Dr Oz says people who cheat lose more weight

mummum2

I don't do cheat meals or cheat days.

I do, however, eat what I want - when I want it. I simply eat it in moderation. Nothing spells "diet" like having to wait for a special day to have something I really enjoy. If I want a Reese's (or in the case of yesterday - pretzel M&M's), I want it NOW. Right this minute. I do not want to wait until the 3rd Saturday of the month or whatever. I prefer to enjoy life NOW instead of always waiting for something.

I've lost nearly 60lbs and I've been in maintenance for 18 months. I know that what I'm doing works for me. Cheat days/cheat meals did not work for me (I would end up binge eating because I was depriving myself of whatever I happened to want at that moment). If it works for some, awesome. But, it may not work for all.

Ditto!!!

CinJay

I've already got it set up to record on the PVR!

tidmutt

This is consistent with the science guys. It's not just Dr Oz saying this, many have been saying it for a long time. Some will get technical and talk about Leptin being down regulated when we are calorie restricted and how a large spike in calories on a regular basis up regulates Leptin reducing hunger for a few days. This is because Leptin Signalling lags intake so you can take advantage of this to fool your body into thinking calories are plentiful when they are not.

Check out Lyle McDonalds body recomposition blog for a detail discussion and the OP's book discusses it as well albeit adjusted for the lay person.

There is no magic here, you still must be in an overall deficit but it has great physiological and psychological benefits.

dlaplume2

I get so tired of hearing about Dr. Oz. He's got like a cult following. It's scary.

I agree. When he first appeared on the Oprah show he was following sound practical medical advice. Now he is a sounding board for his advertisers. He will put it on his show and debate about whether it works or not, without discussing the serious negative consequenses. I wonder if he would recommend half this stuff to his patients if he was in fear of being sued for medical malpractice.

I stopped subscribing to fitness magazines, because I was sick of reading one article one month and a contradictory one the next.:noway:

stormieweather

When I cheat regularly (or have spike days, if you prefer that term), I don't lose.

What does work, for me, is to eat at maintenance for one week, every three months. I still log and still meet my macros (mostly), but I can fit in ice cream, pasta, pizza, beer, etc. This helps reset my leptin levels and helps me retain my sanity, not to mention motivation to stick with the deficit the rest of the time.

RogerF765

I agree. Some days it seems like I can't eat enough no matter what I eat or drink. Yesterday was one of them. It's not an every day thing and the vast majority of the time I'm either at my goal or under. But there are some days where I just eat if I'm hungry. I have found that it usually happens the day after I have a hard workout, a strenuous day at work or both.

sandy729

Ok..maybe I need to watch that show because all I got from these posts is that everyone cheats with a guy named Spike. I'm sure he's getting all the exercise he needs.

LMAO! Love it!

Savyna

Do you feel he's a quack because he believes in alternative medicine and being able to heal certain parts of yourself?

Yep!

Maybe because I'm from the East I tend to believe and have seen results using natural products that can be picked straight from the earth. I'm not saying that every single thing can be cured that way but general things I tend to use and have seen results, but thats just from personal experience, from yours and several other responses I feel they have either never tried it or it has not worked for them.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Do you feel he's a quack because he believes in alternative medicine and being able to heal certain parts of yourself?

Yep!

Yes.

jiggs31

I hadn't lost any weight for months irrespective of being under calories and doing three spinning classes a week.
I'd been dropping dress sizes but the scales hadn't moved.
Until about 4 weeks ago.

I read this article and then went to look at my calories over the last 30 days.........I have inadvertently had a 'spike' day every Wednesday for the last month.

So I guess it does work!!!

Cgrnlaw

I saw that show...and I try to do it each week

theoneandonlybrookie

I had an average of 2 cheat days per month when I was losing weight, and I lost *something* every single week. (Even if sometimes it was only .3 lbs - a loss is a loss.)

I firmly believe that you need to occasionally cheat for two reasons.

1) If you deny yourself the food you love, forever and always, you very well could end up not sticking to the program.

2) It gives your metabolism a temporary boost.

Anyway, for those of you who wanted to try it, I just have to say that it worked for me, but I only did it twice a month and I still limited myself to 2000 calories or so. On my cheat day, I didn't eat garbage at every meal. In general, I just picked one and let myself really indulge.

BrettPGH

Do you feel he's a quack because he believes in alternative medicine and being able to heal certain parts of yourself?

Yep!

Maybe because I'm from the East I tend to believe and have seen results using natural products that can be picked straight from the earth. I'm not saying that every single thing can be cured that way but general things I tend to use and have seen results, but thats just from personal experience, from yours and several other responses I feel they have either never tried it or it has not worked for them.

This has nothing to do with personal experience. It has to do with medicine and science. Human bodies are not made up of different material if you're from the East or West.

He's recommended homeopathy which is dangerous to people suffering from real diseases. These medical scams are nothing new. You can tell me all about the great personal experiences people have had with homeopathy, faith healing, ionized/magnetic bracelets, reikki, or bare handed surgery in a third world country. They are all dangerous scams. Many testimonials are outright fakes. I do everything I can to prevent people from falling for these scams and the scam artists who employ them. They are dangerous and a waste.

tamerkins2

I like the sounds of it. However, I read through all the comments and no one seems to answer questions like, "Is it moderation? Do we eat anything and everything?", etc. I really am curious. On my spike days, do I eat whatever I want all day or just one meal? Do I still try to stay near my calorie/fat/sodium goals?

raiderrodney

I like the sounds of it. However, I read through all the comments and no one seems to answer questions like, "Is it moderation? Do we eat anything and everything?", etc. I really am curious. On my spike days, do I eat whatever I want all day or just one meal? Do I still try to stay near my calorie/fat/sodium goals?

I try to keep it at one cheat meal a week myself. Usually pizza and beer :P I don't see any way I could stay reasonably close to my cal. goal on that day

Silverstar46

I plateaued for about ten days three weeks ago and it was AWFUL. I hated myself and my diet and everyone else. after the tenth day I 'gave up' for the day and ate whatever I wanted.

The very next day I lost weight and I haven't plateaued since because every now and then I have something a little 'naughty'. It doesn't always take me over my calories but it's high in fat and calories and it seems to help me keep my metabolism going strong.

Mrsairforce

Last week I accidently went over calories when I forgot to log my brown rice for FOUR meals! I still lost weight though :P I don't think spiking is something I'll do every week but if my husband wants to go out to eat somewhere, I won't say no. In fact I think he wants sushi or Texas Roadhouse tomorrow. But I am not going to gorge myself, I'm going to enjoy myself without overdoing it.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I like the sounds of it. However, I read through all the comments and no one seems to answer questions like, "Is it moderation? Do we eat anything and everything?", etc. I really am curious. On my spike days, do I eat whatever I want all day or just one meal? Do I still try to stay near my calorie/fat/sodium goals?

I just eat 200-300 calories over what I normally would, basically maintenance or just above. I often use my spike day to go out and get restaurant food since I usually eat at home. I still watch my calories somewhat-- and I stop eating when I'm full. But if I want a hamburger, I have one. I think different people do it different ways-- it's all about what works for you.

Beth720

I don't do cheat meals or cheat days.

I do, however, eat what I want - when I want it. I simply eat it in moderation. Nothing spells "diet" like having to wait for a special day to have something I really enjoy. If I want a Reese's (or in the case of yesterday - pretzel M&M's), I want it NOW. Right this minute. I do not want to wait until the 3rd Saturday of the month or whatever. I prefer to enjoy life NOW instead of always waiting for something.

I've lost nearly 60lbs and I've been in maintenance for 18 months. I know that what I'm doing works for me. Cheat days/cheat meals did not work for me (I would end up binge eating because I was depriving myself of whatever I happened to want at that moment). If it works for some, awesome. But, it may not work for all.

I do both. In fact I usually keep some kind of sweet - like M&Ms (pretzel or otherwise) or Kisses or something in the house and budget one serving into my daily calories. And then I have a "no count" day - which doesn't mean I'm out at the local greasy dive stuffing my face, but that I don't keep a careful count of what I eat. Got me down to my first goal - which was in total bout 50 pounds gone. And now I'm working on the second goal (hence the "only 6" on my ticker before some smart-you-know-what says anything).

purpleipod

It makes sense. Confuses your body by upping your calories randomly and it keeps you mentally happy.