cheat days - how bad are they?

cassElliot

So I lost three stone in the past few months, I need to lose one more stone! its driving me mental... anyway, my diet is crazy strict except for one day where I have a small bit of chocolate and a not-so-healthy dinner - some wedges and fish fingers.

during the week I have a very strict diet - I eat porridge, steamed fish and vegetables and fruit/veg for snacks - nothing else. I dont eat bread ever, I don't drink alcohol anymore, no take aways, I even cut out yoghurt's!!

I exercise a lot as well, running, spinning classes etc. I'm driving myself mental thinking about ways to get rid of the last stone. Are the cheat days sabotaging my efforts?

Any advice would be great!
:pac:

Stench Blossoms

Depends how many your having. Do you log your food?

cassElliot

yeah I use myfitnesspal thingy... I only have one small bar and one sort of comfort food like dinner. the fitnesspal thing tells me everyday I am eating too few calories, but I'm sort of following the eat little and often motto because I have acid reflux.

also I read ages ago that cheat days mean you wont lose your mind and binge.

rocky

cassElliot wrote: »

yeah I use myfitnesspal thingy... I only have one small bar and one sort of comfort food like dinner. the fitnesspal thing tells me everyday I am eating too few calories, but I'm sort of following the eat little and often motto because I have acid reflux.

how many actual calories are you eating? height/weight?

also I read ages ago that cheat days mean you wont lose your mind and binge.

It varies from person to person, for some a cheat meal is a signal to stuff their face with food, for others as you say keeps them sane and won't go overboard

Plus, depending how strict you are with the diet, a cheat meal, especially high-carb if you're on a VLC diet, will reset some hormones and make your body think it's not starving for a while (which a VLC diet provokes)

cassElliot

i'm small, around the 5 foot mark. 8 stone 3 pounds, yes I'm aware thats not big but I have this stubborn fat on my tummy I want to be rid of!

I eat around 1,000 calories a day and when I have my cheat day I do not stuff my face. I eat the food, enjoy it and go back to my routine. i have incredible will power, I only have the cheat day as a break from the norm.

rocky

are you still losing weight week to week?

cassElliot

it ebbs and flows - three weeks ago I lost two pounds, the next week one pound, the last two weeks - nothing! I know its only two weeks I'm not whining about it but it should be going! I'm aware of the plateau thing so I change up the exercise every now and then.

alltacht

Have you considered upping your calories a little? Theres a lot on M.F.P about success with increased calories. Are you eating your excercise calories? You may be netting very low calories if you arent, which isnt very beneficial to your health or weight loss. But the last 10-15lbs are slow going anyways and losing two pounds in a month is pretty decent at that stage!

Kimia

You're 8 stone 3 and you want to lose another stone? That's a bit much eh?

cassElliot

i suppose i should say - its not particularly a stone per say, its more body fat that i would like to get down.

knowit12

I know that feeling - your 8 stone that's pretty healthy and average for your height etc.

Have you considered that maybe you are tonning mussel as appose to losing weight ?
That happened to me - I was told by a number of professionals ie. trainers nutritionist that once you reach the healthy weight for your body frame / height etc , your body focuses on building mussel.

8 stones seems pretty heatly to me , and it's good to treat yourself ... Your pig out days are not pig out days to me
you need to live ...
My pig out day consists of a few drinks and a take out and it hasnt affected me still manage to maintain my weight and im having one of these cheat days at least once a week for months- the key is plenty of exercise.

Don't let food and weight over take your life.

Fair play to you and best of luck

alexsmith

you should try a structured reefeed.if your not losing any more weight,try a refeed where you eat mainly high gi carbs/higher calories to reset leptin and increase metabolism = more calories burned in the folloing days = making your body think it has more calories than it does so it burns more.it works

cassElliot

alexsmith wrote: »

you should try a structured reefeed.if your not losing any more weight,try a refeed where you eat mainly high gi carbs/higher calories to reset leptin and increase metabolism = more calories burned in the folloing days = making your body think it has more calories than it does so it burns more.it works

what kinds of foods would you suggest i eat?
thanks.

Medicine333

We really need your exact height. You say you're around the 5 foot mark, but that is a broad spectrum.

At 8 stone 3lbs, and by your own admission, another stone required to lose, this could send you into the underweight category, which is dangerous.

If you have the time, post up your height:)

cassElliot

i'm 5 foot 1!

also, its not that i want to be bony skinny... i want to get toned and i think you can exercise all you want but still out-eat your workout. diet is very important.

thanks.

confusedgirl

I thought a BMI of 18.5 or more was ok? I know some people say BMI 20 or more? Which is it? For her height, she'd be about 18.5, maybe BMI of 19 at 7 stone 3.

cassElliot

is BMI all that great? look at rugby players, they would probably be deemed over weight.

i know what you mean though, for my height 7 stone doesn't seem bad!!

Medicine333

cassElliot wrote: »

is BMI all that great? look at rugby players, they would probably be deemed over weight.

i know what you mean though, for my height 7 stone doesn't seem bad!!

Hey Cass, just calculated your BMI, and as I'm sure you're aware, you're at 21.7-perfectly normal, even to the lower end of the scale.

With regard to rugby players and BMI calculators, yes it can be inaccurate when the person has a high muscle mass, but I'm guessing you're not a big, muscular woman? Certainly not at that weight. Therefore, it is a perfectly accurate estimation for you.

If you were to drop to 7stone 3 lbs at your height, you would have a BMI of 19.1, which, while not underweight, would actually make you look like a walking skeleton, to put it mildly.

You are perfect at your weight Cass. If you have a bit of extra weight around your abdomen, try sit-ups-they'll work a treat. However, at your weight, nobody would recommend you to lose anymore.

cassElliot

no, definitely not muscular. i do sit ups and ab exercises.. my trainer (god that sounds so pretentious) says a flat stomach is made in the kitchen, not the gym. so I was wondering if my cheat day was sabotaging my efforts.

thanks :pac:

Orla K

Medicine333 wrote: »

Hey Cass, just calculated your BMI, and as I'm sure you're aware, you're at 21.7-perfectly normal, even to the lower end of the scale.

With regard to rugby players and BMI calculators, yes it can be inaccurate when the person has a high muscle mass, but I'm guessing you're not a big, muscular woman? Certainly not at that weight. Therefore, it is a perfectly accurate estimation for you.

If you were to drop to 7stone 3 lbs at your height, you would have a BMI of 19.1, which, while not underweight, would actually make you look like a walking skeleton, to put it mildly.

You are perfect at your weight Cass. If you have a bit of extra weight around your abdomen, try sit-ups-they'll work a treat. However, at your weight, nobody would recommend you to lose anymore.

BMI is mostly a load of arse. I think scales are too, and just over 8stone I would stop using them focus more on how your body looks/bodyfat. Lift some weights, stop worrying so much about how much and what your eating, just eat properly and don't pig out on what you do eat. Relax and have fun.

Also sit ups won't do a damn thing to rid you of your belly fat, it will do something for the muscles under it.

Brian?

cassElliot wrote: »

no, definitely not muscular. i do sit ups and ab exercises.. my trainer (god that sounds so pretentious) says a flat stomach is made in the kitchen, not the gym. so I was wondering if my cheat day was sabotaging my efforts.

thanks :pac:

What else does your trainer have you doing? If you want to lose fat and not look skinny, then you should be lifting heavy.

Brian?

Medicine333 wrote: »

You are perfect at your weight Cass. If you have a bit of extra weight around your abdomen, try sit-ups-they'll work a treat. However, at your weight, nobody would recommend you to lose anymore.

They really won't.

cassElliot

interval training, resistance training, squats, weights... but i still think diet plays a massive part in getting a toned stomach. unless you're blessed by genetics..

confusedgirl

How much water do you drink each day? I would say drink 2-3 litres of water. Drinking water is really important.

Do you take salt with your dinner? Cut the salt as it just bloats out your tummy.. From what you've said about your diet, it seems unlikely that you drink fizzy drinks but fizzy drinks bloats your tummy out too. Ditto alcohol. It's good that you don't drink alcohol as it just causes a beer gut to form really. Wheat also bloats your tummy but you're not eating wheat from what I can see about your diet.

I would say try having hot water and lemon in the mornings..herbal teas are good too for bloating-I'd try a peppermint tea or dandelion tea. Also I would say do you eat any nuts like almonds or seeds or oily fish like salmon? Omega 3 fatty acids help with tummy fat. It's better to get it from your food but failing that, taking an omega 3 supplement each day.

Also, are you stressed at the moment? Or just in general? If you are regularly stressed, then your body produces cortisol that can cause weight to form around the tummy. Some deep breathing/yoga/relaxation technique could help with this. I think mindful eating is a good habit too, chewing your food slowly and thoroughly. A lot of people eat their meals in a stressed out mood so relax before you eat, take your time eating and enjoying your food.

Yeah sit-ups alone won't really do a whole lot. Maybe try pilates to tone your tummy? A lot of pilates is about toning your core muscles.

cassElliot

oh pilates... I hadn't thought to try that! i will look into going to some classes at my gym.

yeah alcohol is such a giant waste of calories. its surprising how people react when you order a non-alcoholic drink on a night out
i do drink a lot of water, and i recently discovered liquorice tea (its so nice) and i drink green tea, and regular tea!

yeah most days I have mackerel or salmon for my dinner and I would put walnuts in my porridge.
i also do take omega supplements every day.

meijin

cassElliot wrote: »

also I read ages ago that cheat days mean you wont lose your mind and binge.

depends what you eat on the cheat day really... for example my daily target is about 3200 kcal... on weekend I managed only 2700 kcal per day and was feeling stuffed, yesterday I felt hungry all the time, ate 3900 kcal (similar food, but more of it, and more carbs). Result - my weight today has dropped by 2lbs not that I really care too much about it, but it's quite interesting [I'm 76 kg, 180 cm, BMI 23.5, BF ~10% last time I got checked; lost 30lbs earlier over 1.5 years]

But, as you lost a lot of weight pretty quickly (well done!) it might be just loose skin and a bit of soft fat underneath? it will take time to get rid of that... just keep eating healthy and exercising and be patient - it should improve over time. There doesn't seem to be a need for you to under-eat at all.

PS could anybody explain what "toning" is? I understand building muscle or losing fat only
Pilates is just another type of exercise, not any magic solution.

cassElliot

you've got 10% body fat!! thats incredible!

no, its not loose skin. I was never massively overweight. I've just decided to stop having cheat days now. the summer is coming and thats incentive enough..


the one thing i do not have is patience!

meijin

cassElliot wrote: »

you've got 10% body fat!! thats incredible!

It's just clean and consistent eating really, not under-eating though! And added strength training a while ago, so it should be even better by now

no, its not loose skin. I was never massively overweight. I've just decided to stop having cheat days now. the summer is coming and thats incentive enough..

not massively, but 3 stone lost is 42 lbs, so more than me, on shorter person and in much shorter time... it really takes time for everything to fall back into places

the one thing i do not have is patience!

That's the one thing you really need!

cassElliot

meijin wrote: »

That's the one thing you really need!

clean eating - whats your diet like, if you dont mind me asking?
i worked out pounds lost over the time i lost it and it works out at 1.8 pounds per week which is supposedly a healthy rate of weight loss.

yeah it wouldn't take a whole lot for someone to be taller than me. :pac:

meijin

cassElliot wrote: »

clean eating - whats your diet like, if you dont mind me asking?

more or less paleo/primal at the moment - there is a thread about it at http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056501032
and the guide mentioned there is very good - http://www.stumptuous.com/how-to-go-primal-without-really-trying

i worked out pounds lost over the time i lost it and it works out at 1.8 pounds per week which is supposedly a healthy rate of weight loss.

No idea what is a healthy rate, but I did it much slower... about 0.4 pound per week.

cassElliot

so gave the cheat day a miss this week and dropped two pounds! so I suppose I was holding myself back? I'm not sure, but that was the only difference I made during the week. Also I couldn't get any gym time in this week, was in bits with a strained muscle.

Am now in the size 8 jeans I bought as an incentive.. delighted.
:pac: