How damaging are "naughty" days?

ZakWray

Hi, i'm just looking for some clarification about net calories over weekly goal and specific days where I go over my daily goal.

For example, this week I have hit 1300 calories on Mon-Fri, then yesterday on Saturday I eat approximately 1900 calories and drank a further 2000 calories in alcohol on the evening (3900 for that day in total lol). Today i expect to hit around 1300 again. My daily goal is about 1300, but after my naughty day this is going to put my weekly goal/daily average around the 2000 calories mark, even though I have in taken1300 calories on 6/7 of these days.

So my question is: is this week equal to me in taking 2000 calories per day every day over 7 days? It seems harsh/incorrect that I am on par with a 2000 calories a day diet when I have eaten perfectly all week, only for that to be spoiled by a few hours drinking on the weekend? Is alcohol really that damaging? Or should I not worry about one "naughty" day in a week?

Zak

davidpm

You want to think in terms of net for the week. If you're cutting 1000 per day, that's 6000 for the 6 good days. If your maintenance number is 2300, you went 1600 over that on day 7, so you were still under for the week by 4400 calories. That's closer to losing a pound a week than 2 pounds. Obviously this doesn't take into account what alcohol does and what greasy foods do.

I was way over yesterday too. It's been shown that the stricter that you are, the less likely you'll be to stick to it. When your diet gets in the way of your life, it can be a bad thing. I don't do it every week, but every now and then, I don't consider it a big deal.

kassied09

I am not completely clear on the answer but the general response that I have heard to similar questions is this : Let yourself have a cheat day once a week/ every two weeks. It helps shock your body and keeps you from that plateau. That being said, losing weight is so much easier w/o alcohol- it does seem to add up real fast.
Good luck! Hope this helps.

lostsoul2216

It would depend on the amount of exercise, but 3900 calories would not be good under any formula. You would be gaining weight I would think at around a couple pounds if not more per week.

catwrangler

I find that one cheat day turns into many in a row. If you can keep it together the rest of the week I say try it for a month that way and see what happens.

You are young and male, so your mileage will vary.

Also, isn't 1300 a day kind of low for a young guy?

yeabby

If your goal is to lose a pound a week your calories are set at a 500 cal/day deficit. By going over by 2000+ you have defeated the work you did on 4 days. I'm all for cheating a bit. However, IMO you'd be better off doing a cheat meal rather than a cheat night. 2000 over is significant. a few hundred over is much less so.

vodkaswigger

I have a naughty day every week that involves lots of alchohol and usually naughty food and it hasnt affected my weight loss, i still lose a little each week, sometimes it can confuse the body they say also, dont worry about it too much, we all deserve a treat and if your eating well thru the week and getting in plenty of exercise i dont see how 1 day can make much difference as long as it doesnt become a habit, Plenty of people wont agree with me but thats my opinion anyway x

davidpm

Also, isn't 1300 a day kind of low for a young guy?

It's about average. For a sedentary male, your maintenance number is probably in the 2300-2600 range depending on how big you are. Mine is 1330.

trud72

2300 cals in 1 day OUCH......

i don't have naughty days or if i do i will have like 1/2 peice of cake lol!

and i do agree someone of your age/build should be on a few more cals than 1300...

Jessicaruby

bump

YepLilly

I tend to be "naughty" during the weekend lol, but only around dinner time. The rest of the day and during weekdays I try to eat very healthy. So on average, the whole week is a healthy one. I guess the trick is to not let that single cheat day become several cheat days in a row.

Crystalchaos72

Oops

obstacleone

my calorie intake is set at 2180 but I am usually around the 1500 when I am done calculating for the day.

Having a "cheat" day I feel gives you a chance to enjoy things you don't get to enjoy as often as you used to. I hate the term dieting they should change the word to denying. Denying yourself food that you enjoy, or alcohol it seems in this case, because of your diet will do nothing but make you miserable and make you hate what you are doing, even if you are happy with the results. It's a healthy lifestyle you are trying to live, but also a happy one. Find your balance where you can indulge and limit the amount you indulge but don't let it get too carried away, stay focused on what your goals are and achieve them as well.
It's all about balance. some of us on here need to get better at it, lord knows I do.

ZakWray

Completely agree with the balance comments.

I basically lasted 4 weeks of pure dieting where I never exceeded 1300 a day! And f**k me was i a miserable b*****d! It got to the point where it affected my happiness and mood. And what's more I had stopped losing weight anyway, so i said to myself I am going to just keep tracking my foods (because let's face it, it's very addictive!) and if I go over, well i just go over don't I, the most important thing in life is HAPPINESS and with that you need balance, not Nazi-style diet frenzy's of misery!

The big deal for me is I like drinking on a weekend and I only drank vodka/diet coke, it's pretty depressing when you're just drinking that the whole time and everyone else around you is mixing it up doing as they please, HAVING FUN!

Not sure if 1300 is too low for me as some people have stated, this is what MFP has recommended to me, I have a sedentary lifestyle and my BMI is still around the 25.0 mark so I think it's necessary at least for the immediate future to drop a few more LBS.

With regard to the naughty day, I think it's best to limit the "naughtiness" as much as possible and restrict it, as some have commented, to a single day a week, it's easy for a single naughty day to turn into two isn't it?

Stay happy people, Zak

Riverofbeauty

I usually allow myself Saturday's as a "cheat day". I always have a healthy breakfast, and I don't eat as often as weekdays, and I still count calories so I know how much I've gone over by etc. I've been doing that for around 3 months, and still got to my maintenance weight, and am now maintaining while still having that cheat day. I just make sure I stick to my cals or slightly under the other 6 days of the week.

Rae6503

I pay closer attention to weekly average than I do to the daily totals.

ZakWray

UPDATE:

So I weighed myself today. The last time i weighed myself was Friday and i was 180 lbs, I realise it's only a few days but today I am 178 lbs. So it looks like these naughty days aren't too bad after all? Maybe it's too small of a sample but looks to me like maybe eating more over a couple of days could actually increase metabolism? Or maybe I'm just s till dehydrated from all that vodka lol