I've seen a few people mention a no counting day or their cheat day, I've seen it called other things but can't remember what they called it.
I believe this day of eating whatever is to help with your metabolism, is this correct? If so how often should you do it? Do you basically eat anything you want. Just looking for some advice as to this.
thanks.
Its the way I broke my 3 month plateau. Some call it calorie cycling. I do it every 2 weeks-(some do it once a week) The idea is to keep your body "guessing", and for it not to get used to the smaller amount of calories coming into it, thereby not making it stall out
I don't usually eat everything I can (like chips, doughnuts etc). I'll eat more carbs then I typically do though-more bread/pasta.
Recommended intake is 1900cal-so I'll eat about 2300-2400 that day. Some people eat a lot of junky foods and get up tp 3000 cals-if I do that I'll feel like garbage the next day
Whatever way you do it though-don't weigh yourself the next day-you're going to retain a ton of water and you'll freak out lol
Ok great thank you for the advice. Much appreciated.
I count everything since I am eating it then it is going in. I also don't have cheat days, only days I eat things I find more yummy and, I'm not sure why, I seem to usually slip on Mondays and go over my cals so I guess that's my unintentional cheat day.
I count everything. I've been here before, lost and gained twice in adult life. The wheels didn't fall off because of any metabolism voodoo or any of the other crap you read about. I started putting on weight again when I stopped making smart food choices and getting further away from routine. IMO cheat days are BS. It's another way of saying making bad choices is somehow more gratifying than being healthy. Hard to make a lifestyle of something you think is inferior.
Original Post by reissue:
It's another way of saying making bad choices is somehow more gratifying than being healthy. Hard to make a lifestyle of something you think is inferior.
That is very true. However, we should not forget that "treats" can be part of a healthy lifestyle and allowing yourself the occasional one is an important part of the routine too! (keeps us from those "cheat" - aka "BINGE" days!).
"Cheat days" is a highly customisable term that people can alter to fit their personal preference, and in turn, berate others for holding a different perception of what essentially may be the same activity.
- Some use cheat days simply to eat maintenance amounts of nutritious food.
- Some use it as a form of moderation (eg a dinner out once a week/fortnight).
- Some use it as an excuse to stuff their face with crap food.
I personally believe that its important to track whatever you're eating for at least a couple of months until you can eyeball portions and have a fairly good grasp on what calories are in the foods you eat, especially a cheat day - this way you're still aware of the deficit/surplus.
I have to say that I also tried cheat days and it didn't work for me. There were days when I would eat nearly everything I had lost on the week so... bad bad bad.
However, once I hit the weight I want and go on maintenance, I want to try the 80-20 that many say that works.80% of your daily intake is just healthy food and to get the nutrients you need and the other 20% is free choice, it can be a treat or not, it's whatever you want as long as you say within that limit of calories. Always.
I'm already trying to adjust myself to that and hopefully eventually have no slip days.
I never have a no counting day.. If I feel I need a break I always just go to my maintain weight number because that's the whole point of this; to lose weight, and keep it off for good by maintaining. I feel like not counting is kind of being counter productive. If you want a day off, okay but just eat towards your maintain weight and anything beyond that is excessive and what we're trying to teach ourselves to stop doing, right? When you're losing weight you eat usually a 500 calorie deficit, so even eating towards your maintain weight and not beyond can boost your metabolism (since your body is basically used to the deficit). If you're eating beyond then you're just doing the opposite and your body is going to store extra as fat just as if you eat too little your body would do the same. Everyone is different though, if you feel you don't mind setting yourself back a little then go ahead but for me, I know it's better if I just do it right the first time and have nothing to worry about.
While losing weight, I didn't count on the weekends most of the time.
That didn't mean that I could eat whatever I wanted. I still ate within reason (probable closer to maintenance). I just didn't log it. I considered it good practice for maintaining, since I had no desire to continue logging everything for the rest of my life.
I agree with most people here when they say that you should log everything you eat even if it is a cheat day so you have a better idea of how many calories your intaking. I sometimes don't log because I didn't eat that day but that's usualy the only way I don't log my food.
I hereby proclaim that "cheat day" and "cheat meal" be stricken from current vocabulary.
Instead, we will use "maintenance day" and "maintenance meal" from this moment on!
I have a maintenance MEAL either every Fri OR Saturday night. I still weigh and measure and log every darn thing I eat/drink. So far, I've lost 26lbs in 12 weeks, with no crazy cravings or binges.
This is my third go round here on C-C. I've never done the maintenance meal thing in the past. And yes, maintenance days or meals don't work for everyone, but it's working for ME and that's all that matters.
