No more treat nights?

twilighter95

Hiya, I only joined myfitnesspal about 2 weeks ago and I have lost 3lbs last week and then this week I lost nothing.. quite the downer, I have been on different diets for 2 years now and really want one to work for me anyways, last week I ate under my calorie goal alot.. I am given 1670 and I usually ate between 1100-1300 and was doing exercise 4 times a week and then I lost the 3lbs.. However this week my friend came to stay and we had a treat night.. chinese, ice-cream and crisps... I thought I would be allowed one day of just rubbish and I ate well the rest of the week, exercised and stuck to my calories and I lost nothing was this because of that one day? Am I not allowed anymore of these treat days?

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

A lot of people don't lose anything the second week. I'm not sure why but it's really common.

If you ate so much on your cheat night that you no longer had a deficit for the week then that would be why, but I doubt it. Your deficit is probably between 500 and 1000 calories per day since you're eating so little, so you'd have had to have 3000-6000 calories above your maintenance in order to lose your deficit. It's more likely a water retention issue.

That said, you are meant to eat up to your calorie goal and eat back at least some of your exercise calories. It's not good for long-term success to eat way under.

I personally never did cheat days, I would just work whatever food I wanted into my goal for the day. Two nights ago my husband and I went out for our anniversary so I had a really light breakfast and lunch and used my calories on dinner. However, especially when eating so little, cheat days can be good for your mental health. I would say have them if you want them, but log everything. That way you'll know what to expect in terms of losses.

Weight fluctuates, and results take time. Be patient. :flowerforyou:

LittleMissDover

Did you log what you ate during your treat night? You may have eaten enough to cancel out the deficit achieved during the rest of the week, it's easier than you think to eat 2,500 calories over especially when you have take away, crisps AND ice cream.

I intend to have take away once a month and then I will log it so I can see exactly how many calories I have consumed.

LittleMissDover

Your deficit is probably between 500 and 1000 calories per day since you're eating so little, so you'd have had to have 3000-6000 calories above your maintenance in order to lose your deficit.

No, she'd have had to eat to her maintenance level, not above it (that would cause a gain) so it could be as little as 2,500 depending on what her deficit is set at. REALLY easy to do.

cleanandlean2012

I have one 'free' meal each week ....I have found that the stricter I become during the week, the less I consume on my free meal. However I am always over my cals on a free meal day, with the remainder of the week, around 900-1200 calories a day. Make sure you drink water...my weight loss almost stops when I stop water intake. I usually have 10-16 glasses a day, plus tea and a couple of coffee's. No fruit juice, soda's etc. Most importantly keep going, keep logging and make small changes to achieve the desired result.

mapnerd2005

I showed a GAIN in my second week back. The scale is going the right way now. My advice is to stick to it, log everything you eat. Personally, my approach is to be realistic and say nothing is off limits as long as it fits within my calorie budget, and as long as I stay within my targeted weekly deficit of 6,500-7,000 calories (minus 2lbs a week), I don't worry about going over on a single day. In my experience, as you work with your foods and learning what to eat, re-learning portion sizes, etc., you will start choosing better foods to fill out your daily diary. If you haven't done so already, get yourself a set of measuring cups and spoons and a digital food scale. Weight, measure, and log EVERY food you eat, even the treats.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Your deficit is probably between 500 and 1000 calories per day since you're eating so little, so you'd have had to have 3000-6000 calories above your maintenance in order to lose your deficit.

No, she'd have had to eat to her maintenance level, not above it (that would cause a gain) so it could be as little as 2,500 depending on what her deficit is set at. REALLY easy to do.

Maybe it's because it's so early, but the way I understand it she maintained for the week, so she'd have to eat maintenance on the day in question, plus enough to cancel out the other 6 days' deficit, right?

Firefox7275

Hiya, I only joined myfitnesspal about 2 weeks ago and I have lost 3lbs last week and then this week I lost nothing.. quite the downer, I have been on different diets for 2 years now and really want one to work for me anyways, last week I ate under my calorie goal alot.. I am given 1670 and I usually ate between 1100-1300 and was doing exercise 4 times a week and then I lost the 3lbs.. However this week my friend came to stay and we had a treat night.. chinese, ice-cream and crisps... I thought I would be allowed one day of just rubbish and I ate well the rest of the week, exercised and stuck to my calories and I lost nothing was this because of that one day? Am I not allowed anymore of these treat days?

Water weight? If you underate the first week for your activity level (which it sounds like you did) you will have depleted your muscles of glycogen so lost water. Eating sugars and starchy carbs plus a pile of sodium will put all that back on again. Net above your basal metabolic rate so you lose fat not muscle and water, keep your treats/ cheats to 10% of daily calories, either saved up for a one off OR small treat each day - not both!

Unless you have a ton of weight to lose aim for half to one pound a week and try the 'healthy eating' diet, not starving your body of calories and nutrients, something you can stick to for life, something that will keep you fit and healthy physically and mentally. Basically eat tons of fruit and veggies, oily fish, nuts, seeds, reduced fat dairy, beans and lentils, no sugary/ processed/ refined/ junk except within that 10%.

elebel82

Your deficit is probably between 500 and 1000 calories per day since you're eating so little, so you'd have had to have 3000-6000 calories above your maintenance in order to lose your deficit.

No, she'd have had to eat to her maintenance level, not above it (that would cause a gain) so it could be as little as 2,500 depending on what her deficit is set at. REALLY easy to do.

But it would have to be -above- to undo the good work from all the other days of the week. So if she's eating 500 deficit for 6 days, then if we're going just with maths she'd have to eat 3000 calories above maintenance on that one night to just maintain.

Of course, it's not always just maths.

mapnerd2005

Another piece of advice - plan an entire day's worth of meals a day in advance. I plan mine out the night before. If I know I am going out to dinner, I look up the menu in advance and incorporate it into the plan for the day and adjust the other meals/snacks accordingly.

Basically, stick with it, keep experimenting, and find what works for you. What works for me works for me, but you are a different person. You will find there are many "experts" here on MFP, and many will look at your diary and critique it for you if it is public (whether you ask them to or not), and often insist that their way is the ONLY way. That is not true. What is true is that you have to find something that works for you. I found for me it was a mindset change. I'm not on a diet, I'm on a budget. That means I can do extra work to earn more, save up for a special occasion, whatever. I did find that alcohol would stop the scale cold for a couple weeks, and if I work out a lot, I have to eat more...especially when I started training for a triathalon (I was having to eat around 3,000 calories a day and was still running a 1,000 calorie a day deficit). I veered off track because of grad school, a new job, and a move half-way across the country, so I re-set my ticker when I came back on board, so I feel a little defensive that it only says "8 pounds lost" instead of 81 pounds lost (I gained back 30 pounds....that's why I'm back, to kick it and lose the rest).

Best of luck to you. Joining MFP and learning more about your calorie consumption and expenditure is a huge step toward attaining better health. Congratulations on making that step.

lauren3101

Your deficit is probably between 500 and 1000 calories per day since you're eating so little, so you'd have had to have 3000-6000 calories above your maintenance in order to lose your deficit.

No, she'd have had to eat to her maintenance level, not above it (that would cause a gain) so it could be as little as 2,500 depending on what her deficit is set at. REALLY easy to do.

Maybe it's because it's so early, but the way I understand it she maintained for the week, so she'd have to eat maintenance on the day in question, plus enough to cancel out the other 6 days' deficit, right?

You are right. Plus she's already eating about 500 cals below her daily target. which I should imagine was at least a 500 cals a day deficit as it is, so lets say a 1000 calorie a day deficit.

OP, there's no way you ate that much in one night. I should imagine it's water retention, as chinese food is especially high in salt. However, weight loss is not linear, it can happen in fits and spurts. You need to be patient.

A bit of advice though, it is not healthy to eat 1100 cals a day. A 'good' day is to get that calorie goal as close to zero as possible. If you've been set 1670, eat 1670.

fihealth

guess what? you ate chinese food = almost pure sodium. you gained a *kitten* ton of water weight. if you were still below your weekly calorie deficit by 3500 to 7000 calories, you still lost 1-2 pounds, the scale just won't show it until your body flushes out more water and salt.

Edit to add: the type of foods you eat throughout the week can also affect your net calorie absorption. i haven't seen people here talk a lot about this (or maybe I missed it), but here's the science behind it:

if you eat a lot of raw and unprocessed foods, they have lots of soluble and insoluble fibre that move these foods very quickly through the small and large intestines and out your colon! This gives your body much less time to absorb the calories in these foods than when you eat highly processed crap that's easier and faster to digest and sits longer in the GI tract so more calories can be absorbed. So even if you're eating a portion of chinese food that's 1000 calories versus a large mixed salad that's 1000 calories, in the same amount of time, your body will take up more of the calories from the chinese food than from the mixed salad (as well as lots of extra water weight due to high sodium in the chinese).

This doesn't mean you can't ever treat yourself, just be aware that you're being more helpful to your body and weight loss goals when you're eating cleaner.

Roni_M

In my personal opinion... you probably had a loss but didn't see it because of the water weight your cheat meal added. I eat fast food once a week (have since I started) and my weight can go up as much as 5lbs afterward from the extra sodium. How do you overcome this? I weigh in on Friday and have my "cheat" meal on Saturday. That gives me lots of time to get the water weight back off. How much of an increase I have varies quite a bit depending on the sodium content. How many days between your cheat meal and weigh in? If it's only been a couple of days, you may see a drop in the next couple of days.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

In my personal opinion... you probably had a loss but didn't see it because of the water weight your cheat meal added. I eat fast food once a week (have since I started) and my weight can go up as much as 5lbs afterward from the extra sodium. How do you overcome this? I weigh in on Friday and have my "cheat" meal on Saturday. That gives me lots of time to get the water weight back off. How much of an increase I have varies quite a bit depending on the sodium content. How many days between your cheat meal and weigh in? If it's only been a couple of days, you may see a drop in the next couple of days.

This is a good idea.

First rule of cheat days is never weigh the day after your cheat day. :laugh:

sgh10

robin you weight loss is astounding May I ask what your diet is like are you following a special program thanks

Roni_M

robin you weight loss is astounding May I ask what your diet is like are you following a special program thanks

It's Roni and thank you!

No special tricks or magical pills. 14 months on MFP following my calorie goals 6 days a week with one cheat meal on Saturday's (just to keep me sane! LOL). I eat normal food (some of it processed), lots of veggies and lean meat (helps me squeeze treats in since they are pretty low cal). I walk briskly on my treadmill for 1 hour 4 times a week... so nothing fancy in the exercise department either. Persistence and patience are the keys to successful weight loss. I "screw up" all the time... I just get back on track and keep going.

MLibby84

I completely agree with Angel. Everyone is different and don't get so down on yourself. I had ice cream 2x last week(I was sick and my throat hurt) I was so worried that I had gained from it. I only did 1 scoop(which is big for me) but I did feel guilty about eating it. Turns out I didnt gain and I lost. I think you should make sure you stick with your calorie intake especially if you are working out 4 days a week. I log everything I eat even If it is not the healthiest choice. But I've also only been doing this a short time and i'm still learning too as are you. I think it's ok if you have a treat every once in awhile. But try and see if you can make the treats healthy( ex Chinese.. what did you have for Chinese? did you eat all of it?) kind of thing. I also agree that a lot of it can be water weight as well. I bet next week you will lose And don't look at this as a "diet" it is not(as I have come to learn) it is just a lifestyle change, making healthier choices and watching your portions.

Hang in there

MLibby84

I completely agree with Angel. Everyone is different and don't get so down on yourself. I had ice cream 2x last week(I was sick and my throat hurt) I was so worried that I had gained from it. I only did 1 scoop(which is big for me) but I did feel guilty about eating it. Turns out I didnt gain and I lost. I think you should make sure you stick with your calorie intake especially if you are working out 4 days a week. I log everything I eat even If it is not the healthiest choice. But I've also only been doing this a short time and i'm still learning too as are you. I think it's ok if you have a treat every once in awhile. But try and see if you can make the treats healthy( ex Chinese.. what did you have for Chinese? did you eat all of it?) kind of thing. I also agree that a lot of it can be water weight as well. I bet next week you will lose And don't look at this as a "diet" it is not(as I have come to learn) it is just a lifestyle change, making healthier choices and watching your portions.

Hang in there

twilighter95

thanks for the help guys! Just wondering I am completely clueless but what is a calorie deficit? Been confused when yous were all talking about it... x