Day off a week... Yes or no?

laurenmay

Gold Member
So, what I'm wondering is.. Is it okay to have a day off a week while on CD?

I know some other diets, mainly calorie counting ones, allow a cheat day or evening a week, and a few of my friends also follow it.. and permitting you're 100% super strict the other 6 days of the week then the weight still falls off.

I know this would knock you out of ketosis, but ketosis isn't the be all and end all of CD & is only a tool in the weight loss.. and I'm on day 2, and not feeling hungry or tired whatsoever, so I'm not that reliant on ketosis even though I understand some people are..

I'm not saying a day off a week is a good idea, and I'm also not saying its a bad one either, I genuinely don't know cause I'm still new to CD and how it works.

In the past I've had a day off a week just to keep myself sane, and to give me something to look forward to & it spurs me on then knowing there's light at the end of a long week sort of tunnel so to speak...

I have about 2 stone to lose, but with how quick the losses are with CD, would a day off a week really make that much of an impact?

Any suggestions? x

- sent from my iPhone. "No one said it would be easy, they just said it'd be worth it.."
 
i dont have a day off as such but after my weigh in i always have an Atkins style meal which is usually burgers and egg whites. doesnt sound that appealing i know but i like the taste of it and it keeps me in ketosis whilst allowing me to have a treat. i dont knwo the full science behind the diet without staying in ketosis for the duration but i know that i've defo stayed in it throughout my time on CD and have been pleased with my losses. i'm not sure what impact being out of ketosis at least once a week would have had on my weight but i know that at least by having that sort of meal i can stay in it and let the diet do the rest.

if having a day off works for you then do it coz its hard enough to stick to CD without not being able to focus on something to keep you going, but just know that there are food options that can help maintain ur ketosis state if ur concerned about the impact on weight loss. the atkins forum on this site is very helpful too :)
 
Miss_c1985 said:
Good question! I start tomorrow and would like to know

How are you finding it Lauren x

Hi :) I'm finding it okay, I originally started last Thursday, but had a naughty blip & a day off on Sunday so started a fresh yesterday and now on my day 2 again.. I'm not hungry, or tired and don't have any other nasty side effects, and 7lbs lighter so far too. x

- sent from my iPhone. "No one said it would be easy, they just said it'd be worth it.."
 
lumpyandbumpy said:
i dont have a day off as such but after my weigh in i always have an Atkins style meal which is usually burgers and egg whites. doesnt sound that appealing i know but i like the taste of it and it keeps me in ketosis whilst allowing me to have a treat. i dont knwo the full science behind the diet without staying in ketosis for the duration but i know that i've defo stayed in it throughout my time on CD and have been pleased with my losses. i'm not sure what impact being out of ketosis at least once a week would have had on my weight but i know that at least by having that sort of meal i can stay in it and let the diet do the rest.

if having a day off works for you then do it coz its hard enough to stick to CD without not being able to focus on something to keep you going, but just know that there are food options that can help maintain ur ketosis state if ur concerned about the impact on weight loss. the atkins forum on this site is very helpful too :)

Hello :) thanks for your reply. I'm not sure how it'd affect me either, and if it was to have a huge impact & hinder weight loss by a great deal then I'd rather not do it.. But if I still managed to lose a decent amount each week even with having a day off then I probably would do it.. Just to give me something to look forward to each week!

I know I'd fall out of ketosis, cause my treat would definitely include carbs! x

- sent from my iPhone. "No one said it would be easy, they just said it'd be worth it.."
 
A friend of mine has a cheat day on weigh in day. She usually has dominoes and a bottle of wine. She loses on average 3/4 lb a week. Personally it doesn't work for me.
 
I think it would be your choice hun. If you did not want it to effect your weight loss how about having a meal off rather than a day? Its better that than eating rubbish all week, if it helps you stay strict the rest of the time. I would l love to but i cant i just have too much to lose!!
 
I'm not sure what to do really, ideally I wanna lose two stone & have just over 5 weeks to lose it in.. So maybe I should steer clear of days off until I'm down to goal? and then when I'm at goal & maintaining it wouldn't be so bad to have a day off a week?

- sent from my iPhone. "No one said it would be easy, they just said it'd be worth it.."
 
I would say its totally up to you. Last time on cd I would have a cheat day or two and sometimes it was ok and other weeks I'd sts or have very little loss. I know people who still have great losses, so I guess it's a trial and error thing as everyone is different.

Although, when in ketosis your body is burning the fat from your body, but when you eat and it brings you out of ketosis your body changes it's energy supply from your fat to the food you've just had. So while your body is using up the rest of that you're not actually burning the fat that you want to, which could be for a couple of days. So you'd probably only have a few days of fat burning with a cheat day.
 
silencemylips said:
I would say its totally up to you. Last time on cd I would have a cheat day or two and sometimes it was ok and other weeks I'd sts or have very little loss. I know people who still have great losses, so I guess it's a trial and error thing as everyone is different.

Although, when in ketosis your body is burning the fat from your body, but when you eat and it brings you out of ketosis your body changes it's energy supply from your fat to the food you've just had. So while your body is using up the rest of that you're not actually burning the fat that you want to, which could be for a couple of days. So you'd probably only have a few days of fat burning with a cheat day.

Yeah that's true, it probably is more so about trial and error than anything else.. I've taken in what you said about the ketosis too & I'll have a good think about it :) thank you x

- sent from my iPhone. "No one said it would be easy, they just said it'd be worth it.."
 
Well done Lauren with that loss that's fab!

I'm not sure about this plan yet as I'm starting tomorrow consultant coming tonight!

You need to find what works for you though xx
 
Miss_c1985 said:
Well done Lauren with that loss that's fab!

I'm not sure about this plan yet as I'm starting tomorrow consultant coming tonight!

You need to find what works for you though xx

Thank you :) I know everybody's weight fluctuates daily though so I'll take Thursdays weigh in as true weight..

I'm not finding this diet itself hard, I'm just finding dieting in general difficult lately.. It's so hard to break out of the bad habits I've adopted & to get myself back on track and into routine again.

I'm even fancying junk food tonight, and feel like caving and starting again fresh tomorrow :( to me it seems like the cravings won't go unless I have the food!! and I'd rather blow it before my body goes into ketosis than when it's already in it... I'd rather not blow it at all but I just can't find my strength!! :( x

- sent from my iPhone. "No one said it would be easy, they just said it'd be worth it.."
 
I like the idea hun but personally I wouldn't, just because I think id miss it more the days after. Its easier for me to say to myself no food, and thats it iykwim? But then, thats me - we all work differently so if a treat day is what keeps you going the other 6 then go for it hun! xxx
 
Lauren you know you can't have carbs otherwise you're back at day one. If you keep cheating you need to accept that this diet clearly isn't for you hun?

I'm struggling a bit and fancy a bit of a treat but I'll have maybe some chicken wings tonight with salad. Totally delish and something that I would have had as a treat before (but with chips!) and it makes me feel like I've been naughty but won't bring me out of ketosis.

You've worked hard for three days and I promise you, the cravings will be barely there in a week if you persevere.

I read your posts after you cheated last week and you were so disappointed with yourself. If you give in and splurge today you'll feel that way AGAIN tomorrow. It's a bad cycle and you're so nearly out of it, please if you have to eat tonight, just eat meat. You'll feel SO thrilled with yourself tomorrow if you do!!

start - 12.2 current - 11.12 target 9.7
 
I want to teach myself to be able to say no to food, cause like you I do miss the food the few days after I've had the treat :( I do need to kinda change my mindset and the way my brain thinks about food, cause its that getting me into trouble! xx

- sent from my iPhone. "No one said it would be easy, they just said it'd be worth it.."
 
Lauren you know you can't have carbs otherwise you're back at day one. If you keep cheating you need to accept that this diet clearly isn't for you hun?

I'm struggling a bit and fancy a bit of a treat but I'll have maybe some chicken wings tonight with salad. Totally delish and something that I would have had as a treat before (but with chips!) and it makes me feel like I've been naughty but won't bring me out of ketosis.

You've worked hard for three days and I promise you, the cravings will be barely there in a week if you persevere.

I read your posts after you cheated last week and you were so disappointed with yourself. If you give in and splurge today you'll feel that way AGAIN tomorrow. It's a bad cycle and you're so nearly out of it, please if you have to eat tonight, just eat meat. You'll feel SO thrilled with yourself tomorrow if you do!!

start - 12.2 current - 11.12 target 9.7

Great post hun xx
 
I want to teach myself to be able to say no to food, cause like you I do miss the food the few days after I've had the treat :( I do need to kinda change my mindset and the way my brain thinks about food, cause its that getting me into trouble! xx

- sent from my iPhone. "No one said it would be easy, they just said it'd be worth it.."

it is difficult to resist food when u have that taste again. for me starting CD was the only thing i could do to stop the bingeing, i had reached the 12 stone mark, bigger than i ever was before when i put on weight after following other diets and something had to give. it was very hard the first 2 weeks to not eat but after that i found my stride and now im on week 11 sticking to SS, albeit not totally as i explained earlier with the atkins style treat meals after the weigh in. i think you just need to find a balance between the shakes and allowing urself some food if thats your choice but just remember you have options when choosing food, maybe try and curb the carbs because they will be what ur body craves! x
 
I want to teach myself to be able to say no to food, cause like you I do miss the food the few days after I've had the treat :( I do need to kinda change my mindset and the way my brain thinks about food, cause its that getting me into trouble! xx

- sent from my iPhone. "No one said it would be easy, they just said it'd be worth it.."

That's exactly what I'm like hun, I used to eat for hunger, fun and comfort - it was literally never ending! But then feel bad and disgusted with myself when I did! Its a nasty cycle hun which is why I love the fact that I don't need food at all anymore. Im hoping that the more I lose the more I will realise I don't need all the crap food in my life, all it ever did was make me feel crap. Eat to live, not live to eat and all that :) you can do it huni, you really can xxx
 
Drunk Tinkerbell said:
Lauren you know you can't have carbs otherwise you're back at day one. If you keep cheating you need to accept that this diet clearly isn't for you hun?

I'm struggling a bit and fancy a bit of a treat but I'll have maybe some chicken wings tonight with salad. Totally delish and something that I would have had as a treat before (but with chips!) and it makes me feel like I've been naughty but won't bring me out of ketosis.

You've worked hard for three days and I promise you, the cravings will be barely there in a week if you persevere.

I read your posts after you cheated last week and you were so disappointed with yourself. If you give in and splurge today you'll feel that way AGAIN tomorrow. It's a bad cycle and you're so nearly out of it, please if you have to eat tonight, just eat meat. You'll feel SO thrilled with yourself tomorrow if you do!!

start - 12.2 current - 11.12 target 9.7

I know I know! :( you're absolutely right and I need to just switch off from my cravings & stop torturing myself with thoughts of food and just persevere.. I'm hoping that it does get easier like you say, and that the cravings and wants for bad food will disappear when ketosis hits. I'm determined to stick to it and I've got two shakes left for the day so got those to look forward to anyway :) thank you, keep shouting at me cause it's what I need! Lol xx

- sent from my iPhone. "No one said it would be easy, they just said it'd be worth it.."
 
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