How often do you give yourself a break from it all?

WalkingGirl1985
WalkingGirl1985 Posts: 2,046 Member
edited September 29 in Food and Nutrition
I know everyone is different, and chooses not to take days to themselves, but if anyone does out here..how often do you give yourself a break? I try to give myself a day to myself once a month or every 10lbs loss. How about you?

Replies

  • fatboypup
    fatboypup Posts: 1,873 Member
    I have a cheat meal once a month ...... I still log it and am usually under my calories with exercise but it's something I wouldnt normally have
  • celtickarasu
    celtickarasu Posts: 76
    Whenever I screw up and go over my calories, I consider that my break and start again the next day. Also, I miss exercising on some days. While I try not to do this, it still happens 1-2 times a week, so I don't feel the need to add another "on-purpose" break to that.
  • nurse_carolyn
    nurse_carolyn Posts: 348
    I pretty much stay to the same plan always unless I have a special event (wedding, party, etc) then I allow myself some leeway....
  • barbiex3
    barbiex3 Posts: 1,036 Member
    i dont. but i dont really have a strict diet. I mean I don't really see why I would need a break. I do more of a lifestyle change.
  • robbienjill
    robbienjill Posts: 456 Member
    I usually only take a break from it all when I HAVE to. I have been really tired for the past month and have had to make myself continue. But I know that the benefits are far worth it. With that being stated, sometimes you just have to listen to your body. Good luck on your goals! (Jill)
  • shifthappens2011
    shifthappens2011 Posts: 25
    Interesting question.

    I have a long weight loss story. In 200-2002 I lost 165 pounds. I went from 364 down to 199. One of the mistakes I made was not teaching myself (this is just my experience) how to enjoy the occasional treat. I was head down, drive to the finish line. And then I gained a bunch back. THANKFULLY not to the 364 marker, but when I had gained 1/2, I knew I had to start the fight again.

    This time I am working the occasional break into the plan. Today for instance I was at Target and I bought a bag of popcorn which I love. I ate maybe 1/2 cup, piece by piece, then threw the rest of the bag out. I was satisfied. And I didn't bother "counting" that 1/2 of a cup. Such a small treat in the overall picture. And I was on my way to the pool for a work out so I just don't stew over things like that anymore.

    Because I do such tiny little treats I am doing one thing a week. If it comes up. Today was because I walked by the snack place and the smell caught my attention. But there are some weeks where I don't have anything. It just depends.

    I think this is important for me. I've done it the other way. I'll know in about 10 years if this way works better!
  • SarahofTwins
    SarahofTwins Posts: 1,169 Member
    Usually once a month but this past week it was like twice lol As long as you are comfortable with it and stay strong then its okay :happy:
  • msmindyf
    msmindyf Posts: 133 Member
    Since this isn't a 'd-i-e-t', I don't feel the need to take a break..everything is in moderation..not that I don't ever go awry with my choices, because I definitely do..but if I don't do everything in moderation, I can honestly say that I would screw it all up in the future. I must be doing something right with my current weight loss numbers :-)
  • MasterXelcas
    MasterXelcas Posts: 130 Member
    this weekend was a kinda cheaty weekend, the first one ive had since starting insanity 3 weeks ago. Ill be back on track tommorrow
  • mandeiko
    mandeiko Posts: 1,657 Member
    I pretty much stay to the same plan always unless I have a special event (wedding, party, etc) then I allow myself some leeway....

    This for me too.
  • ESVABelle
    ESVABelle Posts: 1,264 Member
    I don't. Well, if I "cheat" my macros, I stay within my caloric goals. Yesterday, I had Outback. It was delicious. I had cheese fries. And was still under. So yeah, no harm - no foul.
  • Katie320
    Katie320 Posts: 61 Member
    i dont. but i dont really have a strict diet. I mean I don't really see why I would need a break. I do more of a lifestyle change.

    This is exactly what I do as well. I try to make sure I work out on days that I know I'll be going out for dinner, or have a special event, but no matter what I try to eat half of what's on my plate and never have any drinks with dinner.
  • fromaquasar
    fromaquasar Posts: 811 Member
    I don't really schedule it - I also don't have a very strict diet, I eat dark chocolate most days :) But I normally have one meal a week which I don't "worry" about, normally it involves a glass of wine, pasta and sometimes pudding :) But it happens whenever it happens, sometimes not at all, but never more than once a week. And then I try to just listen to my body. I workout a lot and occasionally (like last week) I feel totally exhausted so I will take a couple of days off until I feel good to go again.

    For me it is about being disciplined but remembering to be gentle with myself too and appreciate how hard I am working 99% of the time :)
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    Just about every Friday I will eat some massive meals post workout. (pizza, hamburgers, indian takeaway etc.) Fits into my macro goals so it's all good :smile:
  • alleyag
    alleyag Posts: 142
    From it all? Twice a year. Vacation. Other than that the occasional Refeed day gets a cheat meal but that's it. And usually by the end if vaca I cannot wait to het a healthy meal and some exercise. :)
  • missxchelly
    missxchelly Posts: 180
    I work out 5 days a week but I switch up my "off" days every week to keep my body guessing. My Husband and I just went out to eat for the first time in over 2 months. We've been on this site and changing our life style for 6 weeks, and I have lost 18 pounds. Today we went out to have pizza but I worked out before hand and burned 700 calories for that pizza and had 3 amazingly heavenly slices =D We agreed to go out and do things like that every 6 weeks but of course exercise before or after to make up for the calorie intake.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    Since I'm in maintenance now I don't take time off like I did at the height of my weight loss. I only make it to the gym 2-3 days a week now and I'm there for 60 mins each time. I used to go 5-6 days a week for 60 mins -- when I was doing that, I took an entire week off every 4-6 weeks. I always lost weight and felt better after taking time off. I figure I don't workout enough now to really need an entire week off from working out. :)

    I don't do "cheat meals" or "cheat days". I eat whatever I want, whenever I want. It works better for me to know I can have whatever I want - in moderation vs having to wait for a specific day to eat whatever I want to eat. :)
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    I don't schedule in breaks for any particular reason or schedule, but now and again if there is a special occasion I will eat/drink more and enjoy it.
    I think when I get to my goal weight (just under 4kg to go!) I will stop logging for a week now and again, but that's not so much because I need a break, more about learning to maintain my new lower weight without having to log everything forever.
  • ladybarometer
    ladybarometer Posts: 205 Member
    I took a "real" break today and ate almost 2,000 calories, but with exercise, I fell under my calories, and after eating around 1200-1400 a day, my body seems to like the big blast of food energy and extra workouts! So my cheat today was a success, but I don't schedule it or anything, sometimes, it just happens.
  • babyblake11
    babyblake11 Posts: 1,107 Member
    i think the best thing to do is just make sure you have food you enjoy so you dont need a cheat day
    i still incorporate things like frozen yogurt, le rice and low kilojoule/calorie muesli bars that just arnt as bad as normal snack food. i never crave bad foodds because i feel like im having a treat everyday
  • sarahlasvegas
    sarahlasvegas Posts: 73 Member
    I pretty much stay to the same plan always unless I have a special event (wedding, party, etc) then I allow myself some leeway....

    This for me too - I had my birthday off on 8th of July - and still lost 0.5pound that week, i had a sensible breakfast and lunch, but had a large chinese meal for dinner, and loads of champagne and wine. Ideally for me, not more than once a month massively over cals.

    This is changed from someone who probably had a large chinese/indian/pizz take away 2 or maybe 3 times a week - i think once/twice a month is acceptable as a treat and what id like to carry on with once i get to goal
  • Andythefitfamilyman
    Andythefitfamilyman Posts: 420
    i dont. but i dont really have a strict diet. I mean I don't really see why I would need a break. I do more of a lifestyle change.
    Yup same here
  • CARNAT22
    CARNAT22 Posts: 764 Member
    I try to stick to the 80/20 rule.

    Although in reality I may give myself one evening meal a week that I don't cook myself (that may be a meal out or a take away or even a ready meal - and I still try to keep my choices as healthy as possible and I still log my meal) I also tend to drink once a week but I excercise so I have the calories to have a few vodka and diet cokes!

    As others say I don't view this as an evening 'off plan' but as I am the main chef at home this is my night off.... I love cooking but I need a break.
  • Vhovell
    Vhovell Posts: 286
    I've been on here a week so i'm still learning what food i usually eat are high in calories but i don't think i'd ever schedule a "break" apart from holidays because i'd always use it as an excuse!
  • aforementionedfit
    aforementionedfit Posts: 19 Member
    This year hasn't been a good example, as I've been struggling with some stressful times and trying to adapt to maintenance with those times. But last year (when I lost aprox 30 lbs) I knew I wouldn't be able to restrict my calories every day. That wasn't going to be something I would ever be able to stick with. So what I did was stay to my calorie goal (within 100 calories) Monday - Friday. On the weekends I wouldn't count my calories and I would use time to splurg and eat the things that, while I didn't mind restricting, will probably never totally give up. It helped me have a lifestyle that was healthier than before and one I could stick with. I even found that on the weekends I went very much over my calorie target, I lost more following those weekends than the weekends that I stayed within that target. Later I found out that there is science that backs that up. This lifestyle is what I'm striving to get back to, as I think it's a good fit for me.
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