Do you record your eating on your free day?

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ZoeLifts
ZoeLifts Posts: 10,347 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey all!
If you are on a particular diet like mine where you get one free day (either a week, or a month or whenever) to eat whatever you want, are you recording that in mfp, or do you leave it blank because you would rather not know, since it is a free day? Just wondering. I know it may be a personal preference, but I was also wondering if there might be some sort of hidden benefit that I am not seeing.

Thanks! :flowerforyou:
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Replies

  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,311 Member
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    I log everything, even on the days I go over. I don't have totally free days as I know I could easily blow a whole week's good work in one meal!
  • Sh1tsRainbows
    Sh1tsRainbows Posts: 1,227 Member
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    no free days...i log EVERYTHING
  • julielynnc
    julielynnc Posts: 14
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    I log everything. It helps reign me in a little, even on a 'free day'.
  • ZoeLifts
    ZoeLifts Posts: 10,347 Member
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    Well, I am on the Body for life/Eating for life plan, so it insists you do one free day a week. The thinking is that with that free day, 2 things happen: 1) you remind yourself what you used to feel like when you ate that sort of junk all of the time 2) you are telling your body "hey, I'm not starving here, see it's all ok, you can go ahead and release those fat stores!"

    It really helps me to know that if I have cravings during the week, I can save it for that day, or if there is a special event I can plan that day to be free so I don't feel guilty. And I actually have been finding that I don't eat as much because I get full much quicker than I used to, so then I go back to eating the right stuff the very next day.
  • Gennawest
    Gennawest Posts: 171
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    log everything. even though my free days are not really free because my mind is telling me "you shouldnt eat that!... dont you know how much sodium you are taking in? you are going to be super upset at yourself when you weigh in! nothing tastes as good as skinny feels!...."
  • nerdyandilikeit
    nerdyandilikeit Posts: 2,185 Member
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    i log everything, but i do have Fun Friday every week, where my roomie and i have a not so healthy meal for dinner (something we've been craving) and don't worry about going over just that night. we don't stuff ourselves, but there are some definite empty calories involved :) it keeps our sanity, but logging it helps us keep from going too overboard.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
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    There are no free days on MFP. You log the good and the bad. That's how the program works.
  • getitoffhord
    getitoffhord Posts: 21
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    As long as you are not eating a ton of food, I have always found a free day to be helpful. Our bodies get used to what we are doing, so one day a week where you eat a little extra will shock our system & keep it thinking. Regardless, always journal no matter what. :)
  • whateverdamnit
    whateverdamnit Posts: 130
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    I don't log cheat days. :)
  • talysshade
    talysshade Posts: 273 Member
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    To me it sounds like that wouldn't work. I take no free days, on top of that i've noticed that now i've started eating less and less junk, i'm disgusted by the big portions i used to eat, i wouldn't even want to do that one day!

    As for those cravings, i just fit them in in my daily schedule, so i can have a little bit of a snack every day. So i don't have to crave them as bad ever and have no days where i blow an entire week of losing.

    So yes, i log everything, every day. By not having a too big deficit, my body won't go into starvation mode anyway.
  • ladybg81
    ladybg81 Posts: 1,553 Member
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    I generally do. I feel like it keeps me accountable.

    If I am really wanting something particular that is not as healthy as it should be, I fit it in to my daily calorie intake.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,248 Member
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    It depends. If I'm eating fairly normal meals at home or even at a restaurant, I'll log them.

    If it's a day like tomorrow - my niece's bridal shower - there's no way I'm going to remember or log every little thing. Instead of a wishing well, she's asking guests to bring a bottle of wine, so it'll be a wine tasting and munchie food event. I'm going to have fun, not to think, "Well, I had one piece of buffalo chicken wrap, four cherry tomatoes, a meatball, a 2x3 inch slice of lasagna, and three baby carrots with ranch dip... I wonder if that's fat free, low fat or regular?! Ooh, and I better remember how many chocolate covered strawberries, cookies, and how big that slice of cake was."

    Oh, hell yeah, I'm going to BINGE tomorrow! And enjoy every minute of it. :smile: And in the grand scheme of things... it's not going to make a difference. It's just a day. Even if I go over by 3500 calories and legitimately gain a pound, big whoop. So it might take me one or two weeks longer to reach my ultimate goal. It'll be worth it.

    As much as I love MPF and the friends I've made, I don't want to have to log calories the rest of my life.
  • heatherlh83
    heatherlh83 Posts: 76 Member
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    Well, I am on the Body for life/Eating for life plan, so it insists you do one free day a week. The thinking is that with that free day, 2 things happen: 1) you remind yourself what you used to feel like when you ate that sort of junk all of the time 2) you are telling your body "hey, I'm not starving here, see it's all ok, you can go ahead and release those fat stores!"

    It really helps me to know that if I have cravings during the week, I can save it for that day, or if there is a special event I can plan that day to be free so I don't feel guilty. And I actually have been finding that I don't eat as much because I get full much quicker than I used to, so then I go back to eating the right stuff the very next day.

    I'm not on that plan but I do the exact same thing, for the exact same reason and it works for me! I use Saturday as my day "off". Sometimes I log everything, sometimes I don't. It depends on how busy my weekend is.
  • ashleighasbury
    ashleighasbury Posts: 25
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    even when i dont eat the greatest, i log everything...becuase it is addicting!!! lol
  • happyhappyjoy72
    happyhappyjoy72 Posts: 71
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    log everything. even though my free days are not really free because my mind is telling me "you shouldnt eat that!... dont you know how much sodium you are taking in? you are going to be super upset at yourself when you weigh in! nothing tastes as good as skinny feels!...."
    LMAO!! Love it!!!
  • karenjoy
    karenjoy Posts: 1,841 Member
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    don't have free days, don't understand the concept, but even on days when I eat out or its a day I go over for what ever reason I LOG....LOG EVERYTHING, it is the thing that helps you the most to understand what this is all about x
  • bossymom
    bossymom Posts: 41 Member
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    I know the Body for Life insists on one free day per week. I don't do it that often, but I do allow myself a "cheat day" every 3 weeks or so. I do not log on that day. If the point of logging is to be aware of your calorie intake without going over, and you're on a cheat day where you KNOW you're going over....then what's the point of logging? If you're going to cheat, then ENJOY it, and eat well the next day. Stop the guilt, people! Love yourself! :)
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,015 Member
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    Bite it, write it.






    It's good to be able to look back at trends. And I think it helps make the day "Free" but not free-for-all-day. On these days I usually have some sugar and go over by less than 500 cals.
  • AMBlass
    AMBlass Posts: 161
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    I log nearly everything. There have been some meals at restaurants that I haven't been able to log because they are not chains and so they aren't in the system. But I do my best. Sometimes I just guess and say "that meal was probably 900" and so I try to rein myself in the next day and make sure to stay really close to my limit. Obviously no one is going to be perfect every day! But I would not like to get in the habit of having regular cheat days. I find it a lot more satisfactory to build in my treats, like Starbucks frappuccinos, dark chocolate and cupcakes into my day-to-day meal plan. That way I never feel deprived and I'm less likely to want to binge on a cheat day.
  • ZoeLifts
    ZoeLifts Posts: 10,347 Member
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    Thanks for your input, guys! I think I am going to go with not logging those days. I agree with a few of you that have said you don't want to tie yourself to the MFP for the rest of your life and logging forever. I really feel like this gives me a visual of my eating that helps me to keep it where it needs to be. If I am going to be making a lifestyle change, which is my goal, I will one day be able to recognize when I am going to go over or mess up my eating for that day after so much consistency for a long period of time.

    The free day thing is, I guess, a hot topic. I find it necessary, almost essential, because I cannot imagine eating what I am eating on my diet days for the rest of my life without ever taking to a day to celebrate occasionally without feeling guilty and that is what my free day is, a guilt free day. So that is probably my biggest deciding factor for not recording it.

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