I have a question. I'm going to have a monthly splurge where I forget the diet for a day, but..... I was wondering if I splurge on EVERY meal the whole day is it going to badly affect my diet or should I just splurge on ONE meal?? anyone know??

It really depends what 'splurge' means. I still count my calories on my splurge days (usually around TOM) and try to keep my calories under 1800 for the day which, when you are eating 1200 on a normal day, is a lot more. Remember 1 pound = 3500 calories. So, it probably won't hurt to eat a bit more at every meal.

I also try to keep my splurges to low calorie things (unless I am having a craving) like Yogen Fruz or Subway or pretzels. That way I am getting used to lower calorie (not necessarily healthier) things being treats. I am working for the future (maintenance).

I just try not to think about it as a diet. Like any normal person, I have days when I eat more and days when I eat less. I plan to keep this up after I lose the weight (adding some calories but keeping the healthy aspect).

Splurging often causes more splurging so be careful that you are doubly committed the other 29 days of the month.

Enjoy your splurge day!

If I were you.. just splurge the one meal.. Habits are hard to break.. so I think it would be asking for trouble to go with 3 meals of splurging...especially when being so faithful for a whole month....

I have read that it is best to "splurge" in a 60 minute or less time frame. I believe that the justification is that your body can only produce so much insulin in a short period of time to counter the blood sugar increase. This means that there is a max on how much blood sugar can be processed for storage in a given time period. Anyway, planning a splurge in advance is a good plan. It's those spontaneous spurges that always gets me.

Well I would tend to go for a "controlled splurge"- one meal that you are really craving. One thing to think about however is why you feel deprived and need to splurge. Perhaps if you have a little bit of your favorite food(s) here and there you won't crave them as much and can stay away from overeating when you do have them. Incorporate them within the weigh loss guidelines you are following. Another thought is to eat that favorite food very slowly-Bite by bite. Make it last. When you are full, stop. If your body tells you that it is full and you continue to eat beyond that full feeling, you will know you are overeating. That is when it becomes risky business! Let us know how it works out! Good luck and make it a small splurge. (Then maybe you can have them more often!) CJL

Thank you so much for the advice everyone. I had a couple slices of pizza the other night, that was my splurge for the month. I'm glad I asked before I did anything because I probably would have gone crazy all day. Also thanks for the 3500 cal. = 1 pound fact. how scary!