'd love to not feel guilty for going out to eat on the weekend or to the movies for some sinful popcorn!

So, how does this work? What's the physiological reasons for doing this? How does doing this "trick" your body from hitting a plateau?

chrisdavey

Coincidentally, this just came up today.
http://www.t-nation.com/strength-training-topics/517

My New View On Cheat Days
by Christian Thibaudeau - 03/09/2011
My friend, bodyweight training expert Adam Steer, and I were discussing dieting this morning. We're both similar in that we are binge eaters who easily fall into the "crap eating party" bad habit. We came to the conclusion that for most people having a cheat day during the week is a bad idea.

BTW, by "cheat" I mean eating crap that is very dense in calories (fast food, pastries, donuts, candy, etc.).

The logic behind cheat days is as follow:

1. They provide a psychological break from a week of blend eating and disciplined dieting.

2. They give you a metabolic boost and prevents fat loss stagnation

Today 02:45
3. They help palliate for the decrease in leptin levels when dieting

However cheat days also have their downsides:

1. They keep you yearning for junk food. After a cheat day I will crave "cheat food" for 2-3 days. This actually makes the whole dieting process much harder to stick to.

2. You CAN screw up one week of dieting by overbinging for one day, regardless of what some people say. And when you have a cheat day, it is easy to do too much.

And if we look at the "benefits" from the cheat day. You can get them simply by having more "diet" food.

For example, one of of the benefits is the psychological relief. Well, if that "relief" leads to yearning for junk for days and makes he week hellish, then is it really worth it?

And the metabolic "boost" (more like prevention of the metabolic slowdown) is mostly dependent on carbs intake (they are required for the conversion of T4 to T3). So you can have the same effect from increase carbs intake from oatmeal, rice or yams for example.

So the conclusion we came to is that it is a better strategy to stick to your diet every day knowing full well that you are bound to have a "dietary incident" here and there.

Include higher carb days if needed, but avoid unnecessary junk.

As John Berardi once said, as long as you are perfect 90% of the time, you'll get all the results. So try to stick to your clean diet as much as you can, don't plan specific cheats but accept that once in a while you will have a little something here and there.

KKOLB1

it's not necessarily eating 'crap' just more calories to give an extra boost. As some people said they do cheat days where they don't limit themselves & have whatever they want or some eat extra calories but make healthier choices.

Coincidentally, this just came up today.
http://www.t-nation.com/strength-training-topics/517

My New View On Cheat Days
by Christian Thibaudeau - 03/09/2011
My friend, bodyweight training expert Adam Steer, and I were discussing dieting this morning. We're both similar in that we are binge eaters who easily fall into the "crap eating party" bad habit. We came to the conclusion that for most people having a cheat day during the week is a bad idea.

BTW, by "cheat" I mean eating crap that is very dense in calories (fast food, pastries, donuts, candy, etc.).

The logic behind cheat days is as follow:

1. They provide a psychological break from a week of blend eating and disciplined dieting.

2. They give you a metabolic boost and prevents fat loss stagnation

Today 02:45
3. They help palliate for the decrease in leptin levels when dieting

However cheat days also have their downsides:

1. They keep you yearning for junk food. After a cheat day I will crave "cheat food" for 2-3 days. This actually makes the whole dieting process much harder to stick to.

2. You CAN screw up one week of dieting by overbinging for one day, regardless of what some people say. And when you have a cheat day, it is easy to do too much.

And if we look at the "benefits" from the cheat day. You can get them simply by having more "diet" food.

For example, one of of the benefits is the psychological relief. Well, if that "relief" leads to yearning for junk for days and makes he week hellish, then is it really worth it?

And the metabolic "boost" (more like prevention of the metabolic slowdown) is mostly dependent on carbs intake (they are required for the conversion of T4 to T3). So you can have the same effect from increase carbs intake from oatmeal, rice or yams for example.

So the conclusion we came to is that it is a better strategy to stick to your diet every day knowing full well that you are bound to have a "dietary incident" here and there.

Include higher carb days if needed, but avoid unnecessary junk.

As John Berardi once said, as long as you are perfect 90% of the time, you'll get all the results. So try to stick to your clean diet as much as you can, don't plan specific cheats but accept that once in a while you will have a little something here and there.