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One day off?
I wanted to thank Barb for welcoming me to the community. I thought I could also share some thoughts about our new lifestyle. I'd be happy for any opinions or guidance!
My husband & I are doing weight watchers together, though not the group thing since we have each other. One of the things we have decided is to allow ourselves a splurge day once a week. This is a day where we don't count points, though we still keep a eye on what we eat! It's simply a day where we might have a cheeseburger for dinner & share some fries or he can grill a steak or maybe I can make some creamy chicken noodle casserole. We have been cautioned against this practice, but we have found that it makes the whole idea of watching what we eat a little more bearable. If this starts to interfere with our weight loss we have agreed to quit, but I really don't think it will. Does anyone else do this?
My husband & I are doing weight watchers together, though not the group thing since we have each other. One of the things we have decided is to allow ourselves a splurge day once a week. This is a day where we don't count points, though we still keep a eye on what we eat! It's simply a day where we might have a cheeseburger for dinner & share some fries or he can grill a steak or maybe I can make some creamy chicken noodle casserole. We have been cautioned against this practice, but we have found that it makes the whole idea of watching what we eat a little more bearable. If this starts to interfere with our weight loss we have agreed to quit, but I really don't think it will. Does anyone else do this?
Our day off is working okay for us so far. Working in extra exercise that day mostly. It's also interesting to see what the difference is how much we do & don't eat when compared to days we count & before we started dieting. So far (only a couple weeks in) we are finding that we eat more than our counting days, but a lot less than before we started dieting. We aren't going to be on WW forever. The idea is that evetnually a healthier eating lifestyle will be the norm for us.
And yeah, making my creamy chicken noodle casserole means making a amaller amount now. No more leftovers... This weekend we grilled small steaks & then did a ton of chicken kabobs as the leftovers.
And yeah, making my creamy chicken noodle casserole means making a amaller amount now. No more leftovers... This weekend we grilled small steaks & then did a ton of chicken kabobs as the leftovers.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Many "diets" allow for a day off. I don't think it's a bad idea, BUT, I agree with whatawoman also -- if you watch your portion sizes and count the calories, you should be able to eat almost anything you want. I was under the impression that Weight Watchers allowed most foods and that there was a "point value" for everything. In any case, I think you would have to plan ahead for your "day off".
Are you continuing to exercise on this "day off" or maybe adding some extra time to your exercise to help account for the extra calories? Maybe that could be the day you add a new exercise to your routine. And what happens to the leftovers from that creamy chicken noodle casserole? If you can make a small enough batch so that you can each have a small portion and there will be no leftovers, you might be okay, but if those leftovers are in the fridge, you certainly aren't going to want to toss them out, so that means eating them the next day as well.
On the other hand, a small grilled lean steak, with a salad and small baked potato (minus butter & sour cream - try plain greek yogurt instead) is not a bad meal. Make sure there are plenty of veggies in the salad, so you get your fiber, vitamins/minerals; a small baked potato, including the peel, has tons of potassium and other "goodies" in it and of course, the steak is full of protein, B vitamins, etc. Again, it will be your portion sizes that make the difference. If you eat a 12 oz T-bone, and a large baked potato with butter and sour cream, you will most likely undo any good you did the rest of the week.
Bottom line: I don't think a "day off" is a bad thing, so long as you plan for it; however, for me, I'd rather be able to eat small portions of whatever I want, whenever I get the urge for it. Sometimes a bite or two is enough to satisfy me.
Let us know how that works out for you.
Are you continuing to exercise on this "day off" or maybe adding some extra time to your exercise to help account for the extra calories? Maybe that could be the day you add a new exercise to your routine. And what happens to the leftovers from that creamy chicken noodle casserole? If you can make a small enough batch so that you can each have a small portion and there will be no leftovers, you might be okay, but if those leftovers are in the fridge, you certainly aren't going to want to toss them out, so that means eating them the next day as well.
On the other hand, a small grilled lean steak, with a salad and small baked potato (minus butter & sour cream - try plain greek yogurt instead) is not a bad meal. Make sure there are plenty of veggies in the salad, so you get your fiber, vitamins/minerals; a small baked potato, including the peel, has tons of potassium and other "goodies" in it and of course, the steak is full of protein, B vitamins, etc. Again, it will be your portion sizes that make the difference. If you eat a 12 oz T-bone, and a large baked potato with butter and sour cream, you will most likely undo any good you did the rest of the week.
Bottom line: I don't think a "day off" is a bad thing, so long as you plan for it; however, for me, I'd rather be able to eat small portions of whatever I want, whenever I get the urge for it. Sometimes a bite or two is enough to satisfy me.
Let us know how that works out for you.
Personally I have found all 'commercially accepted' dieting regiemes very restrictive but a lot of that is because I am so finicky and don't have many choices of what to eat.... I have done most of them at one time or another and found for me the best in the past was simple calorie counting - as I could eat anything I wanted as long as I kept the portions down and counted the points for everything going in and made sure my activity/exercise levels went up.
The problem for me as that portion sizes gradually increased and I stopped counting the calories then went back to grazing rather than eating just meals.
Weight loss is easier ona plan but maintaining it is almost impossible when you go back to normal eating - so I have decided to totally change my realtionship with food and jsut eat sensibly and cut out the junk - eat less, exercise more, drink more water and sleep more hours ... thats my new formula.
The problem for me as that portion sizes gradually increased and I stopped counting the calories then went back to grazing rather than eating just meals.
Weight loss is easier ona plan but maintaining it is almost impossible when you go back to normal eating - so I have decided to totally change my realtionship with food and jsut eat sensibly and cut out the junk - eat less, exercise more, drink more water and sleep more hours ... thats my new formula.
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