Once-a-week "Bad Meal." Anyone else do this?

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  • SunnyLu
    SunnyLu Posts: 8
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    I love this idea.... thanks for sharing :)

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  • Caffeinewitch
    Caffeinewitch Posts: 110 Member
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    I've done the whole day as a "treat/cheat/you know you want it" day and now it's gone down to a meal. For me, it's when I have friends over once a week for hanging out and playing Dungeons and Dragons. We buy snacks - although I've bought fruit and veggies more - and have pizza or chinese. Usually I find myself more pleased than guilty because I have 1) been good all week, b) am eating what I really want and iii) eat less than I fear because my stomach has actually shrunk!

    So keep it up!
  • Sweet13_Princess
    Sweet13_Princess Posts: 1,207 Member
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    I don't do the bad meal once a week thing, but I don't beat myself down if I go over the calorie count every once in a while. Like a lot of you said, I think it confuses your body and gets your metabolism up and running again. I'd mainly be curious to know if people still lose weight while doing it or if they find weight loss to be more of a struggle as a result....

    Shannon
  • ironmule2042
    ironmule2042 Posts: 103
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    I do the cheat day each week as well. I find I have to to stay sane some weeks. Besides how else am I going to feed mt Taco Bell addiction! :-)
  • tolygal
    tolygal Posts: 602 Member
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    I have days where I eat under my calories and days when I eat over. Some days I'm just really busy and not really thinking about food/not hungry and I'm under calories. Some days I'm hungrier than normal and I let myself eat more. I think that my body gets enough confusion from this regular way of eating. If I'm going to a place where I know there will be stuff outside of the norm (like the upcoming Christmas parties, for example), I just allow myself to enduldge (but not binge) and I workout a little more to compensate - because that's how maintenance looks to me.

    I don't give myself a planned weekly day or meal to "splurge/binge" on a bunch of crap because honestly, every time I have one of those days (like at a party or something), I end up with cravings for days - and it sucks! Why would I want to plan for those days every week/month? And why plan days that allow me to fall back into the bad habits that contributed to my weight gain in the first place? Also - don't you start to really look forward to those days and obsess over them while you're cutting calories every other day? I know I would. I'm really trying to learn a healthier lifestyle - for life. I get having a planned day every now and then to go over in calories - I completely believe in that concept. What I don't understand is why go to such extremes (that I've read on a few of the posts). Why not have a few hundred calories extra - of something healthy (or even not healthy)? Why does it have to be the crappy stuff that got most of us here in the first place? If you're talking about a piece of cake for an extra 300-500 calories a day - okay I get that. But some of the posts sound like it's a whole lot more than that. Why not plan to eat healthy all the time and then if an occasion or a certain craving comes up, then allow yourself to induldge, within reason? Why not allow for those occasional splurges rather than plan an entire crappy meal or day? That just seems more healthy and sustainable to me.

    Now that I've put myself out there (disagreeing with the majority in this thread), I do want to say that I'm of the opinion that you do what works for you, and if this works for you (general you), then by all means... I'm just throwing out the question because I don't understand and I know it would never work for me - and I wouldn't want it to.
  • msamcoates
    msamcoates Posts: 261 Member
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    I take a whole day once a week. Usually a Friday where I eat bad all 3 meals. But I work out hard after the third meal. I feel like I am accomplishing something that day. I was told by a nutritionist that it confuses the body and will keep you out of that starvation mode. When I first started loosing weight I went into the starvation mode for 3 weeks and didn't loose hardly anything then I talked to her and the pounds started falling off again.

    I also do this. My trainer recommended it for the same reasons everyone has stated. Then she says the next day to have as few carbs as possible and to workout. So my bad days are usually Fridays as well and I workout Saturday morning.
  • DrumlineGirl
    DrumlineGirl Posts: 178 Member
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    In response to Tonya- everyone is different. I did this same plan several years ago and it worked like a charm for me. I lost about 15 pounds in a couple of months. I do agree that it's probably not good to eat junk food all day long once-a-week, but for me, if I can have a yummy food that I've been craving and that isn't so healthy, I don't see anything wrong with it. I don't fall back into bad habits, I'm back to my healthy low cal diet the next day. Some people can't do that, and that's OK, it's not for everyone. And some people are trying to cut out junk food and sugar forever, some are not. So you can see how it would be different for everyone.

    I use it as a reward to myself, and because I'm trying to be realistic about my future. I'm not going to deny myself this occasional indulgences in my life, so even though I'm trying to lose weight, I'm also getting used to the occasional high cal item, so I know how to deal with it later when I'm maintaining. That's just my take!
  • cjduckie
    cjduckie Posts: 78 Member
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    Also - don't you start to really look forward to those days and obsess over them while you're cutting calories every other day? I know I would. I'm really trying to learn a healthier lifestyle - for life.

    @Tonya - funny you should say that.. For me, it was exactly like that in the first few weeks of my journey - I would crave and "obsess" over my Saturday MacD's fix (bearing in mind that I previously pretty much had a MacD's addiction), but knowing I was "allowed" to have it on my "treat day" gave me something to look forward to. The funny thing about this is - after about a month of eating this way, my cravings pretty much disappeared so more often than not I don't even have my so-called "treat" on "treatday", however: I take pleasure in knowing that if I really want to, I can and won't feel guilty about it (the irony is, that I take even more pleasure in knowing I can have it if I want, but I don't really even want it anymore). In the past few weeks, I have gradually started changing my "treat day" to an "event day" - due to silly season parties and all that. My weightloss continues steadily, and I'm happy - lifestyle change like you said :) Do what works for you & good luck!
  • Pamalaw
    Pamalaw Posts: 9
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    I allow myself to do this, but I don't assign a specific day and save it for when something comes up and it is just easier to run through the drive thru or if there is a holiday party, bday party, dinner out with family.. that kind of thing.. I will say that when it's a drive thru run I do pay attention and pick a lower calorie option vs. whatever my previous favorite was... and I do pay attention to portion a bit when I'm out to eat... but I don't obsess over whatever my calorie count that day...

    I have also noticed that if I don't go over my calorie goal every couple of weeks or so then I hit a plateau and then as soon as I eat a bigger meal and go over I'll start dropping again almost immediately... I actually did a little yoyo action at the end of this summer and it was while I was being very strict with calories but not exercising enough.. now that I'm moving more again and throwing in a treat day once a week or so, I seem to be doing better....
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Oh, here's a blurb I just found offline that is really good:

    "Weight Loss Stalled

    It is common for weight loss to slow down after you have been restricting your calories for a period of time, this is because your body is so good at adapting to things. When you cut your calories your body adapts by slowing your metabolism and since your metabolism is what allows you to burn fat your weight loss grinds to a halt.

    The only way to reverse this is to confuse your body so it cannot adapt and to do that you have to eat more. When you overeat for a day your metabolism springs up to peak performance to manage all of the extra calories coming in, then you return to your low calorie diet the next day but your metabolism stays high and you have a week of strong fat burning.

    Sound crazy? I will admit this goes against traditional dieting but this is not a new concept in fact it has been researched and tested in real-life people for more than 15 years with a fantastic track record.

    Are you worried about weight gain? The common fear is that you will gain weight from this day but what research has found is that your metabolism bounces back faster than your body can lay down fat and each week you get leaner and leaner.

    If your weight loss stalled don't get frustrated, the solution is to add a cheat day. I encourage you to try this in your life or follow the links below for more detailed instructions on how to make this work for you." end quote.

    I have not seen any research that supports this idea. It sounds like one of those "folklore" tales that is passed around.

    I read a lot of research on this topic and most suggest that, for the average person following a normal restricted-calorie eating plan, there is no difference over time in the amount of food energy absorbed (i.e. the body doesn't try to "hold on" to the food energy any more than before) and reductions in metabolism are modest, although varied.

    While it is true that weight loss tends to plateau over time, "adaptation" to the calorie restriction plays only a small role.

    That doesn't mean that it is not a good idea to occasionally vary your intake. But I doubt if one meal is going to make any difference. You are better off eating at a maintenance level for a week or so (not a "cheat" meal).

    I personally don't like the nomenclature of a "bad" meal or "cheat" meal, but that' s more a matter of personal philosophy and syntax. To me, "cheat" sounds like you are following some external plan, a "diet prison sentence", so to speak, and one meal is "breaking the rules".

    I have always looked at this as a long-term lifestyle change. In that perspective, you are following some basic principles, but the details are going to vary from time to time. Part of normal life involves having food in celebratory and social situations and enjoying food/wine, etc, just for the sensory pleasure. Rather than being a "cheat" meal, it's just a normal variation of your healthy lifestyle.

    To me, and I don't mean to sound too preachy since it is just a personal opinion, I think someone who is caught up in the idea that they have to have a "cheat" meal on a scheduled basis, might to think about their overall approach. Maybe the eating plan needs to be more "normal" and not such a structured "diet". Again, just a slightly different perspective, not meant to be judgmental.
  • pinksocks73
    pinksocks73 Posts: 86
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    I see EVERY choice I make on the scale. I see someone eat cake and I swear it ends up on my *kitten*. If I have a craving I will wait it out, and I mean at least a few weeks. If it hasn't gone away I may allow myself a small portion but I will expect to have to work it off for the better part of 1/2 a week. Any bad choice results in a non-loss week for me so Im really aware that is my tradeoff.

    I have this very same problem! I have to be soooo careful of what I eat...one slip up and I could gain 5 pounds from it! I have always battled with my weight, and get very frustrated that the 15 minutes it takes to consume a hamburger and a small mocha frappe can undo an entire week of "being good".
  • downtome
    downtome Posts: 529 Member
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    My approach is a little different. I do well all week then on Saturday I allow myself a meal with more calories then I would normally eat such as a burrito from Baja's Fresh, but I will becareful with my other two meals for the day such as eating low calories. I don't go out on a binge thinking what the hell, it's just one meal that I feel I have to have. If I want a couple of cookies during the week then I fit it into my calorie budget and that's that! This seems to work for me and I enjoy having that one meal a week that I am craving but I do not go all out. You can't totally deprive yourself all the time. If you are losing weight and staying in control then good for you, it's about not letting it get you down and totaling blowing it for days on end. Like others have said, it's a lifestyle change, Work it into your food plan in a normal way and don't feel quilty. Your in control, not the food! Good luck!

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