Heh, I thought that title may get a few of you in here!

So I have this theory: many dieters have a 'cheat' day in their regime, where they allow themselves some treats that they wouldn't normally have on a normal day.

What if we were to take this to the extreme, and the cheat day became 'pig out' day, where you eat anything and everything - french fries, chips, candies, cakes, pizzas etc, no holds barred, eat until you nearly make yourself sick.

Why might this have a positive effect on weight loss? Well, firstly if you know that you can go crazy one day per week, it may give you the strength and resolve to stay on the rails for the other six days.

Secondly when it comes to eating during the following the day, you are so full from the previous day that your intake could be reduced, which will go some way towards negating the sins of the previous day.

Thirdly, the huge intake of energy could rocket your metabolism into overdrive in order to cope with the increase in energy intake, and when you resume your normal diet during the following few days your metabolism is still in overdrive mode, burning up fat as it goes.

What do you think? I've been doing this for the past three weeks, and it certainly hasn't damaged my progress, but it's too early to say whether it is having a definite positive impact because at this stage my weight loss is quite slow anyway, but I'll report back if I notice any changes. It's certainly nice to know that I can stuff my face - if I want to - every Saturday. Yay!

Ahh, yes, the cheat day.

I don't do cheat "days". I used to, but gosh it was so much fun planning out everything I was going to eat on that day so by the time I got there, boy was I ready for it! Also, I think I had a bit of "cheater's guilt", where I would just kick myself the next day and it just wasn't all that worth it.

Unfortunately, I can look at a plate of donuts and gain 2 pounds. Also, if someone is very carb sensitive and you tell them it's ok to eat all the pasta and bread they want for a day, that could have some negative effects. It could lead to more bingeing. It could make them sick.

I think it's true that when you overeat one day, our natural appetites will adjust accordingly the next day. However, what if you just like to eat? I know lots of people on this site who just really like to eat and pay little mind to actual appetite. In fact, if I did listen to my appetite, I would probably still be obese. I have to put a lot of thought into it, actually.

For me, I don't "plan" binges in order to accommodate cravings or create balance. Let's take eating out and drinking, for example. I like to eat out and I like wine. I like it so much that I'll have a glass of my favorite red every evening. To me, that's dessert. With eating out, I may get a call from a friend who wants to have dinner and I will go, but I don't just expect to naturally eat less that day, I actually have to adjust accordingly.

When I started dating my fiance, he had cheat "days" every Saturday. He would have donuts for breakfast, something like Chipotle for lunch and pizza for dinner. At first I was new to maintaining and thought that sounded great. I mean, I like pizza, donuts AND Chipotle, so I thought it would be fun. I soon found that I don't like them over the course of the same day.

Honestly, I just felt like garbage. What I was doing to my body just wasn't worth it.

No, thank you.
That sounds a lot like binging to me, and that is something I've never done to that extreme. I don't want to stuff myself anymore, and all that pizza, fries, etc would MAKE me sick, and I'd be disgusted with myself. I'd rather eat foods that are good for me, and make me feel good, and eat right every day. That's what my maintenance will be.

Or you could take everything I said and smash it down to this

Kori, when are you getting married? I'm August 23rd.

So the theory is you want to stay in control so you can plan to go out of control?

To me that sounds like a disaster in the making. But that's just me.

Ever read "Body for Life?" That plan includes a complete "pig out" day if you want to go there. I suspect, though, that when people start seeing results the urge to absolutely gorge yourself starts dissipating...

On a side note, I went out with friends for Indian food on Friday. I worked a 60 hour week last week, and on Friday I ate breakfast but didn't plan well and wound up fasting until dinner time. At dinner I ate a single plate of food from the buffet so fast that I spent the next two hours in agony. Wouldn't have been a problem before I started this journey.

No binge days for me.

Nah, I just learned about the horrors of trans fat and my days of eating indiscriminately are over. I spent a traumatic afternoon clearing out my pantry of some beloved foods. I said my final good-byes.

I have a real problem with this.

I don't at all have a problem with the idea of a day where you don't count calories or where you eat off plan or where you indulge your cravings or whatever. I prefer not to call it a "cheat" day because for me ... well ... what would I be "cheating" on? My life?

There are plenty of days that I am less careful about what I eat or that I say "today I'm not going to count calories, I'm just going to eat what I want and not feel bad about it later". Most of the time those days include going out to eat with friends or a party or something like that.

But I have a huge problem with the mindset of intentionally going out and eating all the worst possible foods for you, and intentionally doing it in quantities that will make you feel like crap.

To me that sounds like giving yourself permission to binge and that is a slippery slope.

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Definitely not for me. First of all, I really don't see it possible that I would eat so much one day that I would be eat less the next day. I simply cannot eat so much - that's not how my body works (one of the reasons I never fancied "eat as much as you can" buffet - I always lose money on it. I would be hungry as usual the next day and quite possibly, I think I would have a problem giving up whipped cream, burgers and cakes and going back to veggies and fruit.

Mind you, I am NOT on a diet. I eat clean and healthy; but that does not mean that I can't have a pizza here and there, or that I can't eat out occasionally (and have a large salad only).

I also suspect that a man's metabolism does not work exactly the same way a woman's does. So good for you if this is working for you but I won't even try.

I think that if you can do it and it works for you, then I think that's great. However, I wonder if maybe it's better to limit it to one meal or one spulrge of a food item? Personally, I have found that even after a binge, I tend to feel terrible but eventually, when I get back on track, I lose the weight I gained and even more. However, for me, it's a dangerous place to be because I have a major problem with binging and one binge can turn into another, and another, etc. So, what I do is try to avoid it altogether, but if I have a bad meal or a bad day, I just count that as my "cheat" day...but the guilt is still there....maybe it's that out of control feeling, kwim? Anyway, you bring up a very good point w/ your post.

I have heard of this idea before (not sure where); but I suspect that eventually your hard-earned weightloss would stop and then you'd start gaining again, in the end. I just can't see how it would work in the long run. Also, it isn't a healthy idea; for diabetics, for example: that could be dangerous to their health.

Some people treat themselves to ONE SERVING of their favorite dinner or dessert or snack food ONCE A WEEK; and have had good success with that.

I am returning to add something. I don't feel like I am cheating when I have something that one may say was an indulgence, and I don't feel guilty at all.
I said, at the very beginning of my weight loss journey (and I still maintain that viewpoint) that I want to leave as normally as possible without having to worry about "I am not allowed this, I am not allowed that" and that I don;t want to be on a diet because, I believe, there always comes a day when you stop following the diet and return to previous eating habits. I believe that moderation is the key - that's why I had a few teaspoonfuls of Haagen Dazs ice cream last night and after that, it went back to the freezer. Today, I was grocery shopping and I allowed myself seduced by a take out meal from the deli counter. 1/4 chicken (grilled), mashed potatoes and a dinner roll. (I was not hungry when I was at the store, but I bought it anyway).

So this is what I did with it at home: I ate the meat off the chicken, but I did not touch the skin (my mom always says that the best part - the crisp golden brown skin) - I gave it to the dogs as well as the fattier parts and the cartilage and whatever I else I did not eat - only clean bones went to the garbage. The mashed potatoes - I did eat them but I decided there was too much of them, so in fact, I had divided them into three parts and the remaining two parts will be a part of my lunch tomorrow and Tuesday (with another meat + veggies). It would not have been a problem at all to eat all the mashed potatoes today - in the past, I would have easily had that much plus another helping - but today, I decided that a little can easily go a long way.

Hey.
Sounds fun, but believe me I had my "cheat" days, when i used to get frustrated with my diet, but really I would eat so many calories, cuz it doesnt take long to add up, and I knew I couldn't do it for another while that I'd eat everything I craved the week before in one day, so really I would probly gain 3 pounds then I'd spend the next 6 days losing it again, its just not worth it to me....plus I joined WW 2 weeks ago and I don't feel deprived at all, I still eat super healthy but if I want a treat or some chinese food or other restaurant food I can have it, I just plan for it the day before, use less points through out the day and so forth. so binging is definitly not a factor for me, I find I am sick for 3 days and I feel so guilty that I hate myself for about 2 weeks. but hey thats my input, if it works for you then great!! Sometimes PPL just need that...but I think you should read the "beck diet solution" it is the best book I have ever read and I have never ever in the last 2 years had as much will power as I have had the last 2-3 weeks!!

Hey, I am SO excited for you! That is such good news, really. I am interested in how you learned this, because I want to continually help people know about these types of nutrition and health related issues and reach those who didn't know already.

I've tried this before, and this is what happened: The one "pig out" day became "Oh, it's okay if I eat crap for breakfast the next morning too" and it just snowballed into eating crappy every day, and that's how I gained so much weight! If you have the will power for this, then more power to you, but I hope you're careful. Let us know how it works out for you.