Does anyone have planned days off?
For example, I am having about two full days to eat what ever I want. The weight is coming off, yes it is slow, but I am still hanging in there for over 6 months. I usually go real strict and quit after 2 months. So this is keeping me going.
On the days off I eat what ever I want and I am finding lately it is getting me sick. My eating is so clean the other days that when I do eat these things, I am not used to the heavy feeling, the grease and fat. I am going to cut back on what and how much I indulge. For example, I was eating a pound of cheese, 2 slices a pie, ice cream, pizza ...ect.
Does anyone have any ideas how I can still do this on a smaller scale?
Maybe just one treat a day or I don't know. I get excited when I can eat like I used too, but then my body hates me and I am eating tums all day.
I also want to add that I like doing this calorie cycling. On the planned days off I am about 1200 and under and the indulge days are about 2000-3500 calories, so I guess I am about 1700 calories a day evened out. Maybe I should just change the foods to healthier foods and just more meals and not so much junk.
I lost about 35 pounds in about 7 months and I know that is not a lot at all.
Oh and I am drinking wine, even on my 1200 calorie days. Not every day, but maybe 3 days a week.
Wait, you're eating a pound of cheese, plus all that other junk, in one "cheat" day? Well of course you're feeling sick! I definitely think a relaxed, high calorie day every now and then is a great way to keep from feeling deprived, but it sounds like you're not indulging - you're binging - on your cheat days. Not a good idea. Enjoy some pizza, dessert, an extra glass or two of wine, but treat your body with respect. Isn't great when our bodies start working the way they are supposed to by feeling like crap when you feed it crap?
I understand the need for "off" days and am completing my first full week after being off for a month.
Indulge in your favorite foods on your off days, but cut the amounts. That way you can have the foods you crave, but avoid the unfortunate side affects. And you'll also be able to learn healthier eating habits.
I've learned that my "treat days" cannot be anything like my old patterns if I want to feel decent. My treats were becoming punishments not rewards.
Also, I had to make my on-plan days more rewarding so I didn't feel that I needed a "break" from my normal eating. Changing my diet too drastically made me feel too deprived.
Gradually changing my eating patterns has been much more successful, because there's nothing to take a break from. If I eat a little more occasionally I don't really backslide or feel sick as a result of the indulgence.
I've found for my health issues though that I can't drastically change my eating in any direction without feeling sick. Eating "too healthy" (eating a much larger amount of fresh veggies for example) is as likely to aggravate my IBS as eating too much fat and calories.
My body feels much, much better on consistency. So I can't afford to eat drastically differently. Gradual changes have been key to feeling my best, and not feeling deprived.
I "reward" myself not with uncontrolled eating, but with very small indulgences. I can let up on calorie restriction for special occasions, but I can't go very far from my norm without feeling sick.
If I had started this journey eating as I do now (overnight), I would have made myself very sick. Gradual changes have gotten me here without feeling deprived, ill, or punished. Most of my splurges are on special foods that fit into my existing plan.
I have not yet perfected this strategy. I still eat way off plan far too frequently, but it's no longer my intentional plan, because I realized I was essentially planning to make myself ill. I had to realize that the food splurge wasn't worth the negative consequences.
I've learned that my "treat days" cannot be anything like my old patterns if I want to feel decent. My treats were becoming punishments not rewards.
Also, I had to make my on-plan days more rewarding so I didn't feel that I needed a "break" from my normal eating. Changing my diet too drastically made me feel too deprived.
Gradually changing my eating patterns has been much more successful, because there's nothing to take a break from. If I eat a little more occasionally I don't really backslide or feel sick as a result of the indulgence.
...
I "reward" myself not with uncontrolled eating, but with very small indulgences. I can let up on calorie restriction for special occasions, but I can't go very far from my norm without feeling sick.
I agree with this. Since starting on my diet I cook WAY more than I used to. Before, I used to eat a lot of fast food. When my wife or I cooked at home, it was very simple meals that weren't that interesting.
To mix things up and keep things interesting I have been scouring the internet for low carb, low fat recipes and trying them out. We are eating a much richer variety of foods than we were used to. For example, in the past week we have made Mexican (Salsa Verde Chicken & Mexican cauliflower "rice"), Greek (lamb Gyros with tzatiki sauce with garlic rutabaga fries) and Indian (Chicken Tikka Masala and jasmine cauliflower "rice.") Even if I don't find a low carb, low fat recipe, I just look up the regular recipe and modify it. For example, for the Tikka Masala recipe I substituted non-fat half & half for the heavy cream. I could not tell the difference and it thickened up great. Because we are making such tasty meals, taking advantage of all of the spices and tricks (i.e. using cauliflower as a substitute), we are eating not only lower carb / fat meals -- but they are tastier too! I have never been big on sweets, but if I ever have a craving for something sweet, my Pure Protein peanut butter bars taste just like a candy bar. So, I really and truly do not feel deprived at all.
Thanks all for the replies.
I would eat a pound of hard Parm cheese in a weekend, not in one sitting and not in addition to other crap. LOL. I will eat sushi, more carbs and fried rice..ect.
Yes, it is close to binging, but not fill binging. I don't stuff myself and have never went over 3000 calories in a day. Maybe I am eating too clean during the week. I need to learn a balance. Trust me, this is hard to do, and I do it every week. The willpower sometimes feels impossible, but I do do it.
I am scared to eat more during the week, so I use the 2 days and tell myself, that I can have it then and not now, if that makes sense?
I did go to the store today and bought ff popcorn, sugar free pops, treats I can have during the week . I hope this works. Maybe I can add some skinny cow treats too. I remember liking them .
And yes, it is amazing that I can get sick eating the old foods I used too. I used to be able to eat 4 slices of pizza with no problem, now I am done at 2. LOL
Many diets ago I used to plan a splurge day once a week. but some weeks there was 2 or 3 "occasions" to splurge (birthday, holiday, dinner date) I couldn't keep it under control. This time around I NO splurge days. Do I eat things I probably shouldn't...occasionally, but I plan around them. If I know Iwill be going out to eat, I try to find the restaurants menu online a head of time. I look for the best possible option, I figure out how many calories that will be, then I plan the rest of my meals for the day, so I can stay within my calorie range.
I also find having a "range" rather than a hard set limit helps. My range is 1500-1700 calories a day, set by my dietician. I usually eat 1200-1400 calories a day. I think having the extra "wiggle room" helps me stay on track. I have been dieting (this time around) since July 5 and have only gone over my calorie limit once, by less than 100 calories...I had 2 margarita one evening.
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I have a free day every once in a while. A birthday, a holiday, a celebration. It's one day. I usually try to workout a little more that week if possible. I don't like celebrations to last longer than a day. In june I had a family reunion coincide with my bday and family visiting/staying with us for 4 days. I gained 6 lbs.
I do allow myself some treats other times as long as I don't go over my calorie limit. I rarely exeed cal limit.
I try to stick to 1700 calories a day but when I burn a lot of extra calories I do take in more. On days I burn like 4000 calories I consume closer to 2500 for fuel. My typical workout burns 3000 calories. Doing it this way has been working well for me. u just have to find what works for YOU.
It kind of depends on how you treat a cheat day. I think a day off every now and then is great, especially when you have a lot of weight to lose and discipline every day for that long isn't realistic. (Right now I am overwhelmed by the amount of weight I have to lose... 60 lbs of it a repeat, am I really going to be perfect the next year and a half? NO!) but it shouldn't be a disaster. If you're binging on your "cheat day" then you haven't learned anything. One day if you reach your goal weight, and decide you're "done" and before you know it, all the days are cheat days. You're at your goal weight, can't you eat like you used to? It happened to me and I know it's happened to others on this board. I try to incorporate things I like into my every day life otherwise I end up going overboard. Skinny Cow treats are definitely very good!!!!!! I have them several times a week. You need to have a plan that feels like it could be your normal every day life, not a plan where there is a day a week where you can "be like you used to" because you don't want to be that person anymore, remember! That's what got you here.
Anyways, slow weight loss is healthy. I get frustrated with all these people who watch Biggest Loser and Extreme Make Over Weight Loss Edition and think you are failing if you aren't losing 10 lbs/week. That isn't healthy! 35 lbs in 7 months is slow but it is a **** of a lot better than gaining or not losing at all. I'm not sure if the 1-2 lbs a week rule is different for people with the highest BMI's, but that is an average of 1 lbs a week right?
Planned days off?
