Diet-free days

Are you with or against a diet-free day every week? And why?
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Replies

  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,281 Member
    I do meals off..but not days. Too much could be undone.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
    I bank calories on week days to account for eating slightly above maintenance calories at the weekend.
  • BuddhaBunnyFTW
    BuddhaBunnyFTW Posts: 157 Member
    I chose a diet where I can eat without excluding things. If I want ice cream I eat ice cream, if I want pizza I have pizza, etc. But I've trained my body not to crave fatty, sugary foods, and I also don't like to overeat so I naturally stop eating when I'm full now. I prefer fruit over candy for example.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,928 Member
    edited June 2020
    aliaa209 wrote: »
    All your answers and responses were very insightful and encouraging.
    I'm following an intermittent fasting diet, with adherence to my calorie limit. And it helped me to contain my craves and hunger big time. But, during the lockdown it's become really hard to stay on track. I keep thinking about eating all my non-fasting hours. Also, my family have the greatest choices in food :smiley: There's always a Cinnabon roll available or a mighty burger sandwich in hand.
    I love the calorie-based diet that it helps me eat anything I want, but still with limits and after doing my math. But, sometimes, I just wish to go BANANAS :smiley:
    I really loved the calorie bank idea :like: ... I always eat below my calorie limit. And maybe I should exercise more, and add more calories to my bank account. and have a diet-free day every 2 weeks or 3 weeks, instead!

    Sounds like now that your lifestyle is different, your plan isn't the right fit any more. Time to change it up.

    I do like 6 days at a moderate deficit and one at maintenance usually per week. But i can wipe out a weeks worth of effort in an hour if i eat what I want without consideration for how much (hello, Doritos).
  • Geneveremfp
    Geneveremfp Posts: 504 Member
    I like to bank calories if I know I have something coming up or want a particular meal. I think the mindset of "I'm learning to eat as I should be eating and this calorie counting is permanent" is important to me. I know if I stop keeping track I'll regain when I've come up goal weight. So I'll need to put conscious effort in. Also if I'm feeling like I'm tired of low calories (well lower) I'll happily take a week or two at maintenence calories and then get back to a deficit. It just puts me back by a couple of weeks. It's important they are still tracked though or I'll just gain on them as I go nuts.
  • rosiekin
    rosiekin Posts: 78 Member
    edited June 2020
    I'm another banker too! I follow my own version of the 5/2 diet... 5 days at 1800 calories and 2 days at 2500 calories. I rarely need to go over 2500 but if I knew in advance I would need to, I'd bank more ahead of the high day.

    While I agree in principle that an off day here and there would not be that detrimental, I think for many people, an off day wouldn't stop at one day and that's when it does become detrimental to maintenance. Probably a planned off day is way better to manage, than an off day that just creeps up on you unexpectedly and you're overcome by this desire to overeat.

    I've been in maintenance 5+ years and I've had a few of these unplanned off days. Very, very scary when that feeling of not being in control slaps you in the face again! Luckily I've pulled back, and got back on track.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    aliaa209 wrote: »
    Are you with or against a diet-free day every week? And why?

    Totally against.

    What would happen if you had a budget free day once a week and spent your money on anything and everything you wanted?

    Permanent change requires living in a calorie budget most of the time. Sure you can go a little nuts on vacations and holidays but most of the time you have to live your life inside your new weight managing normal.

    If you are struggling to stick with your plan explain what you are doing and perhaps we can help.


    Hey if you had enough money you could definitely get away with it without making a dent ;)
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,135 Member
    I bank calories on week days to account for eating slightly above maintenance calories at the weekend.

    I'm doing kind of a version of this.

    I entered maintenance back in May and been trying to find that way of balancing out my calories, but I still tend to eat a bit below maintenance. So now that things are opening up again and we can go out, I've been having one kinda big meal where I might go 1,000 calories over that day (nachos, drinks, burger, whatever) and that erases my deficit for the week.

    I was just updating my tracking and doing the math this morning and I'm within 0.4 lbs of when I started June, and my average weight this month is 0.1 lbs from where I started. So it seems to be working!

    Now here's the key: I LOG EVERYTHING! Even my big meal out. I usually have to guess/estimate the meal, but I always go with the higher than average option to make sure I don't under report. At worse I've been jumping up about a pound and a half after my big meal and within 48 hours I'm back to "normal".
  • Jacq_qui
    Jacq_qui Posts: 429 Member
    Not for me. I have things I like ''little and often'' and that usually prevents me needing a binge day. I can't be perfect all the time, but when those times I happen I don't feel too bad about it because they're infrequent and it's not an entire day dedicated to it.
  • GratefulWayFarer
    GratefulWayFarer Posts: 61 Member
    If you feel like that, you need to find ways to keep your mind occupied during fasting hours or build a routine so that you aren't left with 'nothing to do' time. Because it is those times where you can find yourself wanting to go wild (the devil makes work for idle fingers).. So stay vigilant!
  • tuckerrj
    tuckerrj Posts: 1,453 Member
    I can EASILY undo an entire weeks dieting with one day eating unlimited. So I'm against it (for me).