am i cheating too much?

angela2520682
angela2520682 Posts: 13 Member
edited November 18 in Health and Weight Loss
At the start of my weightloss i would only cheat every two months and i have lost 27 pounds during that time, but my plateau happened i started cheating every saturday and sunday. After four weeks i broke my plateau and started dropping weight again, but i still cheat every weekend and am losing 3 to 4 pounds a week. Is it bad to cheat every weekend? And will i lose more weight if i stopped cheating?

Replies

  • Ironandwine69
    Ironandwine69 Posts: 2,432 Member
    3-4 pounds a week is good. Are you happy with that? If not, then stop "cheating".
  • angela2520682
    angela2520682 Posts: 13 Member
    I eat around 1300 calories a day which consist of green smoothies for lunch and dinner and greek yogurt with fruit for post lunch and dinner. For breakfast i eat eggs/cottage cheese and yerbamata tea.
    For exercise i do cardio mixed with heavy weight resistance. This is for mon-fri, so when saturday comes i just pig out on everything i had denied myself during the week.
    But my weightloss isnt consistent, one week i can lose 3 or 4 then the next might not lose any pounds.
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,383 Member
    There are a couple approaches you could try.

    1. Incorporate "cheat foods" into your daily diet in moderation. If you're craving a couple cookies, work them into your calorie goal. Then just consistently stick to your calorie goal every day, even on weekends.

    2. "Bank" calories for the weekend. Eat fewer calories during the week to allow for more calories on the weekend. So let's say 1500 cals/day allows you to lose at a rate of 1lbs/week. Eat 1300 Mon-Fri then 2000 on Sat-Sun. It will balance out to 1500 cals/day.

    Either way, you should stay consistent with tracking on weekends.
  • vivelajackie
    vivelajackie Posts: 321 Member
    I personally enjoy eating my calories and tend to avoid smoothies, but to each their own on that matter... Also a personal thing, but dinner is my biggest meal. Maybe you'd do well to find balance in foods you enjoy. Are you planning on just liquid dieting for the rest of your life? Finding a balance of tasty, appealing food during the week to fuel you and your work outs may help curb your desire to splurge so much on the weekends.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    You are losing weight so I can't see what the problem is with 'cheating' as you call it.
  • angela2520682
    angela2520682 Posts: 13 Member
    I used to eat salads and meal prep alot but, but it got tiring and since i am a slow eater it would take up to an hour just to eat.
    in a smoothie it take 2 minutes to make while still having all the nutrients a salad has and more. Drinking a smoothie isnt unenjoyable( i mean its not the most delicious thing ever) since it just taste like bananas.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    That's a very fast rate of weight loss
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    3-4 Lbs per week is pretty crazy fast...probably an indication that you should actually eat more.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    Are you consistently losing 3-4 a week, or do you drop 4 one week and nothing the next? You kinda say both things. If you average 3-4 a week, that is too fast. How tall and heavy are you?
  • elliej
    elliej Posts: 466 Member
    edited May 2017
    If you count 'cheating' as eating normal food I'd do it every day if I were you - as long as you stick to your calorie and nutrient recommendations. If you are talking about 'cheating' as binge eating, it's likely you're mega hungry from all your non 'cheating' time as you are still losing double the average recommended (depending on how much you have to lose), 3-4lb a week as quite the sprint.
  • angela2520682
    angela2520682 Posts: 13 Member
    The problem is that when i eat junk food on the weekend i usually gain 4 or 5 pound of water weight,
    before i cheat i weight myself early morning on saturday to see how much i lost during the week. And it takes me until wednesday or thursday to get to my original weight.
    So am i losing the weight in those two/three days? or is it just showing on saturday? And if i dont cheat will i continue to lose more weight?(i know this seems confusing)
  • mlinci
    mlinci Posts: 402 Member
    It sounds to me like neither what you do during the week nor what you do during the weekend is actually good for you.
    Long term success is all about teaching yourself moderation and sensible eating habits that will sustain you at your goal weight.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    angela2520682 wrote: »
    The problem is that when i eat junk food on the weekend i usually gain 4 or 5 pound of water weight,
    before i cheat i weight myself early morning on saturday to see how much i lost during the week. And it takes me until wednesday or thursday to get to my original weight.
    So am i losing the weight in those two/three days? or is it just showing on saturday? And if i dont cheat will i continue to lose more weight?(i know this seems confusing)

    Don't compromise your long term strategy for short term gains. The very fact you refer to your weekend eating as cheating should tell you something.

    Maintain a safe and moderate calorie deficit. Never make a change you don't see yourself doing for the long haul - that leads to yo-yo dieting. Eat what you normally would, but ensure this meets you caloric budget.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    angela2520682 wrote: »
    I eat around 1300 calories a day which consist of green smoothies for lunch and dinner and greek yogurt with fruit for post lunch and dinner. For breakfast i eat eggs/cottage cheese and yerbamata tea.
    For exercise i do cardio mixed with heavy weight resistance. This is for mon-fri, so when saturday comes i just pig out on everything i had denied myself during the week.
    But my weightloss isnt consistent, one week i can lose 3 or 4 then the next might not lose any pounds.

    While many here do bank calories for the weekend, their approach seems more balanced and feels like it comes from a healthy mindset.

    Why don't you try eating more during the week and less on the weekend? You can certainly incorporate your Saturday foods during the week, perhaps via smaller portions.
  • angela2520682
    angela2520682 Posts: 13 Member
    edited May 2017
    Ok what i eat is healthy, it may be boring but it is healthy. This is my food for monday through friday.
    Breakfast:
    2 eggs,Cottage cheese,Coconut oil,Mixed veggies, Apple cider vinegar, yerbamata(390 cal)
    Lunch:
    Smoothie(spinach,1/2 banana,1/2 avocado, protein powder, flax seeds, strawberries, water)(360 cal)
    Snack: plain greek yogurt with strawberries(80 cal)
    Dinner: smoothie(kale)( 400 cal)
    Snack: plain greek yogurt with strawberries(80 cal)
    If i have time maybe some roasted brussels sprouts or broccoli covered in olive oil.
    As for the weekends i eat unhealthy such as pizza or icecream, i dont eat to where my stomch is full, but what i eat is high in calories. The most i eat in a weekend is about 4000 calories in 2 days.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,287 Member
    angela2520682 wrote: »
    The problem is that when i eat junk food on the weekend i usually gain 4 or 5 pound of water weight,
    before i cheat i weight myself early morning on saturday to see how much i lost during the week. And it takes me until wednesday or thursday to get to my original weight.
    So am i losing the weight in those two/three days? or is it just showing on saturday? And if i dont cheat will i continue to lose more weight?(i know this seems confusing)

    If you are losing 3-4 pounds, on average, from one Saturday to the next, that's the cumulative effect of your eating throughout the week. Your water weight masks any loss during the early part of the week, then you see the fat loss after the water weight drops off enough.

    More importantly, if don't weigh 300-400 pounds right now, you are losing weight at a very fast rate - probably an unhealthily fast rate. Unhealthily fast weight loss risks health problems like unnecessary muscle loss, possible bone loss, fatigue, weakness, thinning hair, brittle nails, and worse.

    Please don't try to lose more than about 1% of your body weight per week - and less than that if you're within 50 pounds of goal weight.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,244 Member
    angela2520682 wrote: »
    And will i lose more weight if i stopped cheating?

    You would lose more if you eat less. Obviously, isn't it?
  • angela2520682
    angela2520682 Posts: 13 Member
    edited May 2017
    A mistake was made at the top what i meant was i dont lose 3/4 pounds every week. I can lose that one week then have no weightloss the next week. like last week i hadnt lost any pounds but this weekend i lost 5.
    I was losing a steady 2 pounds every week, but right now my weightloss stalls then dramatically decreases( i havent changed my diet or exercise since)
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