ARGH!! .... I guess it might be time to step off the scales?

2

Replies

  • SueSueDio
    SueSueDio Posts: 4,796 Member
    l4ur4j4d4 wrote: »
    Just once a week... either a Saturday because the evening I’ll go out and have dinner and then go and have a tone of alcohol, which is hard to log when you wake up and can’t remember how much you’ve had. Or it’ll be a Sunday, where I’ve ate so much I’m too scared to log it hahaha.

    You don't have to give up any kind of social life, but you might need to consider how much you're drinking if it makes you go off the rails with food. Maybe make your drinks last longer, or alternate with non-alcoholic, low-calorie drinks.

    You might find this site helpful:

    http://getdrunknotfat.com/

    And as others have already said, log everything. All of it. Even if you don't really want to see those numbers. It's the only way you'll know where you can adjust things so you can meet your goals - if you really want to.

    On the other hand, if you're happy with the way you look and feel now, don't get hung up on a specific number on the scale. But if you decide to maintain instead, make sure you weigh yourself regularly to stop it creeping up beyond a certain point.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    l4ur4j4d4 wrote: »
    What so I gotta have no social life to lose weight? Brilliant, may aswell give up now

    no one is saying that...but they are saying that you need to take in less calories than you are burning in order to lose weight and your cheat days might be hampering that progress (but you can't see that because its not being logged)
  • I have been at this 3 months and have only had 2 "overindulgence" days.

    You need to get rid of your cheat day. Maybe have a indulgent ("cheat" but I don't use that word in this context) MEAL, once a week. There's a difference.
  • l4ur4j4d4
    l4ur4j4d4 Posts: 19 Member
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    l4ur4j4d4 wrote: »
    What so I gotta have no social life to lose weight? Brilliant, may aswell give up now

    TIL that "not being able to get passed-out, blind drunk every weekend" = "have no social life".

    Yes, losing weight does require some degree of moderation and self-discipline. If you stick to your calorie goal all week long and then completely wipe it out plus some with a drunkfest every Saturday night and massive binges on Sunday, it's not exactly a recipe for success. Of course there's wiggle room for some indulgences, but even those require some degree of common sense and restraint.

    Just because you drive 5 mph below the speed limit all week doesn't mean that it's okay to do 100 mph through a school zone every Friday afternoon.

    I don’t get blind drunk every weekend, I’ve been out twice since the beginning of the year. Sometimes I stay in and have a ‘cheat’ night where I’ll have pizza.
    All I’m saying is I’m finding it strange that one bad day can completely throw you off course. But if it means cutting it out then I guess that’s what it takes.


  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    edited February 2018
    l4ur4j4d4 wrote: »
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    l4ur4j4d4 wrote: »
    What so I gotta have no social life to lose weight? Brilliant, may aswell give up now

    TIL that "not being able to get passed-out, blind drunk every weekend" = "have no social life".

    Yes, losing weight does require some degree of moderation and self-discipline. If you stick to your calorie goal all week long and then completely wipe it out plus some with a drunkfest every Saturday night and massive binges on Sunday, it's not exactly a recipe for success. Of course there's wiggle room for some indulgences, but even those require some degree of common sense and restraint.

    Just because you drive 5 mph below the speed limit all week doesn't mean that it's okay to do 100 mph through a school zone every Friday afternoon.

    I don’t get blind drunk every weekend, I’ve been out twice since the beginning of the year. Sometimes I stay in and have a ‘cheat’ night where I’ll have pizza.
    All I’m saying is I’m finding it strange that one bad day can completely throw you off course. But if it means cutting it out then I guess that’s what it takes.


    It doesn't have to, unless you let it. A night of drinking can easily undo a weeks deficit though.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    The last 5-10lbs can be frustrating.. your deficit is smaller, water weight can mask progress and it can be slower. Being more accurate can definitely help. You don't have to cut out your fun weekends.. but if you are not seeing the results you want, then being mindful of it either tracking it or easing up on the calories can help. On the other hand, if you are happy with your progress and what you see in the mirror maybe don't pay as much attention to the scale and continue.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
    l4ur4j4d4 wrote: »
    What so I gotta have no social life to lose weight? Brilliant, may aswell give up now

    No. It is not so that you can not have a social life. Answer for yourself what things are important to you. Is overeating on some days important? Or, is over-drinking on some days important? If it is important to you to do those things and reach your weight goal, somewhere below 145, or fitness goal, somewhere near where you are now, then you have to make room in your weekly food and exercise activities to do all those things and reach those goals.
  • collectingblues
    collectingblues Posts: 2,541 Member
    l4ur4j4d4 wrote: »
    What so I gotta have no social life to lose weight? Brilliant, may aswell give up now

    No one said that.

    You can drink. In moderation.

    You can eat out. As it fits your deficit.

    If you want to take an all or nothing approach, fine. But that's your own doing.
  • anetkastefaniak
    anetkastefaniak Posts: 45 Member
    edited February 2018
    I would remove the cheat day until you get to your goal weight and you can maintain then...
    Personally I noticed for myself that cheat days don't work when I'm losing. When you're maintaining it's okay because as you mentioned you can easily make up for it during the rest of the week.

    I would just fit everything into your calories, or at least eat at your maintenance on your cheat days (worst case scenario) but your rate of weight loss will not be as fast as you want it to be.

    I've been amazing with my 1200 cals/week for the last two months. Then over the weekend I had a cheat day (2500+ calories). I gained back what I had lost last week. I learned it the hard way but once I'm at my goal weight I will 100% have a cheat day over the weekend, and eat at the 1200 cals per day during the weekdays so I don't gain any weight back.


  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member

    I've been amazing with my 1200 cals/week for the last two months. Then over the weekend I had a cheat day (2500+ calories). I gained back what I had lost last week. I learned it the hard way but once I'm at my goal weight I will 100% have a cheat day over the weekend, and eat at the 1200 cals per day during the weekdays so I don't gain any weight back.


    You didn't gain fat back, your weight fluctuated because of water retention.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,879 Member
    edited February 2018
    Do you know what your BF% is? You are at a healthy weight already...which means things are going to go slow. And in my experience, you do hit a point where lifestyle may not be commensurate with your weight management objectives and you do have to assess whether you're being realistic or not.

    For me personally, 15% BF is easy maintenance...it's basically my sweet spot where I don't have to think about things much and eat overall healthfully and exercise regularly and just maintain pretty easily with nights out, pizza nights, pub grub outings, etc.

    Cutting to 12% and maintaining that requires a bit more "sacrifice" on my part to get there...once I'm there, maintenance isn't too bad but I inevitably tend to creep slowly back up to 15%.

    Cutting below 12% and maintaining below 12% would require more dietary discipline than I'm willing to put forth...I'm not 20 anymore and as we age, the body tends to hold onto a little more fat which is why a good BF% for a 20 year old is sub 10%....40 year old it's 15% which is my sweet spot at 43.

    This is kinda where hormones really start coming into play...lower weights and BF%...sometimes going lower is just going to be a PITA without "help"

    Essentially, biologically it's healthy and normal to hold onto a bit more fat as we age (I'm not talking about unhealthy levels of BF)...at some point you get to the spot where you're basically fighting evolution...trying to be super lean is a fairly recent development in human history.
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
    l4ur4j4d4 wrote: »
    So you’re saying no cheat day!? Jesus Christ... I don’t know about that...

    Do you want to lose the weight?

    You'd be better off creating a moderate deficit -- AKA, not restricting down to 1200, unless you're talking 1200 net -- and working in those foods that you want in moderation. And then sticking to that moderate deficit.

    This.

    Don't eat 1200 through the week. Bump it up to like 1500 and eat that EVERY DAY. Or, like some people on here, BANK UP enough calories for the weekend so that you're not going over your WEEKLY allowance. That way you still get a social life. You just won't get to eat as much throughout the week.
  • anetkastefaniak
    anetkastefaniak Posts: 45 Member
    edited February 2018
    @TavistockToad That's right. But if I'm consistently having cheat days on the weekend it could be backtracking my weight loss goals.

    The point I'm trying to make is that if you're trying to lose weight, eating consistently during the week and then having a surplus of calories over the weekend on your cheat days may not help you will lose weight. You might be maintaining, or you could be gaining.

    For ex. I am currently eating 1200 per day, and my maintenance is 1500. That's a difference of 2100 calories per week I have been cutting out. If I then go change my habits and eat 1200 Mon-Fri, and then decide to eat 2250 on both Saturday and Sunday, I'm cancelling out my deficit. I am then maintaining.

    Some ppl prefer to have no cheat days and eat a consistent amount of calories daily. That's not for me. When I reach my goal and start to maintain, I will probably go with the example I included above.



  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,718 Member
    @TavistockToad That's right. But if I'm consistently having cheat days on the weekend it could be backtracking my weight loss goals.

    The point I'm trying to make is that if you're trying to lose weight, eating consistently during the week and then having a surplus of calories over the weekend on your cheat days may not help you will lose weight. You might be maintaining, or you could be gaining.

    For ex. I am currently eating 1200 per day, and my maintenance is 1500. That's a difference of 2100 calories per week I have been cutting out. If I then go change my habits and eat 1200 Mon-Fri, and then decide to eat 2250 on both Saturday and Sunday, I'm cancelling out my deficit. I am then maintaining.

    Some ppl prefer to have no cheat days and eat a consistent amount of calories daily. That's not for me. When I reach my goal and start to maintain, I will probably go with the example I included above.



    But once again, anyone who logs it all, and tracks scale weight over time alongside, has all the data they need to understand and achieve weight management goals. When they eat it, and whether they call it "cheating" or not, doesn't much matter. The math matters.