rewarding weight loss with junk food

i always hear this is a bad idea

but honestly, i think it's great

and it works for me

what i do is every time i lose a significant amount of weight i have one day where i just eat whatever i want, anything I crave that day I just get it and I don't even think twice about calories because I know that 1 day is not going to make me gain any actual weight it just may make me feel bloated for a few hours.

but then the following weeks i'm careful again

this way I never feel deprived, I can understand how this would make some people fall of the wagon I guess, but I think it is actually helpful in allowing someone to keep at it.

if i reward myself with food for fatloss its not junk food, ill do something like sushi or crepes, something still low cal and not process/grease laden

I also think it's a bad idea. I actually stopped craving all this junk after about 3 months into my new lifestyle. I don't know... you say - about twice the calories of your regular healthy day. It would be about 1500 extra cals for me, this amound of calories would "undo" my efforts of three days. Not worth it.

the thing with me is i love food

whether it is gourmet or light like sushi or crepes or mall food court foods drenched in fake cheese

i love it all and i crave most of it a lot

for me, if I've made a good amount of progress in losing weight (3.5 lbs this week!) then for 1 day I'll allow myself to have 200-400 extra calories that day, but I'll still plan it out. My conscience usually helps me to avoid pigging out on like twice my allotted calories, but for example, indulging in half a veggie pizza for one day, as long as I go back to my normal calorie target the other 6 days, I'll still be ok by the next time I weigh myself.

I think its better to treat yourself than to go crazy and eat everything regardless of calories, because once you hit your goal weight, you want to be able to maintain that weight which means still being mindful of what you eat...

my two cents

yah of course you have to be mindful

i guess it's just that throughout my weight loss i've noticed that one day of excessive pigging out never leads to a gain and sometimes even leads to a loss

i read threads like [had a really bad day yesterday i need to starve myself today and exercise really hard] and you really don't

it doesn't make a difference unless it is ongoing

Original Post by tang_in_a_glass:.

I think its better to treat yourself than to go crazy and eat everything regardless of calories, because once you hit your goal weight, you want to be able to maintain that weight which means still being mindful of what you eat...

my two cents

i would like to add that "normal" people, who aren't focused on weight loss have the occasional super high calorie days and they maintain their weight just fine. for example, you know that cousin, friend, or spouse who eats a crap ton at thanksgiving, christmas, easter, the superbowl, girls' night out, their birthday, a celebration and you know what...when you see them a week later they look the same, right? i think it's the same concept. i personally prefer consistency rather than splurging, but i definitely don't think it's counterproductive, even when we get to maintenance. whaddya think??

I guess I sorta do the same, though when I first read your post I thought What a good way to lead to an eating disorder! 

When I have a day where I have gone under my calories, I treat myself to something nice that's not too unhealthy to make up the difference.  It sorta encourages me to make good choices during the day, knowing that if I do well then I can have a treat.  And I really just can't live without sweets, so having a treat every other day or so keeps the cravings in control, for the most part.

As far as an eat anything you crave day, well, I'm getting used to a healthy diet, and even when I go to a buffet, I don't have the same cravings I used to, so I really don't do too badly even when I get everything I want.

It sounds like a wonderful splurge to me in theory, but unfortunately I am not sure I can ever indulge like that again, not even as a treat.

If I were to give in to all my cravings (even only for a single day), it could undo weeks or months of weightloss because I could easily accidentally eat 40,000 or 50,000 calories.

So for me, I have one MEAL where I indulge instead of a full day. That way my calories don't go over 4,000 or 5,000 for the day.

A personal trainer one day told be about what he does, and he calls it 80/20 weekends. He explained that 80% of the time he is really good, he exercises, he doesn't eat sugar or processed foods and the works. But one weekend out of the month, he allows himself to do and eat whatever he wants. He has some beers with his friends or orders pizza from domino's. I personally go by this plan too. If you allow yourself everything in moderation and it's only 2 days out of every 30, it's NOT going to set you back any huge amount. If anything it keeps you on task, because you don't deprive yourself of "having fun" and it's a nice reward for your good habits. The idea of never having Pizza Hut or chocolate peanut butter ice cream is horrible to me. But knowing that I can get a treat every once in awhile is refreshing and keeps me going with my healthy lifestyle. And the longer I eat healthy, the less my splurges are really splurges.