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

WalkingGirl1985 · July 2011

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?

fatboypup · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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

alleyag · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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 · July 2011

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.

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

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