Dr Oz says people who cheat lose more weight

funkycamper

it has worked for me. so i nowadays use pms days as spike days :P

Ugh, and I was feeling so bad Friday night for having a piece of pizza that I beat myself up all day about it yesterday. I guess from what you all have said, I shouldn't be. But today was weigh in day for me and I lost nothing. Didn't gain though.

What is your weekly deficit? Let's say you're set for a 3500 calorie weekly deficit and eat to it perfectly. Now, let's guess that slice of pizza had 500 calories (and that would be a fairly heft slice of pizza!). This means that youre deficit this week was 3000 calories. Technically, it still adds up to a weight loss.

We don't lose weight in a linear fashion. That's one reason why I don't weigh more than once or twice a month as the scale can discourage me. I might go two weeks with no drop at all and then drop 3-4# in one week.

If you are doing everything correctly for your body, that one slice of pizza isn't going to hurt you at all. Personally, I zig-zag my calories just so I can have splurges like a few slices of pizza without hurting my weight loss. Life is so much more fun when I'm not on a deprivation diet.

coreenbean

I am just afraid that I won't come back from the "spike" day

loopybec2002

I zig zag but not because I think that is what will help me If I want something I have it but in smaller quanitites.

Mom0fTwo

a couple of days ago i had lots of chocolate covered almonds, and felt nasty for the rest of the day....i dont wanna do that again it was disgusting (and i love chocolate so i was bummed)

TiffyC828

bump!

katdav2012

I'm so glad to hear this! I give myself a "day off" every sunday. While I don't go crazy and I still try to eat fairly healthy, I only exercise if I feel like it and I don't track what I eat. I also don't deny myself anything, but by still trying to make decent eating choices. Glad to hear that it's a good thing, I sometimes wonder if I'm sabatoging my work from the rest of the week.

Erica002

I have to agree and I'm excited to see the show on it. I have cheat days, seldomly, but I have em and so far it has been working for me!! Plus, I find that most the time when you're craving something, if you don't allow yourself to have a portion of it, you're going to binge!

tmfpartyof4

My cheat is Starbucks every Thursday. It makes me happy and gives me something to look forward to.

mmmmmmm starbucks!!!!!:drinker: i drink too many of those. I just went to the skinny ones 190 cals for fat and sugar free version-Vente! I work them into my calories on occasion.

i may have to go back to the regular one on a spike day. :bigsmile:

amymarie8709

it has worked for me. so i nowadays use pms days as spike days :P

love this idea!!

lynzy713

I watched this episode yesterday! And I agree with it...if I completely cut something I enjoy eating out my life, I'm going to binge on it and set myself back...so once a week or maybe even once every two weeks I let myself indulge a little - still keeping in mind my limits (i.e. don't eat the whole pizza...)...and if I can I work out extra hard that day or the days surrounding it to make up for at least some of it.

jan_andrea

I'm not finding this to be true for me My spike meal is usually at The Peach Farm in Boston's Chinatown -- we're down there every couple of weeks. But take last week as an example. I was 220 that morning, which I recorded. Went to Boston, walked around a lot, took pictures of the Lunar New Year celebrations, and had our meal there. Probably around 800 calories all told. Next day: 223. It's taken me the whole week to get back down to 220, and that was just yesterday; today was 220.8. I had assumed that a lot of the weight "gain" was from the sodium (one of our favorite dishes is the spicy salty dry-fried squid), and that with adequate water, I'd be back down in a day or two, but it's just not happening

It's not always a Chinatown meal, either. When we visit my in-laws, they cook for an army and occasionally I'm not careful. There's the same higher weight the next day, taking me the whole week to get back to where I was before. I've been in this same range for the last month :P I know plateaus happen, but I'm not really sure what to do about this. (Anyone who'd like to take a look at my diary is more than welcome to make suggestions My exercise is usually lots and lots of 4mph walking around town, usually pushing a stroller or carrying heavyish bags. I haven't started another program because the walking does get my heart rate up and after doing it, I'm pretty tired.)

ironanimal

I'm not finding this to be true for me My spike meal is usually at The Peach Farm in Boston's Chinatown -- we're down there every couple of weeks. But take last week as an example. I was 220 that morning, which I recorded. Went to Boston, walked around a lot, took pictures of the Lunar New Year celebrations, and had our meal there. Probably around 800 calories all told. Next day: 223. It's taken me the whole week to get back down to 220, and that was just yesterday; today was 220.8. I had assumed that a lot of the weight "gain" was from the sodium (one of our favorite dishes is the spicy salty dry-fried squid), and that with adequate water, I'd be back down in a day or two, but it's just not happening

You didn't gain 3lbs from eating 800 calories extra. I absolutely promise you that. 3lbs is 10,500 calories. It was probably water weight. And salt-centric dishes are pure evil for water retention.

Edit; You mention chinatown. Chinese food is absolutely loaded with sodium.

jan_andrea

Oh, I know that all three pounds were not fat -- it was mostly water, I know. I'm just having a hard time reconciling spike meal = good (for me) when it takes me a week to get back to my pre-spike-meal weight

ironanimal

Oh, I know that all three pounds were not fat -- it was mostly water, I know. I'm just having a hard time reconciling spike meal = good (for me) when it takes me a week to get back to my pre-spike-meal weight

Well I'm glad you understand You're choice of spike meal just so happened to be loaded with sodium. This is why I advise people to measure as well as weigh - when you think things have gone backwards, it gives you another gauge of progress. Weight itself is a highly irrelevant statistic. Your body composition is far more important.

Russellb97

I am just afraid that I won't come back from the "spike" day

This is a very normal fear.

You can look at it a few ways.

1. Spiking has a positive affect on the hormones that control our physical cravings.
2. You control when you Spike and have these foods, instead of the food controlling us when we slip up.
3. Knowing that every week you are allowed to eat what you love helps immensely with emotional cravings because you feel less deprived.
4. I always workout the day after spiking. My glycogen is restored to allow me to have a great workout. Also it gets me right back on track mentally.

funkycamper

Oh, I know that all three pounds were not fat -- it was mostly water, I know. I'm just having a hard time reconciling spike meal = good (for me) when it takes me a week to get back to my pre-spike-meal weight

Well I'm glad you understand You're choice of spike meal just so happened to be loaded with sodium. This is why I advise people to measure as well as weigh - when you think things have gone backwards, it gives you another gauge of progress. Weight itself is a highly irrelevant statistic. Your body composition is far more important.

Absolutely agree about the body composition aspect. I haven't lost a pound since Christmas but I have gone down a pant size. Of course, some of that can be attributed to the pounds I lost before Christmas but there is no way I could have squeezed into these pants back then so, obviously, my body composition is changing in ways that the scale doesn't show.

I don't consciously follow the actually spike day plan (although I do think the idea has merit). I do more of a zig-zagging throughout the week while focusing on a weekly calorie target. But, sometimes, I zig-zag so much that I do go over my weekly calories. Some weeks zig-zagging, I stay under or just my weekly deficit, sometimes I go over a little, sometimes I go over a significant amount like 1500-2000 calories for the week.

Also, when I first restarted my diet/exercise plan in August, it took me 2 weeks to lose 1#. It was a bit frustrating but I already felt so much better and stronger with the increase in my exercising that I was able to ignore the scale a bit and trudge on until I did get rewarded with weight decreases.

I just find focusing on my fitness easier because it, along with my eating, is something that I can control. I can't control the scale and when it will show a drop. So, I figure, why fuss about what I can't control and focus on what I can control.

So, be patient and keep on working on the things you can control and the rest will take care of itself. Best wishes!

fairycake25

I shall be having my spike day on Sunday without the guilt!

I love this i had my spike day yesterday (sunday) and good god i ate for england and enjoyed every single minute of it ....and now im focused on my new week

Ing1zo

Didnt know it had a name but I cheat once a week. It works for me.

Rozlynmac

Absolutely agree about the body composition aspect. I haven't lost a pound since Christmas but I have gone down a pant size. Of course, some of that can be attributed to the pounds I lost before Christmas but there is no way I could have squeezed into these pants back then so, obviously, my body composition is changing in ways that the scale doesn't show.

I don't consciously follow the actually spike day plan (although I do think the idea has merit). I do more of a zig-zagging throughout the week while focusing on a weekly calorie target. But, sometimes, I zig-zag so much that I do go over my weekly calories. Some weeks zig-zagging, I stay under or just my weekly deficit, sometimes I go over a little, sometimes I go over a significant amount like 1500-2000 calories for the week.

Also, when I first restarted my diet/exercise plan in August, it took me 2 weeks to lose 1#. It was a bit frustrating but I already felt so much better and stronger with the increase in my exercising that I was able to ignore the scale a bit and trudge on until I did get rewarded with weight decreases.

I just find focusing on my fitness easier because it, along with my eating, is something that I can control. I can't control the scale and when it will show a drop. So, I figure, why fuss about what I can't control and focus on what I can control.

So, be patient and keep on working on the things you can control and the rest will take care of itself. Best wishes!
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You've made me so happy! I was feeling exactly the same, but worried I was just trying to rationalise the fact I wasn't seeing much progress.

mikeyrp

My two cents (if anyone give a damn) is that if you balance calories over a week you get better results than thinking day by day. This is especially true where you have peaks in training as well as eating as they are not naturally in synch: e.g. I do a long run at the weekends (Marathon training so we are talking up to 2500 Calorie workouts) and trying to eat that back same day is stupid... especially when you consider that most runners eat light before they go out... Say 200 calories max.. so by lunchtime (i.e. post run) you can easily have 4000 calories left for the day... Never gonna eat that eating food which is mostly healthy!

Generally the day after training people are hungry - and the couple of days before you should be 'carb loading' - so you tend to end up with 3 days small of food spikes and one with a large food deficit. To me a spike doesn't = cheat. I think the terminology does it injustice.

That aside, I do believe in 100% tracking.... It keeps you accountable and tends to prevent a spike becoming a binge. It also allows you to go back over you week when you are looking at your weight loss profile and think about what went well and what went badly: especially if you are interested in your macros (protein/carb/fat ratios).

LooseWheel

LMAO, ok first I thought it meant that the 'cheating' was due to the increase in sexual activity as it's a real awesome cal burner!! Calming down now. te he he

RonKay

bump

hannata86

I like the idea of a calorie spike... I've practiced it on nearly every diet I've done and if I can keep the other 20 meals of the week good, clean and under my calorie intake, I'm always guaranteed a loss.

MsMouseMouse

I do agree with this but just the words "Dr OZ says" makes me not want too lol

That's how I feel exactly. Yes he's right this time. But he also believes people can heal each other with their hands and spirit energy.. I sure don't consider him a reputable expert on anything other than getting women to watch tv.

Maybe you should search out healing hands. There is probably more to this than we think.

DorothyR87

I like the idea of a "spike" day, but for me I don't think I wold actually have an actual day planned. For me it would work best to just know that every so often it's ok to go over my calorie limit.

What's interesting is that last night I was really mad so I pigged out and ate 4 pieces of pizza. When I woke up and weighed myself I was sure I would weigh more, but I actually weighed 0.5 lbs less. I know the body fluctuates but I sure liked seeing that pigging out didn't ruin my weight loss progress.

firesoforion

He's just a paid spokesperson for Ashley Maddison...

Oh. wait.

runfoodierun

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.
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hahaha. aha ah. awesome. :glasses: