Keep going over allowance... help!

stillyoubutnew

Hi all, I was doing so well, kept it going and stuck to plan, lost 5lbs. I was happy to be losing even though not the fastest loss. Trouble is this week I am still logging everything but I am going over quite a lot each day... don't know what happened but something changed again in the way I was thinking of it. How do I get myself back on the wagon? I hope I have not gained any pounds. Has anyone got any advice? Thank you. Xx

Golbat

I had trouble with food cravings and keeping my calories low enough, and I asked my doctor about it. He suggested I not worry about fat so much, and increase my protein, and that would help keep me feeling full longer. I've made that change and I find it much easier to stay within my calorie limit. So like now, instead of choosing a bread-based item for a snack, I might have a hard boiled egg. The egg keeps me satisfied for a longer period of time.

cmcollins001

Eat until you reach your goal, then stop eating. Pretty much the only way to do it.

You may want to look into foods that offer the most feeling of being full and will keep you feeling full longer. Also, without knowing what your goal is, it's hard to offer any other advice. If your goal is 500 calories a day...you really need to be going over. If your goal is 7000 a day, then you may need to eat more nutrient dense food that is less caloric.

rosebarnalice

If you're looking for self motivation, try giving yourself a stern "talking to" like you were someone else-- REALLY!

Go in the bathroom, close the door, look at yourself in the mirror with that I'm-so-disappointed-in-you" that your mother surely perfected, and say,

"OK, I KNOW this isn't what you really want to do. You CAN make good choices, and you CAN stick to your calorie goal if you really want to. But you have to want to, and you have to want it bad enough to actually do it."

Then, soften, and smile, and say

"And besides, I BELIEVE in you! I know you can do this! Go out there and make me proud!"

There's lots of psychological evidence out there that says that this kind of verbalized self-talk really works! http://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/how-to-give-yourself-a-pep-talk.html

TR0berts

Two questions - you don't necessarily need to answer those here, they're more for yourself:

How big is your planned deficit?
How much over are you going?

As an example, say you've set up MFP to lose 1 lb per week - it gives you a 500 Cal/day deficit. Now, let's say you're over your Calorie goal by 300 Cals. OK, you're still in a deficit of 200 Cals for that day. If you do that all week, then you're in a weekly deficit of 7*200=1400 Cals. OK, so you can expect to lose somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2 a lb that week.

The main thing I'm getting at is that you might still be in a deficit for the week. So, like others have mentioned, look to see why/how you're going over and fix it. But, if you're still in a deficit, don't worry too much about it.