Cheat/Free days, exercise calories & losing lbs

kelika71

I'm not going to post the stuff that's been posted numerous times on here. I've talked to a few people on here that I consider very knowledgeable and have done their research (along with me) to get results. If need be, take a look at the stickies for the reasons and such.

This is MY experience and I realize everyone is different. Lately, this stuff has become quite redundant and so many are up against that wall called a plateau. Some are questioning how to bust through it and others are curiously questioning if we're supposed to eat those exercise calories.

My plateau/slow moving scale was really becoming a thorn in my side since January. I was desperate to try anything to get things moving again. I did what everyone said: changing foods around, changing up workouts, working out more or less, move away from the scale and use a tape measure, etc. Sure, it works to a degree. The scale and measure moved a little bit.

What I believe really worked for me:

I did this a few weeks ago and by some fluke, I'd lost 1.8 lbs. I had my cheat/free day on Saturday, but logged everything. Worked out like mad because I felt guilty of all those calories on my cheat day. I ate some of my exercise calories, but cautiously. It didn't seem right. It didn't seem logical. Why workout only to consume those, right?!

The following week, things came almost to a screeching halt again because I limited my cheat day and wasn't consuming much of my exercise calories. (Hard to break habits.) I'll be the first to say, when I started here, I didn't advocate eating those extra calories. I was losing and losing big back then. Due to being severely overweight, I could get away without those extra calories.

However, over time, I slowed things down by NOT eating them. That was a HUGE mistake!

I'm turning in a loss today!! A real loss!! How I did it: I started listening to those people who really do know what they're talking about on here. By that, I mean the ones that have done their actual homework!! You want success?? STOP LISTENING TO NEWBIES WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT!! I've seen too many times newbies telling others it's ok to not eat those calories. Yeah, I was one of them...I wasn't telling others not to eat them, though.

The first week I really started eating more, I gained 1 lb. Trust me, people, 1 lb. isn't going to kill ya!! Yeah, it's heartbreaking but stick with it. Keep working out and eating those calories. The following week, there was no loss, but I had lost inches with the tape measure. This week, I'm turning in a 2 lb. loss!! It does work, if you do the right thing.

This past Saturday, I went ALL OUT cheating!! I had chicken wings late Friday night and Sunday night. Saturday, I had an 8 inch sub from Penn Station, fries and ketchup. I had a kiddie cone from DQ. I had beer battered fish and more fries. I had a Dove dark chocolate bar...the WHOLE thing!! I probably had other things, but I didn't log one bit of it. I splurged and enjoyed it!! From the high sodium in all that, I gained 12 lbs from water retention. Within 3 days, it was gone (thanks to green tea & water). 2 days later, I'm down 2 lbs. I worked out...even took a day off from my normal 6 days working out. I ate 1/2-3/4's of my exercise calories...sometimes almost all!

In other words, that cheat day/free day...whatever ya want to call it...is sometimes NEEDED to shock your body and add those extra calories. During the week, when you're working out...EAT those calories!! You've earned them!! You wouldn't go to your job and work for nothing, would you? You earned the money, take it!!

That's how you bust a plateau and move the scale (at least, for me)!!

Good luck!!

sarahs440

well written. thanks. and great job!! 95 pounds is amazing!!!

allystone

Thanks for posting this, I got on the scale today to a no-weight loss. I haven't lost anything since last week, and I haven't been eating my excercised calories, now i'm going to..and we shall see how this works out. THANKS!

hpsnickers1

Great great post!!

I've been posting this everywhere because I love how it's explained:

http://www.hussmanfitness.org/html/TPAdaptation.html

The law of unintended consequences
Your body is an amazing feedback system aimed at balance and survival. Humans are at the top of the food chain because they are able to adapt to their environment. Every action produces a reaction. Every change in its environment triggers a survival response. It's important to keep that in mind when you plan your fitness program. If you treat your body as an enemy to be conquered, you'll produce unintended results.

For example, if you severely cut off the supply of food to your body, it will defend itself by slowing down its metabolism to survive starvation. The body will shed muscle mass the same way that you would throw cargo from a plane that was low on fuel, and it will reduce its thyroid activity to conserve energy. The body will also actually defend its fat stores. In anorexia, muscle loss can be so profound that fat as a percentage of body weight actually rises. Extreme carbohydrate restriction also causes muscle loss, dehydration, and slower metabolism, which is why even successful Atkins dieters can have a significant rebound in weight after they stop the diet (don't worry – the advice on this site will prevent that from happening).

As another example, if you put your body under stress through overexertion and lack of sleep, it will respond by slowing down, reducing muscle growth, and increasing your appetite for junk food, carbohydrates and fat. If you feed your body excessive amounts of sugar and quickly digested carbohydrates, and it will shut off its ability to burn fat until those sugars are taken out of the bloodstream.

This website will show you how to work with your body to quickly produce the changes you want. In order to do that, you need to take actions that push your body to adapt – to build strength, burn fat, and increase fitness. You need a training program, not an exercise routine. You need a nutrition plan, not a diet. You need a challenge, not a few good habits you usually try to follow except when you don't.

Setting the right goal
John Dewey once said that a problem well-stated is half-solved. If you want to reach your goal, you have to define it correctly. See, a lot of people say “I want to lose weight.” Well, if losing weight is your goal, go on a no-carb diet. You'll lose a lot of weight – some of it will be fat, a lot of it will be water, and a dangerous amount will be muscle tissue. You'll lose weight quickly, but you'll slow your metabolism and gain fat more quickly once you go off the diet. Trust me on this. I've been there, done that.

The problem is that you've set the wrong goal. If you want to look better, have more energy and enjoy better health, the goal is not simply to “lose weight.” The goal is to improve your fitness level and body composition. That means losing fat, improving your aerobic capacity, training your strength and defending your muscle tissue. You can't do that with a no-carb diet. You will do it using the approach you'll learn on this website. Trust me on this one too. I know what it's like to feel fat, tired and helplessly out of shape. The whole point of this site is to help others avoid that, by sharing lessons that I had to learn the hard way.

Severe calorie restrictions cause more muscle loss than fat and muscle is what makes our metabolism. You lose weight fast but mostly muscle and gain it back even quicker.

And as you get smaller those exercise calories become even more important.

rockabillydarlin

Thank you for posting this! I hadn't planned on having a "cheat" day today but I guess I have -- I went out to lunch and had quite a large sub. I'm drinking a chai as we speak, and tonight I'm having steak for dinner. I'm planning on going to the gym later to do my Cto5K work out but other than that, I'm not planning on doing a crazy strenuous work out. I feel extremely full and gross but am planning on getting on track come tomorrow. So this post really came at the perfect time!

stenochick0417

I've been reading a lot about this lately, and this may sound like a dumb question, but when you talk about eating your exercise calories, are you talking about eating the calories you gained by exercising? :huh:

For example, I plan on cycling for at least an hour today. I'm on 1200 cal. per day, so say I burn (gain? earn?) 500 calories by working out, do I need to try to consume at least some of those calories back? It would make sense as far as fueling your body goes. And I'm not trying to be dense. I guess the whole dieting mindset is that you burn it off and don't add more to that 1200 cal. you've already accounted for.

jenielee

Great advice! I've had to re-learn how to do diet and exercise. It just didn't seem right to eat that much but after doing zumba, I really needed it. After years of hearing eat 1200 calories if you want to lose weight, I'm consuming closer to 1700 on exercise days and LOSING! I pay close attention to the "net" calories and make sure it's over 1200 everyday. The other major perk, besides seeing the scale numbers go down? Knowing that I really do have to eat candy bar some days. After all, we can't always do healthy calories....where's the fun in that?

MayMaydoesntrun

You don't know how badly I needed to hear that. I am obsessing about EVERYTHING that goes in my mouth and it's getting old, fast. I want some chocolate, I want some cheddar cheese. I want a cold beer! Lookout, Saturday, there will be a new Mary coming at ya! Thanks for posting this. I'm a newbie and I definitely need experienced advice. Congratulations on your successes!

hpsnickers1

I've been reading a lot about this lately, and this may sound like a dumb question, but when you talk about eating your exercise calories, are you talking about eating the calories you gained by exercising? :huh:

For example, I plan on cycling for at least an hour today. I'm on 1200 cal. per day, so say I burn (gain? earn?) 500 calories by working out, do I need to try to consume at least some of those calories back? It would make sense as far as fueling your body goes. And I'm not trying to be dense. I guess the whole dieting mindset is that you burn it off and don't add more to that 1200 cal. you've already accounted for.

The 1200 already contains the deficit. MFP give you a number that is your BMR + your activity level. This is your Maintenance (which is low IMO). Then they give you your calorie goal. You eat 1200 but burn 400 and that leaves you with only 800 for the day which is very low. Focus on your NET calories (on your home page at the top) and keep that above 1200. I switched over to maintenance and sometimes eat above that and I was still losing.

mommynmotion

Thank you so much for this post. I've seen the others, all of them about eating those calories...but could it really be that simple? Eat more? I have been severly restrictive trying to get off the last 10 pounds from my last pregnancy (she is 2.5 years old now). I have even doen the 500 calorie thing...sadest part is that I am a personal trainer...you do crazy things out desperation! Anyway...I am turning over a new leaf and starting a blog about it.

I haven't posted yet, but I will later today http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/mommynmotion . This will be my experiment with the whole exercise calories thing!

I can't wait to see what happens!!!!

kelika71

Thank you all! I forgot to mention, I also bumped up my "activity level" on MFP. Who would've thought I'd be more than sedentary?! Thanks to a couple of really helpful people and their studying and own personal experiences, we found that my level was higher and I wasn't getting enough calories. I'm not saying everyone should bump up their levels. I think looking at other calculators and doing some comparisons will greatly help. Think of it like buying a car. Do you go in and buy the first one? Ok, some do, but still...comparison "shop" and get what fits right for you. You may have to test out some things because everyone is different. Don't fear things if the scale moves up 2-4 lbs. It will come off!! I'm the worst one to say this, but be patient and try to eat more if things aren't moving for you.

I'll also add...that HUGE cheat that I had, I didn't work out that day!! Come Sunday, I did my normal workout routine. I enjoyed those foods and without guilt.

kelika71

I've been reading a lot about this lately, and this may sound like a dumb question, but when you talk about eating your exercise calories, are you talking about eating the calories you gained by exercising? :huh:

For example, I plan on cycling for at least an hour today. I'm on 1200 cal. per day, so say I burn (gain? earn?) 500 calories by working out, do I need to try to consume at least some of those calories back? It would make sense as far as fueling your body goes. And I'm not trying to be dense. I guess the whole dieting mindset is that you burn it off and don't add more to that 1200 cal. you've already accounted for.

I was of this mindset, too. YES, EAT THEM! I know it seems pointless to eat what you just worked off. That's how my mind worked. Eat 1/2-3/4's of those calories. You earned them. You wouldn't throw money away that you earned, right? THat's what you do to those calories if you don't consume them.

stenochick0417

Oh, okay! I get it now after jenilee's post. I just can't see how a person can work out THAT HARD on only 1200 calories and still have the energy to keep going. Now I don't have to. I've been struggling (I've only lost ONE stinking pound) for the past 3 weeks and I've been religiously tracking my food, trying really hard NOT to go over the 1200, no matter what. But I've not been giving my body the re-fueling it needs to recover from a rigorous workout.

Mandakat17

bump

stenochick0417

And congrats on your 95 pound loss! :happy: That's amazing!

kelika71

And congrats on your 95 pound loss! :happy: That's amazing!

Thank you!!

I haven't turned in the 2 lbs. loss yet that I earned. That comes later tonight. hehe

I hope this helps others. I've read so many posts on "eating calories" and so many times, the posts are peppered with numbers that it can get confusing. Trust me, it has for me and I'm a numbers person!! lol

But, this was the "dialed down" version of why people should be eating them, especially if they don't want to hit that wall or have hit it.

Good luck!!

stenochick0417

Thanks everyone for the advice. I appreciate it and it's wonderful to have a support system like this website. . . it's nice to know I'm not alone in this weight-loss journey.

datae

thanks for the tip. If you don't mind me asking, how long did it take you to lose 95lbs

kelika71

thanks for the tip. If you don't mind me asking, how long did it take you to lose 95lbs

March 23, 2010 is when I started logging stuff on MFP. I actually started small changes March 1st, 2010 when I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Having lost my father due to complications of it (scary!!) and my mother due to other health issues, it was time for me to take matters into my hands to not end up on their path of destruction.

katschi

It works for me too and I have to say this is the most successful I've been in a long time.
It's such a relief to know I don't have to starve myself and workout like a nut to get results.

and I love eating so BONUS.

After each and every binge I've had, I've ended up lighter a couple of days later.
So I'm finally giving in to eating heavily some days and no longer call it a binge. There isn't the panic and feeling of deprivation anymore because I know I get to feed myself.
I still stick to mostly non processed foods but I just eat a heck of a lot more of it.
The next day I just go back to eating my calories and all is well.

MFP and the pros around here will be the reason that I finally succeed at losing all of my excess FAT.
I love it here.

Thanks for the post and CONGRATULATIONS!!! You've lost as much as I'd like to lose. :happy:

and hpsnickers1 ... thanks for posting that link and article.

young1726

thanks for the tip. If you don't mind me asking, how long did it take you to lose 95lbs

March 23, 2010 is when I started logging stuff on MFP. I actually started small changes March 1st, 2010 when I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Having lost my father due to complications of it (scary!!) and my mother due to other health issues, it was time for me to take matters into my hands to not end up on their path of destruction.

Just shy of 100 lbs in one year! Not too shabby! Congratulations... I hope you are VERY proud of yourself! Thanks for the great post. I have been using cheat days and eating exercise calories since I started. I have had great success as well! I have had two babies (the oldest is 20 months and the youngest is 7 months) and have lost all the weight I gained with them plus some! Cheat day/exercise calories just makes sense to me. It drives me crazy when (as you say) newbies get on here and say DON'T EAT THEM! Thank you for your great example. Hopefully it will help others understand how to take better care of their bodies!