Is ONE day off a good idea?
 

I have been stuck at the same number since 11/26 - 7 days... and nothing. I'm working my butt off at the gym and not cheating at all with food. So... I'm beyond frustrated.

I'm off from work today, and I'm thinking about not going to the gym... just relaxing, and so far today I am on plan... I plan on having a sensible lunch (a salad probably)... and then I was thinking of letting myself be somewhat bad for supper.

The new pizza hut commercials with the cheesy bite pizza's are driving me crazy.

So... I thought... since the scale isn't moving... maybe a day off? Then back to business tomorrow?

What do you guys think? Mistake? Or deserved? What's your opinion?

I think a day off exercise is always good for the body. I think if you don't schedule in some rest days, you'll end up injuring yourself (speaking from personal experience.....).

I don't think eating something bad once in awhile is horrible, but do plan for it. What type of program do you do? I'm a calorie counter, so I can generally work anything I want into my calorie range. And honestly, there have been days where I just want something, and I end up going a couple hundred calories above my range. I can usually tell the next day on the scale ;), but sometimes it also helps to shake up my metabolism!

I think the "right" answer to this question depends a lot on the person's specific characteristics and also on where he or she is in his or her weight loss journey.

One comment: at some point, you may have to get used to seeing the same scale weight for weeks at a time--weighing the same thing for 7 or 8 days isn't a plateau.

While I think there's a place for occasional splurges/deviations, my gut says that giving into the siren song of the cheesy bites pizza would be a Bad Thing. Even in one day, there's potential for undoing lots of good that you've already done; in addition, some people might have trouble getting back on plan right away. I think there's value in learning to tell yourself "no". Perhaps you could reward yourself with a healthy treat of 200 or 300 calories rather than go down the rabbit hole of potentially 2000 or 2500 extra calories.

Once someone has been on a healthy food plan for months or years and feels as if their body needs a little break, they're already in good habits and less likely to go completely off the rails. I just feel like opening the door here is asking for trouble.

I think a rest day is necessary. I workout 5-6 days a week, never 7.

As for splurging, sure. But I would never do it on non-workout day. I tend to drop my calories on my rest day, not increase them. Also, I try to "splurge" within my calorie range.

And like Oboegal said, seven days is not a plateau. :D I'm working on two months myself.

It doesn't sound like a good idea to me at all. For me, junk food is a slippery slope to wanting MORE junk food. The more I eat good, healthy foods, the less I want junk. When I eat junk, I want more and more junk. Plus, there is the convenience factor. It's easy to get food from Pizza Hut, it's more challenging to prepare a healthy meal. If you get pizza once, it's easy to get pizza again.

7 days really isn't that long, it might be salt related or period related. I would drink a lot of water and seriously commit to what you're doing. Not letting a commercial from the food industry (wicked people - read the End of Overeating to see how they manipulate us!!) tempt you from your goals. Eating a bunch of salty cheesy pizza bites isn't going to get you closer to your goal.

I don't think the scale moving UP is the change you want to see! If you're frustrated by the scale not going down, why make it more difficult to see a loss? Eating excessive, salty, crappy calories is going to make fat loss a lot harder, not easier. Not to mention starting down that slippery slope of off-plan eating that Glory posted about.

The best way to break a plateau (not that you're in one :) ) is to stick to your plan like glue. Journal every bite, lick, and taste. Weigh and measure everything. Plan. Eat healthy, filling foods. The scale WILL go down!

Thanks guys... you're right... the scale going UP is NOT the change I want to see. That's the sentence I needed... Thanks Meg :)

Don't know about exercise, I only do walking.

Is one day off healthy eating deserved? No.
A mistake? Yes.
Both these answers are just MHO.
If I get to the place of "deserving" to eat off plan, then tomorrow and the next and the next I'll deserve a little sumpn sumpn too. Plus, it sounds like On Plan is a temporary thing that you can quit some day - you can't, we're On Plan for life.
:hug:

I think a day off from the gym is perfectly fine to rest your body. But what about having a Lean Cuisine or WW pizza to fulfill your craving for Pizza Hut? Just a thought :^:

I think that it depends on you because we are all different. I don't think that a day of rest from exercise would hurt. If you think that you need a day of rest from your plan, you don't have to have a binge fest. You could give yourself 200 extra calories for one day and have an extra healthy something. I never recommend junk because one bite of junk just makes me crave more. An extra honeycrisp apple is another thing. :)

I will echo the people who said BAD IDEA! I know there are a few people who can handle occasional bad days (but in all honesty they are probably not members of these forums as they most likely know when to stop and not get fat) but I think it is just like Glory said - it is the first step on a slippery slope. One bad day leads so often to more, and all of a sudden you have set yourself back possibly months of hard work.
You deserve better than gross Pizza Hut in all honesty

There's nothing wrong with craving some pizza. Why not make your own yummy version? try a tortilla, flat out wrap(these are loaded with fiber, 120 cals and twice the size of a reg. tortilla), or already made boboli or other type of whole wheat crust at the grocery store. you could make it with your family, or just some for you. everyone gets their own healthy toppings. Even your own personal pizza if you use the tortilla or wrap.

toppings ideas
red onions
mushrooms
pineapple
roasted chicken
spinach
roasted tomatoes
roasted peppers(yum!)
basil
sprinkle of lowfat or FF cheese
roasted garlic
possibilities are endless, and won't make you feel bloated and guilty. All YUM! and all totally on plan. :D

like rockinrobin always says, make your on plan food sooo delicious, you won't want to eat off plan food.

and when i see those comercials i think about how much oil and fat is dripping off it and maybe they didn't wash their hands when they made the pizza. ewww. true story, at a local pizza delivery, the same person handled the cash register and the pizza making. We never ordered from that location again. take a look at the pizza hut or other delivery menu and calories. my fav. papa john's has 14g. of fat in 1 slice of pepperoni pizza. O.M.G. Who eats just one peice? I often ate 2 or 3 myself, there's breadsticks or chicken... and if you do, it's not satisfying at all.

We're all so proud of you. Yes! You are making the right choice. You can do this!

Oh, I have to tell you, I have started making THE best pizza! I truly love it more than franchises like Pizza Hut, Dominos, etc. (And I'm a BIG fan of "real" pizza.)

I brush olive oil on one side of a WW tortilla and sprinkle it with just a little onion salt. Flip over. SKIP THE SAUCE at this point. Add just a little cheese. It doesn't take much. Load it with desired toppings. I'm fond of green, yellow, red and banana peppers and onion and maybe pepperoni. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. After it's baked I spoon on and spread a little sauce. This is the only way I've found to keep the tortilla from getting soggy.

Have you ever made homemade pizza? Make it once and you will never want Pizza Hut again. Plus, you can control the amount of cheese, no sugar or oil in the crust, wheat flour, etc. And trust me, tastes at least ten times better. If you're going to "splurge", go for quality.

Going off plan for junk foods even once is a recipe for disaster for most of us. It's a lot harder to fall off the wagon if you don't try to hang out the back of it. :)

I believe that's very wise. :)

In my experience, having a whole day of being off plan completely sabatoges the whole week when you're staring at a number that has gone up.

I balance it out by having one meal that is off the beaten path maybe every couple weeks but I fit it into a respectable number of calories and pack it full of healthy stuff. If everyone is having pizza, I'll have one small slice with a heaping side of veggies done differently then what I normally do to change things up.

The main thing is to not get discouraged by the number you see. If you keep being good, it'll come down. Weight loss is a roller coaster. You can do it! :hug: