When you have a "cheat" day...

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  • sylvuz323
    sylvuz323 Posts: 468 Member
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    If you have a cheat day to boost metabolism / confuse your body, how many calories is it over your normal deficit amount?

    I am thinking of making a fasting day a regular thing which works on the same principle of making your calories drastically different to confuse your body and won't slow your metabolism if it's just one or two days a week (Brad Pilon - Eat Stop Eat). But I've also thought of adding in a high calorie day to do the same thing. If I did I'd probably eat my maintenance amount which is 1600 - would that work? Or would it have to be a LOT of calories, like 2500? At the moment I am eating about 1200 a day and not eating back all of my exercise calories.

    :)

    I personally think you have to play with those numbers, I used to do the same when I was with weight watchers it was called the Wendy plan. One day high, the next a norm, after maybe lower than your norm, back to a high...and so forth. But as to what your high should be, test it out cause we are all different so one high might work for one person but it may not work for you.
  • Ladyloraella
    Ladyloraella Posts: 46 Member
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    For me I think it would detrimental. I'd just want to keep on eating that crap so I've decided that if I do have a free day then it'll have to be for something, for it to be one off enough for me to stay on track the rest of the time. Like a day out shopping with my friends where we go to lunch and I'll have that chocolate fudge cake with cream! Or the cinema and I'll have the large hot dog please!
    But only if I've lost each week to reward myself.
  • Russellb97
    Russellb97 Posts: 1,057 Member
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    I hate the word "cheat" also. It's why I coined it a "Spike Day" because what it does is spike up; leptin, metabolism, and your mood.
    It's a 100% positive day to your diet, nothing bad, no guilt, just good stuff.

    As far as one "cheat meal" or just simply zig-zagging calories it doesn't work the same on leptin and starvation mode as a full day of eating higher calories.

    The studies have shown in 12 hour periods of overfeeding leptin is increased, so one meal just won't cut it. In fact it's very easy to have a cheat meal and still be in a caloric deficit which means leptin would still be heading down.
  • Russellb97
    Russellb97 Posts: 1,057 Member
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    For me I think it would detrimental. I'd just want to keep on eating that crap so I've decided that if I do have a free day then it'll have to be for something, for it to be one off enough for me to stay on track the rest of the time. Like a day out shopping with my friends where we go to lunch and I'll have that chocolate fudge cake with cream! Or the cinema and I'll have the large hot dog please!
    But only if I've lost each week to reward myself.

    This is a common worry, but really it should be the exact opposite.
    Calorie restriction=leptin down=increased food cravings.
    Calorie surplus=leptin up=decreased food cravings.

    It's much easier to say "no" to naughty foods when your hormones aren't trying to force you to eat.
  • ccbennett2000
    ccbennett2000 Posts: 33 Member
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    I cycle my calories to create confusion so that I am eating an average of 1300 calories a day but never 1300 calories every day as I that has caused a lot of stalls in the past. As part of this, I have at least one day a week that I consider my "free" or "cheat" day. It helps me feel less deprived and seems to help cure stalls. I do log my calories for that day to keep myself at least a little accountable - otherwise I might fall into a see-food diet :)
  • ccbennett2000
    ccbennett2000 Posts: 33 Member
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    I hate the word "cheat" also. It's why I coined it a "Spike Day" because what it does is spike up; leptin, metabolism, and your mood.

    I like that better, too. I might just borrow that one from now on as that makes me feel more productive vs. guilt-ridden :)
  • calana
    calana Posts: 88 Member
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    I call it my treat day and I log it all. I allow myself up to 2,000 calories that day but usually never reach that. For example, last night was my treat day and I ended at about 1,500.

    I like to stick to one treat meal and keep the rest of my day normal so I don't get completely out of my routine.

    Your calories are more about a weekly average vs every day.
  • Russellb97
    Russellb97 Posts: 1,057 Member
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    I hate the word "cheat" also. It's why I coined it a "Spike Day" because what it does is spike up; leptin, metabolism, and your mood.

    I like that better, too. I might just borrow that one from now on as that makes me feel more productive vs. guilt-ridden :)

    I wish everyone would used that phrase :wink:

    I didn't have a so called "cheat day" because I like to be perfect and cheating is not perfect at all. plus when I first heard of them I was told that they were unnecessary unless you had weak will power.

    I had my first one about 8 years ago, after I found myself in a very low leptin/starvation state that coincided with a 3 week weight loss plateau. My food cravings were out of control and I was on the brink of insanity. So I planned a day to get cravings out of my head. Then 4 days after my splurging I actually lost 3lbs, so of course I did it again and again.

    There's no reason to feel guilt when spiking.
  • bmacholiday
    bmacholiday Posts: 296 Member
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    I hate the word "cheat" also. It's why I coined it a "Spike Day" because what it does is spike up; leptin, metabolism, and your mood.

    I like that better, too. I might just borrow that one from now on as that makes me feel more productive vs. guilt-ridden :)

    I wish everyone would used that phrase :wink:

    I didn't have a so called "cheat day" because I like to be perfect and cheating is not perfect at all. plus when I first heard of them I was told that they were unnecessary unless you had weak will power.

    I had my first one about 8 years ago, after I found myself in a very low leptin/starvation state that coincided with a 3 week weight loss plateau. My food cravings were out of control and I was on the brink of insanity. So I planned a day to get cravings out of my head. Then 4 days after my splurging I actually lost 3lbs, so of course I did it again and again.

    There's no reason to feel guilt when spiking.

    Best way I've ever heard it phrased. My son who lost 100 lbs three years ago does the same thing. Six days a week he logs every calorie he eats and six days a week he exercises. One day a week he does neither and eats some if the craziest food I've ever seen put together. But it has obviously worked for him.
  • Russellb97
    Russellb97 Posts: 1,057 Member
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    I hate the word "cheat" also. It's why I coined it a "Spike Day" because what it does is spike up; leptin, metabolism, and your mood.

    I like that better, too. I might just borrow that one from now on as that makes me feel more productive vs. guilt-ridden :)

    I wish everyone would used that phrase :wink:

    I didn't have a so called "cheat day" because I like to be perfect and cheating is not perfect at all. plus when I first heard of them I was told that they were unnecessary unless you had weak will power.

    I had my first one about 8 years ago, after I found myself in a very low leptin/starvation state that coincided with a 3 week weight loss plateau. My food cravings were out of control and I was on the brink of insanity. So I planned a day to get cravings out of my head. Then 4 days after my splurging I actually lost 3lbs, so of course I did it again and again.

    There's no reason to feel guilt when spiking.

    Best way I've ever heard it phrased. My son who lost 100 lbs three years ago does the same thing. Six days a week he logs every calorie he eats and six days a week he exercises. One day a week he does neither and eats some if the craziest food I've ever seen put together. But it has obviously worked for him.

    Thank you!
    I don't exercise on my Spike Day's either, I literally WANT to have a day of calorie surplus and if I workout I'd just have to eat more. I take the day totally off from exercise and diet and I feel completely refreshed for the next week.

    Usually week one is the easiest for weight loss in a diet and when you do it this way every week is like week number one!
  • cms6300
    cms6300 Posts: 163
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    Mmmmm carmello bars.
  • em9371
    em9371 Posts: 1,047 Member
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    I log everything good and bad, if I eat out I estimate cals with the nearest item in the database to what I ate. Some days I'm over, some I'm under, but logging everything helps me see what's gone wrong if I don't lose that week.

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