Who else has a “Free Day”?

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  • ma66ie72
    ma66ie72 Posts: 75 Member
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    I just realized that tomorrow will be the first time I log what I eat on my free day in my food diary. This changes things. Now I don’t feel I can eat whatever I choose with wild abandon...

    Damn you, Food Diary... damn you, Accountability!

    "Technically", you shouldn't worry about logging the free day, but we all know, it's hard to not-log once you have a good trend going. Just have fun with it. I get a weird sense of accomplishment from logging a massive free day sometimes. (other times, i don't bother logging it).

    Let the doubters doubt, and keep on doing your thing :)

    Thanks. You don’t feel like you’re cheating if you don’t log?
  • ma66ie72
    ma66ie72 Posts: 75 Member
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    If you do a no/low carb diet then carb load on cheat days you'll actually catch a buzz...carb rage!


    No kidding? I am on low carb ( I guess) no refined sugars, no refined flours, I eat Ezekiel bread occasionally, no potatoes, no rice. Hmm, tell me more of the carb buzz/ rage because usually I just get extra sleepy .. Kinda like Kevin James after he eats a Whopper....
  • JoelleMonique
    JoelleMonique Posts: 107
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    Sushi is not that bad if you can control how much of it you eat. Opt for half a pizza with mostly veg toppings and ask for half the cheese. You wont even know the difference.
  • ma66ie72
    ma66ie72 Posts: 75 Member
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    Thanks, Joelle... I’m actually getting better with the control part...that includes sushi and pizza. I guess it all comes with making better choices the rest of the time. I notice that I just can’t pack it away like I did even two weeks ago! Our sushi bill has gone down considerably.
  • Macka123
    Macka123 Posts: 45
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    I am reading a Timothy Ferrise's book---A 4 hour Body---and he definitely encourages people to have a cheat day once a week, every week and they still will be able to lose weight.
    I am going to have a go at this diet and will see. Will keep you posted..
  • ma66ie72
    ma66ie72 Posts: 75 Member
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    Please do, Macka123. Good Luck!
  • mowu
    mowu Posts: 245 Member
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    I have a free day every week and it's Saturday- for the following reasons:

    - It acts like a re-feed day and will in my experience keep my metabolism revved up (your mileage may vary depending on how your motor functions)

    - It helps me to NOT do something stupid (no - don't eat the pint of Ben & Jerrys today....wait 'till saturday - and come saturday I find I don't actually want/need the stuff anyway)

    - It prepares me for when I am done losing weight and just need to maintain (Saturdays are usually when we lose control anyways due to friends/family dinners and I don't want to be a social hermit)

    - As already mentioned this is a marathon not a sprint, to "Undo" the good I've done over a week would mean that I should consume at least 3500 calories more on free day than on another day (which means I should consume 5400 calories on that day and do nothing but lie on the couch.....not gonna happen).

    But while I do have the day free I also log my calories - being accountable for what I do makes me think twice about getting that second beer....eating the whole bag of potato chips......eating the whole pint of ice cream.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
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    I guess certain holidays fall into a 'free day'. I do keep certain things out of my diet most of the time right now, but that is because they are still too much of an issue for me to stop eating. I do think that during certain parts of your diet, it is beneficial to limit certain foods, but long term, you should strive to fit in your loves as part of your balanced diet. You seem to be taking the 'free' day to openly here. Have a reasonable portion size of the foods you love. If you eat 6000 calories on your 'free' day, you just ruined everything you worked hard for.
  • Qarol
    Qarol Posts: 6,171 Member
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    I don't know if I'd recommend it every week. That's kind of frequent. Maybe limit yourself to one cheat day once or twice a month. Put it on the calendar and look forward to it. I don't understand cheat meals. If it puts you over in calories for the whole day, then that's a cheat day, even though there was only one bad meal in there. If you're NOT over in calories for the day from that cheat meal, then you really didn't cheat at all. So for me, there are only cheat days.
  • fatgirlslove
    fatgirlslove Posts: 614 Member
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    I couldn't trust myself with a free day...it would turn into a free week! :laugh:
  • ladybarometer
    ladybarometer Posts: 205 Member
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    I just don't think scheduling days will work. You could have your free day, go out later, and end up having another and another. I recommend feeding your cravings and using portion control to eat what you want. Don't deprive yourself, it's not sustainable.
  • chicken_adobo
    chicken_adobo Posts: 2
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    calories in < calories out = weight loss; the lady that gave the first reply gave you the best answer.

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