Question for people who lost weight already

tavenne323

I was strict for the first month just to kick my cravings. I do go over occasionally... holidays, weddings, etc...but even on those days I'm conscious about what and how much I'm eating and log all of it as best as I can.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

It was very rare but yes. I set my calorie goal with a moderate deficit (1 lb per week) and then the vast majority of the time I had no trouble working whatever I wanted to eat into my goal. However if it was a holiday or special occasion I let myself eat up to maintenance. (I know my ticker doesn't show my losses but I have lost 45 lbs. I've been maintaining for 6 months and now I'm starting cutting/bulking cycles, hence the new ticker).

I think the important thing to remember is that no one day is going to determine your success or failure. It's long term trends that matter. One of the marks of people who are successful at weight loss the ability to take bad days and occasional indulgences in stride.

TomZot

I try to stay under each day...but I occasionally go over. So far it has been for something planned. For example, we went to a wedding this weekend. Knowing there would be a buffet, I "saved up" some calories during the week and went over by a bit.


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Zaniejane

I often went over calories but I was still under TDEE so I knew I was still losing, just less and definitely not scale worthy:). But then the scale was never a good indicator of how I was doing on a given week.

Sometimes I went over TDEE, then all I did was divide the difference by three and eat TDEE minus that amount less for three days. AKA maintenance!

I did plateau for months with only two more pounds to go, but I didn't worry. I called it "practicing maintenance".
Then, when I finally lost the last two, I also lost an additional five while figuring out how many more calories I needed to add to my day. It truly is all about knowing your TDEE and eating at a deficit.

Duck_Puddle

I'm over all the time. Well, not all the time, but frequently. If I'm within a hundred or so on either side, I'm calling it good. I'm over already today and may eat more if I'm hungry. Tomorrow will be a whole new story. I've been over by thousands-several times. It's about finding the balance you can live with forever. As long as you're eating under your TDEE (averaging out over the long haul), you'll lose. Even if you go over your mfp calories. Promise.

restoreleanne

I often went over calories but I was still under TDEE so I knew I was still losing, just less and definitely not scale worthy:). But then the scale was never a good indicator of how I was doing on a given week.

Sometimes I went over TDEE, then all I did was divide the difference by three and eat TDEE minus that amount less for three days. AKA maintenance!

I did plateau for months with only two more pounds to go, but I didn't worry. I called it "practicing maintenance".
Then, when I finally lost the last two, I also lost an additional five while figuring out how many more calories I needed to add to my day. It truly is all about knowing your TDEE and eating at a deficit.

^^^^

A_Fit_Mom

Definitely once or twice a week. It depends on if I have a "date night" with my husband. If not, then usually only on Sundays. I may go over a little, since we eat at the in laws.

vivelerock88

Don't panic if you go over- whether on purpose to let yourself have something special or by accident or whatever. I used to be of the mentality that if you ate one bad thing you threw the entire day off and I'd just call it quits for the day. I realized it's not the end of the world. If you want to you can do a bit more exercise to burn it off or eat lower calorie meals to balance it out. But it really isn't as big a deal as it seems and it's not worth trying to be completely perfect. No one is. If you're right most of the time and exercising you will lose weight in the long run. You'll have good days where you're exactly on point and a few here and there where you're not, but if you're doing the right things overall the weight will still come off. Some trainers/nutritionists even say it's good to have a higher calories day to sort of reset your metabolism and tell your body to burn more again. I've had days where I decided to go eat at an Italian restaurant and get the pasta because I hadn't in so long and had times away travelling where I only had so much control over what I ate. I still managed to lose weight those times by making healthy choices when I could and exercising. In the long run those couple indulgences here and there aren't going to break you, it's about the overall effort and making it something you can live with that will lead to real change. Personally I can't be ok with never going to an Italian restaurant again so I'm going to every once in a while and enjoy myself without feeling guilty and that's ok. But I'm not going to go all the time and I'm going to eat healthy the rest of the day and I'm still going to go to the gym. It's not about perfect but about creating balance and a healthy lifestyle you can keep up with without hating it or feeling like you're missing out.

TeachTheGirl

Yep. Overages happen.

Some weeks I compensate on following days, either by eating a little less or by exercising more. Recently, I haven't had a need to. My body still seems to be losing even though my diary might say I'm over.

Balance is fickle, but not every day can be perfect.

tatd_820

I went over too many times to count. Key for me was to always get back on track the following meal/day. Do not stress if you go over once or twice a week! A calorie is a calorie and if you look at it as a whole (week or month) if you are under you will lose!

jen_zz

There will be many days that you exceed your calorie goal. Don't worry about it. Just start the next day and try again. When you relax it's pretty easy to lose the weight. But people that get very upset about going over on calories tend to get frustrated and quit.

This. Be gentle with yourself and don't beat yourself for going over or else it might lead to a binge.

musicmint

I go over my calorie at least once a week lol. Don't let that pull you down! Just keep at it and the weight will drop. As long as you eat clean the majority of the week, its nearly impossible to gain weight from one cheat day.

same here ! however by eating clean for me this means not going over on cals etc. I do have the odd can of coke, gingerbread man etc

YES I totally agree this was the answer for me I started losing when I ate clean

ahviendha

Were there days during your journey that you went over your calories? Or was it rather the will power not to give up and keep trying that you lost weight?

i go over a lot! sometimes by 1k. i shrug it off and keep going.

don't ever let failure cause you to give up on your dream. that's not the way to live your life.

DopeItUp

Go over my goal? Probably 50% of the time. I try to be within +/- 100 of my goal. I eat at maintenance at least twice a week as well (about 600 over goal). I've had hundreds of days of going of my goal overall. It's not a big deal.

Shelby1582

There were days I absolutely went over my calories. Most every weekend in fact but I still lost weight and I have ABS now!!!!!

Panthers89

I went over frequently when I was cutting calories and trying to lose weight, usually 2-3 days per month. I always focused on meeting my goal at the end of the week, rather than stressing about the daily goal.

xxhieixx

I think everyone has a cheat day. I usually go over about once a week. When I first started dieting I tried so hard to not eat anything bad and I had cravings constantly so I eat bad stuff once a week now lol. I just make sure I don't eat over to gain. I stay within the "maintain your weight" calories.

kimdyj

I have one cheat day where i don't count calories. I will not deprive myself or I will just binge and all my hard work is for nothing! It was hard the first couple of weeks but the craving stopped, its been 35 days and I had lost about 20 pounds! (I lost some weight before I started MFP)

miqisha

I use to indulge myself on the weekends, and felt it was fine because I was good all week, however I either didn't lose or gained. I have since gone 100% clean and have lost 5 pounds. I plan to stay as clean as possible for the next couple of months, and may in time add back certain stuff, but not thinking about that right now.

Each person is different, I found that cheat days didn't work for me, and for some they are fine. You will have to go through your own trial and error and see what best fits you

As we get older our body changes because a few years ago, I could have cheat days and still see results, however this is no longer the case

Good luck!!!!

kw85296

I look at this as a life style. Some days I am over my recommended calories and some days I am less. It is the overall for the week that is more important.