Do you take a day (or meal) off from healthy eating each week?

waitinggame
on 8/4/11 2:45 am - Bowie, MD
I know that some folks build a "cheat" day or meal into their weekly eating plans. I hesistate to use the word cheat because it has a negative connotation, but you get the point--a day (or again, a meal) where all bets are off and you eat what you want.

I'm wondering if you build a day (or meal) off from your regular eating plan into your week. It seems that if I had that to look forward to I might not be apt to stray as much during the week, but I want to hear from folks that do it and how it impacts your overall weightloss/maintenance.

Thanks!! 

Denise

Check out my blog--menumealplanning.com. Tales of making meal planning managable, family fodder, and everything else under the sun. 

RNY 2/3/09, LBL/BL w/Augmentation 9/16/11
Start weight: 335 Current weight: 185 Goal weight: Whatever the hell I can maintain without driving myself insane


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*6.5 lost preop

(deactivated member)
on 8/4/11 2:59 am - TX
I try to stick to the plan 90% of the time. I don't have a designated cheat day or cheat meal, but if I want something I usually have a bite or two of it. I don't eat sugary stuff yet, or do alcohol, but an example: We went to dinner last night, and I ordered chicken enchiladas instead of a healthier chicken fajita salad or something to that effect. But I ate half of one enchilada and my refried beans and I was done. The weekends are usually hard for me because we go out alot, so I save my 10% for then.

I am still 25 lbs away from my goal, so I am keeping that in mind too. But since about 4 months I've been able to eat quite a few things and it seems to get harder and harder to turn the food down.
KittenLove
on 8/4/11 3:10 am - Around Knoxville, TN
I will be 100% honest and say that it is rare that I have an on-plan weekend, especially Sunday. It's usually game on -- hey, sometimes that icee craving must be calmed : )

Be happy. 
  

 

Kim S.
on 8/4/11 4:20 am - Helena, AL
I'm with Kitten--in maintenance, I'm probably "good" 80% of the time....the weekends are pretty much whatever I want. 

I still track my food M-F and still eat protein first, and no drinking with meals, or for 30 mins after.  However, if I want it, I'm gonna eat it and then just work out a bit more to get it burned.

The first year after surgery, I can honestly say I was 99% compliant 7 days a week.....now I'm onto the rest of my life, and I can live this way.  I'll never "diet" or deprive myself, I just balance calories in with enough calories burned.

Kim
             
     
(deactivated member)
on 8/4/11 3:11 am - Boston, MA
When I was doing WW I lost 80 lbs in 8 months and how I did it, I was perfect 6 days out of the week and on Saturday I ate whatever I wanted and that worked for me!  What didn't work was when I felt great 80 lbs lighter and went back to eating all the same crap everyday instead of one day!  I plan to do a similar thing when I get to goal.. have one day a week where I don't count every little thing I eat.. right now I am still not interested in food.. but I'm sure that will change when I'm at goal.  I never realized how many calories the bad things are.. my daughter was eating reduced fat nilla wafers the other day and I grabbed a handful and ate them.. then I looked at the box 8 of those was 150 calories..8! pre op I could have eaten 1/2 the box without blinking.. I'm diffidently more aware of the calories in food and how such a small amount can really throw off your daily numbers!

I think if you know how can have a treat on Saturday it will help keep you on track during the week.
poet_kelly
on 8/4/11 3:36 am - OH
No, I don't.  That doesn't mean I never have a treat.  I do.  But it's not a regularly scheduled treat and when I do have a treat, it's definitely not an "all best are off" kind of thing.  It's a small treat.  Like one cookie or few french fries.  The main reason I don't a time when all bets are off and I just eat anything I want is because I dump on too much sugar and too much greasy food (like fries) makes me feel sick. 

But I think planning a day every week to just eat anything I wanted probably would have had a negative impact on my weight loss.  I could pack a LOT of calories into one day.  Plus, I might feel like if that was the one day in a week I could have a treat, I  needed eat as much good stuff as possible while it was allowed and end up eating more than I was really even hungry for.

Having a small treat now and then has not had a negative impact on my weight loss at all.

View more of my photos at ObesityHelp.com          Kelly

Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR.  If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor.  Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me.  If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her.    Check out my blog.

 

Judi J.
on 8/4/11 3:38 am - MN
I'm 4 years out. I periodically eat not so good stuff way too often! LOL of course I'm losing some regain too. Life happens you know
cajungirl
on 8/4/11 6:23 am
Congrats on losing some of your regain, Judi.

I "should" buckle down on some of the not so good stuff, but I'm not ~~

Proximal RNY Lap - 02/21/05

 9 years committed ~  100% EWL and Maintaining

www.dazzlinglashesandbeyond.com

 

Judi J.
on 8/4/11 8:34 pm - MN
thanks Dana, I'm feeling good about it! You need to keep eating, you need your ass back! :)
laura_vermont
on 8/4/11 4:38 am
I don't plan "cheats".  But then, my plan has always allowed for most anything as long as protein minimums were met.  I have never counted carbs or calories - though I have logged my intake.

I dump, so no more than 1 cookie/snack size chocolate.  I try to stay with either fresh fruits or protein forward snacks and I'm satisfied. 
High Weight 278; consult weight 234; Surgery Weight 219 Surgeon's Goal Weight 150 -10/27/10  -  Personal goal weight 140 - Achieved 12/11/10  
  
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