Trying out a new way of eating

[djansen]

The ADA's recommendation is to get .8g/kg of body weight.

I see. I could make a case for higher in trained individuals but I tend to agree here. though, I see no downside to increasing it.

The food pyramid currently is set just fine. It even works for vegetarians as the dairy group includes soy milks and almond milks and the protein group includes beans, eggs, etc.


The whole notion behind "cheat days" can overthrow a week's worth of progress. It of course is okay to have a day where you just overeat here and there, but we are talking holidays, far and few in between.

If you have 1500 calories daily on a weight loss diet, and you are working out, and then all of the sudden you have a cheat day. Let's say you have a large dinner and a large dessert, totaling about 2000 calories (that is being generous for today's portions in restaurants). If you eat healthy the rest of the day, it won't hurt you a ton, if you say have a 200 calorie breakfast and a 300 calorie lunch (eating a little light to make up for your cheat meal, which is still a bit overzealous). I would also recommend a good workout session before dinner on these kind of days, to help your metabolism burn through those extra calories a little more efficiently.

so in this scenario you only be about 500 cals above maintenance providing you were running a 500 cal deficit. if you stuck to your diet the rest of the week the impact would be nothing.

Now, let's say you changed this to a cheat DAY. You have a 1000 calorie all out breakfast and a 1000 calorie all out lunch (again, I'm being generous here, you'd be surprised. And this is assuming with no snacks). That puts you at at least 4,000 calories. While this is not a true overhaul on your diet, it is a lot for your body to handle. Especially as your body adapts to your healthier diet, your body will not react as well to this "cheat day." It would most likely result in gas, upset stomach, lethargy, and the effects will most likely last throughout the next day as you work through your food coma.

again, provided I stuck to my 500 cal deficit the rest of the week even taking 2000 cal above maintenance on one day would be harmless (minus the discomfort lol.

In a bigger sense, you are allowing yourself to regress and have bad eating habits. And by allowing yourself a cheat day or even a cheat meal, you are putting on the notion that these foods are cheat foods and are off limits, when really you should just be concerned with moderating portion sizes so that you can still be enjoying them here and there without ruining your diet.

I totally agree here, avoid food avoidance.

For example, instead of finishing off your cheat meal with a cold stone creamery ice cream in the biggest size (this is trend for cheat meals, ordering the biggest and the best), you have a nice healthy dinner and allow yourself a small portion in a bowl, not offsetting your intake. You worked out hard earlier in the day to make up for it. You feel great. If you had your cheat meal, you will most likely feel awful and stuffed and completely full.

As I mentioned, holidays are the exception, and that is why we only have so many throughout the year. Allow these to be your "cheat days" and don't consider them that. They are holidays, where food is being celebrated instead of being used in a negative tone of voice ("cheat").


I feel like I'm rambling here, but I hope you get what I am trying to say.

It is much more feasible in a healthy lifestyle to allow yourself a treat here and there in a small, reasonable portion size instead of going all out. It is much harder on your body to do that and it is much easier on you to allow yourself to have the foods you like more often, as long as you moderate how much you eat and work them into your calories.

I agree fully with what you are saying. I think the idea of cheat meals or days is where you go all out and binge is a problem. That said, I think it is fully reasonable to allow yourself to have full meal of whatever you enjoy like maybe a burger and fries once a week or even more frequently. If you understand your caloric intake and expenditure it should not be an issue. But overall, I think your suggestions are perfect for majority of the population.
thank you for addressing my questions.

after re-reading I think I may have echoed some of what you said lol.