Spike days... A most famous myth.

26Nirak

I'm sorry - I know the term cheat day, but what is a spike day? Is it the same idea?

Savyna

Going to eat a super burrito and a container of ben and jerries tonight

I think Chipotle's burritos are super.

Haven't had that in so long. I made a 8oz turkey burger with 3 strips of turkey bacon with light mayo and bbq sauce and ketchup for my dinner tonight with some butter pecan icecream...it was tasty. I will look forward to getting my burrito next week or so ^__^

CaroSeraMince

The notion of rest day is just a weak excuse to fall off the wagon. It's like an ex-junkie celebrating shoot-up day. Or, an ex-drinker celebrating happy hour. You know how that goes.

Oh crap, you mean I have to work out 7 days a week? WTF yo!?

Panda, you probably aren't even going to see this, but every time I see your thumbnail I think "BUTTS!" Then I remember they aren't butts. That's ok, though. I'll live.

BrettPGH

Keep telling everyone they HAVE to do it your way! We'll keep ignoring you.

tabulator32

I've been gardening organically my whole life. Next step: we're hoping to go through the approval process to get our own chickens.

I just want to interject...that is freakin' fantastic.

Bravo!

I love to hear stuff like that.

DeanneLea

Lmao I love the people that post as an authority of everyone on this site. Really dude.

I have spike days(yup that's plural) every week. They're planned and my daily average each week is still at a healthy losing rate. It works for me and always has. I am not AFRAID of spike days and they don't send me off track. That's the proof of my recovery. I used to be so afraid to splurge and the guilt was damaging. Not anymore!

So...I'll continue enjoying beers each week, steak and baked potatoes on date night and yummy lunches out with coworkers

tabulator32

Personally cheat days have been killer for my diet. It's just hard to get back on track. I'm a carb addict. An occasional cheat meal, well it looks like I can handle. Better yet a single cheat food works best for me if I'm being otherwise very good. I had 2 no-bake cookies last week after my daughter waved them in front of my face and I was ok. Actually it didn't even kick me out of ketosis and it made me HAPPY.

I don't think it's taken me less than a week to get back on track after a cheat DAY. I'm just so hungry the next days and craving all kinds of crap.

In my book, there is a difference between a cheat day and a spike day.

A cheat day is when you eat whatever you want.

A spike day is when you eat more of the same good, healthy stuff you have been eating, but go over your suggested calories by a considerable (and arbitrary) margin.

Edit: These are my own convoluted definitions and are not meant to be imposed on anyone else.

:bigsmile:

LovingLisa2012

for me this is a life style change.. and w/e i do now, is what i will do at goal ..

im not about to give up anything .. and what if i have a day where i don't track or w/e.. when im at goal, i am going to want to have times where i can go and enjoy myself

it doesn't affect the scale either .. . i do not like people telling me what i can and can not or should not do ..

ty

SPNLuver83

O yeah? I take "cheat days" regularly. Check out my ticker. :drinker:

InvidiaXII

Take your spike days regularly and then wonder why your clothes size doesn't change. Or, wonder why your scale never moves. Yeah, go ahead and have that ice cream and then complain about it.

I don't personally take spike days, but I've seen far more people on these forums say how spiking has helped them stick to healthy eating the rest of the week, end plateaus, and generally contribute to weight loss than I've seen people "complaining" or "wondering" about something not working. Different nutrition plans work for different people. Deal with it. :flowerforyou:

BuffyEat2Live

I have not read ANY of the responses, but I think that for ME, this is true. I am just plain addicted to certain foods (chips, cookies, soft bread, to name a few) and cheat days turn into cheat weeks for me. I'm in the middle of a junk food cycle again, right now, because I tried "everything in moderation" AGAIN...

For some, yes the Spike Day won't work. But some people LOVE their spike days and it works for them. I don't like generalizations, so I don't agree with your post entirely.

But for me, it makes sense. Though I do still cling to the hope that some day I will be rid of this food addiction and be able to enjoy a cheat day every now and then without fear of going back to binge-eating.

ms_tris

Thanks for this. I like to be reminded its ok if I don't take a day off. "Cheat days/meals" may work for some, but they just discourage me or make me have anxiety. I'm too impatient and I really want to learn NOT to see food as a reward.
That having been said, I DO believe in everything in moderation. If I couldn't have a glass of wine (or 2) once in a while, I'd go nuts. And the occasional Dove 1 oz dark chocolate....mmmm..

dolldreams

Personally cheat days have been killer for my diet. It's just hard to get back on track. I'm a carb addict. An occasional cheat meal, well it looks like I can handle. Better yet a single cheat food works best for me if I'm being otherwise very good. I had 2 no-bake cookies last week after my daughter waved them in front of my face and I was ok. Actually it didn't even kick me out of ketosis and it made me HAPPY.

I don't think it's taken me less than a week to get back on track after a cheat DAY. I'm just so hungry the next days and craving all kinds of crap.

I am the same way. I lost 61 lbs and then fell off the wagon due to a cheat day ending up being cheat months. I gained 19 back and came to my senses before it got too out of hand. It could have been disastrous though.

I wasted months and now that I've relost 13 lbs of the 19 I gained and have only 55lbs to go, I'm not giving myself an inch. Life is too short and I want to lose this weight soon.

More power to those that can cheat and get right back in there and keep going. It's just not something I seem to be able to do yet.

DakotaKeogh

Wow. So many angry people.

Sorry you read this in an angry tone. This was meant for people like me and akin to me in spirit. Amazing how many took this badly and spat up at it. I'm sorry for them. I don't know what hurt them. But it surely hurt bad. Sorry bout that.

HonkyTonks

I freakin love this.

HonkyTonks

Personally cheat days have been killer for my diet. It's just hard to get back on track. I'm a carb addict. An occasional cheat meal, well it looks like I can handle. Better yet a single cheat food works best for me if I'm being otherwise very good. I had 2 no-bake cookies last week after my daughter waved them in front of my face and I was ok. Actually it didn't even kick me out of ketosis and it made me HAPPY.

I don't think it's taken me less than a week to get back on track after a cheat DAY. I'm just so hungry the next days and craving all kinds of crap.

I am the same way. I lost 61 lbs and then fell off the wagon due to a cheat day ending up being cheat months. I gained 19 back and came to my senses before it got too out of hand. It could have been disastrous though.

I wasted months and now that I've relost 13 lbs of the 19 I gained and have only 55lbs to go, I'm not giving myself an inch. Life is too short and I want to lose this weight soon.

More power to those that can cheat and get right back in there and keep going. It's just not something I seem to be able to do yet.

I don't mean to be rude, but yo yo dieting is usually a result of too much restriction. Maybe give yourself a bit more 'wiggle room' - you might not lose weight as quickly but it might be a more long term and sustainable loss.

26Nirak

I still don't know what "spiking" means...but it seems to make people angry...

84jeepster

Love this!

IIFYM

Nelski

I still don't know what "spiking" means...but it seems to make people angry...

LOL it's just a term used for a high calorie day, comes from the Spike Diet(the idea of eating lower calories 6 days then 1 high calorie day a week).