Fell of the wagon a bit :/

JohnDaConqueror · March 2020

Howdy!

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve been on these forums. I’m a big calorie counter though but I’ve kind fell off the wagon and lost my focus. I still calorie count but what’s been keeping me from losing weight is my constant cheat days!

Around December 20th is when I finally got into the 250’s, and this is coming from someone who started at 371lbs. So, when I hit the 250s, I thought maybe “heck, I deserve a day to indulge and have my cravings”, well this opened a door that I wish I never opened.

Since that cheat day, I have given myself multiple cheat days since December and I haven’t been able to break the 240s. My lowest is 248, and every time I hit that number, I tell myself “if I cheat this day, I should be fine, I’m at my lowest so why not, I’ll go back to calorie counting the next day”...stupid me lol

So, it’s obvious what I do lol, I indulge way to much, my cheats day are crazy, it’s not any ordinary cheat day, and I’m not sure if it’s because the past nine months of strict calorie counting and not having many cheat days, Its what causes me to make an excuse to cheat this day or that day and just straight up binge!

Now, I can say that I have maintained my weight and I haven’t gained fat because of it, I mean I fluctuate a lot after my cheat days but I usually go back around my lowest weight (251s-253’s) after a couple days going clean. I do still have that fire in me to lose these last 50lbs, I just gotta stop these cheat days

.

So, what I’ve been doing is, I cheat then I go clean for like 4-5 days then I cheat 2-3 days in a row, repeat! And, I’ve just been going from 248-258 over these past three months!

I’m really disappointed in myself because I know that I could of been in my 230s by now but I didn’t discipline myself and have the willpower to say no to the constant urges to cheat, but I’m sick of bouncing up and down thru 248-258, my goal is to hit 240 by the end of April! I know I can do it, I’ll update you guys again around that time!

With that being I’m not sure if anyone has had a similar situation to mines, but if you did I would really like to hear how you overcame the phase and continued to stay on track!

harper16 · March 2020

My only insight don't have cheat days. Work the "cheat" foods into your calorie counts, for the day or week. If you want to eat dessert on Friday night cut out a few extra calories to allow it without feeling guilty.

AnnPT77 · March 2020

Perhaps your body's telling you you're reaching the point where it would be good to either (1) take an actual, intentional maintenance break **, or (2) start thinking about and working on how you want to eat permanently, after your weight loss, in order to stay at a healthy weight permanently?

Maybe it's just me, but I don't really think that thinking in terms of "cheat" vs. "clean" is going to be a very workable approach to long-term weight maintenance. It sounds like a bit of a mental roller-coaster.

How do you want to eat permanently? What will keep you full and satisfied, including some treats or indulgences within reason? What do you find tasty and practical? How do you plan to fit in social events, holidays and celebrations?

Thinking about those things, and starting to experiment with answers, is kind of a good thing to do in the later stages of weight loss (if not all the way through the process!), IMO. If you can manage to work that out now, and keep calories below maintenance the overwhelming majority of days (reasonable deficit most days, close to maintenance others, a bit above maintenance only occasionally), you'll keep losing weight. Then, when you reach goal weight, maintenance is simply a matter of eating in the same general way, and allowing a few more daily calories. Easy transition!

I don't know for sure, but I feel like you might be setting yourself up for a common scenario: "Now that the diet is over, I can eat normally again." For most people, that thought pattern leads to regain. So, this might be a good time to start figuring out a new normal, with a good mix of mostly nutritious, some treats/indulgences, and right around calorie goal most of the time (or banking a few calories if you prefer some bigger days/meals now and then).

Just I thought, from a fellow MFP-er in year 4 + of maintaining. :drinker:

** http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

JCo702 · March 2020

I personally just make sure I log EVERYTHING... it usually makes me feel guilty about the bad stuff so I won't do it much. I agree with the post above, and not thinking of it as cheating, just incorporate it in a responsible way.
Personally, I've now been strictly clean eating since Jan 1... I actually tried a bite of ice cream the other day and it was WAY too sweet... like actually gross to me! Any who... I find that once it's out of your diet, it's not as enjoyable... but that takes time.

I did see one thing a few weeks ago that could be interesting to try: Every time you have a craving for a cheat, write down that food/drink item on a post it and put it on the fridge/on a board somewhere. At the end of the week, allow yourself to have just ONE of those items.

lgfrie · March 2020

Limiting myself to maintenance calories on off/casual days has helped me immensely to not go off track, which was starting to happen around the same time, end of December. I was going through a similar cycle, OP, of losing a pound, then overeating, then needing 3-4 days to get back to even, then grinding out one more pound, then going off track and then regrouping, etc etc etc. It was like every new pound was an Herculean struggle and an excuse to eat, as opposed to fresh motivation to boldly push for the next pound, as had been the case earlier in my diet journey. Just diet fatigue after 7-8 months, I think. But I did conquer it by February, by learning to treat maintenance as the hard limit for any calorically-noncompliant day.

I'm generous with myself about that maintenance limit - 2400 plus exercise calories, but whereas I usually eat back 40-50 % of the exercise, on an off day I'll grant myself every last calorie off my exercise machine, which I know to be on the high and unrealistic side. So that'll give me around 2800-2900 to work with, and I figure that just has to do. I have been good about this because I know that the whole "gain a pound, go off course, spend half a week getting back to zero, start over" thing is a lot more unpleasant and tedious than making do with maintenance cals on an off day.

Also, I reluctantly took my goal down to 1 lb a week & that might help you too - i.e. to reduce your loss rate a bit. I started at 320 lbs and was consistently losing 2 lbs a week for a long time, but then it started getting tedious and I set it to 1.5, which helped and I thought I could ride 1.5/week all the way to 200 lbs. But in February I realized I just can't hack those huge deficits anymore and 500 cals/day would have to do. That made things much easier. I'm currently around where you are, 249-250 pounds, but those 250s were a mighty, mighty struggle and took a long time. Almost from Day 1 of this diet, I had 235 in mind as a benchmark milestone, because I know from the distant past that that's when I fit properly in regular XL and 40" waist clothes, as opposed to the 3X and 50" waist I started with. I fully expected to be at 235 by now, and it's frustrating that the 250s were such an endless grind. However, I feel like things are on a sound footing now with the "don't exceed maintenance calories" approach.

PAV8888 · March 2020

I suspect from the posters above that you've already gotten good advice.

==What deficit are you attempting? It is probably time to move to 1.5 or 1lb a week deficits.
==You have every right on any day of the week to eat more or less calories. There is no cheating involved other than in your own mind... and it is not helpful for you to be thinking that way. You are making choices. Own them. Enjoy them. Or make different ones if you're not enjoying them.
==Having a snack go off the rails is not excuse to have another snack that goes off the rails. Nor is it an opportunity to do so. Having a meal that is off the rails either intentionally or by accident is not an excuse or reason to have another meal or snack that does the same. Plan for individual meals or events that are higher in calories. Not DAYS.
==Are you going to continue with cheat and clean for the rest of your life? Will every cookie you eat cause an existential crisis? Time to start figuring out your long term way of eating. Especially if clean is not clean-ly appealing to you.
==if you're having an occasional higher calorie day you may benefit from having a lot of extra carbs while keeping your fats low(ish) and your total calories around or just above maintenance.

kcmcbee · March 2020

I think you have done a fantastic job! Wow! And just a little way to go for what you set as your goal. So off the rail in a brief time. No big deal. You already did this so you know how to get back on and you can. And it’s not a race so like others mentioned you may want to adjust to a lower loss rate and those additional cals you have to work with may make it easier to avoid going totally off the rails on binges. Don’t beat yourself up. You’re doing great. Anyone on this planet that is where you started would be bery glad to be where you are now. Great job!

briscogun · March 2020

I used to plan and schedule a cheat “meal”, not a whole cheat “day”. If I know I’m going to go out Saturday night I make sure I eat clean during the week, and even pull back a bit on calories that day, then go enjoy my meal. I log all of it, and it never throws me off by any great amount. I get my “cheat” that I want without completely going off the rails.

Good job so far! Just re-focus and you can get that last 50!

Fell of the wagon a bit :/

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