Can I lose weight even if I cheat once a week?

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  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
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    Another note, severely restricting my calories can be a big binge trigger for me. I would struggle A LOT trying to do 1000-1200 a day. Perhaps consider upping your cals a bit. Yes you'll lose slower than you would on 1200, but if you can't stick to that and end up cheating it's not really going to work to your advantage anyhow.
  • kristinhull1
    kristinhull1 Posts: 294 Member
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    @TresaAswegan I hoard calories alot. I try to atleast work off 100-400 calories a day. My goal for my cals is 1200 but im always under incase I do have a cheat day I have all the calories I hoarded for it. I just dont want to gain weight or not lose any weight by having this one cheat day a week.
  • Anabug81
    Anabug81 Posts: 161 Member
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    I don't cheat.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    kristinhull1 wrote: »
    @TresaAswegan I hoard calories alot. I try to atleast work off 100-400 calories a day. My goal for my cals is 1200 but im always under incase I do have a cheat day I have all the calories I hoarded for it. I just dont want to gain weight or not lose any weight by having this one cheat day a week.

    Sounds like your really under eating during the week.

    So what does MFP tell your calorie goal should be if you set it to maintain (I know you don't want to maintain, but I can use that number to see what kind of deficit your running).
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
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    Some people "cheat" and are successful, many are not.

    I save my exercise calories for a buffer when I eat out. The logging of those meals requires guesswork and I could be really off. I still make my calorie goal every day.

    My problem with this--and other people are different--is that having a cheat day once per week that is a free for all leads to the thinking that that's "normal" eating and all the other days are "dieting". This is a long term change and I don't want to regain all the weight again. So for me, I need to understand that this is what meals look like now.
  • LiminalAscendance
    LiminalAscendance Posts: 489 Member
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    Everyone will have their preferences: Cheat, Don't Cheat (or, for that matter, don't even call it "cheating").

    When I lost my weight a few years back (currently at 10 lbs. above maintenance), what worked for me was running a large deficit throughout the week, and going to a buffet on the weekend, where I would still eat reasonably (started with a plate full of Hibachi meats to fill up with protein), although allowing myself the indulgences I forbade the rest of the time (like multiple cups of ice cream).

    I was still consistently able to lose 1-2 pounds a week, but I had to earn my reward. And knowing that extravagance had to be "paid for" by my commitment throughout the week helped my motivation.

    My reasoning was that I didn't want to look at weight loss as a sacrifice, which I felt would make my progress more difficult. Therefore, I sweated a bit more, but still had something to look forward to every week.

    Interestingly enough, although I enjoy buffets, I haven't been to one in a few months. It was just the wanton indulgence that I felt was necessary at the time, in order to strike a balance.
  • Samuraiko
    Samuraiko Posts: 180 Member
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    shadow2soul wrote: »
    There is an section of the app that will give you a bar graph and show you how many calories you are averaging per day. It will do all the math for you. Example

    hrrxbznetpb8.png

    I had NO idea this was there. Thank you SO much for pointing this out! :smile:
  • Vicxie86
    Vicxie86 Posts: 181 Member
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    shadow2soul wrote: »
    kristinhull1 wrote: »
    I thought in order to gain 1lb you have to eat 3500 calories over your BMR everyday of the week. I write down my calories in a notebook. I dont understand how to do the math to understand if I ate too much or too little or how to see how many calories I am able to have after I hoard my calories all week

    It's 3500 over what it would take for you to maintain your weight (which is higher than your BMR) and it doesn't have to be all in one day either.

    Log your calories on MFP. Log exercise in MFP.
    There is an section of the app that will give you a bar graph and show you how many calories you are averaging per day. It will do all the math for you. Example

    hrrxbznetpb8.png

    I wish i hadn't seen this lmao, i just updated my app and now, it's acting funny and not recognising the fact that i've eaten, my food shows up all as 0 kcals. . . .wish that were true.
  • kristinhull1
    kristinhull1 Posts: 294 Member
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    shadow2soul wrote: »
    kristinhull1 wrote: »
    @TresaAswegan I hoard calories alot. I try to atleast work off 100-400 calories a day. My goal for my cals is 1200 but im always under incase I do have a cheat day I have all the calories I hoarded for it. I just dont want to gain weight or not lose any weight by having this one cheat day a week.

    Sounds like your really under eating during the week.

    So what does MFP tell your calorie goal should be if you set it to maintain (I know you don't want to maintain, but I can use that number to see what kind of deficit your running).

    Its says 2,110 Calories a day to maintain.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    OP what are your stats (height/weight) and goal weight?
  • del714co
    del714co Posts: 19 Member
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    i really have nothing here to add.. just want to say.. got some good answers.. and everyone KEEP UP THE AWESOME WORK :). yes you can overeat once a week and lose weight. I dont condone over eating..binging.. etc.. but "cheating" a bit .. fine. we all have our reasons and paths
  • kristinhull1
    kristinhull1 Posts: 294 Member
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    WinoGelato wrote: »
    OP what are your stats (height/weight) and goal weight?

    I am 4'11 and right now im at 188.6lbs. My start weight was 200.8. My goal weight is 150-120lbs.
  • RainaProske
    RainaProske Posts: 636 Member
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    When I first started using MFP, I had a cheat day. Since I celebrate Sabbath, it was my day. When I came back a couple weeks ago, I found Sabbath listings in the food groups here.

    (Now I'm a bit embarrassed: I may have created that when I was here before -- I don't remember -- but when I found it a couple weeks ago and mentioned it, some people apparently flagged me for bringing it up. Oh, well.)

    Regardless, I have since added my own Sabbath food entries to use, but I haven't done it. I do trust myself to do it; I just haven't done it yet but may in the future.

    If I do "cheat," I intend to do it very mindfully, not just throwing off all guards. Would doing it this be workable for you?
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
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    If the amount of calories you go over your allowance on your cheat day exceeds the deficit you've built, the cheat will eradicate your weight loss efforts. If it's less, then you'll lose weight but only at the rate the deficit you created will allow.
  • danibabii11
    danibabii11 Posts: 72 Member
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    I tend do have one "cheat day" once a week... and on that day i dont count anything either... but i am still making "healther choices" on those days... like tuesday i had to attend a funeral and at the mercy meal i ordered the fish instead of the pasta. But durring the week i also give myself tbose "little cheats" like i get my mocha coffee once a week... ill have one piece of chocolate if a truely need it... tru and add those little bits in. Because honestly it will make your "cheat day" more like a normal day if that all makes sense... its all about balance. Add me if you would like:)) good luck lady!!!
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    kristinhull1 wrote: »
    shadow2soul wrote: »
    kristinhull1 wrote: »
    @TresaAswegan I hoard calories alot. I try to atleast work off 100-400 calories a day. My goal for my cals is 1200 but im always under incase I do have a cheat day I have all the calories I hoarded for it. I just dont want to gain weight or not lose any weight by having this one cheat day a week.

    Sounds like your really under eating during the week.

    So what does MFP tell your calorie goal should be if you set it to maintain (I know you don't want to maintain, but I can use that number to see what kind of deficit your running).

    Its says 2,110 Calories a day to maintain.

    So that's without exercise.

    So if you burn 100-400 calories when you workout, your looking at an estimated 2210 - 2510 to maintain.

    Lets say you burn an avg 200 calories every day for a week. That would put your avg to maintain at 2310.

    Based on your estimated burn before exercise, the max deficit MFP will give you 910 (approx 1.82 lbs per week loss). You don't want your deficit to be more than 1000 calories per day on average (max for safe healthy loss).

    You could 1310 cals 6 days a week then eat 2500 on day 7 and still lose about 1.6 lbs a week.

    You don't need to cut below 1200 with your current maintenance level to have a large calorie day at the end of the week. Just remember to keep track of what you eat on day 7.


  • rosecropper
    rosecropper Posts: 340 Member
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    I don't starve myself just to gorge later. Sounds like an unhealthy relationship with food.
    But if I'm full after 800 calories for a day- I stop eating. Other days I eat way over my goal. I don't worry about it as long as the whole week averages out to 1200-1500 calories per day.
    Even the days when I go crazy eating, I still log it so I will know how far I've set myself back. Highly recommend you log every day, especially your high calorie days!
  • kristinhull1
    kristinhull1 Posts: 294 Member
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    shadow2soul wrote: »
    kristinhull1 wrote: »
    shadow2soul wrote: »
    kristinhull1 wrote: »
    @TresaAswegan I hoard calories alot. I try to atleast work off 100-400 calories a day. My goal for my cals is 1200 but im always under incase I do have a cheat day I have all the calories I hoarded for it. I just dont want to gain weight or not lose any weight by having this one cheat day a week.

    Sounds like your really under eating during the week.

    So what does MFP tell your calorie goal should be if you set it to maintain (I know you don't want to maintain, but I can use that number to see what kind of deficit your running).

    Its says 2,110 Calories a day to maintain.

    So that's without exercise.

    So if you burn 100-400 calories when you workout, your looking at an estimated 2210 - 2510 to maintain.

    Lets say you burn an avg 200 calories every day for a week. That would put your avg to maintain at 2310.

    Based on your estimated burn before exercise, the max deficit MFP will give you 910 (approx 1.82 lbs per week loss). You don't want your deficit to be more than 1000 calories per day on average (max for safe healthy loss).

    You could 1310 cals 6 days a week then eat 2500 on day 7 and still lose about 1.6 lbs a week.

    You don't need to cut below 1200 with your current maintenance level to have a large calorie day at the end of the week. Just remember to keep track of what you eat on day 7.


    I eating around 800-1200 a day And my cheat days are always around 2000-2500.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    kristinhull1 wrote: »
    shadow2soul wrote: »
    kristinhull1 wrote: »
    shadow2soul wrote: »
    kristinhull1 wrote: »
    @TresaAswegan I hoard calories alot. I try to atleast work off 100-400 calories a day. My goal for my cals is 1200 but im always under incase I do have a cheat day I have all the calories I hoarded for it. I just dont want to gain weight or not lose any weight by having this one cheat day a week.

    Sounds like your really under eating during the week.

    So what does MFP tell your calorie goal should be if you set it to maintain (I know you don't want to maintain, but I can use that number to see what kind of deficit your running).

    Its says 2,110 Calories a day to maintain.

    So that's without exercise.

    So if you burn 100-400 calories when you workout, your looking at an estimated 2210 - 2510 to maintain.

    Lets say you burn an avg 200 calories every day for a week. That would put your avg to maintain at 2310.

    Based on your estimated burn before exercise, the max deficit MFP will give you 910 (approx 1.82 lbs per week loss). You don't want your deficit to be more than 1000 calories per day on average (max for safe healthy loss).

    You could 1310 cals 6 days a week then eat 2500 on day 7 and still lose about 1.6 lbs a week.

    You don't need to cut below 1200 with your current maintenance level to have a large calorie day at the end of the week. Just remember to keep track of what you eat on day 7.


    I eating around 800-1200 a day And my cheat days are always around 2000-2500.

    So if we take the middle ground with both those numbers (1000 & 2250), you are eating an average of 1174 calories a day. You should be eating more.

    2310-1174 = 1132 calorie deficit per day on average.
    That means you could eat 132 more calories a day and still lose 2 lbs per week. Under eating won't do you any favors. You will see faster loss, but you will also lose a lot of lean body mass. Since this can cause both fat and lean mass to be lost at the same rate your body fat % is likely to stay the same (even though your getting smaller).

    My advise is to eat 1200 -1310 6 days a week and then eat 2310-2500 on day 7. You will still lose at a reasonable rate.

    Good luck whatever you choose to do.
  • FaatSara
    FaatSara Posts: 14 Member
    edited July 2016
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    Hi there. I also have PTSD so I understand where you are coming from. The medications also don't really help, but if you put that info on the back burner it shouldn't effect your weight loss. Once you train yourself a certain way, it will trump the PTSD, etc.

    Honestly... I am in my mid 30s and I have never lost more than 10 pounds in my life because I tried too hard. I believe that if you don't allow yourself to "cheat", then you aren't going to enjoy yourself. I started my current journey in January and haven't changed my diet at all. I just trained my body to accept smaller portions and try not to eat too late at night. I keep my calories lower than 1640, which is what MFP set me at. I am semi active, but don't go out of my way to exercise every day. I have lost 35 pounds so far, without limiting myself too much.

    IMO, unless you are looking to become a fitness superstar of sorts, just have fun with it. We are ALL different and what works for me may not work for you. But, you ARE allowed to have that piece of cake if and when you want it. :smiley: Good luck on your journey!

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