Being good all week then cheating on weekends?

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Replies

  • sarahthes
    sarahthes Posts: 3,252 Member
    I strategically will eat higher calorie indulgences on the weekend but that's because that's when my long run and/or races are scheduled.

    I occasionally have planned high calorie days due to parties etc. As long as I have an overall weekly deficit or even maintenance (i.e. not surplus) I'm happy. I'm okay with a slow rate of loss most of the time.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    ffswmn wrote: »
    I've never really understood this thought process. You are only cheating yourself. Why work hard all week to through it out the window for a day/weekend of binging? If you feel you "need it", work an indulgent meal into your calories or a trip to Baskin Robbins instead!

    The OP never mentioned binging. There is no reason to jump to the worst conclusion that I can see.
  • midlomel1971
    midlomel1971 Posts: 1,283 Member
    I have tried this and it didn't work for me. The problem is that my "cheating during the weekends" easily turned into me "cheating during the weekends...and Monday", then adding Tuesday and Wednesday to that.
  • GeauxL
    GeauxL Posts: 57 Member
    edited May 2018
    When I first started losing weight I was super strict, wouldn’t stray from my diet. Then, as I got nearer to my goal, I loosened up a little & would allow myself a “treat” on the weekends. What I did notice was that the “treat/cheat”, whatever you wanted to call it, went from Friday, then Friday & Saturday, then Friday, Saturday, & Sunday. And what was happening was, I was so strict during the week that when I got to my “treat/cheat” day, I felt the need to eat everything I had craved during the week. Basically trying to fit it all in before Monday & before going back to super strict dieting. Also, I suffered from such food guilt afterwards, just beat myself up about what I had eaten. So now, being only about 12 pounds from my goal, I still stick to my diet during the week & on weekends, usually just Friday &/or Saturday, depending what’s going on, I try to be reasonable in what I consume, even when I go out to eat, & don’t look at those days as 24-48 hours of eating everything I deprived myself of all week. As most people who have struggled with being overweight, a lot of that has to do with my “relationship” with food. It can’t be all or nothing to be successful; I’m slowly learning that practicing moderation is the key to success. Trying to sustain deprivation is just setting me up for failure. I think we all need to focus on our relationship with food-physical, nutritional, & emotional, to be successful.
  • Running_and_Coffee
    Running_and_Coffee Posts: 811 Member
    This didn't work for me...I ending up looking forward to those "cheats" so much that my regular food felt like a lousy consolation prize, and that snowballed into me "splurging" more often than I can to keep my weight where it is. So I don't do anything special on the weekends and also try not to get overly excited about food in general, and to think of it as fuel and something to enjoy, but not as the thing to look forward to when I'm anticipating seeing friends, a wedding, a vacation, etc. It's a new mindset for me!
  • Fitnessmom82
    Fitnessmom82 Posts: 376 Member
    simplyhannahm wrote: »
    What is everyone's verdict on this?

    If you can control it, it's fine. But you can easily undo all your hard work with a weekend binge! I have a "cheat meal" on Sundays. One meal and dessert. I go over my calories a bit but not enough to undo the week. And its enough to satisfy whatever I was craving all week. This works well for me! I look forward to my cheat all week and it helps me stay on track the rest of the week. I know that if I go a little crazy all week then there is less room for my beloved weekly pizza party!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,881 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    ffswmn wrote: »
    I've never really understood this thought process. You are only cheating yourself. Why work hard all week to through it out the window for a day/weekend of binging? If you feel you "need it", work an indulgent meal into your calories or a trip to Baskin Robbins instead!

    The OP never mentioned binging. There is no reason to jump to the worst conclusion that I can see.

    The OPs of cheat threads never include an explanation of what they mean by "cheating". "Cheating on weekends" = casual binging to me too (as opposed to Binge Eating Disorder binging.)
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    The OPs of cheat threads never include an explanation of what they mean by "cheating". "Cheating on weekends" = casual binging to me too (as opposed to Binge Eating Disorder binging.)

    You might be right. I try not to assume or form stereotypes though.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    It all comes down to the numbers. If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you'll lose weight. If not, you won't.
  • lewiswinston22
    lewiswinston22 Posts: 13 Member
    Long as you not going over youy daily calories in take. I see nothing wrong with eating that slice of pizza on the weekends or whatever satisfy your craving. I think it’s bad to eat a 100% healthy than when you get to your goal weight and you can’t maintain that lifestyle and you go back to your bad habits.
  • amyepdx
    amyepdx Posts: 750 Member
    edited May 2018
    Deleted posted on wrong thread!
  • tomorrowperfume
    tomorrowperfume Posts: 67 Member
    It's really interesting reading what everyone has said about eating back a whole week's deficit with one big cheat weekend. This is certainly not the case for me; I've found that if I keep a 500 calorie deficit each day throughout the work week, I am just not capable of eating an additional 2500 calories over the weekend. This might be different if I was a heavy drinker, but I'm not.

    And since my weekends are for chores, I tend to me more active than on weekdays. I suspect that mowing the front and back yards in the Texas heat would make up for the occasional sleeve of Double Stuf Oreos. Not that anyone's interested in cookies when they're covered in a layer of dirt and sweat.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    You are not "being good" if you choose to eat less food (and similarly, you're not "being bad" or "cheating" if you choose to eat more food). You are simply eating or not eating in ways that promote one or more of your personal goals. Your body's metabolism also does not care what day of the week it is. Where weight is concerned, your body only cares how many calories you take in and how many you burn. If your average calorie intake is less than your calories burned, you will lose weight. If it is greater than your calories burned, you will gain weight.

    You sound like one of your goals is to have one or more days each week of eating more than usual, and another of your goals is weight loss. If you can eat more on some days yet maintain an average calorie deficit for the week, then those goals aren't at odds with each other. However, if you want to be able to eat so much that you are no longer in a calorie deficit for the week, and/or you want to not track your food on the days you eat more, then suddenly those goals conflict. You have to decide which goal is more important to you.
  • butterfli7o
    butterfli7o Posts: 1,319 Member
    This is exactly how I stayed stuck in maintenance....for a long time.
  • amyepdx
    amyepdx Posts: 750 Member
    butterfli7o wrote: »
    This is exactly how I stayed stuck in maintenance....for a long time.

    Same here - 1 year in fact when I still have 22 lbs to goal.

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