I went to a mexican restaurant last night...I figure every Friday night I can eat whatever I want for dinner, but then it's right back on track. It was exhausting eating so much...I even had a large (huge) strawberry margarita. But I've done great today. Do you guys think that'll mess my weight loss up by much? It just seems like I need a break once in a while. Someone else suggested every 2 weeks...I don't know. I want to maximize my weight loss without sacrificing to the point where I'll break. Advice?

I'd like to know the answer to this question too! I had a slice of birthday cake today and I'm feeling pretty guilty about it.

You have to be able to do this for the rest of your life. If you take a free day once every two weeks instead of once every week, you might lose weight a bit faster, but you're still going to get to the same point in the long run and have to maintain. It's about how you want to live your life. It's not gonna mess up your weight loss, it's just putting you in a specific pattern that you get to decide on. If you decide that you're not losing weight fast enough and your desire for faster weight loss is bigger than your desire for a free day a week, then you can change your plan. But there's no right or wrong answer here, it's just about your choice. I hope that helps.

Oh heck, I'd go insane and eat everything in the house if I didn't give myself a free day every once in a while. I think about never having a burger again and it's depressing! So yeah, I hit the Mcd's drivethrough once a month and I don't feel a shred of guilt about it! I take one meal a week and let it be free, as well. Counting and keeping track can be exausting! Do whatever works for you to keep you on track for the rest of your life! It can't be all or nothing or it won't work in the long term .

I was sucessfully losing weight having one "free meal" per week. one day was too much for me though, I got a bit out of control.

I agree with Denice.

Free meal = yes

Free *day* = I don't know about you, but...I could do a **** of a lot of damage in one day....

I agree with you on the idea that we should be practical about making a permanent change in habits, BUT

the point of doing all of this is with the goal in mind of having a "normal" weight and relationship with food. I know that's different for all of us, but I don't know anyone who NEVER goes to a restaurant, or eat a candybar, or have that second helping of potatos. I probably wouldn't have done this for even one day if I thought that maintaining my goal meant never ever having another order of nachos at the movies.

I, too, could do some major damage with an entire free day, but I don't see anything wrong with having a huge margarita when I go out, or having that burger at the bbq with friends. As long as it's in moderation-"free" days or meals aren't actually free, and unfortunately they do count. We just need to be careful that it doesn't turn into an excuse to more and more often fall back into the habits that made us overweight to begin with. But I don't think that feeling guilty about when we do treat ourselves occasionally or planning to never have anything off plan are healthy views of normal eating habits, either.

As a matter of fact, I've read that people who restrict calories for extended periods below what is needed to function (in other words, diet constantly) it actually slows your basal metabolic rate by as much as 20%. Having a few hundred extra calories every now and then won't make you gain even a pound, and it might actually give the metabolism a little rev.

every now and again if I want a treat then I'll have it...it took awhile but I now know I damn well CAN have that slice of cake and I wont gain 20 kilos overnight...or even a pound...or even an ounce.

Life is meant to be enjoyed, just not taken to excess

Livi

Ya know... I've also noticed I sometimes drop lbs after a day where I've let myself go over my calorie limit. Sometimes your body needs it as much as your mind!

rebeleagle, I'm not sure if you understood me or not... I totally agree with you, I could never go the rest of my life without the occasional candybar or nachos or whatever. That's what I mean when I say "you have to be able to do this for the rest of your life". Some people on this board have found that they have the ability to give up certain foods and it's easier for them, and the proposition of living the rest of their lives that way doesn't bother them. For me, it's not realistic. I want to have junk food once in a while. So for me to say "I'm never gonna have a free day/meal" would be pointless because I would eat that stuff anyway and then feel bad. Like I said, there aren't any good or bad choices, it's just about what you can live with.... designing a plan that will work for you. Whether i2kandoit has 1 free day every week or 1 every 2 weeks is totally up to her and how she wants to live and eat. I hope that makes more sense.

I have one slurge meal a week, but not free days!

I do like Tisha's ideas on slurge days on Holidays thought, I might start that but only if I do an extra workout that week!

eh, I did it a bit different. I didn't incorperate things that would constitute "free" meals until I hit maintenance. I just had to learn how to do it, but I wanted to lose the weight first. I understand that that's a little riskier, but I equated it to having a lot of credit card debt- I had a lot of debt to clear before I could start "spending" again.... I just spend a lot more carefully now. Now that I'm not necessarily trying to lose weight it's easier in that department because I did have to teach myself some control and actually have some now, which before I had none. A bad meal to me now looks a lot different and is less dangerous than a bad meal 3 years ago. I do have to work at keeping that perspective, though.

I have a free day/meal when I feel I need it, but no more then once a week.... sometimes I go a couple weeks, but usually once a week

I'm more flexible with the schedule of my "free" meals. So, if something special is happening (recent examples being my birthday, a wine tasting weekend with my parents and my fiance's parents so they can get to know eachother, a few other occasions here are there). However, I still keep a close eye on what I'm eating. So on my birthday, I had a reasonable slice of birthday cake guilt free - but I didn't snack mindlessly all day, and I ordered a steak for dinner, but had a reasonable portion of about 4 oz steak and half the baked potato, and took the rest home to a very grateful dog.

Another example - we have a "girls night" maybe twice a month where we go out, usually for drinks and dinner. I have moderate breakfasts/lunches/snacks on those days, and try to order as well as I can (ie on pizza night, we order a veggie pizza on thin wheat crust and ask them to go very light on the cheese), but let myself have a cocktail or a small gelato. This means my calories are higher for the day, usually around 1600-1800 or so which is high for me, and I may not hit all of my goals (I have goals for fiber, minerals, protein, etc)...but I'm OK with that.

I guess they aren't truly "free" days as "more flexible" days.