You can have free days and still lose weight. I have proof!

Ok, so this past weekend on the 19th, I had my 22nd birthday party, which was a day before my actual birthday.  I decided early on that I would not count calories or care what I ate on my birthday. On the 19th I ate at this amazing restaurant called Crustacean's (Seafood with an Asian twist). I had Tiger shrimp with garlic noodles (I'm sure it was full of oil) a lobster salad as an appetizer and definitely the most delicious birthday cake ever!  On top of that, I drank a crap load of alcohol!

The next day was my actual birthday and I was as free as can be. My bf took me to our usual Sunday brunch spot, where I allowed myself to eat all of the "forbidden" foods. On top of that, I ate pizza, enchiladas, omg it was great!

Anyways, the day of my party, I weighed 127.8, and I promised myself I would not step on the scale until about a week after I indulged b/c I didn't want to see how high the scale went. Right after my birthday, I went back to my healthy eating habits, but had no time to go to the gym and work off my birthday food.

For some reason, this morning I felt great, so I decided to weigh myself and I'm 126.8, a whole pound after eating junk!

I'm telling this story b/c I've always deprived myself and was afraid that if I step off the band wagon, I'll gain a lot and keep eating unhealthy. I was totally wrong, and if you just get right back to it, you'll be fine.

There's always room for ONE cheat day :) 

Reading this made me feel so much better about having an "off" day yesterday.

I agree.  You have to allow yourself to indulge, otherwise, you crave the forbidden and then you completely blow it.  I always allow a cheat day.

My husband and I check our weight on Saturday mornings, so we chose Saturday night as treat night.  We make sure to eat things we've been craving.

Good for you I am glad you realize that it is ok to indulge every once in awhile! Do not feel guiltly!

I have been at this for exactly 4 months now! I have lost 62 pounds, I was 360 and am now 298! I have a cheat meal every friday night. One meal where I get my fix for the week! It helps me to stay strong on my healthy eat ways. I do not feel deprived of anything.

I fully support and encourage cheat meals!

Wow, thank you for that! We are having company tonight so I decided I will eat  healthy all day but opnce they get here i am not going to think about it. I am sure I'll be having wine..lol. I am also making this yummy baked chicken stuffed with feta and cream cheese, with bacon rolled around it. I am sure its sooo bad but this is going to be a cheat meal today. I also didnt go to the gym yesterday nor will i have time today. To top it off TMIm but AF visited today...(aunt flo...) so I am scared what the scale will say tomorrow morning. But, as of then I will go back to CC.

J

Yesterday I had the best Cheeseburger and french fries for lunch. I put them on my log and got in a good workout. I ate right last night and feel great today. In the past eating bad one meal would completely ruin me so I do understand how you feel. It's wonderful to be here the next day doing great. No guilt and I don't think it will effect my weigh in at all. I am going to give myself a break on Holidays, Birthdays, and other special days but I will do what it takes to make it right. It is going to be a long road and I am not looking to drive myself crazy!

i had one of those the other day. ate good for break, lunch and snacks. got home and jeff wanted to go to dinner. no time to check the internet to prepare what i would eat there. went to the crab pot. it was so good. i had jumbo prawns and ate all of the mixed veggies. the potatoes were not good so only 1 bite of them. i had a piece of sour dough bread and a bailey's and coffee. i was very much satisfied. not stuffed just right.  not wanting to hurry home(his ex was there visiting his son) we decided to go to cold stone. i had a like it size treat. in the good ol days i went for the love it cuz "hey it's only 49 cents more" now when they say that, i translate it in my head from "it's only 49 cents more" to "it's 300 calories more" now, doesn't that sound better? it felt good to eat my treat. i was a little nervous because i knew i would have to weigh in the next morning for my challenge though. 

i get home and jumped on the elliptical for an hour. i get done, plug in the calories from dinner and dessert and exercise and guess what? i was just at 1,250 calories and the next morning i had lost 1.5 lbs for the week. 

so, ya we can have a treat night/day without harm. but be careful that you get back on track quickly. because this can also happen...

over thanksgiving and christmas, i went off of my diet. i had gone from 170-145 and was ready for a break. i had a great time over the holiday with the treats and candy. i went from 145 to 150 from 11/23-12/27 one month. from 12/27 to 1/25 i have worked very hard to lose it and am down 4.5lbs. looking back i wish i would have stayed on track and i'd be at goal of 135 by now! and just had a few days of  holiday favorites.

kat 

 

 

Some day I'll give this a try (maybe on my birthday in March), but for now I'm too chicken.  I don't think I've learned portion control yet   If I did it now I'd go completely wild and probably eat like 4000 calories in a few hours.

thats awesome as i had a similar thing happen to me yesterday, it was my birthday party-turned into a c-razy night and drank sooo much alcohol, but i thoroughly enjoyed myself and let it go, then this morning for breakfast i had a slice of the brithday cake that my friends had made me...i think when it comes to special occasions the best thing to do is relax. i know alcohol will be hard for me to 'give up' as im at uni and drinking is part of the whole having a good time thing, but i always stick to vodka diet coke. and even drinking and eating i still didnt go over my daily calories...one day off is fine!

This is something I have always been doing.  I will pick usually one day of the weekend.  I think the key is not to go 5000 calorie crazy.  I usually will just go up to maintenance and it just works really well and does not hinder progress that much.

Woo hoo!

I jumped off the wagon yesterday - had 6 beers & a whopper (hold the mayo) along with my normal caloric intake.

No weight gain....life is good!

Back on the wagon today!