How To Lose Weight Gained On Thanksgiving

PugBug20

Hi, all. I’m 5 months into my health and fitness journey and (as of Monday) I had lost a total of 30 pounds. Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and, like millions of other Americans, I spent the day stuffing my face with delicious, high-calorie foods. I know I could have (and should have) indulged in moderation, but I lost all sense of self-control and completely gorged myself to the point of illness. I woke up this morning feeling terrible, both physically and mentally. I am so ashamed of myself and my lack of self-control. How could I have let months of hard work go down the drain in just one day? However, the damage has been done and all I can do now is get back on track. The question is, how? I allow myself the occasional “cheat meal” here and there, but that’s all they are: one indulgent meal. Yesterday, I went on a full-day binge; I must have consumed at least 10,000 - 15,000 calories (no exaggeration, it was that bad). What should I do to reverse the damage? On a normal day, I eat 1,2000 calories and work out for one hour (either cardio or strength training, depending on the day). Should I lower my caloric intake for the next few days? Increase the length and/or intensity of my workout? Please help me! Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.

Blueseraphchaos

Eat like you always do. One day did not destroy months of work. You would have had to eat 3,000 calories over maintenance calories x 30 lbs to undo all the work you've done. That's more than is humanly possible in one day.

I think you may be overreacting. It happened, just start normally today. No reason to punish yourself with exercise or starvation....

malibu927

What you've been doing since you started. It's only one day, there's no need to beat yourself up for overeating, especially if you enjoyed your day.

ndj1979

10-15000 ???? damn, you definitely won thanksgiving! I only got to about 5500 or so ..

There is nothing wrong with over indulging on a holiday …log it, own it, and move on …and just go back to eating like normal today and get a workout in if you feel like it..

MelanieRBrace

Log it and move on. Today is a new day.

Kalikel

You lose it the same way you lose weight gained on any other day.

LAWoman72

Are you sure you ate 15000 calories beyond your normal daily amount would be for maintenance?

That said, not much you can do but get right back on that horse. Don't think of it as, "One whole month down the drain." You may have calculated incorrectly. 15000 calories is A LOT of calories. Even if you did gain three or four pounds, it WILL come off. It will. Think in terms of a lifetime, not this month or even a couple of months. It's too defeatist to think "I blew a whole month" or what-have-you, and could cause a downward "why try?" spiral. There were 12 months this year. Did you blow all 12 months? Probably not.

And although I don't generally recommend restricting on T'gving and Christmas, and I like to think of these as "just one day" each, I do think 15000 is just...so many calories. I don't even know how you physically did that without throwing up. So I *would* recommend trying *not* to go THAT crazy on Christmas (if you celebrate Christmas). You can overeat by 3500 calories and only gain one pound (roughly). 3500 is a lot of wiggle room to have a bit of all your favorites.

Keep your chin up. Today is a brand-new day. Eat normally for loss today and continue along.

PugBug20

In all fairness, I'm not sure if I *actually* ate 15,000 calories. I didn't log, so my estimations are probably not the most accurate. I would say around 5,000 - 10,000, though, easily.

gothchiq

Don't berate yourself hon, you probably gained no more than one pound of actual fat and that's if you really did eat that many calories. Today eat lightly and go work out.

concordancia

All you have to do is get back to eating according to your plan.

PugBug20

So, basically, I should just go back to normal today (i.e., eat 1,200 calories and work out for one hour)? I shouldn't cut my calories or work out more to reverse the damage? I should probably drink more water and eat less sodium than usual, too, right?

PugBug20

Also, in my original post, I meant to say I eat 1,200 calories a day, not 12,000…oops! Major difference.

gothchiq

Yep, that's exactly right.

ndj1979

PugBug20 wrote: »

So, basically, I should just go back to normal today (i.e., eat 1,200 calories and work out for one hour)? I shouldn't cut my calories or work out more to reverse the damage? I should probably drink more water and eat less sodium than usual, too, right?

yup that is all ….

randomtai

Just move on.

slucki01

It's just one day -- let it go. Just get back on track with your normal eating and exercise plan. You are likely to see a temporary gain which, if you are disciplined, which disappear in a couple of days.

concordancia

JUST GO BACK TO NORMAL. That means, eat what you would normally eat.

If drinking more water and eating less sodium are normal goals for you, fine, but don't do it as some kind of punishment for yesterday.

happysquidmuffin

You could always do a grapefruit juice cleanse. But I prefer pie cleanses. In which I eat leftover pie. J/K I ate a lot too but not too terribly bad. This morning I was very aware that my stomach still felt satiated, so I didn't force myself to eat breakfast. I had a lunch of oatmeal and a peanut granola bar, and I'm going to have a very light dinner. Hopefully being under on calories today will offset my overage for yesterday - though I don't know exactly how bad/good I was, since I didn't log. The point is - don't panic, just get back on track.

lorib642

Congrats on the 30 lbs . I have to get back on track now, too.

rachelliptic

I'm sort of in the same boat as OP and it really, really helped to read everyone's logical responses.

PugBug20

Also, when should I weigh myself again? I know better than to step on the scale today (water weight), but when should I?