Cheat Day When Dieting?

If you're exercising you NEED more calories. Protein to be exact.
Eat a few more and cardio cardio cardio!!

Maybe have a cheat "meal" once per week. Not an entire day. And just keep up the exercise, it will eventually come off. I have to agree that 1200 calories is sooooooo low. I would feel like I'm starving.

Are you nursing? Did you nurse? That really helps you drop your pregnancy weight. Also, what are you eating? If you eat only: fresh whole grains (like quinoa, brown rice, millet, buckwheat, etc not breads with this) and fresh whole veggies (esp lots of greens), fresh fruits, beans, seeds, legumes and do NOT eat any animal products, processed foods, sugars of any sorts you can eat as much as you want and as often as you want. You will be healthy, happy, lose all the weight your body shouldn't have and have a fresh mind. In addition you will be saving the environment AND saving hundreds of animals suffering each year: one person consumes over 100 animals a year.
Peace!

One of the best diets we know of is by Dr. Eric Westman of Duke. Get his book The NEW Atkins Diet for You. We interviewed him on our radio show (Better Food Choices), asking him all the important questions... did 50 studies and more with his co-author colleague. You will eat well and lose weight. By the way, my daughter has struggled with weight loss and has now found this diet to be the one that works! ... for the health of your family, E. (www.KidKritics.com)

Yes, take the cheat day. You need to compensate to make it easier on yourself. If you go too strict (starving) , you'll go nuts with cravings.
And YES, you need to exercise in order to keep burning calories, otherwise your metabolism slows down , making it harder to loose weight. Keep in mind your goal should be to modify your eating habits so you'll be able to eat whatever you want in smarter portions. Good luck

Dieting is tough!! There's no doubt about that as evidenced by the frustration and guilt that builds along the way. What many people don't know is that experts say that about 75% of what gets in the way of our best intentioned diet plans is comfort or stress eating. This is where willpower falls short and leads us into yo-yo dieting and binge eating. I work with a program that teaches you to shift out of comfort eating and eating habits into intuitive eating. Because you actually instate new patterns, the results can be lasting and sustainable. It's a very fun and supportive approach. If you want more info, let me know. Good luck!!

After my baby I changed the whole way I ate. I only lost 3-4 pounds a month but I was able to stick with the whole diet for about a year until I reached my goal weight. Losing small amounts of weight is important because then you will not put it on easily. Cheat days are important because your body begins to crave the things you can not have. Remember that the closer to get to the weight at which your body feels comfortable the harder it is to lose weight. Exercise is very important but do not do the same thing everyday.

First, it's nromal to lose a lot of weight the first month or so of exercise, you won't normally lose more than a couple of pounds a month. What do you define as "cheat day"? Is it to eat your normal pre-diet amount of calories? Is it a day where you have an ice cream cone, or 2 glasses of wine, or a couple of slices of pizza for dinner? Or is it a free for all day where you eat high cal, hight fat foods in excess? I would say that yes, you need the exercise, you also need to have realistic expectations and keep your "cheats" under control - a slice of pizza for lunch and a glass of wine after dinner on that day.

I think 1200 calories might be a little low to do it for long term? If you don't consume enough calories your metabolism will slow down which means your body will burn less fat. I think you need to up the exercise and try to eat a bit more. You can eat more and without gaining weight. Choose foods that are good for you like fruits and veggies and lean meats. Upping those kinds of calories a little bit will not hurt. Just try to control the carbs especially refined sugar or sweets. Hope this helps.

Losing weight is a lifestyle change, not a quick fix as I have read. You have to go with a regiment that you will stick to. Try walking instead of strenuous exercise. Going to the gym might be too hard to keep up with hence you might feel lazy to go but walking you can do anytime anywhere and it is more "fun" to me.

Hope this helps.

I just read an article about the "right" number of calories to consume in the August issue of Shape magazine... basically is says to multiple your goal weight by 10, and that is the MINIMUM number of calories you need, without physical activity. You should add on for daily activities if you have a job where you're on your feet and moving (3 calories per pound of your ideal weight). They also said to add on extra for exercise and general daily activities.... for exercise, add 1/2 the number of calories you burn.

So, for example, if your goal weight is 120 and you weren't exercising at all, 1200 calories would be appropriate. If your goal weight is higher and/or you're exercising, then you should be adding more calories. Anything less than that, and your body will shift into conservation mode... you'll start burning fewer calories. The other thing to keep is mind is that you want to make sure you're eating the right foods to get your calories... be sure you're getting enough protein, lots of veggies, smaller amounts of whole grain carbs.

Congratulations on your weight loss... you may not make your goal by your daughter's first birthday (in fact, if you did, it probably wouldn't be sustainable, as it's too fast), but you're well on your way!

Well quit cheating, of course.
Next Bastyr Universtiy did alot of research for Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type- find out your blood type, and at Barnes and Noble you can get a little book for just your blood type- $5.95 I think, and elimate all the things is the worst category for your blood type. I think they give a bit of the why this works- has to do with "lectins" that cause problems for different blood types. For myself I got rid of chicken and corn- made all the difference- and who would have thought 2 so common things would have been my stumbing blocks!
Give it a try!
best, k

A small treat (1 piece of candy, 1 cookie, 1 100 cal snack size bag of chips, etc) once in awhile (once a week maybe) will not throw you off track. I find walking 1 mile a day keeps me toned and gets my circulation going. Doing the same things for awhile, your body learns to behave at it's most efficient, so things that work at first, don't work so well after awhile. So, try a different exercise (biking, swimming, aerobics, etc), try getting your 1200 cals from some different foods (tofu, different veggies, try different sea foods. Shake up your routine, and you'll be losing again until it's time to change again. Variety is the key.

Don't bother telling yourself you are on a 'diet' or have a 'cheat day'. Be sure to eat 5 small meals a day and a rule I've been using is 3-4 different items at breakfast and 2-3 at lunch and dinner with no flour. I am also trying to get 20 lbs off in the next 2 months for my sisters wedding. I'm still eating healty foods, lots of water and had 2 bites of pizza last night and 3 McDonalds french fries earlier in the day. Then you dont feel like you are on a diet...You are making better food choices is all. Half of weight loss is mental, continue your exercise even if all you can get in is 30 minutes a day...my trainer says to become a cardio attict! lol Good eats!

P.S. 1200 is good, you have to cut your calories by at least a third to see any weight loss, my trainer/nutritionist also has me on about 1200 calories.

There could be several things at play. First of all, the beginning 5-6 weeks or so of a "diet" you will lose weight the fastest. After that there is usually a dramatic slow down. A healthy normal weight loss rate is much more like a pound a week. That's right, 4 lbs a month. You didn't put it all on in 3 months, so don't expect it to go away that fast.

Also, how are you monitoring what you are consuming? Most people, (generally speaking here) are very regimented (even weighing and measuring food with a kitchen scale) in the beginning months of a diet plan. Then they begin to feel comfortable "eyeballing" things and estimated how much or how many calories they are consuming after that. Then they go back to not realizing that they are eating that goldfish cracker that fell off their kids' lunch plate. It is very easy to UNDER estimate what you are consuming.

And like the other posters, your body does adjust to exercise patterns. You have to really mix things up, because your body will learn to use the most efficient means to do something, using the least calories and muscle exertion. That is what it is designed to do.. And even if you aren't losing pounds, you might still be losing fat and replacing it with muscle.

I would say... be happy you have had such grand success at this point. Don't quit or become discouraged! You've done great! Be excited you have been steadfast in keeping to your plan! You might, however, need to adjust your expectations to something more in line with a pound or two per month. There will be some months it is more, some it will be less. And depending on what days of the month you are weighing yourself, water retention due to your monthly cycle can affect your results on the scale.

Hang in there. Keep going.
Way to GO!!

I don't believe in the complete deprivation thing either, because it seems to make you kinda resent the diet. My favorite way to "cheat" is to find a snack that I like where the size of the serving is big, but the calorie count is small, so I feel like I'm getting more of a treat. Example - 9 vanilla wafers vs. 2 oreos - same or fewer calories, but MORE cookies :) Try doing that - look for more bang for your buck in your treats. Good luck! And from what I've heard, the plateau is normal (annoying, but normal).

I personally feel that completely depriving yourself of all things off limits is a bad thing, unless of course, you can't help yourself and you'll binge on 2 bags of potato chips.
But, little treats in modertion won't hurt you. If you're sticking to 1200 calories a day, you don't want to blow all 1200 on a huge ice cream sundae with hot fudge sauce.

The other thing you have to remember is that you are doing an awesome job!!!! You really are! And, if you've done any research, you will know that actual numbers on the scale can plateau and it might get discouraging, but that doesn't mean you're still not losing inches, etc. I have seen so many of my friends give up because they say...."I stuck to my plan and didn't even lose anything. What's the point?"
The point is....the next week they may lose another 3 pounds so giving up after so much success is not the answer!
Do you have a sweet tooth?
Do you crave salty foods?
What are the things you cheat with when you can?
There are healthy ways to get your food fix without derailing yourself.

I think you're doing awesome and you've got a goal and you're working towards it.
Keep going!

Best wishes!