Cheat Day To Break Plateau

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nate92315
nate92315 Posts: 44 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I dropped a quick 10 pounds or so then i plateaued and havn't been able to drop an ounce over the last 7 or 8 days. I've heard having a cheat day where you eat an excessive amount of calories can break a plateau and get you losing weight again. Does anyone have an experience doing this? What do you eat and how much of it do you consume on your cheat day?
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Replies

  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
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    Weight loss isn't linear, you won't lose constantly.. that being said a plateau is more like 2-3 months of no movement, not a week.. Get a digital food scale, measure your food, find your TDEE (do a search if your not sure what that is) subtract 20% from that number, and eat that..

    I vote no on a cheat day for you.. the 10 lbs was water weight, you eat a big excessive calorie meal/day and that 10 will be right back.
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    A week is not a plateau. Consider doing something if you go for several weeks without losing anything.

    If you still haven't lost anything in a few weeks it could work, it worked once for me. Then again, just sticking with the same diet and doing nothing different also worked a different time, so I think the biggest thing is just patience.
  • CorlissaEats
    CorlissaEats Posts: 493 Member
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    ^^^ what this guy said. A plateau lasts several weeks.

    And define cheat day. Eating up to your TDEE for a day can be positive for metabolism and mental health, but a free for all binge-fest not so much.

    Periods of "stalled" loss happen. Doesnt mean your body composition is sitting still, just might be limited to your scale. Keep at anything for at least 3 weeks before you make tweaks. My 5 week "plateau" had to be broken by increasing my calories because I wasnt eating enough so check your numbers at iifym.com or scoobysworkshop.com
  • tskvaughn
    tskvaughn Posts: 114 Member
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    I was on a 3 month plateau once after losing 60#s. I ate a pint of Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby one day and coincidence or not it jump started me.

    Sadly, a family crisis triggered a 2.5 year eating binge and I gained all the weight back. :sad:

    The good thing is that I know I can do this.
  • GeeWillickers
    GeeWillickers Posts: 85 Member
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    You never mentioned how quick that 10 pound loss happened. Often we lose that right off the start in simple water weight. Before panicking realize that it will take some weeks before you start to notice a consistent pattern of loss. Heck, I bounce 10 up and down week to week depending on activities. To illustrate I just weighed myself and scale says 209, Monday I was 218. Now I can give you a whole bunch of factors to explain this but, won't bore you (anymore) other than to say that the best advice I've ever received is to watch the results in the mirror. Use your weigh ins to help adjust your intake but, don't fixate on them.
  • albertine58
    albertine58 Posts: 267 Member
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    agree with above. a week isn't a plateau. I don't even believe in plateaus - if you're not losing, you're eating more than you think- simple as that (or overestimating your workout burns, if you eat your exercise cals back). use a food scale for everything. I don't believe in doing cheat days either - your weight will be up for days after due to water retention & replenishing your glycogen stores. It's SO demoralizing to see the huge scale spike even 3-5 days after a 'cheat day' - it's too tempting to just quit, because it looks like you undid all your progress. heck, I ate chinese food last thursday and the scale is STILL up, despite being 'perfect' since then! Most of that 10 lbs will probably come right back and you'll feel like a failure. eat a higher calorie meal if you want, but track it - don't eat anything & everything you want for an entire day. it's not worth it!

    I eat a little more (& often drink) on fridays & saturdays, but I still track everything and my average cal intake for the week comes out to 1500-1600.
  • nate92315
    nate92315 Posts: 44 Member
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    Well I've been eating under 600 calories daily for the last two weeks. Maybe if I eat a normal amount of calories for a few days my body will start metabolizing fat.
  • mrsamanda86
    mrsamanda86 Posts: 869 Member
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    Well I've been eating under 600 calories daily for the last two weeks. Maybe if I eat a normal amount of calories for a few days my body will start metabolizing fat.


    .....WHY would you ever think it's a good idea to eat 600 calories for TWO WEEKS??? That's insane. Please eat more!
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    Well I've been eating under 600 calories daily for the last two weeks. Maybe if I eat a normal amount of calories for a few days my body will start metabolizing fat.

    Why on Earth have you been doing that?
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Well I've been eating under 600 calories daily for the last two weeks. Maybe if I eat a normal amount of calories for a few days my body will start metabolizing fat.

    In that case, I don't think a cheat day is going to help you out much. You'd just end up in the same predicament again later. Is there a medical reason you're eating so little?
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
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    Well I've been eating under 600 calories daily for the last two weeks. Maybe if I eat a normal amount of calories for a few days my body will start metabolizing fat.

    If you are eating that few calories, your body will begin to break down your lean muscle mass. It's also damaging to internal organs and your heart and will make your brain work much less efficiently. Eat more. A normal deficit will cause you to lose fat weight.
  • nate92315
    nate92315 Posts: 44 Member
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    Well I've been eating under 600 calories daily for the last two weeks. Maybe if I eat a normal amount of calories for a few days my body will start metabolizing fat.

    trolling I guess?

    huh?
  • nate92315
    nate92315 Posts: 44 Member
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    Its just a temporary thing. I know its not healthy.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
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    Its just a temporary thing. I know its not healthy.

    then don't do it. Do what's healthy and be safe.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,695 Member
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    Well I've been eating under 600 calories daily for the last two weeks. Maybe if I eat a normal amount of calories for a few days my body will start metabolizing fat.
    You're doing it wrong then. It should be 500 calories a day. :laugh:

    Extreme calorie deficits force the body to lower metabolic rate and don't supply enough nutrients to keep a body performing efficiently. Your body is reacting by refusing to kill itself.

    Don't know why you're on a calorie counting site that gives you information to lose weight safely and you choose not to. Best advice, follow what MFP guidelines for you.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • nate92315
    nate92315 Posts: 44 Member
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    A lot of people lose weight safely with starvation diets. Christian Bale dropped 50 pounds over the course of a few months eating just a can of tuna and an apple a day.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Are you under the supervision of a doctor? If so, this might be a question better asked of them. If not, you really should be if you're going to attempt a VLCD (very low calorie diet).
  • sjaykay13
    sjaykay13 Posts: 74
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    Weight loss isn't linear, you won't lose constantly.. that being said a plateau is more like 2-3 months of no movement, not a week.. Get a digital food scale, measure your food, find your TDEE (do a search if your not sure what that is) subtract 20% from that number, and eat that..

    I vote no on a cheat day for you.. the 10 lbs was water weight, you eat a big excessive calorie meal/day and that 10 will be right back.

    Agree with everything!

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