I can't EVER have a cheat day? HELP

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taiyola
taiyola Posts: 964 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been on here consitently March and have only lost at most 7.6lb. I'll lose, have a cheat day, gain, spend the rest of the week losing it... cheat again... gain... lose... gain... ARGH!

Before the weekend I'd got back down to my lowest weight of the year 147.2lb. Saturday I was going to my friends... then at the last minute we decided to go out of town shopping. This is my diary stats for Saturday:

Exercise: 1002 (walked for 5 hours shopping)
Calories: 2010
Carbs: 268
Protein: 57
Fat: 75
Sodium: 1438

I was under on everything for this day, although I already have my diary set to lightly active as I walk for 7 hours a day in my job, but on the weekends logging exercise helps me be motivated to move. So I was actually over by 388 calories.

Diary stats for Sunday:

Exercise: 350
Calories: 1586
Carbs: 181
Protein: 77
Fat: 61
Sodium: 1793

Weight Sunday: 148.8
Weight Monday: 148.6
Total gain: 1.6lb.

I weigh daily to keep my on track, as I'm one of those people who tend to say "ohhh, it's only ONE day..." and when I wasn't weighing everyday I started to just eat anything and everything. I don't care if I'm bouncing around numbers usually, but I have noticed a consistent trend that I will be doing well, losing... then I have a day where I overeat by a few hundred calories, and BAM! I've gained, and it takes me the rest of the week to lose it. This is why I've lost less than 1lb a month on average. At this rate, I'm gunna be this same damn weight in a years time!

The worst thing I ate on Saturday was a Burger King ice cream. Saturday I had 8 glasses of fluids, and Sunday I had 10. had been over by 150 calories previously in the week and lost. WHY have I gained? It's not sodium as I was below on both days. Why can't I have a cheat day like everyone else? I can't live my life NEVER having anything 'naughty', cos that's a diet.
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Replies

  • aimeelouwhite
    aimeelouwhite Posts: 181 Member
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    I find my weight easily fluctuates by 3 to 4lb.... especially depending on TOM
  • leesehm
    leesehm Posts: 117
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    that's barely even a kg. that will be water, your bowels (can easily be half a kg!!! haha) i bet ya. stop weighing so often. do it every week rather than everyday.
    other thing is not to overestimate your exercise. i dont imagine walking for 5 hours shopping would have really burnt 1000 calories......
  • Poods71
    Poods71 Posts: 502 Member
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    Sorry, can't give you any answers as I am having the same problem myself but would like to see what other people have to say.
  • got2tryagain
    got2tryagain Posts: 26
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    You will have no side effects from cheating so soon, also your weight will jump around all day long.
  • taiyola
    taiyola Posts: 964 Member
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    I get the contraceptive injection so I don't have TOM exactly.

    Also, as I said and you read, I weigh most days for a valid reason.

    And it's not going to be an over-estimation, cos when I wear my HRM, it's always way over MFP. MFP will give me 200, and HRM will say 350 etc. But anyway, I'm going based on my actual daily goal, not eating back exercise calories, so it doesn't actually matter.
  • miss_rierie
    miss_rierie Posts: 6
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    Yeah, I can fluctuate by 5lb a day eating the exact same thing. You did NOT gain 1.6lb of fat overnight. Maybe you need to play around with your carb/protein/fat ratio... Or something.
  • taiyola
    taiyola Posts: 964 Member
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    My protein is at 25%, and carbs 50%. I'm usually under both daily. I'm veggie so since I haven't had whey in my life, I'm barely touching 80g a day. I used to be on around 100g a day though, and I still had the same issue.

    It just seems that no matter what I have tried, whenever I cheat by more than like 100 or so calories, I gain. It doesn't drop off after a day cos it's water etc, it stays with me. I then have to try hard to get rid of it. Then a week later I'll be over again and it'm going on flippin circles!

    Yet other people can have a whole cheat weekend every weekend, and still lose. I know this is why I'm taking so long to lose weight. I exercise a lot at work, so even if I'm 300-400 over one day, it shouldn't really matter.
  • rainghirl
    rainghirl Posts: 203 Member
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    You should be able to have cheat days. I started dieting back in April, exercised on average 3 days a week mainly running but some long hikes at weekends, and lost 19lbs having cheat days, and sometimes whole cheat weekends if I had a festival to go to! I probably would have lost it faster without the cheat days - but I feel that I have to have a life!

    Your weight can fluctuate during a day, and as people on here have said the TOM can make a big difference. I also find that it takes 2 days for cheat days to show up, so the day right after I can look like I've lost weight or stayed the same and then the day after than, bang, it goes on and I have to lose it again. What I did try and do was mitigate the cheat days, so if I was going out drinking with friends, I'd do a 5 mile hike cross country in the day or an hour's run in the morning.
  • schustc
    schustc Posts: 428 Member
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    You did not gain 1.5 lbs of fat overnight. You would have had to eat over 5000 MORE calories than your maintenance level to do so. I.e. around 7000 calories in a day give or take...

    I would be more tempted to say you are on a plateau and the scale fluctuations are just normal fluid. You don't have to have a lot of sodium to retain water. Not drinking enough water, a heavy workout, other factors can make u retain. Drink a lot of water today and see if that helps. Also make sure yet you are eating enough. A cheat day means netting your maintenance or more, but not going crazy. You only netted around 1000 calories Saturday. Hardly a cheat day. If u are on a plateau, try netting at least 1500 every day and closer to 1700, and or, have a real cheat day where you net at least 2200 calories and see if that helps. Good luck!
  • taiyola
    taiyola Posts: 964 Member
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    I have had previous issues with eating disorders for 8 years, but I've been 100% recovered for over a year now, and in recovery for around a year before that, so I'm unsure if it would be anything to do with that still. :/

    I'm on 1622 a day, so it's not like my body's starving or anything.
  • taiyola
    taiyola Posts: 964 Member
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    You should be able to have cheat days. I started dieting back in April, exercised on average 3 days a week mainly running but some long hikes at weekends, and lost 19lbs having cheat days, and sometimes whole cheat weekends if I had a festival to go to! I probably would have lost it faster without the cheat days - but I feel that I have to have a life!

    Your weight can fluctuate during a day, and as people on here have said the TOM can make a big difference. I also find that it takes 2 days for cheat days to show up, so the day right after I can look like I've lost weight or stayed the same and then the day after than, bang, it goes on and I have to lose it again. What I did try and do was mitigate the cheat days, so if I was going out drinking with friends, I'd do a 5 mile hike cross country in the day or an hour's run in the morning.

    I have tried exercising most days, running 6 days a week when I was only working part-time, and currently I have an active job, and my main exercise is walking. A few weeks ago I was on the cross-trainer and using a kettlebell on top of that, but gotten a little lazy since my HRM died, and I haven't yet replaced the battery. However, I still always had the same problem, exercise or no exercise.
  • shelbyfrootcake
    shelbyfrootcake Posts: 965 Member
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    It's a water, hormones (regardless of Depo), sodium, bowel movements etc thing that will all cause fluctuations. I weigh almost daily to keep a track of the fluctuations but I don't pay any heed to them. The weekly, or even monthly, figures are the only ones you should pay any real attention to.
  • leesehm
    leesehm Posts: 117
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    what is your bmi? it's harder to lose if you are closer to normal
  • schustc
    schustc Posts: 428 Member
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    I have had previous issues with eating disorders for 8 years, but I've been 100% recovered for over a year now, and in recovery for around a year before that, so I'm unsure if it would be anything to do with that still. :/

    I'm on 1622 a day, so it's not like my body's starving or anything.

    With exercise, for Saturday and Sunday you averaged about 1000 calories a day.. not 1622. Over time eating that low will cause what you are seeing because your body is fighting the loss. Good luck

    Eta: congratulations on overcoming the eds... possibly could be part of it. Your body needs more fuel. You may want to set your goal to .5 per week and eat back most of your exercise calories...
  • taiyola
    taiyola Posts: 964 Member
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    You did not gain 1.5 lbs of fat overnight. You would have had to eat over 5000 MORE calories than your maintenance level to do so. I.e. around 7000 calories in a day give or take...

    I would be more tempted to say you are on a plateau and the scale fluctuations are just normal fluid. You don't have to have a lot of sodium to retain water. Not drinking enough water, a heavy workout, other factors can make u retain. Drink a lot of water today and see if that helps. Also make sure yet you are eating enough. A cheat day means netting your maintenance or more, but not going crazy. You only netted around 1000 calories Saturday. Hardly a cheat day. If u are on a plateau, try netting at least 1500 every day and closer to 1700, and or, have a real cheat day where you net at least 2200 calories and see if that helps. Good luck!

    It's not a plateau as I'd consistently lost the previous week. I'd lost 2lb the past couple of weeks. It's just ALWAYS been like this. Lots of water, no water. Lots of exercise, no exercise. 1200 calories or 1700 calories. I don't know what's going on. Sticking around my goal works and I lose every day, and then as soon as I 'cheat' by like 300-500 calories on average, I gain and fight to lose that again. A week ago today I was about the same weight as I am now. I'm 250 a day below my TDEE, so even when I overeat, I'm only just over my TDEE, and shouldn't be gaining and sticking with that weight.
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
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    After a year I found that cheat days didn't work for me. In life there are going to be days where you don't get to choose and you'll go over. Other than that, you stick with the program which does not include cheat days.
  • leesehm
    leesehm Posts: 117
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    but in all seriousness. weigh yourself again next friday and it should be less (or at least will be within the month). like everyone has said, no point paying attention to the day to day changes.
  • taiyola
    taiyola Posts: 964 Member
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    It's a water, hormones (regardless of Depo), sodium, bowel movements etc thing that will all cause fluctuations. I weigh almost daily to keep a track of the fluctuations but I don't pay any heed to them. The weekly, or even monthly, figures are the only ones you should pay any real attention to.

    I don't always pay attention to the numbers, it depends what they say lol. If I go up half a pound and haven't eaten over, I just think oh, nevermind. And it's gone the next day.

    But when I see a trend of cheating = gaining and it not falling off the next day or two, that's why I'm concerned. :/
  • taiyola
    taiyola Posts: 964 Member
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    what is your bmi? it's harder to lose if you are closer to normal

    It's about 24/25.

    5'4" and my waist is 30.5"
  • taiyola
    taiyola Posts: 964 Member
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    I have had previous issues with eating disorders for 8 years, but I've been 100% recovered for over a year now, and in recovery for around a year before that, so I'm unsure if it would be anything to do with that still. :/

    I'm on 1622 a day, so it's not like my body's starving or anything.

    With exercise, for Saturday and Sunday you averaged about 1000 calories a day.. not 1622. Over time eating that low will cause what you are seeing because your body is fighting the loss. Good luck

    Eta: congratulations on overcoming the eds... possibly could be part of it. Your body needs more fuel. You may want to set your goal to .5 per week and eat back most of your exercise calories...

    My exercise is already included in my food. I wasn't under by loads on either of those days. My activity level is set at lightly active. I only log to keep me active when I'm not at work. I don't eat back my exercise calories because they're already included. Yesterday I was under by like 50 or something.

    And thankyou. I tried eating 1722, but that's only about 150 under my TDEE, and I wasn't losing at all, so I tried 1622 and started losing again. :)

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