ideaplan

This is more of an idea than a plan. I'm not setting any goals for follow-through. But here's the idea: during the week I stay pretty strict with my diet. I aim for 1500-1600, maybe 1700 calories along with my exercise and I do not let cravings, mere opportunity, etc interfere. On the weekends, I am a little more lax, having treats or eating out and being comfortable with closer to 2000 calories a day. In addition, at some point during the weekend (end of class on Friday thru Sunday night), I am allowed one "binge", which might spike my calories. I'm not defining it very tightly, except that it should not become an all-day thing. The rest of whatever day it occurs on, the guidelines are in line with what I said above. You know what it is when you do it, but examples might be: a quart of ice cream, a huge plate of pasta with creamy cheese sauce, a package of wafer cookies and a whole bag of potato chips, a box of donuts and milk, a plate of breaded chicken strips and french fries, half a batch of chocolate chip cookies, a whole bag of individual-wrapped chocolates.

The motivation behind this idea is that as I get lighter, the calorie levels needed to create a deficit are more difficult to hit. If I don't happen to exercise on a day, I have to eat less than 1500 calories to have a pound-per-week equivalent deficit. It takes more, psychologically, to make the deficit many days in a row. Fitting in restaurant meals or indulgences isn't too hard on 1800 calories, but it is on 1500, so the idea is to simply loosen up at the time (weekends) when opportunities are most likely to arise. The allowed "binge" is just an outlet for cravings, and knowing there's a specific time for it makes it easier to wait for.