The flip flop diet

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I read an interesting article from iVillage about deiting. Now seems "experts" are saying that stay with your diet two days on and one day off. That way you can curb your cravings and there's less of a chance for you to fall off the diet wagon and binge. I've been trying to eat more healthy, less processed foods, more veggies but I really want a pizza which I think is what's for dinner tonight. Has anyone else tried this?

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  • clambert1273
    clambert1273 Posts: 840 Member
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    no, I just eat what I want and what I like and remain at a calorie goal :)
  • Lourdesong
    Lourdesong Posts: 1,492 Member
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    An articles main goal is to say interesting things.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
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    There's no reason pizza can't be within your calories goals, if pizza is what you want. Just eat a slice or two with a big salad, not the entire pizza!
  • SuggaD
    SuggaD Posts: 1,369 Member
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    that sounds ineffective.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    That would cause me to gain weight. No way.
  • ukaryote
    ukaryote Posts: 874 Member
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    Lourdesong wrote: »
    An articles main goal is to say interesting things.
    Then it was an effective article. Not necessarily accurate.

    But hey, whatever works for you. People succeed here with all sorts of plans - as long as they stick to the plan!

  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
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    Why can't you just eat pizza? If there's something I really want, I plan my whole day around it so I can have it. I don't believe in avoiding foods that I love.
  • obscuremusicreference
    obscuremusicreference Posts: 1,320 Member
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    That way would not work for me, but eating under my calories to save on a splurge has worked.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    shortcuts guarantee crappy results that barely last.

    do it the hard way. get prime results for the rest of your life.
  • spickard34
    spickard34 Posts: 303 Member
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    There's a diet way that I do that is called Zig Zag cal counting. And you confuse your metabolism by eating different amounts everyday. I think this helps the binging for me.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Teela1357 wrote: »
    I read an interesting article from iVillage about deiting. Now seems "experts" are saying that stay with your diet two days on and one day off. That way you can curb your cravings and there's less of a chance for you to fall off the diet wagon and binge. I've been trying to eat more healthy, less processed foods, more veggies but I really want a pizza which I think is what's for dinner tonight. Has anyone else tried this?

    Eating in a calorie deficit two days and then eating over on the third sounds like an easy way to wipe out the calorie deficit you're trying to build. Any diet that you can't stick to for three days is not going to be sustainable in the long run.

    If I want pizza I have it, within my calorie goals. I had two-thirds of a frozen pizza the other night and saved the rest for lunch the next day. No off days or cheat days necessary.
  • wamydia
    wamydia Posts: 259 Member
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    No, I just schedule my life so that I can eat things I like every day while still hitting my goal. I'm not a fan of this type of plan overall -- it's too easy for someone to use the "1 day off" as a license to go crazy and eat anything. If you are on track to lose 1lb a week and you are eating a deficit only 5 days out of 7, that means your daily deficit would be around 700 on your "on" days. So that's only a total of 1400 calorie deficit for 2 days. If you then decide on your "off" day to have a milkshake and most of a pizza by yourself, guess what? Your 2 days of work is completely wiped out and then some. This is the same reason that I think scheduling free-for-all cheat days is a bad idea.

    If you want to try this though, I strongly suggest that your "off" days have a calorie goal at your maintenance level. That way you won't end up undoing all of your hard work from your "on" days.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    No, I just eat all the foods I regularly eat... just in moderation and within my calorie goal.
  • Roxiegirl2008
    Roxiegirl2008 Posts: 756 Member
    edited January 2015
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    For me that would be a good way to get off track and lose focus. But to each his own. I just focus on my workouts and counting my calories. That's how I got 90lbs overweight to start with.
  • Shereewhitney88
    Shereewhitney88 Posts: 87 Member
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    There's no reason pizza can't be within your calories goals, if pizza is what you want. Just eat a slice or two with a big salad, not the entire pizza!

    This. When I want pizza, I eat Pizza. I stick to two slices with a big glass of water.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,391 MFP Moderator
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    Pretty much calorie cycling. Some people like it.. don't think it will have an effect on appetite though.
  • Teela1357
    Teela1357 Posts: 9 Member
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    Oh no I wasn't talking about eating an entire pizza or consuming 3000 calories in one day. I'm going to stick to my goal number every day, I meant you don't really see pizza as a food you eat when you diet. I figured having it for dinner once or twice a month might help stave off the cravings. I'm a pizzaholic.
  • clambert1273
    clambert1273 Posts: 840 Member
    edited January 2015
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    Teela1357 wrote: »
    Oh no I wasn't talking about eating an entire pizza or consuming 3000 calories in one day. I'm going to stick to my goal number every day, I meant you don't really see pizza as a food you eat when you diet. I figured having it for dinner once or twice a month might help stave off the cravings. I'm a pizzaholic.

    so don't diet... just change how you eat things... :) It wasn't having pizza once a week that made me gain weight.. but it was the entire container of pringles I would munch on all night long lol

    I view it now as more of just changing HOW I eat not necessarily WHAT I eat ... no diet necessary.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    My thoughts:
    1. If you need a break from your diet every three days, it's not a sustainable diet.
    2. If you have a cheat day every three days, you're likely to erase the effort of the two previous days.
    3. What if you want to go to a birthday on Monday, girl's night on Wednesday, boring, boring for a week and a half, then off on holiday for the weekend, and so on, you know, life?
    4. Experts are stupid.