Can I lose weight even if I cheat once a week?
Replies
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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 1 -
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.0 -
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?0 -
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.0
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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!!!0
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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.
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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!3 -
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 2000-2500.1 -
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.0 -
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.
Good luck on your journey! 0 -
I ate around 2500 calories today. Im just hoping I didnt screw myself from this day. I think I need to cut out cheat days all together except for once a month.0
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You will be fine considering you normally under eat. I wouldn't recommend stepping on the scale tomorrow though (extra food and water retention from sodium will show as a temp gain).
Another app you might want to try is sparkpeople. They have a calorie differential report that will show you your approximate deficit for the day and show you what you burned. Maybe that will work on your phone.0 -
I am going to try that out.0
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shadow2soul wrote: »You will be fine considering you normally under eat. I wouldn't recommend stepping on the scale tomorrow though (extra food and water retention from sodium will show as a temp gain).
Another app you might want to try is sparkpeople. They have a calorie differential report that will show you your approximate deficit for the day and show you what you burned. Maybe that will work on your phone.
That app doesnt work on my iphone 4 either. Says I need ios8. I need a new phone.0 -
kristinhull1 wrote: »shadow2soul wrote: »You will be fine considering you normally under eat. I wouldn't recommend stepping on the scale tomorrow though (extra food and water retention from sodium will show as a temp gain).
Another app you might want to try is sparkpeople. They have a calorie differential report that will show you your approximate deficit for the day and show you what you burned. Maybe that will work on your phone.
That app doesnt work on my iphone 4 either. Says I need ios8. I need a new phone.
Yes, yes you do. It will make your life so much easier.
Sorry if i missed it, but do you log your food here on your computer?
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Just make sure you burn more calories than you consume and hit your daily macros. No need to restrict foods. Restricting/limiting can lead to binges. Example: I get some of my fats from ice cream almost every day and it does no damage because I stay under my calories and within my macros.0
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Christine_72 wrote: »kristinhull1 wrote: »shadow2soul wrote: »You will be fine considering you normally under eat. I wouldn't recommend stepping on the scale tomorrow though (extra food and water retention from sodium will show as a temp gain).
Another app you might want to try is sparkpeople. They have a calorie differential report that will show you your approximate deficit for the day and show you what you burned. Maybe that will work on your phone.
That app doesnt work on my iphone 4 either. Says I need ios8. I need a new phone.
Yes, yes you do. It will make your life so much easier.
Sorry if i missed it, but do you log your food here on your computer?
Yes. I use my laptop to log here.0 -
It's possible to cheat once a week just go to the gym routinely and burn the calories.0
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I workout at home. Usually doing myfitnessblender workouts 5 times a week. Today I ate 2700 calories and today was my "No exercise day" Im just hoping I didnt screw myself for the week0
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I keep 6/1 - one day eat what I want0
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just remember that it matters how your calories are made up not just the number of calories.....the ratio of protein to carbs and fats etc is highly important.....as is the amount of fibre you intake and the amount of sugar that your carbs are made up of......personally I follow a system called the macrolife program from sniperfitness where I get to eat whatever foods I like as long as my macros balance at the end of the day....as for a cheat day well personally mine are about 1 every 5 weeks but we call them refeed days where you hit the body's reset button and avoid weight loss plateaus... I lost 10kg in my first month and am currently down 33kg weight loss (72pounds)....im never hungry and don't feel restricted...makes it super sustainable....0
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Thats what I want something sustainable.0
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kristinhull1 wrote: »Thats what I want something sustainable.
Try this calculator. It's a TDEE calulator and will take into account your daily activity plus how often you exercise to give you a reasonable calorie goal to average or eat daily if you want for weight loss.
http://www.iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
If you give them your email address, it will also break your calorie goal down into suggested macros to aim for.0 -
You gain weight if you exceed your TDEE. BMR is say sitting on the couch for 24 hours just watching TV.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
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Don't think of it as cheating - just make it part of your overall plan to achieve a reasonable weekly deficit. Cheating implies guilt and wrongdoing, and those are bad ideas to associate with food. So plan for it and enjoy it and call it your feast day!2
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shadow2soul wrote: »kristinhull1 wrote: »Thats what I want something sustainable.
Try this calculator. It's a TDEE calulator and will take into account your daily activity plus how often you exercise to give you a reasonable calorie goal to average or eat daily if you want for weight loss.
http://www.iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
If you give them your email address, it will also break your calorie goal down into suggested macros to aim for.
Says 1690 for cutting weight. So that means I can eat 1680x7=11760 calories to lose weight. But if I eat above that ill gain.0 -
rosecropper wrote: »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!
Ya, this would be unhealthy for me as well.
I log everything, and learn to make healthier choices from this information.
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kristinhull1 wrote: »shadow2soul wrote: »kristinhull1 wrote: »Thats what I want something sustainable.
Try this calculator. It's a TDEE calulator and will take into account your daily activity plus how often you exercise to give you a reasonable calorie goal to average or eat daily if you want for weight loss.
http://www.iifym.com/iifym-calculator/
If you give them your email address, it will also break your calorie goal down into suggested macros to aim for.
Says 1690 for cutting weight. So that means I can eat 1680x7=11760 calories to lose weight. But if I eat above that ill gain.
Nope.
If that's a 20% cut, then you have to eat over 2112 to gain weight on average. In other words if your total weekly calories exceed 14,784 you will gain weight. If you eat between 11,760 for the week and 14,784 you will just lose at a slower rate or maintain.
If that's a 25% cut, then you have to eat over 2253 to gain weight on average. In other words if your total weekly calories exceed 15,771 you will gain weight. If you eat between 11,760 for the week and 15,771 you will just lose at a slower rate or maintain.
Eat around 11,760 calories for the week (however you decide to split that up is up to you, you can do 1680 everyday or have high/low days) and you will lose weight. At that calorie level you should be able to have a small portion of something you love every day (cookies, icecream, chocolate, whatever) and still be within calories.0 -
Using the word "cheat" with reference to eating implies there's a moral dimension to the choices we make. There isn't. Food is food, and deciding to not follow our plan for a particular day is not a moral decision. There's no food devil, or food hell.
The danger of using this kind of language is cognitive: it reflects and reinforces negative beliefs we have regarding food. These express themselves in negative self talk: "I was bad today, I have to do better tomorrow" or "I failed today, I'll never get it right".
The words we use have power and if we are looking for permanent success, we need to keep that in mind.1
This discussion has been closed.
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