If you go off your diet for a week or ten days, and eat like total shit, how much damage do you think you’ll do? I’m talking pounds of fat gained. And, I’m talking about total shit eating (too much, wrong foods, bad things man)
Anybody who can answer that, please tell me how much fat will I be able to lose on my current regimen? Thanks!
Not sure. A week might not do that much damage. I often find that when i eat shit food i eat less frequently so my total energy intake is not that much higher than when i feed myself healthy foods all day long. I come back after a week on holidays looking no different.
i just got back from cancun and ate nothing but buffets, and i still trained at a local gym and ate a lot of good stuff-steaks, fish, grilled chicken, eggs-as well as shit and i gained 5 pounds
Are you planning to do this? or you just asking a what if question?
It depends on too many things that are particular to your psysiology and your habits up to now. You’re not going to turn into a fat guy in a week. With me it’s all about momentum. It takes me a little time to get into the fat burning mode. If I did this for a week, I’d lose a weeks worth of progress and then it would take me 3-4 days to kick start my process again and then a few days to get back to where I was before. I’ve done this and the worst thing was stuff like water retention that made me feel bloated. Actually when I got into the gym after that week I felt very strong.
Most would hardly change at all. If you train regularly and your nutrition is usually on, you shouldn’t be too concerned. It might take a week until you’re back up to where you were, but it’s worth it. Especially at this time of the year. There was a time when this was a concern for me as well. It’s not worth it at this time of the year. Just eat and enjoy!!
I can answer this one for you Brent, as I have had some of the most ridiculous week-long binges you could ever imagine. I had one about two months ago where I spent close to $200 on fast-food and junk food. I didn’t just eat bad foods, but I ate them to the point of passing out on my couch in basically an insulin-induced coma on more than one occasion. It took me approximately three weeks to get caught up. I do this a couple of times a year, and when it happens I sink into severe depression and guilt.
My advice to you: have a little fun, but I really wouldn’t make a whole week out of it, if you’re really talking about taking it to the extreme like I did. Good luck!
Thanks for all the replies, and Monty, I’m kind of in the state you described right now. I’m back home for a week, and I thought I’d just take it off, and it is really different, and I don’t quite have the self control when I decide ahead of time I won’t be on a schedule. I’m going to end up seeing how long it takes me to return when this week is over, but I like hearing other people’s experiences.
A typical meal for me during my last “diet vacation” was two double-slices pepperoni pizza, eight breadsticks w. garlic butter, two slices of strawberry cheesecake, two large choc. chunk cookies and a lg. Mr. Pibb. This was only one meal mind you…I was eating like this 4 times a day! Unbelievable for someone that only weighs in the low 160’s. Knowing my level of carb intolerance, I had NO BUSINESS eating like this, at least for a whole week anyway. When this happens to me (thankfully only once or twice a year), it’s ALWAYS when I am lonely or depressed. Gotta love serotonin sometimes!
One thing that you can do that I didn’t was utilize some damage control. I would stock up on glucose disposal agents such as ALA and glucosol, and take in plenty of fiber and EFA’s as well as a good thermogenic. I don’t know how long you’ve gone without blowing your diet, but I would really try to avoid taking off a whole week…while it won’t absolutely kill you to take a week’s break, you’ll thank yourself later. Every day that you get off course, it’ll be that much harder to get back in the game. I would tell myself that I would start back “tomorrow” but kept putting it off. I think of all the money I blew on junk food and then think of how I could’ve spent it on some Biotest supps. or something else more constructive.
My advice to you, brother: Feast on Christmas like there’s no tomorrow, and then get right back on track. Surround yourself with others who share your fitness interests as much as you can…if you sit around the house too much with relatives and whatnot, you’ll have all that “physique-killing” food around and it will be very difficult to resist.
Oh man, as I answer this and I’m drinking my third beer and smelling fresh baked Christmas goodies that will all be gone, once they’re released from the oven. Of course, there’s all the chocolatey goodness I’ve already had as well as the icing-topped cookies I’ve inhaled. Oh, but how could I forget about all the Eggnog Lattes I’ve downed since early this morning?
Ah, kidding. Seriously, dude: Holidays are more than food. They're about being with the people (friends and family) you care about. And while the holiday parties are filled with goodies, I'm usually too busy socializing to think about them. But even if I do eat my fill of goodies, I don't stress over it. Oh, and my everyday "diet" does incorporate a cookie or two(as well as a beer or two). Therefore, I don't go overboard during the holidays!
I always get depressed too when im not training like a god. For 2 weeks now i have been eating like total and absolute shit and have noticed loss of muscle and strangely loss of fat as well. Thank god I’m going back to school on the 5th where finaplix and an infinite amount of food is patiently waiting.
What kinda question is this…are you planning on doing this? It depends on your metabolism, how you train, what you’re eating…It is only a week so i wouldn’t expect much but that’s a very stupid question. I would pick on ya but it’s just too easy.
Go ahead and pick on me. I just wanted to know people’s experiences, if they had ever done this, and from some of the responses, I’ve found that people have, and I found how long it took them to get back. I don’t think it was a dumb question, and I still don’t think it was a dumb question.
Hey I go off the “diet” two or three times a year for a 5-7 days. I think it’s fine. Like Chris, I tend to eat less when I am eating junk so my total calorie intake is about the same. Hey unless your body is paying your bills, I see no reason to eat the good stuff from time to time, afterall we are human, right? Just my o…
This is a little update about what happened after my week off (totally off the diet) if anyone cares. I gained somewhere between 5 and 7 pounds of fat. After one week back on my diet I am near what I was before, and it will take me about a week and a half to two weeks more to be right in the same place as before, so the three week call was about right on.
I travel at least one week out of each month and usually to Latin America or Switzerland where real healthy eating doesn’t exist. Plus being on business and late dinners and drinks adds to my deviousness. However, I have been extremely amazed at my body’s recovery. I always gain a couple of pounds but I seem to shed them in two days of my return and seem to lean out a little more. I am pretty sure it is mostly water retention. I think a lot of it has to do with how long you have been training and how accoustom your body is to your current status. Hence, if you just got in shape it probably easier to flab up again quickly than if you have been in good shape for years.