Splurging

romanhokie

Okay, so I've been here since the 1st of the month. Lost 9 lbs since then (started at 240). My allowable net is 1430 calories a day. Generally I've been coming in at less than 1300. I just updated my goal so that MFP would recalculate my allowable net calories.

Anyway, how often do folks splurge with calories more than their allowable? What does that splurge look like? Should I avoid it at all costs or have a "splurge" day on the weekend? Like, tonight. 17oz (precooked weight) of steak (11oz cooked). Baked fries. Cucumbers. 2 pints of cola. (my normal day is 6-8oz of cola).

Does the splurge help to keep folks sane?

What say you?

khrys1

I have a splurge day at least once a week, and still lose 1-2 pounds a week. I think it keeps your body's metabolism guessing, and keeps it from slowing down. One day, I was over by 3000 calories (not recommended), but I think it shocked my body for that week. Good luck to you!

melodyg

I try to stay under or at my recommended calories... that being said, while I don't usually go out of my way to eat more I don't get stressed out if it happens every once in a while that I am WAY over. (And by every once in a while I mean I've probably been over maintenance calories 2-3 times in the past 10 months of being on MFP) This is a lifestyle change for me... and that is part of life. What is important is that those splurge days don't become part of the every day (or even every week) routine.

michlingle

I say save up for it. Or do some extra excercise. If we have to have a deficit of 3500 cals per week in order to lose a pound, then it's all down to the numbers. I guess if you're under 1300 for 7 days in a row, that would entitle you to about a 1000 calorie splurge after day 7.

afteil

IMO everything is OK in moderation. Like, obv you wouldnt eat an 11 oz steak every day of the week, nor would you (hopefully) drink a qt of soda. But, if you decide 'im never going to touch this stuff again' then you might be setting yourself up for failure. So eating that way once every other week or once a week i think isnt too bad, although I would be trying to wean down the portion sizes a little (11 oz is almost 3 portions of steak lol). I wouldnt be as concerned about the weight loss if you have eaten healthy the rest of the week, but more of the effect that that could be having on your health in general.

romanhokie

Okay, so I just put my calorie history on a spreadsheet. I've not done as well as I thought. <sigh>

ITTYbitty04

I try to eat things i enjoy every day, but in moderation! if i want some cookies(having 3 oreo's today!) I have cookies. My favorite snack food is trail mix with nuts, m&m's, raisins and yogurt covered peanuts and if i'm not careful I can eat at least 700 calories in one sitting! I have learned to pay attention to the servings. I also try to increase my exercise for the day if i know i will go a little over. The more exercise you do the more calories MFP allows. I never eat all of my extra calories that they add from my exercise because i feel like then im overeating, especially if im not feeling hungry.

It will take you a little while to figure out what works best for you. Try it one way this week and then switch it the next week if you don't see the results you want.

good luck and hang in there. feel free to look at my food and exercise diary if you think it will help!

romanhokie

Thank you, ladies. I'm going to open up my diary for your review and comment.

carguy42503

Once a week I have a cheat day... or more preferable, a cheat meal. I pretty much eat whatever I want for that meal. However, I still try to stay under my break even or "maintenance" calories for the day so I don't jeopardize the work I have done during the rest of the week.

romanhokie

Okay... help me out, please. What is the difference between "break even" and "maintenance" calories? I'm guessing one of them is to maintain my shape (round) while the other one is per my 2#/week calculation?

callipygianchronicle

I have seen a couple of approaches to this. Some people have a weekly splurge day where they eat whatever they want and may choose to take that day off from logging. Some people purposely consume less than their allotted day and then have a spike day each week, where they may consume twice as many calories as normal, but they do so with healthy foods (just larger quantities). Others purposely “zig-zag” their calories up and down throughout the week in order to defeat plateaus or trick their metabolism. I prefer to work in high calorie days into my plan by doing additional exercise or staying low on calories for a few days prior to the day I know I’m going to be eating extra. Regularly taking a day off would not work for me, because I feel like I am on this for life. But, everyone is different and some people really need these built in breaks in order to stick with their plan.

hedleyrocks247

Here's a link to a site that will give you "Zig Zag" Calorie totals - to keep your body guessing! I personally think a splurge day is a good thing! We're only human and if this is going to be a life long commitment, there are going to be days when you eat more and days your going to eat less!

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

pandafoo

for myself, i don't really believe in having an entire day to splurge on calories. it'd be too tempting for me to destroy a week's worth of healthy eating and exercising on an entire splurge day. special occasions are the exception, and then i might plan for it by eating less or working out more during the days leading up to it. i do allow myself a treat every day tho, because i'm not a fan of deprivation! so i will portion out some dark chocolate pieces, eat a piece of mochi ice cream, etc. but i still stay under my calories.

one approach i've heard about splurging which i think is a fantastic idea is to sub what you might normally eat on a healthy day, with unhealthy stuff that's around the same number of calories. so that would mean enjoying 2 fried chicken pieces instead of the typical grilled chicken breast - this way you still enjoy the yummy taste without going over in calories.

but each person has their own philosophy about this, and i'm sure you'll find something that agrees with you!

melodyg

A couple of food diary ideas from looking through the last week or so...

1) Do you have your settings set for losing 2 pounds a week? Just curious because I *know* I am shorter than you with about the same amount left to lose... and a woman... which makes my calorie allowance *much* lower than yours. I'm eating my BMR right now (1540) and still losing at least a pound a week. I'm just wondering if increasing your calories some (and making healthy choices with those extra calories) would make this easier for you and you would still lose about the same amount of weight. I know I've always heard that the minimum for most men is 1800.

2) I'm sure you don't want to hear this.. but try to cut back or eliminate the soda! It has no nutrition and takes up a lot of calories, especially when you already have restricted your calories quite a bit. You can eat a lot of fruit & veggies or even low-fat meats/dairy for 200 calories...

romanhokie

melodyg, thanks for the note. Yes, I have it set to 2# a week. That's a reduction in 7000 calories (assuming my understanding is correct) per week from my maintainance. 1430, I think, a day. I think calorie allowance is based on the current weight. I actually adjusted my "starting weight" on the "goal" tab and it calculated from 1520 down to 1430 with my first 9 pounds of weight loss. I don't know if MFP calculates that automatically or what. Just like, at 230, I burn more calories walking a mile than someone else at 150. Work = force times distance. :-)

Cutting down on soda. Yeah. I have - immensely. I'm not a coffee drinker and generally have some soda in the morning. On weekends, it's worse. I'm down from an average of 4-5 cans a day. The 32oz I had yesterday wasn't so hot, though.

Fruits. Yeah, not so much. Never liked fruit. Ever. My wife says I'm 5 years old. Veggies, 2-4 oz, typically. And, yes, KFC Original seems to be actually one of my healthier lunch options. Well, over the subs - as far as calories go, anyway. And who knew that Lemonade was worse for me than Pepsi (calories only)? I'm doing water with most meals.

This is good. Helpful. I just need to take it from my head to my heart now and act on it.

Thank you.