I have had success in losing weight and maintaining my ideal weight after that using calorie cycling and cheating on the weekends. I just try to stay really low calorie during the week so that on the weekends, I have 2-3 meals where I can eat whatever I want. It's what you eat the majority of the time that determines your fate and knowing your favorite foods are always less than a week away will help you stick with your overall eating plan.
Also, another thing I do to help with damage control is to fast around cheat meals. For example, if I know I'm going to eat a 2,000+ calorie dinner out at a restaurant, I won't eat anything the entire day up until that point. Maybe not for everyone, but it works for me.
The concept makes sense to me. It's actually what I'm doing on Weight Watchers anyway. Keeping strictly to daily points target, but you get flex points every week for exactly this kind of "indulgence". I'm doing the old momentum plan, so the allotment is 35 points but I have yet to go that high.
I save mine for the weekend, as my family always has some kind of splurge. Maybe a big Sunday morning breakfast of pancakes-something I wouldn't normally try to squeeze into daily points, but still use sugar free syrup and light butter. Or if we're at a restaurant or with friends, I can eat what others are having without any social awkwardness or explaining to everyone that I'm on a diet.
I don't go out and devour a whole pizza or anything, but I do use my flex points to have a "free" meal. I think however it is done it can be a good thing. It helps to break the monotony of constantly obsessing over nutrition facts, all the better if it revs the metabolism.
I think most people would have to make sure it is a controlled cheat for it to be successful in the long run. Even for cheats I have to have that limit set, or eventually I would convince myself that they are okay more often and undo all my efforts.
Just finished reading through this read and I'm really impressed with some of the results. I've been hovering at around the same weight for the past week and nothing's happening. Just feel yuck. Haven't had a cheat day yet but I'm starting to consider it.
Just finished reading through this read and I'm really impressed with some of the results. I've been hovering at around the same weight for the past week and nothing's happening. Just feel yuck. Haven't had a cheat day yet but I'm starting to consider it.
So I just had my cheat meal. Have probably consumed almost 2000 calories in that meal alone, but all in all today's calories would probably clock in at around 2500. Of course I feel guilty/full, etc. But I want to know whether having one "free meal" every couple of weeks or so will prevent me from stalling.
I hope so. I'll post my results after I weigh-in...
So the day after my cheat meal I felt normal, if a little sluggish. I was able to eat on-plan and do my exercise. But the day after that, yesterday, I felt hungrier than I can remember being since I started this thing. I was ravenous. I was so close to having a binge that the writing was on the wall. I don’t know how I resisted the urge to go out and buy all of my favorite binge-foods, but somehow I did. Maybe it was fear of being spotted at the local supermarket with a basket full of junk? I don’t know, but I’m grateful I didn’t binge.
Much.
I had two extra crackers, a low-cal hot-chocolate and about four extra small plums. I probably only just scraped into my calorie budget yesterday, instead of being under.
But I’m seriously so weirded out right now. I came in at 285.1 lbs this morning, which is a loss on the scale, but what on earth is going on? I can almost believe that my body had adapted to the small amount I was eating, and that the cheat meal really did stimulate my metabolism. But is this really possible? I’ve been hovering at 286 for the past couple of weeks and absolutely nothing could get me under that number. Until today.
I lost quite a lot of water yesterday. I know because I was peeing all the time. But I’m kind of skeptical that my 285.1 will last. What if I shoot back up to 286 and stay there? I’m worried because I’ve been seeing 286 constantly and I’m just sick to f**king death of looking at it!
So anyway, that’s where I’m at. Cautiously surprised by the effects of the cheat meal but still very skeptical.
I will check the scale in a few days time and if I’m still 285.1 or less then I will declare that the cheat meal WORKS!
Therefore, if you follow a few basic rules, your cheat meals can serve in your best interests and become a great weight loss plateau help. In my opinion, the most important guidelines are as follows:
When having a cheat meal, try to stay away from a TV or a computer screen. Your aim is to satisfy your craving for junk food, and we all know that when you have a meal and procrastinate by watching an episode of your favorite TV series at the same time you are most likely to eat twice as much.
Cheat meal is not a substitute, but an addition. Do not change your usual everyday diet when you are having a cheat meal day. Just add another meal to your schedule and make it a cheat meal.
Try to finish your cheat meal no later than 4 or 5 PM in order to give your body sufficient time to process all the fast carbs and fats before going to sleep. More information about cheat meal you can find in my blog WeightLosster.com
Last edited by Dimobile; 05-17-2018 at 08:49 AM.
Reason: additional info
