'Free meals'
phillytoast
Posts: 42 Member
Is it okay to have the odd evening without dieting ? Lots of wine and yummy food once in a blue moon or will I end up wanting lots of them haha
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Replies
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OP... have you read the stickies? Because I think you haven't... do you understand how CICO works?
If you stay in a caloric deficit... you will lose weight.
If you want to have a day where you don't bother counting calories, then do it if you want to.
These are all questions which could have been answered by reading the stickies...
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Everyone has a different philosophy on this. I personally do not have cheat days. I have days that I go over, but I log them and move on. But I do not do this often. Sometimes life has fun opportunities, and I'm not going to give up my life just to see results at the short term. I'm a Wisconsinite, so I love my beer. It happens.
With that being said, some people do find a lot of success eating at maintenance for a day to a week or two. Kind of like a "break" from dieting. You just want to make sure you are eating at maintenance though. Although one day going over isn't going to affect much, too many of them can hinder your weight loss rate, leading to disappointment. But it's up to you how you do it. I have seen success from all areas of the spectrum on this.0 -
IsaackGMOON wrote: »OP... have you read the stickies? Because I think you haven't... do you understand how CICO works?
If you stay in a caloric deficit... you will lose weight.
If you want to have a day where you don't bother counting calories, then do it if you want to.
These are all questions which could have been answered by reading the stickies...
None of that made sense to me at all but whatever.
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MonkeyMel21 wrote: »
That makes more sense! Thank you, now I can read them instead of getting more 'tude0 -
phillytoast wrote: »MonkeyMel21 wrote: »
That makes more sense! Thank you, now I can read them instead of getting more 'tude
haha, right?! Good luck hun!
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Only you can answer that.0
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For me the answer to that question is no. As far as I am concerned you are either all in or you are not yet serious enough to be ready to lose weight. "No cheat days", no binges, no crazy overly restrictive goals, no bad foods, no "eating clean", no low carb or high protein. Just CICO. 24/7/365 until forever.
No whining or complaining, no making excuses and no blaming other people for your own failures.
Just do it.0 -
My body doesn't use the food as a free so I don't treat it as free either. I log it for balance.0
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IsaackGMOON wrote: »OP... have you read the stickies? Because I think you haven't... do you understand how CICO works?
If you stay in a caloric deficit... you will lose weight.
If you want to have a day where you don't bother counting calories, then do it if you want to.
These are all questions which could have been answered by reading the stickies...
Maybe she didn't realize there were...stickies.
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IsaackGMOON wrote: »OP... have you read the stickies? Because I think you haven't... do you understand how CICO works?
If you stay in a caloric deficit... you will lose weight.
If you want to have a day where you don't bother counting calories, then do it if you want to.
These are all questions which could have been answered by reading the stickies...
Seems pretty patronizing..it's totally fine for someone to ask a question that's been answered many many times...the point of forums is to have an actual conversation, not read something written 4 years ago.
OP, I'd say have a night a week, or month or whatever that you don't care much about calories..but still try to log it. In my experience, even on "cheat" meals, when I log, that helps deter me from just going completely overboard.0 -
shadowfax_c11 wrote: »For me the answer to that question is no. As far as I am concerned you are either all in or you are not yet serious enough to be ready to lose weight. "No cheat days", no binges, no crazy overly restrictive goals, no bad foods, no "eating clean", no low carb or high protein. Just CICO. 24/7/365 until forever.
No whining or complaining, no making excuses and no blaming other people for your own failures.
Just do it.
Who whined, complained, made excuses, spread blame, or failed? And who set crazy, overrestrictive goals, except you? There's nothing in CICO that means you must maintain a calorie deficit 365 days a year. But have fun pretending to be a warrior.
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For me its a lifestyle. Healthy eating is just a permanent fixture. Calling something a "cheat night" gives it too much power. I choose what to eat & try to make those foods healthy ones. Having wine is ok in my opinion. Just don't let it lead to a landslide of unhealthy choices.0
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Probably 99% of the questions that get repeatedly asked here could easily be answered if anyone thought to actually use the Search feature.
But they don't and they won't so life goes on.
To the OP: If you have free-for-all days, your body doesn't know that and you could easily undo the previous week's restraint and then some.
If I pig out, I prefer to be honest about it. I log and move on. That way, if my weight loss reaches a plateau, I have realistic information that will help me figure out not only what went wrong, but how badly.
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There's no such thing as a free lunch. Dinner, maybe, or breakfast. Just make sure it's not lunch!0
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sheldonklein wrote: »Who whined, complained, made excuses, spread blame, or failed? And who set crazy, overrestrictive goals, except you? There's nothing in CICO that means you must maintain a calorie deficit 365 days a year. But have fun pretending to be a warrior.
Awww did I touch a nerve?
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shadowfax_c11 wrote: »For me the answer to that question is no. As far as I am concerned you are either all in or you are not yet serious enough to be ready to lose weight. "No cheat days", no binges, no crazy overly restrictive goals, no bad foods, no "eating clean", no low carb or high protein. Just CICO. 24/7/365 until forever.
No whining or complaining, no making excuses and no blaming other people for your own failures.
Just do it.
So, if someone wants to take a day off once in a while, they're not serious about losing weight and should just continue to stuff their face all day every day and keep gaining until they ARE serious enough?0 -
danieltsmoke wrote: »IsaackGMOON wrote: »OP... have you read the stickies? Because I think you haven't... do you understand how CICO works?
If you stay in a caloric deficit... you will lose weight.
If you want to have a day where you don't bother counting calories, then do it if you want to.
These are all questions which could have been answered by reading the stickies...
Seems pretty patronizing..it's totally fine for someone to ask a question that's been answered many many times...the point of forums is to have an actual conversation, not read something written 4 years ago.
OP, I'd say have a night a week, or month or whatever that you don't care much about calories..but still try to log it. In my experience, even on "cheat" meals, when I log, that helps deter me from just going completely overboard.
Might seem patronizing but there are countless threads on this which could be found by using the search feature...
The stickies provide pretty much everything you need for weight loss. That's why they're stickies. They're timeless.
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PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »shadowfax_c11 wrote: »For me the answer to that question is no. As far as I am concerned you are either all in or you are not yet serious enough to be ready to lose weight. "No cheat days", no binges, no crazy overly restrictive goals, no bad foods, no "eating clean", no low carb or high protein. Just CICO. 24/7/365 until forever.
No whining or complaining, no making excuses and no blaming other people for your own failures.
Just do it.
So, if someone wants to take a day off once in a while, they're not serious about losing weight and should just continue to stuff their face all day every day and keep gaining until they ARE serious enough?
Did you notice the first two words in my post? FOR ME.
This is what I require of myself. What other people chose to do or not do is their problem. However sharing personal choices can often give people ideas on what to do with their own. Your reaction to my post about MY choices might be something you should take a closer look at.
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Yowza.....be nice everyone.
Cheat days are not a great idea, as you can easily eat up your weekly deficit with one day of super binge eating. But, what if you logged it? I have been doing 1200 cals for a long while now, and yesterday I was super hungry. I ate like a horse....or so I thought. Once I logged my food, it was only 1800 calories. So, I felt better knowing that I hadn't blown anything. I just ate at maintenence for one day. Big deal.0 -
Whatever semantics are used, the one undeniable fact is that you must create a sustained negative energy balance (calorie deficit).
Do this however you see fit.
This app gives you the tools needed to visualize your energy balance.
It couldn't really be any simpler.0 -
shadowfax_c11 wrote: »PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »shadowfax_c11 wrote: »For me the answer to that question is no. As far as I am concerned you are either all in or you are not yet serious enough to be ready to lose weight. "No cheat days", no binges, no crazy overly restrictive goals, no bad foods, no "eating clean", no low carb or high protein. Just CICO. 24/7/365 until forever.
No whining or complaining, no making excuses and no blaming other people for your own failures.
Just do it.
So, if someone wants to take a day off once in a while, they're not serious about losing weight and should just continue to stuff their face all day every day and keep gaining until they ARE serious enough?
Did you notice the first two words in my post? FOR ME.
This is what I require of myself. What other people chose to do or not do is their problem. However sharing personal choices can often give people ideas on what to do with their own. Your reaction to my post about MY choices might be something you should take a closer look at.
Then why did you use "you" and "your" when you should have used "me" and "my" since you were talking only about yourself? You were taking your ideologies and putting them onto other people.
OP, if you want a cheat day or free meal or whatever you call it, go for it.0 -
danieltsmoke wrote: »IsaackGMOON wrote: »OP... have you read the stickies? Because I think you haven't... do you understand how CICO works?
If you stay in a caloric deficit... you will lose weight.
If you want to have a day where you don't bother counting calories, then do it if you want to.
These are all questions which could have been answered by stickies
Seems pretty patronizing..it's totally fine for someone to ask a question that's been answered many many times...the point of forums is to have an actual conversation, not read something written 4 years ago.
OP, I'd say have a night a week, or month or whatever that you don't care much about calories..but still try to log it. In my experience, even on "cheat" meals, when I log, that helps deter me from just going completely overboard.
Thank you ! Makes me feel better instead of feeling stupid !0 -
IsaackGMOON wrote: »OP... have you read the stickies? Because I think you haven't... do you understand how CICO works?
If you stay in a caloric deficit... you will lose weight.
If you want to have a day where you don't bother counting calories, then do it if you want to.
These are all questions which could have been answered by reading the stickies...
Maybe she didn't realize there were...stickies.
Thanks but I'm a guy haha0 -
shadowfax_c11 wrote: »PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »shadowfax_c11 wrote: »For me the answer to that question is no. As far as I am concerned you are either all in or you are not yet serious enough to be ready to lose weight. "No cheat days", no binges, no crazy overly restrictive goals, no bad foods, no "eating clean", no low carb or high protein. Just CICO. 24/7/365 until forever.
No whining or complaining, no making excuses and no blaming other people for your own failures.
Just do it.
So, if someone wants to take a day off once in a while, they're not serious about losing weight and should just continue to stuff their face all day every day and keep gaining until they ARE serious enough?
Did you notice the first two words in my post? FOR ME.
This is what I require of myself. What other people chose to do or not do is their problem. However sharing personal choices can often give people ideas on what to do with their own. Your reaction to my post about MY choices might be something you should take a closer look at.
Then why did you use "you" and "your" when you should have used "me" and "my" since you were talking only about yourself? You were taking your ideologies and putting them onto other people.
OP, if you want a cheat day or free meal or whatever you call it, go for it.
Maybe because they were explaining it on a forum in answer to a question! The open for of you and your are applicable. Grumpy !0 -
phillytoast wrote: »Maybe because they were explaining it on a forum in answer to a question! The open for of you and your are applicable. Grumpy !
I am glad you at least understood what I was trying to get at. Thank you.
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I hate it when someone reads a stickie, responds to it, and makes it look like a new thread. I don't see a problem with asking a question that was answered four years ago - new people join every day.0
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atypicalsmith wrote: »I hate it when someone reads a stickie, responds to it, and makes it look like a new thread. I don't see a problem with asking a question that was answered four years ago - new people join every day.
Thank you0 -
phillytoast wrote: »IsaackGMOON wrote: »OP... have you read the stickies? Because I think you haven't... do you understand how CICO works?
If you stay in a caloric deficit... you will lose weight.
If you want to have a day where you don't bother counting calories, then do it if you want to.
These are all questions which could have been answered by reading the stickies...
Maybe she didn't realize there were...stickies.
Thanks but I'm a guy haha
Sorry...
...I didn't pay attention.
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LOL -- yeah, there are stickies, but I think sometimes a poster wants some real-time feedback on what people have experienced. I dunno; this isn't really so much a stickie thing to me.
Here's where I kind of ended up on this, after many months of logging. I've fallen off and I'm getting back on, so this is as good for a reminder for me as it is potentially instructive to anyone else.
I didn't have pre-scheduled non-tracked blow outs. I think those are tricky for a lot of people psychologically. But I did two different things.
First, on weekends I tended either to do very long workouts (2-3 hours cycling, for example), or to have several hours of hard outdoor work (which adds up) and so I had enough calories that I could have a meal where I could pretty much have whatever I want and stay under. And I tracked it. And yes, I know a lot of people don't track non "workout" calories -- and I typically do not -- but I can tell you this; on the weeks where I had big landscape projects outside, I always lost more.
Second, on some occasions (holidays, special parties or dinners), I just went with it, didn't go overboard for the sake of going overboard, and just got back on track the next day. My first time around I didn't have birthday cake on my own birthday. Experience taught me that this is a long game kinda thing, and that was just not necessary.
I really believe that the "secret" is figuring out that it's not about not getting off the rails; you will. It's about what you do when that happens. And that's why I think people ask about cheating, refeeds, "I ate a whole pizza and WTH do I do now"....because figuring out what makes YOUR brain get back on the rails is what makes it work.0
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