Today I was looking on the net at a few weight loss stories to help motivate me (yes sometimes I need a little motivation too). I was very saddened that a lot of these people lost weight but still did not look very healthy. They didn’t talk much about weight training and cardio, just the food they ate. I mean if you are over weight and want to look good without extra skin or fat rolls you still need to work out. Exercise not only helps you loose weight, it is also good for your heart, lungs, and joints. Another great benefit of working out is the more muscle you have the more fat you burn which in turn means you can eat more( doesn’t mean you can go crazy and eat what you want all the time).

Food is definitely a big part of loosing weight but not all of it. You can only cut back on your calories so much before your body adapts to it. This brings me to the concept of my cheat day. Six days a week I eat clean like the weight loss diet that is posted on this site.  On Saturday I break free from my weekly routine and eat what I want all day long.

Not everyone agrees with the whole day as a cheat day concept.  Some experts only recommend a cheat meal but so far the entire cheat day has worked well for me (plus if it isn’t broke then don’t fix it). The cheat day also really helps me to stick to the diet all week. However, the greatest benefit of a cheat day is that it shocks my system enough so that I have many few weight loss plateaus. If you think about it, I get to eat whatever I want once a week and still come in 1-2 pounds lighter every week.

Basically my weekly routine is like this.  On Saturday morning I wake up and measure all the body parts that I want to track my weight loss progress on (arms, belly, waist, etc).  I also weigh in to keep track of my weight loss.  Just the other day I went back and looked at my measurements from a year ago and I have lost 10 inches in my waist and another 10 inches around my belly. I wrote my old measurements down and put them on my bathroom mirror to remind me that I DON’T ever want to go back there.

Once my measurements are done, I then make a B line to the fridge. About every other week, depending on time, my husband and I will calculate our body fat percentage to make sure that my body fat percentage is decreasing.  Another modification that I have made with the diet, in addition to my cheat days, is how I handle holidays and special occasions.  Last year during the holidays or special occasions we didn’t budge from the diet during the week. 

Now days we allow more flexibility in our diets during the holidays and/or special occasions.  For example if it is my mom’s birthday I will enjoy a small piece of cake. However, I will do ~ 10 extra minuets of cardio the next morning. My body now seems to burn calories better than it use to and the holiday or special occasions do not seem to hurt my overall progress.  As long as I am conservative about everything I can quickly get back on track to losing 1 - 2 pounds a week even after a fun holiday.