[pommychic]

Hi Everyone!

First of all... Hi! My name is Andrea and I am brand new to this site. Unfortunately I am not brand new to dieting and have been struggling to lose weight for about a year.
I am desperately trying to shift the weight I have piled on through quitting smoking last July. I quit a twenty a day for twenty years habit.

Sounds great doesnt it and it is but I yearn to get back into my old clothes!

So I tried Atkins and it didnt work out.. I just love my carbs too much!

I have been following JUDDD but I have been really struggling with the down days. (you consume 500 cals on alternate days with your maintenance cals)

So I have just been trying to create the calorie deficit. I weigh 147 pounds and I am trying to get down to around 130 pounds which is where I was at before I quit smoking. The problem is, I seem to do really well during the week... Although my calorie deficit is all over the place, I am never going above 1500 cals for the day though (my maintenance cals are 1900)... AND I am not counting the fact I am hitting the gym for an hours intense cardio three times a week. The problem for me is the weekends... sigh.

I think there is something deep inside my concience that is telling myself that weekends are for treats, weekends are for take aways and having a night off cooking and weekends are for meeting up with friends for lattes and muffins.

However, my question is this. If my 'during the week calories' are low enough would it matter if I went a bit higher (over my maintenance cals) on the weekends... as long as my total weeks calories are a minimum of about 3500 calories deficit (to lose a pound) that would be ok would it? But how does it actually work? You have to create a 3500 deficit to lose a pound over a week... but when does your body add everything up and take away?.. do you know what I mean? So the loss will show on the scale... does it happen gradually over the week or is there no show on the scale and then 'oh my body is calculating my calories in calories out on Monday'

Hope this question makes sense!

[AnnieCH]

Some people actually purposely vary their calories to give themselves high days and low days. As long as you're still maintaining your calorie deficit, I don't know of any reason you wouldn't continue to lose weight if you budget in eating more on the weekends.

Congratulations on quitting smoking as well!!!

[atreyyena]

Look up Zigzagging calories. there are online counters that do it for you. So they work out for you 5 low days and two high days, all 'official'.....a lot of people says it helps them lose weight vs just doing the same calories every day.

[Shmead]

IME, weekends can be "higher" calorie days, but if you are looking to lose weight (not maintain), they can't be "free" days. "Free" days turn into "binge" days as you cram in all the stuff you said "no" to during the week. It is shockingly easy to eat 3500-4000 calories in a day if you aren't paying attention.

So you can have the latte OR the muffins OR the take away OR the margaritas OR the nice dinner out, but if you want to lose weight, you can't have all of that. Eating more is ok. Eating thoughtlessly is not.