We all have our "style" of maintenance and mine seems to be eat in a defict through the week and "overeat" or induldge on the weekend. So for me that would look like 1400-1800 weekdays and 2000-3000+ Sa, Su and often Friday. This was working well for me to maintain the low 140s until I thought...huh maybe this isn't healthy and I should be more balanaced so I raised my weekday cals with the intention of lowering the weekend cals, but that didn't happen so I gained 10 lbs.
So I've gone back to that method and now been maintaining the higher weight. So obviously I know what to do to lose that 10 and more if I decide to, but as a maintenance style is it unhealthy? I'm just not sure my lifestyle would allow me to live a caloried balanced life...I've already made some adjustments to my indulgences so that they are not so crazy, but I'm not sure I could go much further without feeling deprived. And I'm just not the "when it's worth it" type. At this time, I "need" to indulge weekly. Just the way it is. I've made MANY lifestyle changes along the way and this is just one of those things I'm not willing to change.
Anywho, I'm getting off track. I guess I really want the discussion to be strictly - is it unhealthy to live in a deficit during the week and eat substantially more on the weekend? Am I damaging my body or metabolism?
I don't think the deficit part is unhealthy because study after study has shown that eating at a caloric deficit AND fasting are both linked to longer life spans. On the weekend indulgences, I can't say, other than I'm guilty of that as well. You'd think that eating well 70% if the time would count for something, right?
I actually think it's very healthy. Keeps the body guessing. Similar to calorie cycling. I'm also of the belief that people (especially woman) don't have the same caloric needs from day to day which is another reason why I think varying calories are optimal for health and weight control.
There's a whole diet based on this premise (the Spike Diet) and it works for many people.
Personally, I can't do it. I can't "binge". If I binge, it doesn't end easily. For days after I know I will feel extra hungry and food-hungover. Also, immediately after overeating I start to feel kind of ill. So at some point I started to think "Why am I doing this to myself? It's not worth it." and I stopped. It's been over 2 years since I've overeaten at all and I really feel like that was what made these 2 years feel so easy for me.
If you can do it and it works for you, I don't think it's really too unhealthy (as long as your deficits aren't too too much) but for me, I think my life is 100% better and weight loss/maintenance has been very easy. I attribute this to consistency. I do relax on the weekends- have a few glasses of wine, maybe a few slices of pizza, but nothing overboard.
Personally, I do not think it's a poor strategy. I base it on two things.
1. Primally, we adapt to feast and famine with relative ease as long as neither are long-term. Our ancestors had luck foraging for foods as the environment allowed and yet other times had just the opposite happen. They tended not to be overweight.
2. My experience has lead me to believe that zig-zagging calories is the very best thing for me when it comes to weightloss. After tracking for years my diet and exercise, I definitely do better with (more than subtle) zig-zagging.
I don't think it's unhealthy to "zigzag" or "cycle calories" or whatever you want to call not eating the same number of calories monotonously every single day. I have to say though, I'm pretty sure that 1400-1800 is not ENOUGH of a calorie deficit to allow you the extravagance of 2000-3000 on 2 out of every 7 days and still manage to lose much weight. Do you know how many calories/day (average) you were losing on right before you plateau'd? That number is a best guess as to what you need to average NOW to lose again. If that number was, say, 1600/day, then you'd need to keep total weekly intake to 7*1600 -- however you want to divvy that up.
mine seems to be eat in a defict through the week and "overeat" or induldge on the weekend. So for me that would look like 1400-1800 weekdays and 2000-3000+ Sa, Su and often Friday. This was working well for me to maintain the low 140s until I thought...huh maybe this isn't healthy and I should be more balanaced so I raised my weekday cals with the intention of lowering the weekend cals, but that didn't happen so I gained 10 lbs.
this is EXACTLY my problem. the thing is i love big meals! and so does my boy, so i tend to under eat during the day/week and then let myself go at the weekends. i sort of don't care that i's not healthy,a s soon as i start eating more during the day/week i just gain right away. si i'm sticking with this for now!
I used a similar system to maintain my weight loss after my second child...and I'll use it again, once I am where I want to be, body fat wise.
I was a little stricter, however...with the whole cycling thing. I kept my caloric intake stricter through the week (more like 1200-1400 a day, not 1400-1800) and then only allowed ONE cheat day a week, not the entire weekend. It made it so I was able to maintain my weight, because whatever fluctuation the single cheat day caused...it was back off 2-3 days later....repeat. It also allowed me to change my weekly cheat day, depending on my schedule...if Thanksgiving, anniversary dinner, etc. were that week...I changed my single cheat day to accomodate it.
I think it's a good thing...I ate like that in my initial weight loss journey. I would do really good during the week (i never count calories), then allow myself to eat more slacked on the weekend. In my opinion, knowing you get to indulge on the weekend gives you a goal during the week i.e. healthy eating.
I tend to do the same thing now, except, like you, I went a little overboard and gianed 10 lbs. I'm trying to get my mind back in order and relose it. Good luck to you!
ncuneo ~ That is what I have been doing. Sticking with 1500-1600 calories per day, but then upping it on the weekends...but I've been eating toooooo much on the weekends, so I'm going to have to start reeling it in. I don't think there is anything wrong with it physically. I liken it to calorie cycling. I feel the same way you do...I need to have a little sumthin'-sumthin' on the weekends because my WL journey was so long...mentally it just makes me feel better and not like a restricted crazy person.
I do it too, though my high days bounce around in the week rather than only on the weekends. I am also having to reel my lower days down and limit my higher days, because I found them to be a gateway to overeating across the board. I don't think it hurt me, though.
I think it is a doable plan for you from a health standpoint, absolutely.
I don't see why it would be unhealthy, it's not like you're eating so little calories during the week that it could damage your metabolism. In fact I find it healthy overall, one can not indulge every day, that's just the way it is.
I think the only reason I thought it may be unhealthy is because I basically gain 2-4lbs over the weekend and then lose it during the week, always having a pretty consistant Friday low weight. So I wasn't sure if that would be considered like a mini yo-yo diet and if the body would respond the same way.
But I like what I'm hearing and I will be absolutely doing this again when I'm done losing the 10 regained lbs and not questioning it this time
Is it healthy?
