How bad is it to have a junk food day?

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erinrjones2
erinrjones2 Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
Lets say I stick to my 1700ish kcal suggestion most days but then, say, 1 day / week, go whole hog and eat a, well, whole hog. B) In other words, just blow the diet completely and enjoy. no idea what it would really come to but lets say it is a 3000 kcal day.

Would that be more or less averaged as an extra 400ish kcal / day for my weekly total? Would it be worse that that/less than that?

(Wishing that all the extra kcals would slide right through w/o absorption, I need the switch for that B))

Replies

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Then you would be over 1300 calories, log it and move on.
  • erinrjones2
    erinrjones2 Posts: 6
    edited February 2015
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    I get that, I am not talking about beating my self up.

    I am just wondering if I would expect teh body to capture all the extra kcals and effectively amortize them over the week?

    That would seem logical but when I wasn't watching at all, i can't say I would directly gain much when I would have days like that. I wasn't watching, so I can't be sure but I also feel there is some homeostasis. What I am wondering is if that was all in my head/what others on the board think. B)

    thanks for the reply
  • thrashscara
    thrashscara Posts: 72 Member
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    What could you possibly eat with 3000cals?,
  • buffalobuttwendy
    buffalobuttwendy Posts: 1
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    If I did that my Dr would have my hide .My A1C is through the roof because I thought hey I can do this or it that .Wrong ! IM trying my damndest to watch what i eat and to get my glucose down.Its frustrating.
  • erinrjones2
    erinrjones2 Posts: 6
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    i dunno, I wasn't so much meaning a specific meal, but maybe a big lunch party, drinks and a fancy dinner. I could try to hit that and report back? no, probably a bad idea...
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    thrashscara wrote: »
    What could you possibly eat with 3000cals?,

    SO easy!

  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,624 Member
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    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    thrashscara wrote: »
    What could you possibly eat with 3000cals?,

    SO easy!

    Ikr. Question is more like... what COULDN'T you eat with 3000 cals.

    basically nothing :p
  • jenniemariehebert
    jenniemariehebert Posts: 8 Member
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    thrashscara wrote: »
    What could you possibly eat with 3000cals?,

    You could do this by eating avocado, nuts, oils, whole grain pastas or any other naturally calorie dense food. Or, by indulging in some comfort food, fast food or alcohol.

    I'm also not sure if you really weren't aware how this is possible, or if that comment was just a poorly disguised harsh judgement.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    I'd question the sustainability of a plan like this but ultimately if it works for you and you end up continually in a calorie deficit over time then you would probably be fine.
  • wrecktechno
    wrecktechno Posts: 145 Member
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    erinrjones2 wrote: »
    Lets say I stick to my 1700ish kcal suggestion most days but then, say, 1 day / week, go whole hog and eat a, well, whole hog. B) In other words, just blow the diet completely and enjoy. no idea what it would really come to but lets say it is a 3000 kcal day.

    Would that be more or less averaged as an extra 400ish kcal / day for my weekly total? Would it be worse that that/less than that?

    (Wishing that all the extra kcals would slide right through w/o absorption, I need the switch for that B))

    I would say that because you're eating it all in one go, it'd hang around longer than it would if you ate 3000 extra over the course of a week. But now I think about it, I'm not sure that makes sense.

    The thing about cheat days is to not go and eat 509820498 calories, you still need to keep it reasonable but also ensure you've exercised enough in the week to minimise the effect.
    Having said that, 3000 once every few months isn't going to have a huge effect on your weight but doing it every week? That will catch up with you.
  • AlysonG2
    AlysonG2 Posts: 713 Member
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    Not bad at all as long as you plan the "junk food day" into your calorie goal for the week. I lost 60 pounds having one 3000-4000 calorie day each week and eating around 1600 calories the other 6 days. It averaged out to 1800-1900 calories per day, and it worked beautifully for me.

    The key is to log it and make sure you're meeting your weekly goals. If you eat mindlessly and don't log it, there's no way to know what kind of damage you're doing.

  • erinrjones2
    erinrjones2 Posts: 6
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    Thanks Allison, I like that approach
  • subversive99
    subversive99 Posts: 273 Member
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    It sounds like you're not tracking it, which is where the problem is. It could be 3000 calories, could be 4000, who knows? If you're not tracking it you have no idea.
  • itsclobberintime
    itsclobberintime Posts: 164 Member
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    As long as you are at an overall deficit for the week, you should lose weight fine.
  • namelesshere
    namelesshere Posts: 334 Member
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    It will definitely slow your weight loss so you need to decide which you want. Weight loss or the extra calories. And yes, tracking is essential.

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