Cheat day

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sultank101
sultank101 Posts: 87 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys male 175 cm 99 kg. so at the end of the week usually Sunday I eat alot as I go out. 2-4k calories. If I water fast the entire day before ...it would allow me to use those 2k calories for Sunday. Just wondering If I could do this every week

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  • TicTacToo
    TicTacToo Posts: 76 Member
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    You've got a couple of different options besides the water fast...
    1. You could look into options for eating out that involve less calories, maybe looking up menus online beforehand.
    2. You could do some exercise before or after to offset the calories.

    Overall you probably want your weekly intakes to be on target and a bit of variation from day to day won't matter much. That said, I myself wouldn't manage a 24 hour water fast too well!!!
  • sultank101
    sultank101 Posts: 87 Member
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    TicTacToo wrote: »
    You've got a couple of different options besides the water fast...
    1. You could look into options for eating out that involve less calories, maybe looking up menus online beforehand.
    2. You could do some exercise before or after to offset the calories.

    Overall you probably want your weekly intakes to be on target and a bit of variation from day to day won't matter much. That said, I myself wouldn't manage a 24 hour water fast too well!!!

    but a water fast could work right ? it will balance it out. or I could burn the cheat meal calories
  • TicTacToo
    TicTacToo Posts: 76 Member
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    A weekly 24hr water fast works mathematically but might not be a strategy you could maintain long-term.
  • sultank101
    sultank101 Posts: 87 Member
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    TicTacToo wrote: »
    A weekly 24hr water fast works mathematically but might not be a strategy you could maintain long-term.

    why won't it work long term?
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,515 Member
    edited August 2022
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    Extended fast is linked to greater loss of lean body mass.

    There are better options to meet your weekly target.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,463 Member
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    Speaking for myself, a “water fast” like you describe would make me more likely to binged- and harder- the following day. I’d probably start snacking in the morning and convince myself I’d still have enough left for dinner, while it snowballed.

    Why not bank a couple hundred calories each day and spend them Sunday? Then you’re not having such a feast or famine attitude.

    Or, study the menu beforehand and choose a lower cal meal in advance.

    My husband always take a small jar of zero cal salad dressing with him. That’s a couple of hundred calories right there. If it’s pizza, we split a small pizza and have a large salad. If it’s Mexican, there’s a chicken super burrito on the menu for under 500 calories. Chicken shawarma is far fewer calories than beef.

    There’s always ways.
  • sultank101
    sultank101 Posts: 87 Member
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    COGypsy wrote: »
    @sultank101 I'm not sure anyone can answer what you really seem to be asking.

    None of us can quantitively tell you how much misery you're willing to tolerate for one hypothetical day (or maybe a meal) each and every week where you might eat 3,000 (or maybe 5,000) calories.

    I really suggest that you pick a plan and follow it. Give it a month. Track your food, pay attention to your hunger, pay attention to the scale, and adjust based on that actual data. Nothing is forever and you can always make changes based on what you see.

    There are as many routes to weight loss as there are people losing weight. You just have to start and figure out what works for you and your lifestyle from there. Maybe a water fast is no big deal for you. For me, I'd be hating life, the universe, and everything and nobody would ever talk to me again. Maybe banking a couple hundred calories the rest of the week is easier. Maybe eating up to maintenance one day a week gives you the same satisfaction. It's more than just math, it's about learning ways to eat and live that are maintainable for the long haul, not just while you're cutting.

    you said it perfectly. now I understand. thanks alot man means alot. I was really paranoid and stuff. I guess ill just do whatever is sustainable in the long run
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,923 Member
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    Retroguy2000 wrote: »
    Extended fast is linked to greater loss of lean body mass.

    There are better options to meet your weekly target.

    24 hours is not an extended fast and metabolism is increased along with HGH (human growth hormone) which promotes the synthesis of lean mass. Basically a survival mechanism from what I understand. Longer fasts have data showing that lean mass isn't catabolized as much as we may have been led to believe.

    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21410865/

    Bottom line really is if your intermittent fasting or calorie restricting the reduction in lean mass is potentially there, but with some careful dietary and exercise intervention that can be kept to a minimum with either. imo

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