interesting info on "cheat days/meals"
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Why not?Crap. I was just getting ready to re-institute a cheat meal for every 5 pounds I lose for my remaining 20 pounds.
A cheat meal can still be in your calorie deficit.
I agree with this.. but rewarding yourself with food seems counterproductive IMHO.
So you are going to lose 50 pounds I a strict diet the entire time. Your better than me. I could do that but then craving slowly come back. I know how to handle a craving and help a setback if it happens. I reward myself every week, but my goals are different from the majority of people on here.
No... I meant using food as a reward for losing 5lbs. It seems like it could potentially lead to emotional eating... but those are just my thoughts. What works for one person does not work for all.
If pizza is your favorite food, and you lost XX weight, there is no reason why the person cannot indulge and have some pizza.
I just suggest people to make it a win win though and eat your fav stuff and stay at your maintenance cals
I never said a person couldn't have a food that they loved... that's not what I meant at all. If I want pizza or whatever I eat it... but I don't celebrate getting healthy by eating. Why use food to celebrate? Why not a new workout shirt or running shoes... that's what I meant. Sorry if I wasn't clear.
As I said earlier though... that was just my opinion.0 -
If pizza is your favorite food, and you lost XX weight, there is no reason why the person cannot indulge and have some pizza.
Why couldn't you indulge and have some pizza without making it a reward. I do on occasion.
I'm not saying it can't work for anyone--we are all different. But the idea that reward=food is probably not a good mindset to get into for a lot of us. I just finished a big work project yesterday, and even though I've been working on breaking it (and even though I fit in what I want to my goals) the idea that I deserve a treat is still one that was floating around in my mind. I ignored it and ate within my calories and had room for some ice cream anyway, which was because it fit, not because it was a reward.0 -
I call BS. People without weight issues, people that don't ever log their meals or count calories - most of them eat more on holidays than regular days. It's called living - you have to be flexible or it's just never going to work. So, you lose the weight and you're never going to enjoy a big family meal at Thanksgiving anymore? You'll be over there weighing out your green beans or counting out 3 pieces of chocolate that you can fit into your calories...or being miserable the day before and/or after by hardly eating to "make up" for one day of indulgence? Screw that. If it's Thanksgiving or Easter, I'm eating whatever I want. A few days a year, or even a couple days a month, shouldn't derail your weight loss/maintenance. If having one day of high calorie foods makes you give up and just continue to eat that way after the holiday has passed, then I'm sorry but you're just weak.
Flexibility is what life is all about. In our diets and elsewhere.0 -
We all get craving for crap food. Mine is very minimal but still there. depends on what a cheat day is. I cycle my calories anyways so I don't have a suppose cheat day.
This is what I was wondering about. As reported, it sounds as if it's saying cycling is worse than consistent calories per day, but to believe it supports that claim I'd have to see more details about what was looked at, how it was defined, etc.
Personally I sometimes focus on the week rather than the day and also often eat differently depending on whether I've exercised or not, but I never have days where I just go wild. However, I do tend to fit in restaurant meals on Friday or Saturday specifically and fully intend to allow for more indulgent meals on Thanksgiving and Christmas, etc. It's hard to imagine why that would be a problem for maintenance, but I'm curious about the methodology.
I cycle carlories sometimes by a 1000. BTW if you look through my diary and say where, I do not really count calories anymore. This like fruits veggies there easy to count. Meats I dont weight it out just guesstimate serving sizes. I eat mcdonalds a lot more but still have lost weight. I never log salads if plain. SO little in calories. Never log salad dressings, .Portions sizes matter to.0 -
I call BS. People without weight issues, people that don't ever log their meals or count calories - most of them eat more on holidays than regular days. It's called living - you have to be flexible or it's just never going to work. So, you lose the weight and you're never going to enjoy a big family meal at Thanksgiving anymore? You'll be over there weighing out your green beans or counting out 3 pieces of chocolate that you can fit into your calories...or being miserable the day before and/or after by hardly eating to "make up" for one day of indulgence? Screw that. If it's Thanksgiving or Easter, I'm eating whatever I want. A few days a year, or even a couple days a month, shouldn't derail your weight loss/maintenance. If having one day of high calorie foods makes you give up and just continue to eat that way after the holiday has passed, then I'm sorry but you're just weak.
Flexibility is what life is all about. In our diets and elsewhere.
+1 you just balance it out. Workout more other days, eat less other days. weight loss or gain is not a one day thing.0 -
When I go strict I get craving. sometimes they lend to overeating in the past earlier this year.
Yeah, my suspicion is that they might be talking about being really strict most days and then having days where you just go nuts. I can see how that would lead to binge like eating for lots of people. (For me it mostly just leads me to stop being so strict on regular days.) If so, it's not reported very well (which wouldn't shock me), as the description makes it sounds like they are saying more, such as that cycling is bad.0 -
Crap. I was just getting ready to re-institute a cheat meal for every 5 pounds I lose for my remaining 20 pounds.
A cheat meal can still be in your calorie deficit.
Nah, if you're still in a deficit it can hardly be called cheating. At that point it's just IIFYM, which I do anyway.
oh yes it can. If you eat something with lots of fat but still in calorie limit I would call that a cheat meal.
Fat is bad?0 -
I call BS. People without weight issues, people that don't ever log their meals or count calories - most of them eat more on holidays than regular days. It's called living - you have to be flexible or it's just never going to work. So, you lose the weight and you're never going to enjoy a big family meal at Thanksgiving anymore? You'll be over there weighing out your green beans or counting out 3 pieces of chocolate that you can fit into your calories...or being miserable the day before and/or after by hardly eating to "make up" for one day of indulgence? Screw that. If it's Thanksgiving or Easter, I'm eating whatever I want. A few days a year, or even a couple days a month, shouldn't derail your weight loss/maintenance. If having one day of high calorie foods makes you give up and just continue to eat that way after the holiday has passed, then I'm sorry but you're just weak.
Flexibility is what life is all about. In our diets and elsewhere.
I agree but not totally...
I think the issue here is not just holiday's and weekends I think it is more about "weekends" as there are a lot more of those.
If you allow yourself more calories on the weekend...every weekend you will have issues.
Why not just eat what you want as long as it fits. For example tomorrow I might want ice cream...if I have room I will eat it...if I don't have room I will make room (maybe even take out my chocolate bar).
And I think this has some merit. Consistency is key. If you cut out your favorite foods or limit them you are asking for trouble imo.
If I want pizza I will eat pizza and I am in goal...even while in a deficit my main goal if it was an outing was maitenance...based on weekly numbers and I did not ever go over my deficit goal...for an entire year (except 8 days on vacation which were done on purpose with drinks and during christmas holidays...) but even those 2 weeks didn't put me over my average deficit..0 -
I lost 1-2 lbs a week netting 1500-1600 weekdays and 2400-3500 weekends for nearly 4 months (Jan-April), my diary is open, anyone can look, I've logged almost every day since Jan 2nd. But yeah, for the longest time my mantra was "anything goes" on the weekends and it didn't have any negative effects on my weight loss. It won't work for everyone because a lot of people seem to have trouble getting "back on track" after a "cheat", but that's why I didn't consider anything I did cheating or off track. If you set the limit for yourself and say weekdays are business and weekends are pleasure, it becomes a routine after a while. The thing is you can't say "okay, I'm cheating it's a weekend!" and not log it. I lost weight doing it because I was still netting under my weekly goal by creating a bigger deficit M-F.
ETA: I'm also not saying to set restrictions for yourself, like "no pizza/candy/chips/chocolate" on weekdays. I ate anything during the week too, just kept a larger deficit.
Right now my focus is elsewhere and I've been maintaining within 3 lbs for the past month and a half, for anyone who checks my diary. There are red numbers nearly every day :sad: .0 -
from a study I was reading today:
participants who reported a consistent diet across the week were 1.5 times more likely to maintain their weight within 5 lb over the subsequent year than participants who dieted more strictly on weekdays. A similar relationship emerged between dieting consistency across the year and subsequent weight regain; individuals who allowed themselves more flexibility on holidays had greater risk of weight regain. Allowing for flexibility in the diet may increase exposure to high-risk situations, creating more opportunity for loss of control. In contrast, individuals who maintain a consistent diet regimen across the week and year appear more likely to maintain their weight loss over time.
From: Long-term weight loss maintenance, american journal of nutrition, 2005.
I am very consistent during the week but allow myself more latitude on weekends, holidays, and vacations. This makes me re-think my strategy a bit, as I definitely want to successfully maintain my weight loss!
Not very surprising to me. Honestly it just comes down to maintaining your focus on your health in the long term. It's not very surprising to me that the more you make excuses for why it's okay to divert your focus (e.g., it's the weekend so it's okay), the more likely you are to deviate more and more. Not saying you can't or even shouldn't deviate from your plan from time to time, but just that I'm not surprised that people that strictly adhere to their routine have an increased chance of long-term success than people who are less strict.0 -
I call BS. People without weight issues, people that don't ever log their meals or count calories - most of them eat more on holidays than regular days. It's called living - you have to be flexible or it's just never going to work. So, you lose the weight and you're never going to enjoy a big family meal at Thanksgiving anymore? You'll be over there weighing out your green beans or counting out 3 pieces of chocolate that you can fit into your calories...or being miserable the day before and/or after by hardly eating to "make up" for one day of indulgence? Screw that. If it's Thanksgiving or Easter, I'm eating whatever I want. A few days a year, or even a couple days a month, shouldn't derail your weight loss/maintenance. If having one day of high calorie foods makes you give up and just continue to eat that way after the holiday has passed, then I'm sorry but you're just weak.
Flexibility is what life is all about. In our diets and elsewhere.
I agree but not totally...
I think the issue here is not just holiday's and weekends I think it is more about "weekends" as there are a lot more of those.
If you allow yourself more calories on the weekend...every weekend you will have issues.
Why not just eat what you want as long as it fits. For example tomorrow I might want ice cream...if I have room I will eat it...if I don't have room I will make room (maybe even take out my chocolate bar).
And I think this has some merit. Consistency is key. If you cut out your favorite foods or limit them you are asking for trouble imo.
If I want pizza I will eat pizza and I am in goal...even while in a deficit my main goal if it was an outing was maitenance...based on weekly numbers and I did not ever go over my deficit goal...for an entire year (except 8 days on vacation which were done on purpose with drinks and during christmas holidays...) but even those 2 weeks didn't put me over my average deficit..
I eat 1650ish calories M-F and 2000-2200 on weekends, with one "fat weekend" a month where I still log, but go over my weekly goal. I do this because, during the week, I'm at work and I don't have any desire to go get pizza and there's no ice cream in the fridge at home, so I don't want it. On weekends, I don't cook and I never have. My husband and I eat out quite a bit. I stay under my weekly goal and end up averaging about 1810 calories per day (my TDEE-10%). I have absolutely no problem getting "back on track" on Monday and I don't go hungry during the week in an attempt to save up for "cheating" on weekends. I eat more on weekends simply because that's my lifestyle. We're hardly ever home to cook, even if I wanted to (which I don't). I haven't had a single problem doing this. If people work their indulgences into their week and eat the same amount of calories each day, that's awesome, but I'm living proof that my way doesn't cause weight gain and it hasn't caused any problems for me. Staying under weekly goals is key. Who says staying under that goal each week isn't being consistent? I'd be way more likely to give up if I restricted myself on weekends and had to order off of some "healthy" menu at a restaurant instead of getting what I want and enjoying myself while staying under my weekly goal and losing weight.
It really doesn't matter if people think what I do is a good idea or not; I know that it's what's best for me. And I'm nearly at my goal, which is a great bonus. I'm not saying my way is the way everyone should do it - I'm saying this article is making it seem as if any flexibility in your diet is going to lead to weight gain. It's crap. The problem comes in when people let these indulgences lead them to huge binges as if they can't control themselves around food. I don't have that problem. I love food, I enjoy food, but it doesn't control me.0 -
I call BS. People without weight issues, people that don't ever log their meals or count calories - most of them eat more on holidays than regular days. It's called living - you have to be flexible or it's just never going to work. So, you lose the weight and you're never going to enjoy a big family meal at Thanksgiving anymore? You'll be over there weighing out your green beans or counting out 3 pieces of chocolate that you can fit into your calories...or being miserable the day before and/or after by hardly eating to "make up" for one day of indulgence? Screw that. If it's Thanksgiving or Easter, I'm eating whatever I want. A few days a year, or even a couple days a month, shouldn't derail your weight loss/maintenance. If having one day of high calorie foods makes you give up and just continue to eat that way after the holiday has passed, then I'm sorry but you're just weak.
Flexibility is what life is all about. In our diets and elsewhere.
That's the problem. Many people are weak. People who cut out their favorite foods never learn how to eat them in moderation. So once they have them they eat a hell of a lot more than they should. Learning to eat everything in moderation is key and plays a big part in self control.0 -
I don't like the term 'cheating' either. I feel like it's more cheating yourself if you can't enjoy all the deliciousness that exists in the world simply because you're trying to maintain your weight.
I'm starting to use the calorie cycling or zigzag method, this is only week one, but it makes sense to me. Some days I eat less, other days I eat more. I still have the same deficit at the end of the week as I did if I ate the same calories every singe day. I don't think I'm 'cheating' today by eating 1800 calories, and being loyal to my weight loss on my 1200 calorie days. It's just a matter of finding a method that's sustainable to you while eating at an overall deficit, right?0 -
I. had lost 60 pounds bringing me down to 125, felt good, could have a cheat day since. i did so good, well one day became seven days over a period of 2 years. Lost back 21 working on the 9 and not planning on going tjat route again.
I do enjoy regular or holiday meals with family and friend it is just that the portion are within my calorie count. You know 3 spoon of mashed potatoes taste good the 20th one does not taste any better.0 -
bump0
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cheating doesnt mean you eat that slice of pizza, or a cupcake. by definition it is when you eat over your tdee.
scientifically this study holds merit because eating large enjoyable meals affect your brains pleasure center leading to the psychological need to eat more.0 -
I wonder if the people who didn't have cheat days were more inclined to substitutions every day. The example I see a lot on MFP is dark chocolate for milk chocolate and other candies.0
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You know 3 spoon of mashed potatoes taste good the 20th one does not taste any better.
Totally. I just wish it was that easy for me! It just takes more to be really satisfied sometimes.0 -
Not sure why there even had to be a study on this, it's common sense. If you're more strict about what you eat, constantly, you're obviously going to maintain your goals. If you have occasional cheat meals, then of course, you're not going to be more well off than the person who is always maintains a strict diet. Derp.0
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I call BS. People without weight issues, people that don't ever log their meals or count calories - most of them eat more on holidays than regular days. It's called living - you have to be flexible or it's just never going to work. So, you lose the weight and you're never going to enjoy a big family meal at Thanksgiving anymore? You'll be over there weighing out your green beans or counting out 3 pieces of chocolate that you can fit into your calories...or being miserable the day before and/or after by hardly eating to "make up" for one day of indulgence? Screw that. If it's Thanksgiving or Easter, I'm eating whatever I want. A few days a year, or even a couple days a month, shouldn't derail your weight loss/maintenance. If having one day of high calorie foods makes you give up and just continue to eat that way after the holiday has passed, then I'm sorry but you're just weak.
Flexibility is what life is all about. In our diets and elsewhere.
That's the problem. Many people are weak. People who cut out their favorite foods never learn how to eat them in moderation. So once they have them they eat a hell of a lot more than they should. Learning to eat everything in moderation is key and plays a big part in self control.
I think a lot of people use their calorie limit as a crutch. And logging in general. It's supposed to be a useful tool, but it turns into the only thing keeping people from going absolutely crazy and stuffing their face full of donuts. Building up self-control is SO important and I'd think, that by the end of the weight loss (if done in a healthy manner), that self-control should be pretty strong. We spend all this time learning to control ourselves, but what happens once we hit maintenance? This is why people put all the weight back on. They have this minset of, "I'm on a diet. I can't eat this or that. Oh, look, I'm at my goal weight. I look awesome. I don't need to pay attention to what I eat anymore. Yay! Let's to go Krispy Kreme for breakfast every day this week to celebrate!" Where's the control you built over those weeks, months, or years of weight loss? This is why I'm going to continue being flexible on weekends and just focusing on staying under my weekly goal. I'm not doing anything now that I don't plan on doing forever. My weekends have always and will always consist of eating meals out. I just pay more attention now and I don't eat 5000 calories on Saturdays. I still get to indulge, but I have the control to not let a couple of days a week completely throw me off from reaching my goal.
I found losing weight really hard until I stopped being so damn strict with myself. I've never stuck to a diet as long as I've stuck to what I'm doing now, and it's working SO much better and I'm SO much happier. People need to build up their control so they CAN be flexible. You can't be strict all the time - that's when things like eating disorders and obsessions begin to develop.0
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