What Cheat Days Do to My Numbers

zamphir66
zamphir66 Posts: 582 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
File this under mildly interesting.

Up to the beginning of August, I was following my plan to the letter 7 days a week, every week. This month, I have let myself take a break about once a week. Usually the weekend. The difference in the shape of my graph is profound. I'm still losing weight overall, and at the same rate, but the graph is suddenly much hillier. After a Friday or Saturday of eating at more or less maintenance -- but including a lot more carby/salty food than the rest of the week -- I gain 3-5 pounds of water, then spend the next several days dropping back down to the level and rate it would have been anyway.

My point is, if for psychological reasons you need the graph to be smoother, you *might* get that by being more strict with yourself. If, on the other hand, it doesn't matter -- then a once-weekly cheat day is not going to make a real difference. All that said, your mileage may vary.

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Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,392 Member
    I find this to be true for me, too.

    Right now I'm in a "Stay off the scale" couple of days...I went to the fair on Monday. Mmmm. Fair food. :)
  • refuseresist
    refuseresist Posts: 934 Member
    I'm goign to weigh myself once a month
  • chapiano
    chapiano Posts: 331 Member
    I only Weigh myself every 4 weeks, works perfectly for me
  • zamphir66
    zamphir66 Posts: 582 Member
    I know weighing monthly works for lots of people. You have to do what works best. As a data geek though, I like seeing the numbers.

    Here's why monthly might not be best for me: I weighed more on 8/10 than I did on 7/10. And a few days ago, I weighed as much as I did a month prior. How upsetting would that be if I didn't have more data points to show me these didn't represent my "real" weight?

    Again, this phenomenon hasn't really presented itself until I starting letting myself eat [bad/less than ideal/freely/etc.] for one day out of the week.
  • BridgetHarrington
    BridgetHarrington Posts: 41 Member
    Maybe I should try weighing once a month. I don't have cheat days, but I do have special occasions where I eat more or things I shouldn't. I weigh a couple times a week and get antsy when I see the scale either not budging or a pound heavier than the day before.
  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
    I weigh myself maybe once a fortnight now. This is because I weigh the same as I did this time last year, but clothes I wore last year are too big for me now. This made me realise the number on the scales are just that a number and by looking at my body and what fits my body is a better way for me to see results.
  • wagnerpe123
    wagnerpe123 Posts: 65 Member
    edited August 2016
    My weight graph looks exactly the same (though you sure can tell that we went on vacation in June!). I have a free day once a week (usually Saturday). Weight is up on Monday, goes down, down, down until Saturday morning, then up again on Monday. BUT, the trend is down and that's the key!8qmthiptyq99.png

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