weekly deficit or daily?

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kickingpounds
kickingpounds Posts: 42 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know weight loss is CICO On Thursday my husband and I went on a date and its something we don't do often. I've been told by a number of people to decrease my calories over the rest of the week to make up for it. I am so confused. Do I call Thursday a loss as far as beating the calorie monster and focus on the rest of the week or do I try to "make it up".

I'm sorry if this is a stupid question....I'm new to this.

Replies

  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
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    I would try to make it up, if possible. It depends on how far over you went. You can't starve yourself the rest of the week to make up a huge overage.
  • kickingpounds
    kickingpounds Posts: 42 Member
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    blankiefinder wrote: »
    I would try to make it up, if possible. It depends on how far over you went. You can't starve yourself the rest of the week to make up a huge overage.

    I went over about 2000 calories.

    I don't care to explain it more just that I'm ashamed I let myself do it. I didn't want to spend my date stressing about calories when it was the first quality time together we've had in 3 months (he works opposite shift I do)
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
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    2000 divided by 7 is about 286 calories. If that's too much of an extra deficit for 7 days then even doing 150 or so a day extra deficit would mostly make up for your special date night.

    Don't be ashamed. Life happens. Sometimes we just need to let go and enjoy the moment. After the moment is soon enough to get back on track or you can even pre-log if you know you are going to have a special moment. We just need to be careful that we don't have too many moments. ;)
  • ogmomma2012
    ogmomma2012 Posts: 1,520 Member
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    I love thinking about my calories in a weekly goal format. That way if I make a whoopsie on one day I can choose to lower calories a little for the next couple days, or increase my exercise by a little for the next couple days.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
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    I strive for a weekly average, so that some days I eat over and other days I eat under. Sometimes I like to have enough room to go a bit overboard, especially at a family function or potluck.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    ogmomma2012 wrote: »
    I love thinking about my calories in a weekly goal format. That way if I make a whoopsie on one day I can choose to lower calories a little for the next couple days, or increase my exercise by a little for the next couple days.

    yep! That's exactly how I do it. I pay more attention to my weekly deficit, rather than my daily one.

  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
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    kickingpounds wrote: »
    blankiefinder wrote: »
    I would try to make it up, if possible. It depends on how far over you went. You can't starve yourself the rest of the week to make up a huge overage.

    I went over about 2000 calories.

    I don't care to explain it more just that I'm ashamed I let myself do it. I didn't want to spend my date stressing about calories when it was the first quality time together we've had in 3 months (he works opposite shift I do)

    Please don't feel ashamed! One thing I have been working on in this process is removing the emotion from eating. So I don't eat as a reward, or eat because I'm depressed or stressed, or feel ashamed for going over... it's just nourishment. Something that we need to survive.

    With a 2000 calorie surplus, personally I would just move on, and make sure I did better the rest of the week (but not worry about trying to work the surplus off). The most you're looking at, after the sodium flushes from your system, is a half pound delay in your weight loss process. This is a marathon, not a sprint! <3
  • klopfer123
    klopfer123 Posts: 3 Member
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    My own response would be to forget it and move on. Bloops happen, just as long as I log these events thoroughly I can gain control over the occasional one.

    It's a marathon not a race. From time to time we all slip up but that's not important, what is important is returning to eating healthily. So don't feel any shame or guilt, just carry on with the good work you've already established and next time maybe try to think of a date night that doesn't involve food.
  • GreenIceFloes
    GreenIceFloes Posts: 1,491 Member
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    I set a weekly goal. Much easier to meet it.
  • VanillaGorillaUK
    VanillaGorillaUK Posts: 342 Member
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    I've been counting on a weekly total for months and it is so much better. It means you can hold back or eat more on certain days.

    You need to get the calculator out though and keep track, which is probably too much for most people.
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,370 Member
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    I'd just draw a line under it and move on. If you cut too far for the rest of the week you might leave yourself open to a binge.
  • seantheking87
    seantheking87 Posts: 52 Member
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    Personally I track my calories and make a note on a pad each day and have a running total for the fortnight (I weigh in fortnightly) so if I see that I'm slacking a bit I can make up for the extra calories in later days.
  • bigd66218
    bigd66218 Posts: 376 Member
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    One day over isn't necessary bad, reduce about 200 calories a day and everything will even out.
  • ArkMom35
    ArkMom35 Posts: 225 Member
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    You let it go and move on. Enjoying life is sometimes more important than counting calories. Just try to do better the next day.
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
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    What you could do is shoot for being ~100 calories under goal for 7 days and doing an average of 100 calories of exercise each day. For me, that's walking about a mile.

    Alternatively, just log it and move on. These things happen, and it's ok!

    The other thing to think about here is how you felt AFTER the meal. Were you uncomfortably full? If so, next time you eat out, plan to eat half the food and have the rest left over for the next day.

    Please don't see this as you screwing up. You're making changes you're going to try to hang on to for the rest of your life, right? This is a learning experience.

    Think about what happened - but don't dwell on it - and see if you can decide what you think you should do next time this kind of occasion comes up. And then carry on.

    You've got this :)

    ~Lyssa
  • kickingpounds
    kickingpounds Posts: 42 Member
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    In case anyone is wondering even after my binge today I weighed in and I still lost 2.2 pounds!
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
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    It's really up to you and what works for you.

    I know a lot of people have good luck with working a weekly deficit. I would struggle with that and think it would lead me to some disordered eating. I do much better just moving on and starting every day fresh. For me, each day is a new opportunity and I do my best to make the most of today without beating myself over what happened yesterday.

    This comes with the caveat that I rarely go over my calories. If I was seeing more of a pattern in going over frequently, I might have to approach it differently.
  • freeoscar
    freeoscar Posts: 82 Member
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    That's great. And you had a fun night out with your husband, so double great!

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