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I'm in my late 50's and through the years with the various diets I've been on, I also have needed that "cheat day" or I'd quit the diet after a week.
A friend just told me about a diet recently where you get FOUR cheat days in a row, EVERY week. I started it a bit over 5 weeks ago and have lost 10 pounds. (I'm not obese so the weight comes off slower)
My three diet days are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
When I'm looking at only three days of dieting per week, I know I can get through those three days and I can stick to it because I know there is light at the end of the tunnel. It isn't like I'm looking at weeks and weeks of eating like a rabbit. The rest of the week I eat sensibly but I wouldn't call it diet food. If we go out for supper during those days, I eat pizza, ribs, steak, etc.
Yea I just do not see a lot of people having success with a diet plan that allows you to eat whatever junk you want 4 days in a row and think the average person is going to magically transform into a health conscious dieter the next 3 days.
And then flip flop back and forth every few days ...
I would think success rate would be 2% on a good day.
dieting / losing wait or maintaining your healthy weight is just simply making good decisions on a daily basis - yes thru out the entire day multiple times. You have got to regulate and monitor what you are shoving in your pie hole or be prepared to run a marathon nightly on the tread mill.
Everyone knows what foods are bad for them. Who looks at a bag of chips and thinks: 'Gee those must be loaded with vitamins and will help me be healthier' duh !!
I'm in my late 50's and through the years with the various diets I've been on, I also have needed that "cheat day" or I'd quit the diet after a week.
A friend just told me about a diet recently where you get FOUR cheat days in a row, EVERY week. I started it a bit over 5 weeks ago and have lost 10 pounds. (I'm not obese so the weight comes off slower)
My three diet days are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
When I'm looking at only three days of dieting per week, I know I can get through those three days and I can stick to it because I know there is light at the end of the tunnel. It isn't like I'm looking at weeks and weeks of eating like a rabbit. The rest of the week I eat sensibly but I wouldn't call it diet food. If we go out for supper during those days, I eat pizza, ribs, steak, etc.
Exactly. Cheat days are an effective tool for weight loss. Obviously not for all, but for me it was either cheat days or binge eating. Calorie reduction/food restriction triggers me to binge eat, thereby in the long run erasing whatever progress I made. In addition, if I overly restricted myself, I would simply stop and remain overweight.
Despite what some here think, cheat days or any sort of rewards aren't uncontrolled bouts of eating. On the contrary, people who 'cheat' are very controlled. They are able to walk past the Dunkin Donuts, the convenience store goodies, the snack cakes because they know that once (or more) per week on a designated 'cheat day' they can indulge. Every other day they make healthy food choices. They don't need to agonize and be in "dieting hell".
When I first started out, I had two cheat days. Eventually as I got leaner, I had to drop one of them and now only have one. I consume a lot of calories on my cheat day, but I also burn a lot of calories by exercising (probably upwards of 1900 per week). Dieting is not an all or nothing thing. Sure, you should try and make healthy choices on a daily basis. But there is nothing wrong with making not so healthy choices on occasion. That occasion may be weekly or monthly, it's up to the individual to find what works for them.
As I age, I'll just make adjustments, but I'm never going to do deprivation dieting again. EVER. It's far more harm to restrict and then binge than suffer a few extra pounds (which is mostly water) "gained" (since it is mostly water, the weight is easily lost) by having a cheat day.
Exactly. Cheat days are an effective tool for weight loss. Obviously not for all, but for me it was either cheat days or binge eating. Calorie reduction/food restriction triggers me to binge eat, thereby in the long run erasing whatever progress I made. In addition, if I overly restricted myself, I would simply stop and remain overweight.
Despite what some here think, cheat days or any sort of rewards aren't uncontrolled bouts of eating. On the contrary, people who 'cheat' are very controlled. They are able to walk past the Dunkin Donuts, the convenience store goodies, the snack cakes because they know that once (or more) per week on a designated 'cheat day' they can indulge. Every other day they make healthy food choices. They don't need to agonize and be in "dieting hell".
When I first started out, I had two cheat days. Eventually as I got leaner, I had to drop one of them and now only have one. I consume a lot of calories on my cheat day, but I also burn a lot of calories by exercising (probably upwards of 1900 per week). Dieting is not an all or nothing thing. Sure, you should try and make healthy choices on a daily basis. But there is nothing wrong with making not so healthy choices on occasion. That occasion may be weekly or monthly, it's up to the individual to find what works for them.
As I age, I'll just make adjustments, but I'm never going to do deprivation dieting again. EVER. It's far more harm to restrict and then binge than suffer a few extra pounds (which is mostly water) "gained" (since it is mostly water, the weight is easily lost) by having a cheat day.
I do agree with what you've said. I'd like to throw out an alternate thought about "cheat" days though.
I've had a tumultuous relationship with food my whole life. I've used it as a reward, to soothe, to mourn, to celebrate. Occasionally I've even used it as nourishment.
I've been on and off a variety of "diets" for about 50 years of my life. I finally realized the diet mentality is pretty disasterous for me. I've had to take a long hard look at how I view food and redefine it for myself.
I can't use the word "cheat" - for me that implies doing something wrong and I can easily slide into behaviors that took me to Obese class III. My focus has changed to eating healtier foods in a satisfying quantity. Sometimes it's more than a "serving" - sometimes it's less. After I've eaten the healthy foods that I've taken the time to prepare in a way that makes them enjoyable, if I want a bowl of ice cream, I'll have it. I'll eat a potato with dinner - but it will be much smaller than the serving of veggies. I'll have a piece of birthday cake.
Simply put, I won't demonize OR glorify food.
I know it's semantics. But for me, it's an important differentiation.
Yea I just do not see a lot of people having success with a diet plan that allows you to eat whatever junk you want 4 days in a row and think the average person is going to magically transform into a health conscious dieter the next 3 days.
And then flip flop back and forth every few days ...
I would think success rate would be 2% on a good day.
dieting / losing wait or maintaining your healthy weight is just simply making good decisions on a daily basis - yes thru out the entire day multiple times. You have got to regulate and monitor what you are shoving in your pie hole or be prepared to run a marathon nightly on the tread mill.
Everyone knows what foods are bad for them. Who looks at a bag of chips and thinks: 'Gee those must be loaded with vitamins and will help me be healthier' duh !!
NO! for this diet to work, you can't eat whatever junk you want for 4 days. You might as well not even try this diet plan if that's your idea of eating "sensibly" for 4 days.
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