It ok to have 1' free' day a week?

hails62

What does everyone think of having just one 'free' day a week were its ok to have a take out or chocolate or nice things to eat and not diet??? I find it way to hard dieting 7 days a week, I'm so good 6 days and do plenty exercise so I feel like 1 day were I can eat what I want is acceptable. I don't binge, just have a take out or something. Does anyone else do this? And would it effect weight loss much even though 6 days out of 7 I'm so good?

hroush

I would say one free meal is better or just do everything in moderation. If you are craving chocolate one day, right it into your day.

meerkat70

I think you need to have a look at calorie balance over a whole week, not day by day. If you're broadly in the green, calorifically, then there's no reason not to have a treat, as long as it's not extreme. However, to be honest, I'd still calorie count it.

The other problem I guess I have with the notion of a treat day is that it sets up in your head a psychological sense that the rest of the week is the anti-treat. I'm not sure that's a good mind set to have for your healthy eating?

happysongbird

I do it this way and have lost weight consistently. I think the mind just needs a break from everything for a day. If you've been honest and careful the rest of the week, and aren't binging, like you said, it should be fine.

cm2two

the dreaded saying "its a lifestyle change" is true.

LIVE!!!! you still have tomorrow...stay on track...dont have a day...just have LIFE

vanessaclarkgbr

Totally agree, I always 'plan' to have a day a week with treats, sometimes I use it sometimes I don't. I think it keeps a healthy relationship with food and alcohol - I've lost weight like this now, and before also. :-) I tend to go around 200 calories under a day for this reason (let's face it, my favourite lemon drizzle cake needs this allowance! lol)

milaxx

Everyone has a different approach to things. I don't do free days or cheat days. I have a fairly busy life and eat out frequently. I simply plan those meals into my regular calories and try not to go over. That works better for me.

Driagnor

Agreed with Hroush - it's far better to plan a day where you have a higher calorie meal. Still log it in MFP as per usual, but don't be too concerned if you go a little over your calorie allowance. A full cheat day can undo all the good work that you do for the rest of the week.

The way I look at this, is that it's a lifestyle change. An occasional bad meal isn't going to be that bad, and is sometimes necessary to avoid you falling off the wagon completely, but you should be eating healthily 90% of the time, and ensuring that your bad 10% isn't eating too far into that calorie deficit you built up over the week.

loombeav

I still eat out and enjoy food just like I did before joining MFP. The difference is now I make healthier choices and eat in moderation. But if there is something I really want that isn't great for me, I'll eat a small portion and I limit how often I eat "junk". I generally do have a day a week where I'll have a bad meal choice, but I try not to make the whole day a free for all.
On most days I only eat back enough exercise calories to net 1200, but I also allow myself 1 day where I eat back all my calories.

suzikelley

I like to have one cheat meal a week... it helps keep me sane and it shakes up the metabolism!

taso42_DELETED

Works for me and lots of others.

jupaba

If you see one day a week as free it's going against the idea of food as fuel rather than food as reward. I would suggest allowing yourself what you want at any time but with moderation. For example, if there is pie for dessert have a piece - just have a small piece not a great big piece and then another as a bedtime snack. I truly believe that if we deprive ourselves we will fail - at leas that has been my experience in the past. It's also been my experience that a "free day" can get out of control very easily - at least it has for me in the past.

kmumansky

I read in Bob Greene's Book i think to have one "free" meal not a whole day a week. If it's a whole day it could easily get out of control I think, but a meal seems reasonable in my mind. I know women who do weight watchers and their weigh in day is their "free" day. They weigh in in the morning, then eat poorly every meal the rest of the day because they have a whole week until their next weigh in. Then they wonder why the scale only goes down .3 or .5 of a lb the next week. They actually loose more than that, but it's mostly weight that they gained back from the 1 day of really really really bad eating.

I think you're kinda implying that you'd just like to go out to dinner or get some yummy take out for a meal, I see nothing wrong with that at all! I think it's healthy to NOT limit yourself too much, and that a good cheat meal once in a while is better for you than trying to eat perfect all the time.

Tashry

I totally allow free days. My best friend and I follow the "zig zag" approach - eat great, follow the diet plans for a couple weeks and then allow for a day (or 2!) to eat high cal/high fat for the day. The theory is that it boosts your metabolism and I can't argue with the 27 pounds I have lost, and the 75 she has lost! I find that doing so makes the dieting seem not so bad. When I tell myself that this is my new diet plan for LIFE, I find myself cheating. However, when I know I have a free day in the future, I stay on track so when that day comes I can enjoy (and we ENJOY) without the guilt.

Bottom line is that you need to find what works for you.

Amyding115

I've done it this way in the past and lost weight. I've heard that using food as a treat isn't good for the whole process. Now I allow myself treats but they get counted. This forces me to do them in moderation. In truth, I think it's a personal choice. If you want a free day, take one. For me, I don't make myself wait for my treat day before I treat myself, I just treat myself in moderation and if need be, if i want a treat that bad, I do an extra workout. So just do what works for you.

stevwil41

I do it and I consistently lose weight. I'm pretty healthy Monday through Friday. Saturday is usually a free for all and Sunday I'm fairly healthy but not as strict as M-F.

gfchica

I allow myself one free day a week, as long as I've been good the rest of the time. I see it as rewarding myself for doing a good job and staying on track and it helps to motivate me. You'd be miserable if you never let yourself have the goodies that you sometimes crave.

carajo

I take 1-2 "refeed" days a week, not "cheat" days, because i have made a lifestyle change, i just up basically everything for a day or two...sometimes its not the most healthy option, but i have dropped from my goal weight of 125 to 120 since i started doing this...im a believer:)

mermx

I like to have one cheat meal a week... it helps keep me sane and it shakes up the metabolism!

So true ;-)

Slinkybaz

I would suggest that it depends on what brought you here. I had (and still have some days) a very unhealthy relationship with food. I wouldn't enjoy it, I would just stuff it very quickly in my mouth and continue until I felt so sick I could not do it any longer without being sick. This was a bad cycle I needed to get out of.

I started on my journey with MFP and have been really strict on myself to keep to my calories and succeed. Gradually I have been learning to listen to my body and know when I have had enough way before I feel sick. For this reason, I could not have 1 day a week where I let go or I would not have got out of my bad habits. Ive just had a weekend off and I succeeded Saturday and failed miserably Sunday. It is a continued learning curve for me.

So, figure out what works for you. If you can have a treat day once a week and not eat to excess and make wise choices then that's fantastic - you go for it. If you're not ready for that kind of control yet, then set yourself a future date when you will start and work towards that.

I wish you lots of luck on your journey. Enjoy the ride!

Autumn15

I allow myself to be a little naughty each week on my weigh in day...But it's usually just a little treat or a bigger calorie intake at one meal...I still log everything in and it is usually actually just using up my exercise calories for that day which I don't do the rest of the week I just try to use about 1200 the rest of the week. And if I wanna be really naughty but don't want to beat myself up for it I slip in some extra exercise to try and make up for the extra calorie consumption. You shouldn't make yourself feel like you can never have something again because that can lead to binging and frustration. Slow and steady will get you to your goals.

KeriA

I manage feelings of deprivation as much as I do calories. I grew up with no sweets allowed except for waffles or pancakes on the weekend. I never learned to regulate sweets bcause of that. That is what I am learning now. That is my issue. So yes for some it is a free day a week for others it is managing their calories and exercise to determine when they can afford a tret when they feel they really want it. It maynot always be one day a week that it makes sense to do this. For me I work it out that I can eat more for our family parties when we have them. Ot be able to go out and celebrate a bit when occaisions call for it. It is what works for you best. Yes it should be OK to have take out you enjoy once in a while if it works in your weekly calorie goals. It is more the weekly calorie deficit not the daily one to be aware of as some here have said and actually those higher calories days can have some benefits for weight loss in relation to a weekly calorie deficit. Some treats make it hard to stop and others are easier to have just one. I think you will do better if you find the best way to have things that you want in moderation while maintaining a sane weekly defict that is needed to lose weight. Best wishes on your goals.

silkysly

I don’t diet.., it’s a lifestyle choice for me. (I do eat ice cream, but is the low calorie kind.) It’s your choice in the end.

kyle4jem

I think you need to have a look at calorie balance over a whole week, not day by day. If you're broadly in the green, calorifically, then there's no reason not to have a treat, as long as it's not extreme. However, to be honest, I'd still calorie count it.

The other problem I guess I have with the notion of a treat day is that it sets up in your head a psychological sense that the rest of the week is the anti-treat. I'm not sure that's a good mind set to have for your healthy eating?

I'm with Meerkat on this one

I sometimes think using the word DIET synonymously as a weight-loss plan should be banned.

It gets you into the mindset of deprivation... that you have to give up things you like because they are bad. It's as important to understand how much you are eating as it is what you are eating.

I am a chocoholic... my belly is 100% sugar from biscuits, choc bars, ice creams and puddings.

But while I've given up chocolate for a while, because I made a pledge to a friend that I would do so, I know I will have to reintroduce it into my diet at some stage. We still have sweets in the sweetie basket and there's chocolate in the fridge, magnums in the freezer and biscuits in the cupboard. I think I would crave them more if they weren't there!

Amazingly, I don't crave them AT ALL :happy:

And while I tend to be good during the week, I know at the weekend I'll be down the pub with my friends and I still enjoy a few drinks :drinker: But I understand better that these are calories I don't want to live without, so I just acknowledge them and track them as I do everything else I eat and drink.

lmelangley

Personally, it wouldn't work for me. I prefer to have cheat occasions - times when I acknowledge I'm going to eat too many calories like at family/friend gatherings. But, I'm not denying myself treats during the week. I just try to plan my meals and calories around being able to have something if I want it. I've been doing MFP for 6 months and I've found that the more I track my meals, the less of the treat type food I want.

But, this is what's working for me, and I acknowledge that it might be totally wrong for someone else. Good luck!