Birthday guilt

hummingbirdhope

I tried to be good for my birthday weekend...but it resulted in me eating at least 3500 calories over maintenance today
1how do you get back on track after a bad binge?
2 does 3500 almost always equal a pound of weight gain? I'm scared it'll be more...
3. Does it make a big difference that it was mainly potato chips & sugary candy?

I'm so disappointed in myself

Can't decide if I should fast/restrict tomorrow, or...

MyChocolateDiet

Type of food should not.

Number should.

You could workout a little more over the coming week spanning lots of days to make up for this.

You should also examine if the cal goal you had prior to this weekend was sufficient because if it was too low and you were hungry all that time, does it not make sense you'd go hogwild at some point? (sorry for that unfortunate turn of phrase but I think it's the only one I can think of that fits).

Calliope610

So what? It will take you one more week to get to your goal weight.

Just resume your normal calorie deficit tomorrow.

jaynerebecca1

The best way to get back on track is to do just that. Eat your normal calories, don't feel bad about it, it was your birthday! Just go back to your numbers tomorrow, don't try to counteract it by eating less because you'll just be hungry and miserable. Drink lots of water too, you'll be perfectly fine!!

AnthonyThrashD

My birthday was the 9th, I went over 1,800
This is what I did, I went over 1,000 today
Not feeling proud of myself

concordancia

Calliope610 wrote: »

So what? It will take you one more week to get to your goal weight.

Just resume your normal calorie deficit tomorrow.

This is very good advice. There is no need to punish yourself, just get back on track.

As to #3, yep - it will likely look like even more than a pound if you step on the scale in the next couple of days, because the salt and sugar will make you retain more water than normal.

SonicDeathMonkey80

Hope you had a good birthday! 3500 calories certainly sounds like you did. Tomorrow is a new day. You're human, move on.

arditarose

Okay, so...I'm asking this question purely out of curiosity. I'm honestly not trying to be pushy or mean...How do you eat 3,500 over maintenance in a day? I guess you'd have to have a few 500-700 calories meals to get to maintenance, right. But where does another 3,500 come from? Cake...chips...but still. Maybe you didn't truly eat an extra 3500?

Anyway, my birthday was last week. Lost .4 pounds instead of .5! Oh well!

hummingbirdhope

arditarose wrote: »

Okay, so...I'm asking this question purely out of curiosity. I'm honestly not trying to be pushy or mean...How do you eat 3,500 over maintenance in a day? I guess you'd have to have a few 500-700 calories meals to get to maintenance, right. But where does another 3,500 come from? Cake...chips...but still. Maybe you didn't truly eat an extra 3500?

Anyway, my birthday was last week. Lost .4 pounds instead of .5! Oh well!

Potato chips, brownies, candy, ice cream....it all adds up

libbydoodle11

The sun will rise again tomorrow. Stop beating yourself up and continue tracking your food. No reason to feel guilty about what you ate today. Log and move on.

stuffinmuffin

Don't worry about it. I don't count calories on my birthday or Christmas day - it's the law!

Joanjett88

I ate 3000 calories on Sunday, which is more than I have since I started my journey. I usually try to keep it around 1600 - 1800 to maintain now at 5'7" 135 lbs. depending on activity.

Regardless, it was quite a lot of carbs as that is what I was craving and I ended up 5 lbs heavier on Monday morning, lol. Back down by 2 lbs this morning and probably a little more by tomorrow. My point is that one day isn't going to hurt even if the scale takes a jump.

Francl27

I'm assuming that you're maintaining? Just eat 200 less calories for a couple weeks.

feralkitten1010

The best thing I've ever heard when it comes to food (in regards to the holidays, but counts for birthdays too) is that it's not how you eat for one day. It's how you live the rest of the year. No regrets. Log it and move on. 3500 over will gain you a pound, but it should be easy enough to get rid of in a week or two. The rest is pretty irrelevant.

farfromthetree

I think restricting after a binge or cheat day can just lead to another binge. For me, it is the worst thing I could do.

LivingtheLeanDream

Calliope610 wrote: »

So what? It will take you one more week to get to your goal weight.

Just resume your normal calorie deficit tomorrow.

^^ well said birthdays only come once a year! and Christmas too :-D

andreavan28

We are only human everyone has something they consider to be a binge day, I learned after years of pushing hard to be 100% perfect that I had to relax a little bad days happen just make sure they don't continue today is a new day just stick to it and don't stress that only makes it worse.

gothchiq

Don't beat yourself up or use harsh laxatives. Castor oil made me barf last time I tried it. Phillips brand stool softeners will get it on the move without making you sick. Try eating light, soup/salad/fruit for a day rather than fasting. Then get back to your normal MFP eating plan. Work out more than usual this week. Know what I did on my birthday? I made a batch of donuts, filled them with red wine jelly, and coated them in powdered sugar. Husband and I ate the whole batch. I gave myself permission because you know your birthday comes only once a year. The next day I ate light and worked out hard. Don't stand on the scales for about a week because bingeing puts a lot of water weight on you from the extra carbs and sodium, but don't feel bad about this yearly event. Just get back to doing what your MFP plan is.

Owlie45

It's not the end of the world. There's no reason to do a laxative or fast. Just get back on track and go on with life.

anachronicles

Do not let little individual slip ups change your normal routine! Compensating for indulgence by restricting is embracing the type of thoughts that lead to eating disorders, and trust me, that is not a road you want to go down.

Just take a deep breath, as long as this is an isolated incidence of unhealthiness you don't need to take any drastic compensatory measures. Just accept that it happened and allow yourself to be happy, I'm sure it was kinda enjoyable to just let go and eat how you wanted for a little bit. As long as binging doesn't become a habit, these kinda of episodes are perfectly fine.

Your body is a fabulous machine that is incredible at restoring equilibrium. Drink water to flush out the sugars and salts, which will help reduce bloating. Weight gain is a process that occurs over time, if you go over your calorie goal once, and then return to your normal diet you'll hardly notice any perceptible difference. It's better for your body to just go back to normal, plus you don't want to create the conditions for another binge by restricting.