Should I Splurge?

[Ari]

Tomorrow's my birthday and then we have Thanksgiving coming up on Thursday.  My dilmemna is that I have been on a pretty good health kick lately, dropping 20 lbs. and exercising regularly, but I was wondering if I should throw that all out tomorrow and eat whatever I want.  I'm a little worried if I do that I may be tempted again if I go to a holiday feast on Thursday, with well-intentioned people throwing all kinds of food into my face.  How much weight can you pack back on in a couple of days?  Happy Birthday again to all of our November Scorpios as well again by the way.

[The Shadow]

Don't splurge, its not worth it

[Lisa]

Ari, you don't want to let the bad habits creep back.  It's not just a matter of it being a few days. 

My suggestion to you is to eat a full meal before you go to your Thanksgiving party, so you won't be tempted to eat everything in site because you are so hungry. 

[New Yorker]

Tomorrow's my birthday and then we have Thanksgiving coming up on Thursday.  My dilmemna is that I have been on a pretty good health kick lately, dropping 20 lbs. and exercising regularly, but I was wondering if I should throw that all out tomorrow and eat whatever I want.  I'm a little worried if I do that I may be tempted again if I go to a holiday feast on Thursday, with well-intentioned people throwing all kinds of food into my face.  How much weight can you pack back on in a couple of days?  Happy Birthday again to all of our November Scorpios as well again by the way.

I diet hard to stay fit myself, I like having low bodyfat and an athletic body; Basically if you are "good" 95% of the time you'll be okay. Actually I work in one cheat meal a week where I can have whatever I want, it may even help your weight loss efforts because it shocks your metabolism, if your body has been getting low calorie diet food day after day, then one meal is a big high calorie one, it revs up your metabolism, trick is to be back on your diet right away, back to the low cal diet food the next day, stay away from the left-overs!!! This means YOU!  

So, have your two feasts, then back on the the diet!  

[Lisa]

I can understand where New Yorker is coming from.  But I think his plan of having a cheat meal once a week is especially risky for someone who has recently lost a lot of weight.  Remember, a diet is a way of life, not something you go on temporarily, and then discontinue. 

But New Yorker is right in terms of some fat being necessary for the metabolism during dietary plateaus.  That should not be an excuse to stop all your good work.  According to nutritionist Ann Lousie Gittelman, author of the book "Eat Fat, Lose Weight" you need good Omega 3 essentially fatty acids.  These can be found in fish like salmon and tuna, as well as flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, and Evening Primrose Oil. 

So I still say, eat a good healthy filling meal before you go to your Thanksgiving party.  Then maybe try a tiny bit of whatever looks good.  But that's it. 

[Ari]

Good advice, guys.  Much appreciated.  I'll enjoy a little more than usual, but not too much.  I have suffered from the yo-yo sydrome in the past where I've worked myself into very good shape only to then revert back to old habits.  It's not worth it and it's harder to rebound as you get older.  Turning 30 in hours, I have realized that my metabolism has started to slow down a little bit.  I have been told it gets worse the older you get, so I can only imagine what it will be like later in life.  Eat a salad, put on 5 lbs. (G-d forbid). 

[Tzvi Ben Roshel1]

I dont know about others, but when it gets colder (this time) I tend to gain weight. I gained like 4-5 pounds since the summer (but mostly muscle though), but still now would like to dropp a few fat pounds and maintain musle.
  I think its good to eat well at least once a week (Shabbat of cource for me- its a mitzva to eat 3 meals with meat and also preferrably with fish).
 
  Does counting calories work?

[JTFFan]

don't splurge.