Do you really need to cut calories after a splurge?

bioklutz

I am very close to 1 year of calorie counting, 7 months of maintenance. I have lost weight, maintained weight and of coarse gained weight - all without counting calories. I have no intention of quitting calorie counting at this time as it is helping me achieve my goals.

Once a week or maybe once every other week I eat out. Sometimes I choose a lower calorie option but a lot of times I don't. I rarely have leftovers. I enjoy every bite. A few of my family members are even shocked by how much I can eat. Sometimes I try to figure out how many calories I ate but often I don't.

The next day I carry on as usual. I don't cut any calories out of my diet to try to make up for my big meal. In the last 7 months I only truly gained weight once. It was from a vacation where I ate out every day, had dessert twice a day. I got back from vacation and was 4 pounds up. For an experiment I didn't cut calories I just went back to eating normal. I monitored my weight for a few weeks. I really only gained 1 pound.

I see that a lot of people immediately cut calories after having a higher calorie day. I guess I am curious how many people have experimented to see if that is really necessary. Or if people have experimented with how often they can splurge without gaining weight.

Gennybunny96

It depends, but I figure, why restrict too much. That will only lead to stress and deprivation. Sometimes, I will work out and not eat the extra that I earned. That is usually ok. I guess it depends on the person. Too much deprivation leads to failure, at least in my experience.

ponycyndi

For maintaining, I don't find it necessary. Only in trying to have a deficit, if I go over my calories it can slow my loss. But I never let it bother me, just do the best I can and keep on keeping on.

Francl27

I'm guessing that if it doesn't affect you, it means you're eating a bit under your TDEE otherwise.

But personally, I've been maintaining by keeping a deficit to make up for the 'bad' days. If I stopped keeping that deficit, I'm guessing that I would gain eventually. It's not that bad though because most of the time on days when I stay at a deficit, I'm not that hungry anyway, so I would just use the extra calories for an extra dessert... which I really don't need. But I guess my case is a bit different because I eat 1000-1500 over maintenance once a month when I have PMS, and I really can't afford to let that go.

And I gained 2 pounds during my 10 days vacation and I was still restricting myself. Life just isn't fair.

lorrpb

If you are trying to lose and overestimate by 1700 calories one day, which isn't hard to do, then it will slow your loss by about .5 lb that week or the next. If you can live with that, then no, you don't need to compensate.

bioklutz

Francl27 - I had originally suspected that I was eating slightly under my TDEE. The problem with that the timing of splurges are not consistent. Sometimes I eat a heavy calorie meal once a week. Sometimes it is every other week. There is also a rare month were I end up going out to eat only once.

I suspect that for maintenance - as long as I don't consistently overeat there is a lot more wiggle room for splurges.

OsricTheKnight

If you work out your calories as a weekly budget, you can easily arrange it so that you "save up" for a once-weekly splurge. So you can basically spread the calories that you need to "cut" over all the other days, and you have one diet for normal days and another for the splurge day.

I do this so that once a week I can go out with either my wife or my entire family. (To be clear, I have a ton to lose, so I am on a big deficit at the moment rather than maintenance, but the rules are the same.)

If, on the other hand, you really are eating full maintenance on the other days, then yes, you do have to cut calores for a splurge. Even if your splurge is only one rich 500 calorie overage per week, it'll only take 7 weeks to put on a pound, which will total up to a slow but steady gain of over 10 pounds per year. Calories in, calories out ... the basic facts of how the energy in food works aren't going to change because it's only "once a week".

Osric

middlehaitch

It really depends on my goal at that particular time.

When I am logging I do log, to the best of my ability, my splurge calories.
It helps if I have to back track for gains and losses.

When I am not logging, I weigh myself every couple of weeks,and adjust the next couple of weeks accordingly.

The splurge often looks like a cake fight in a winery.

It is a lifestyle, account for your splurge in the way that suits you.

Cheers, h.

LivingtheLeanDream

It sounds like what you're doing is working well for you
When I splurge, like I did this past weekend, then I make a choice to eat at bigger deficit for a few days to off set it. That works for me. Its about finding what works for you best

r15shep

I have read, also, that after a "cheat meal," or whatever you want to call it, that's a good time to try for new gains. It doesn't have to be an all-bad thing. If you strength train, that would be the time you get your PR's.

Azurite27

I've only had one or two real splurge days in my past year of maintenance. Otherwise I saved up calories or allowed for increased calories knowing I was moving around more than usual or intentionally went over calories because my weight went below my range. I would never go back into a deficit immediately following a splurge day. I would wait and only if my weight creeps over my maintenance range would I go back into a deficit. This hasn't been needed yet.

TimothyFish

If we could accurately measure the calories in and calories out I would think we would keep an account of both and make sure that they equal over a period of time. But we'll always have inaccuracies somewhere. We'll always be eating more than we should or less than we should. Eventually, it'll show up on the bathroom scale and we can adjust accordingly.

ExRelaySprinter

For the past 3 weeks i've had a few days within each week where i've been eating a lot more than normal. Way over my TDEE!
BBQ's, eating out at restaurants, take aways and drinking more alcohol than i normally drink and i've stayed the same.
I must admit, i was pretty surprised i didn't gain weight!

MarziPanda95

If you have only gained a pound (which could be put down to anything, really, water weight, hormones etc) then it's not really a problem and you're probably eating less than you think - or your TDEE is higher than you think.

DeterminedFee201426

when iam in my losing weight phase i dont cut back calories
when iam maintain i try my best to cut back on atleast150- 300 calories for a few days of the week depending on how much i've over ate which is most times only by 500-1000 calories _ .. for me it's not neccessary to cut back unless i've had one of them 3000-3800 calorie days (basically) then its neccessary to me*

I_Will_End_You

I cut back for a few days after a big splurge, and have been maintaining within a 5lb range for a couple of years.

SideSteel

In my opinion the answer to this is quite simple.

Are you able to make progress using your current method and is that method sustainable?

If the answer is yes, then there's no need to do anything different.
If the answer is no, then something needs to change to address it.

brynnsmom

I also cut back for a few days following a splurge but nothing drastic. Usually I'm back to where I like to be within a day or two.

lithezebra

If I were splurging every week, I would eat at a deficit to make up for it. My splurges are a lot less frequent than that, unless I'm traveling. I cut back earlier in the day to get ready for a big dinner. Also, I don't eat more than usual when I splurge. It's the fact that I eat much richer food if that's what I really want when I go to a nice restaurant that adds the extra calories. If there isn't something on the menu that jumps out at me, I get something broiled and stay away from the starchy foods.

bioklutz

Thanks all for your answers!

Just a little clarification. I am not concerned or worried about how I am maintaining. I was curious if anyone else did what I did. I wait out a sodium/water gain after a higher calorie meal to see if I actually gained weight. Maybe after a year of doing this I may end up gaining a tiny bit of weight (or another vacation!). I can always take action at that point.

kdiamond

For me it is more of a mental thing - like "getting back on track". After a vacation where I splurge, I will take a week of eating salads, more veggies, lean meats, etc., I don't punish myself per se, but I will eat much leaner than I do in a normal week (and don't drink alcohol, etc.). I typically don't weigh myself after said splurge/vacation either, I weigh myself a couple of weeks later just to make sure I'm back to my regular self.

Owlfan88

kdiamond wrote: »

For me it is more of a mental thing - like "getting back on track". After a vacation where I splurge, I will take a week of eating salads, more veggies, lean meats, etc., I don't punish myself per se, but I will eat much leaner than I do in a normal week (and don't drink alcohol, etc.). I typically don't weigh myself after said splurge/vacation either, I weigh myself a couple of weeks later just to make sure I'm back to my regular self.

I do some of the same. Partly at least it's that *for me* I am feeling deprived of veggies after a week or more of eating out. Usually I haven't had as many veggies as I would like on vacation, so I welcome getting back to them at home - and only lightly steamed, not mushy or overcooked.

nxd10

I don't cut calories after a splurge, but I also find I'm not that hungry the next day, so tend not to eat that much. I hit my weekly goals and don't worry about day-to-day stuff. My hunger tracks my calorie intake pretty well.