For me, it could undo all the calorie counting I had done all week. And leave me with zero loss. And make my brain think that I'm being deprived for 6 days and need to cut loose once a week. I couldn't do it and feel good about it.

Well, it's kind of how Weight Watchers works in a way. They give you an extra 49 points per week to do what you are essentially saying. Works for me, so far. If it works for you, why not!

However, make sure your 7th day is not crazy overboard, just create a reasonable calorie limit that you can hit and don't go over that.

It's not like WW at all! The 49 points, are meant to be used, and they are accounted for in the WW plan. And they are about 1950 calories total, my guess is if the OP counted what she's eating on the "eating without reserve" day it would be far higher than that. And WW has folks at around a 1200 calorie day normally.

Just like you can't say "well veggies and fruits are free on WW so I won't count them on my plan" you can't pick and choose the weekly points to fit into some other plan, not if you want it to work.

It's like the WW plan in that you PLAN to eat an extra 49 points IF YOU CHOOSE TO and work it into your plan. You don't have to eat those 49 points, and in fact some people eat none of them, half of them, all of them according to what works for them.

It seemed similar (to me) to what OP wants to do, which is why I said, don't go overboard, set a calorie limit. And if OP is eating a limited calorie amount every day and exercising, and then using 1 day to eat a little more, how is that so drastically different from WW? That's what I meant.

I guess it was the phrase "without reserve" that threw me, since the WW plan and the weekly points are very much "with reserve", a bigger point range, yes, but one that requires planning, tracking and stopping at a certain point.

I guess whatever works, works!

True, true. And "without reserve" could mean different things to different people too! I guess because I'm in the WW mindset, without reserve on the 7th day meant 49 extra points! LOL.

This is me, too.

OP this is a "know thy self" area - what works for me may not work for you. If you can take a free day without sinking your week, all the more power to you!

When I was losing, once a week would have been too often. I saved it for special occasions - going to a four star restaurant, for example.

Being physically full doesn't stop me from eating, so I have to be careful with "cheat" days in general.

Yeah, even when I weighed 195 lbs people told me I didn't look overweight. Mind you, they weren't looking at me naked...

F.

Reserve day, or cheat day, or like it's made in sports nutrition - carbs rotation, is a good way to convince the body to stop protecting the stored fat. I've done it for all my weight loss, and it works like magic. But beware of the next day - your body will insist on having carbs. And that's THE MOMENT when you win all of the results if you can control this little terrorist in you. Week after week.

MadProfessor- I was considering carb cycling. Probably not right away because I am trying to get accostomed to the changes I am making now. Any resources about this that I could look into?

Nice to hear from other tall girls! Altho I'm a lot heavier that either of you, it's been more than a decade since I saw onederland. I hear you about people not judging weight well on tall women - most people would be shocked that I'm more than 100lbs over weight, and the couple of people I have told have been stunned speechless. At the same time, there was a time that I was 145 (and thought I was fat!!) but still needed a size 12/14 to fit my bones. I didn't look or feel unhealthy at that time, tho.

Anyways - as a binge eater, free days would be the death of my diet. I know I would 'save' foods that I'd been craving for my day off, and probably eat them whether I was hungry or not simply because I wouldn't get them again til the next 'free' day. Also, I find that it takes about 3 weeks to break me of my sugar habit; if I have a couple chocolate bars in there or full sugar anything it throws the whole thing off and the healthy food doesn't taste as good anymore. Instead, I give myself a discretionary 500 cals that I can use on any day of the week - in case I really want a burger and fries, or pizza, or I'm going to a party. I still can't pig out, but it's enough that I can usually find something that feels like a treat and a bit of a breather.

I say you should do whatever works for you! Some people need cheat days or cheat meals to revive them and keep them from quitting. A few cheats days a month won't hurt nowhere near as much as throwing in the towel altogether. If you can get back on track the next day, then I say go for it. Having a plan you can stick to for life is what matters and will get you to where you want to be.

If you are eating great 6 days, one cheat day is going to impact you very little depending on what a cheat day is to you. You have to eat 3,500 over what you burn to gain a pound. So one day of going off plan won't hurt too much unless you eat 5,000+ calories, but going off plan for weeks or months is what does it.

I have cheat meals every now and then. When I have them, I do sort of plan around them, like having a lighter breakfast and lunch. Also, working what I want into my plan helps me not need them as much. If I want pizza with the family, then I have pizza, I just keep it to one or two slices and have a small salad with it! Before I started doing this, I had cheat days and they kept me going at times. It's shockingly easy to stick to plan for 6 days when you know you can eat that later in the week if you still want it.

hmmmmm yes i am only starting out on stuff...so far sooo good almost done a whole week...no straying from the healthy stuff...thinking i might relax a bit for christmas day and perhaps new year day but no others during this holiday period...and i don't think i will be skinny...just smaller eventually!!..lol..lol...cheers liz

i will calorie cycle but i cant give myself a huge cheat day because i wont be able to get back on track the next day id rather mix it up slightly day by day then have a full blown eat all i want day each week...but thats just me. do what works for you and your weight loss