"Rest" Days (Food)

dirtydirtydiana

I know a lot of people who have "rest" days, or days off when they don't watch their diet or calories, or they eat whatever they want. Does anyone here do this, and is it recommended to have one?

MissFit0101

I don't recommend it. Sure there can be times where you will stray from your usual "diet" or treat yourself to something that isn't okay to eat all the time, but it should always remain important to be conscious of what you are putting into your body.

♥_Ellybean_♥

Cheat meals are far better off and easier to come back from.

Enginette

I could be wrong, but I attribute a "rest day" as a day that I am not working out. On those days, I tend to eat less calories than the days that I am working out.

nellie_88

I take a rest day, but it is just from working out. I still watch what I eat and maintain my calorie goal, if I know i'm going to have a day where I may eat bad or go over my calorie limit I make sure to get in a hardcore workout to at least get a good calorie burn. But I try not to do that too often.

jamiesadler

I dont do cheat meals or free meals but if I really crave something I eat it just in small portions to satisfy the craving

melsinct

Cheat meal = fine. But a whole day? In my mind, that is just asking to undo all of the hard work that has been done.

kendernau

This happens occasionally for me, but I still log everything I eat. I don't do it so I can get mad at myself later, but so that I have a better idea how much more ground I will have to make up.

In addition, I have found that even if I am not counting my calories that day, tracking the food tends to keep me from eating as much anyway.

My1985Freckles

I could be wrong, but I attribute a "rest day" as a day that I am not working out. On those days, I tend to eat less calories than the days that I am working out.

Agreed... For me it is a rest only from working out, not from staying under calories/drinking all my water.

kristilovescake

I think it's up to you and how you handle the cravings and urges.

I don't have a cheat day, but I do have cheat foods.

Yesterday I really wanted a Krispy Kreme Doughnut since they were brought into work as a gift for our office. Instead of freaking out about it, drooling watching my coworkers eat them, I decided what the hey and ate one of the delicious 310-calorie doughnuts. Instead of beating myself up about it, I added in more exercise and factored it into my daily calorie allowance.

To me, doing something like allowing yourself a "cheat" snack or meal when you really want it and then calculating it into your daily calorie goal is a better way to treat this as a lifestyle change and not just a "diet". I think it's important to keep track of what you're putting into your body and logging everything.

nanodot

I do this, every two weeks on payday. Usually it is a high-carb dinner date out. I can feel from my body that it takes 1-2 days to get back down to low blood sugar, which is bad; but I also think that it keeps my body from getting stuck in a plateau caused by my metabolism slowing down due to over-dieting. I do know that it is not interfering with my weight loss too much. Once a week would be too often for me.

Sometimes knowing that I can have that cupcake on payday really helps my self control.

ladybug1620

You really just need to find what works for you. For me, I net below my recommended calories during the week so that I can have a splurge day on the weekend. It works for me. It may not work for everyone.

EDIT: I should add that I log everything I stuff my face with on my cheat day so I can have an accurate count of my weekly calories and stay under my weekly goal.

michedarnd

I explicitly zig-zag my calorie count. (You can google for "zig zag diet"). On the days that I reserve to be higher calorie, I will add in a treat that I normally have no room for. I don't have days where I simply don't watch my calories, at ALL, but I set my limit for a weekly total rather than a daily one. It allows you to satisfy cravings while still remaining in the diet. Explicit "I'm not watching my calories" days are useful, OCCASIONALLY, for plateau-breaking, but I wouldn't recommend having a "go wild" day once a week. I will occasionally go as high as 2000 calories if, the day before, I was under 900. Still, I watch my macro-nutrients and watch what I eat.

L2M1D52

I could be wrong, but I attribute a "rest day" as a day that I am not working out. On those days, I tend to eat less calories than the days that I am working out.

This is what I think of. I don't have cheat days. If I want something I eat a small amount of it. However, I don't do it often.

ChachuD

As long as you stay under 100-150 calories a day i say, u have enough "net" calories to enjoy a day in the week where u dont have to be strict on ur diet. Just dont go over board!!!! And it depends how fast you want to lose weight

BamaGurl47

I would not do a one cheat day a week .. but i think i would do a cheat day for special occassions.. Like if you were going out eat with your friends or relatives on a special occassion ..but thats just me ...

AdAstra47

Just depends on the person. Personally, I'm under doctor's orders to eat the way I do. I've cheated twice in the past six months, and each time, I've really regretted it a few hours later, I felt miserable. NOT worth it. So now when I'm tempted to cheat, I just remember the consequences & it's not so hard to resist temptation. I do, however, look for creative recipes so that I can have tastes I love without the sugar & carbs.