Do You Give Yourself An Off Day?

kiesh82

If anything I would prefer to have a "cheat meal" rather than an off day. In one off day you can eat enough calories to completely cancel out your hard work for the week. Trust me I've been there, you end up losing and regaining the same 2 lbs for weeks. I don't believe in cheat days...this is a lifestyle change so when I go out to eat I need to still make good choices. There are going to be times where I will just eat the pizza or whatever, but this should not be a weekly habit if I can help it.

chatterbox3110

I have a 'relaxed' day on the day I weigh and then get back on track straight away - but as time has passed and the weight loss increases I find myself eating less 'bad' things on my relaxed day, so maybe my mind is adapting to my new, healthier lifestyle.

Where once I wouldn't have hesitated to have a takeaway followed by a bar of chocolate, I have the takeaway (much smaller portion) and NO chocolate........ or if I really do fancy something sweet then I'll just have a square.

Having said that, today was not a good one for me - I weighed in this morning and had my lunch all planned. By mid-morning I was starving, which is unusual for me now, so ate my lunch early, then met hubby during my break and we went to the chip shop. I've over-indulged, but I went for a half mile brisk walk on the way back to the office and I'm going out again in a while, so although to me I've eaten badly, I'm making amends by upping my exercise to cover the additional calories.

At the end of the day, the only person I'm hurting is myself, and I'm growing to love me more and more as I lose weight!

marbit

Yes, but I didn't allow that until I was well into my new lifestyle routine. And to be honest, I feel sick when I try to eat the foods I used to enjoy. I love going out to eat with friends, but I would much rather get grilled chicken, steamed veggies, a side salad (with light dressing and no cheese/croutons) and feel good afterwards. OR have one piece of pizza versus 3!

I totally agree. For the most part its weird how your body adjusts. I changed my eating habits long before I was trying to lose weight for health reasons, and now I find that heavy greasy things, non whole wheat pasta, dr pepper even, just dont taste as good as I remember them being.

misscase

For me personally, this is all about a lifestyle change and not a diet.
With that in mind, I know that I can allow myself to eat pretty much whatever I want on those types of occasions when I'm out with friends or whatever, as long as I'm not doing it all the time. If the majority of my eating is healthy, I don't see how splurging on one meal is going to hurt me in the long run. I know if I don't enjoy myself, I'll go back to how I was before (making bad food choices all the time)
Like you've probably heard time and time again, moderation is key. So I say, as long as your regular, day-to-day eating habits are healthy and intact, go for a splurge on those special occasions.

LuciaLongIsland

I started out with off days....but It always made me crave that food more and more so I stopped...now that I've stayed away I dont want it anymore....

Agree

Emellon

Yup, I definitely give myself a cheat day. I don't think there's anything wrong with it, either.
I eat healthy Mon-Sat, then Sunday it's go time! Un-skinny Starbucks? Sure! (Don't forget the whip!) Burger and fries? Yes please! Chocolate is my lover on Sundays. If I don't give myself a day off, I'm more prone to cheating during the week, 2 or 3 days. I hate that feeling, because I feel like I failed and have to start all over again. And for me, it works. I can feel my jeans getting baggy and I'm not depriving myself. If you want that piece of cheesecake, go for it!

iuangina

I have a cheat day once a week and maybe a meal here and there the rest of the time. I make sure that it's on a day that I workout extra hard, so that my "cheat" isn't a disaster. I love chicken wings and I think they are directly from the devil because they taste so good and are so bad for you (especially with blue cheese). I always look forward to my cheat meals and usually plan them out in advance. For example, this week I think I want Mexican. So that's what we'll do tomorrow night.