Appetite changing depending on cheat day?

Losingthedamnweight
Losingthedamnweight Posts: 536 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Is it just me? Or does the sense of hunger go up and down depending on how your eating habits fluctuate? I have the hardest time getting full off less than 2,000 calories. Really. It can get hard to stick to when there's so many temptations staring me in the face everywhere I go. But I white knuckle it and force myself to stick to my calorie budget for a few days and usually at the 3 day mark, I start feeling more satisfied with how much food I'm getting. I'm more full and not thinking about food as much. I'm fine with my budget now.

But then....TERROR STRIKES. I allow myself a cheat meal or day and all of a sudden, it's pretty impressive how much food I can shovel into my mouth before I get full. The next day I go back to counting calories and I just can't do it. Can't. No way. Nu uh. I eat my usual meals but the temptation to screw up and put junk in my mouth is too great. I just don't feel full and this is when I usually say "ahhh screw it. Let tomorrow be yet another day one!" And go on a junk food binge eating everything in sight.

Rinse, repeat and this is the reason it took me so long to get things under control. Anyone else ever notice the slip ups or "cheat days" messe with your appetite and totally throw you off track? I had to ultimately cut out cheat days and just incorporate what I want in small pieces into my daily calories.

Replies

  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    My hardest day is always the day after a cheat day. Feeling your feels, man!
  • LoseWithLaurie
    LoseWithLaurie Posts: 64 Member
    Um...don't cheat. It takes a few weeks for new habits to form and you are resetting yourself before new eating habits can take hold. If you want this, you have to be consistent and stay committed. You have to WANT this. Period. Quit finding excuses and start kicking some *kitten*....you can do it, but you have to want it and be willing to do whatever it takes...no one gets fat by eating because they're hungry. It's a mental urge to self medicate that you're feeling, not physical hunger.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    what's your calorie goal? how much are you trying to lose? If you're really struggling that much to feel full then maybe your deficit is too big.

    So long as you eat less than you burn off, you will still lose weight. You're a man, so unless you're short, thin and small framed, it's likely that you can eat 2000 calories or more each day and still lose weight. You need to calculate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) to get an estimate of how much you're burning, then eat less than that. If you have a lot of fat to lose (like 100lb+) you can eat 30% less than that, a moderate amount of fat eat 20% less, if you just have a little fat to lose it's better to stick to just 10% less. But even if you have a lot to lose you don't have to cut as much as 30%... you can eat more, you'll just lose weight more slowly.,

    bottom line is that what you do has to be sustainable. So a smaller deficit (i.e. eat more, but still less than you burn off) and it's a lot easier to stick to long term. You lose weight more slowly, but this isn't about how fast you can lose weight, it's about maintaining a healthy lifestyle and your goal weight for life.
  • hwoeltjen
    hwoeltjen Posts: 199 Member
    You are going to be more hungry the day after a cheat day.....because you most likely ate a bunch of simple carbohydrates that broke down quickly.

    On more healthy days....you most likely eat complex carbs and protein that take longer to digest.
  • Denis1404
    Denis1404 Posts: 11
    I use an intermittent fast to get over the effects of cheat day. It falls on a Sunday and is my time to be lazy and sleep in. I'm not much good for anything after a cheat day. I only fast for about 15 hours from my last meal the night before so usually eat around lunchtime. I try to do a bit of light exercise like swimming (summer here) or a walk on the beach before I break my fast. Last week my first meal was my breakfast shake and I was under pre-cheat day weight by the next day. I have been experimenting with this for abut 4 weeks and so far so good.
  • HEALTHSIDEKICK
    HEALTHSIDEKICK Posts: 5
    Couldn't agree with you more, mental and spiritual are essential in my opinion to losing weight!
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    yep, I am with ya
  • HEALTHSIDEKICK
    HEALTHSIDEKICK Posts: 5
    Also, are you doing a slow carb diet? Sounded like it when you mentioned cheat day. I am a big fan of a high protein diet, keeps me satisfied much longer. Good luck, stay the course and you achieve your goal!
  • lisalsd1
    lisalsd1 Posts: 1,519 Member
    I only cheat on Fridays. Friday=Fun Day. That keeps me regulated.
  • dfullerton0830
    dfullerton0830 Posts: 1
    I am new to the actual forums here but not to working out and diet plans (just got back to they gym after 6 months after stomach surgery and have extra weight to lose). I have found the best way to keep to a diet is eating the right foods at the right time. Now it also depends on when you exercise.

    But for example: eat carbs and protein when you wake up to replenish yourself and get you off to a good start. I workout in the morning and post-workout is when it is just as important for you to consume some fast acting carbohydrates as well as protein. Use this meal to get in some "cheat" foods every day. Obviously you still have to not consume crazy amounts but some of my favorite post-workout meals are Dominos thin crust, chicken and red peppers, light cheese pizza. About half of the pizza is about 450-500 calories but your body uses those carbs immediately to replenish from your workout. Or chicken teriyaki and only eat about 1 cup of brown rice (most teriyaki places have brown rice if you ask). Another 500 calorie meal with plenty of protein and some great carbs.

    If you can limit the carbs on these meals you still get full and also feel like you were able to eat whatever you like. but it is important to eat those meals earlier in the day and after exercising. Then you don't have to have "cheat days" at all and carefully place "cheat meals" throughout the week. This makes it easier for me.

    As for results. I am down 6 lbs in 15 days and eat 2000-2300 calories per day. I weigh 180lbs and am 5'8". Not sure if this helps any but works for me. Good luck.
  • Losingthedamnweight
    Losingthedamnweight Posts: 536 Member
    I am new to the actual forums here but not to working out and diet plans (just got back to they gym after 6 months after stomach surgery and have extra weight to lose). I have found the best way to keep to a diet is eating the right foods at the right time. Now it also depends on when you exercise.

    But for example: eat carbs and protein when you wake up to replenish yourself and get you off to a good start. I workout in the morning and post-workout is when it is just as important for you to consume some fast acting carbohydrates as well as protein. Use this meal to get in some "cheat" foods every day. Obviously you still have to not consume crazy amounts but some of my favorite post-workout meals are Dominos thin crust, chicken and red peppers, light cheese pizza. About half of the pizza is about 450-500 calories but your body uses those carbs immediately to replenish from your workout. Or chicken teriyaki and only eat about 1 cup of brown rice (most teriyaki places have brown rice if you ask). Another 500 calorie meal with plenty of protein and some great carbs.

    If you can limit the carbs on these meals you still get full and also feel like you were able to eat whatever you like. but it is important to eat those meals earlier in the day and after exercising. Then you don't have to have "cheat days" at all and carefully place "cheat meals" throughout the week. This makes it easier for me.

    As for results. I am down 6 lbs in 15 days and eat 2000-2300 calories per day. I weigh 180lbs and am 5'8". Not sure if this helps any but works for me. Good luck.

    Looking good man! You're pretty much the embodiment of my goal. What do you typically eat in a day? And what's your favorite meal to get you full off the lowest cals?
  • popupvideo
    popupvideo Posts: 50 Member
    Sometimes I feel like I'm eating for the week, and have this mindset that I'm fueling the mountain climbing I'm about to have to do. My appetite does change after cheating and it's hard to turn around bad choices. I've had great success with dieting in the past but cannot turn around this anxiety-induced lackadaisical attitude I have about staying in deficit now.
  • focuseddiva
    focuseddiva Posts: 174 Member
    Yes. I totally understand what you're saying. I think there are two parts to why you're feeling this way:

    1) I;ve heard this phrase: Willpower is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. This applies to eating healthfully and staying on track with your calorie goals. As you do it each day, you're ability to follow it gets easier. It takes a while to turn this into a habit. So as each day goes by that you stick to the plan, your body gets used to it. You feel better and/or your body gets used to less calories and you don't feel as hungry.

    2) The cheat day. So, your body is getting used to a several days feeling pretty good .. then BOOM. Carbs. Sugar. Extra calories. You go from humming along to crashing and burning. When your body tries to process all of that, you actually feel hungrier. And because you're hungrier, it's hard to get back to that "oh, I feel okay on less calories" feeling. And therefore it's harder to fight the urge to binge again.

    Having said all of that, I can tell you I could have written your post myself. For the past two years, I have been trapped in that same cycle. I eat well, exercise for a few days ... then hunger strikes and I start shoveling food in my face. After, I get that, "What did I do?" feeling. I feel sick and sluggish. Next day, I've got major hunger pains and I have to work through that day really ignoring the awful hunger pains (which I am assuming is coming down from a carb crash). The physical feeling is nevr worth it. I always tell myself that the morning after a binge. It is NEVER worth it. and yet I repeat the pattern. I've done this for the last two years and it has netted me a 40-pound gain.

    Most people will tell you ti simply plan for indulgences in your daily calorie budget. Or to eat your cheat meals in moderation. Plan for that burger and fries. Etc. For me, that is too hard to do. Those moderate indulgences are actually triggers. I can't control myself after having a burger or a slice of pizza. It just makes me want more. It's better for me to avoid them completely.
    I joined MFP one week ago to try to stop this train from derailing completely. And so far, it's helping -- even though the scale isn't showing it right now. But this past week has been my best week of eating in terms of calories that I have had a very long time. I just wanted to get through the week, and I did. Now I'll tackle the next week. My hope is that by the ed of 3 weeks, I'll see some sort of loss/progress -- and that will fuel my motivation even more. And by then, that willpwoer muscle will be nice and pumped and it will get easier from there.

    But yeah. Bottom line -- cheat days totally throw me off. Some people can do them. I really can't.
  • Denis1404
    Denis1404 Posts: 11
    Not used to how these threads work but were you talking to me? I have been following Tim Ferris's 4HB slow carb diet for just over 3 months. I started at 67.5 kg and dropped a bit of weight when I first started then plateaued for 4 weeks. Since then it's been a steady drop except towards the end of cycle days but had accelerated loss since logging calories. I eat 1200 but more on harder workout days. Pretty easy to do following strict SCD but found I need to be careful with avocado, eggs and legumes so that is something I have adjusted recently. I rarely hit my protein target.

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