Had A Bad Day-- Need Motivation

Nightsongx

I'd been dieting on 1200 calories a day for about two weeks now when finally yesterday I kind of succumbed to my PMS cravings and ate well over my calorie goal. This is the first time I've done that since I began dieting and am a bit discouraged, but I'm back onto the diet today and will make sure to stick to it. I'm just a bit upset with myself, though. I'm only looking to lose about 10-15 pounds, but I'm still regretting yesterday. Will everything be alright after that bad day? I've already lost two pounds and I'm afraid I'll gain them back because of my binge.

(Also--is losing 10-15 pounds in about 2 months on 1200 calories a day and 60 minutes of cardio daily an accurate goal?)

SueSueDio

1. Unless you ate a lot (and I mean A LOT) you'll be fine, although it's possible you may see a little temporary "gain" (from water retention or just weight of food) depending on what you ate. Forgive yourself and move on.

2. Your goal sounds like it's probably too aggressive, given the amount of weight you want to lose. Is there a reason you want to lose it that fast? Since you're not looking to drop a lot, make sure your stats are entered correctly in MFP and set a goal to lose 0.5lb per week. Unless you're very short it should give you more than 1200 to eat and you're more likely to be able to stick to it. I know the loss will be slow, but it's better than suffering through a very restrictive "diet" and then gaining it all back as soon as you start eating "normally" again.

Take a look at the stickied posts at the top of the forum sections and read some of the advice there, and also check out the Success Stories forum. Finding a way to eat that's sustainable is important, because you'll need to learn new habits and keep them up. (Also, exercise is great for health and fitness but don't rely on it for weight loss - your calorie intake is the most important thing for that, although exercise can give you a few extra calories to eat.)

Stick with it and don't throw in the towel after one bad day - just don't let it turn into a bad week or month.

Nightsongx

1. Thank you. It was not a terrible amount of food, so I think I'll be fine. Mostly just mindless snacking throughout the day.

2. I am an equestrian and in two months I have a big horse show coming up. I don't think I need to lose exactly 15 pounds by then, but I do look a big large on the pony I ride and I think that by losing a few pounds I'll look better on her and ultimately be more confident with myself. I guess instead of being so aggressive I can just not set a time limit and maybe cut myself some slack. I'm not even overweight, but I am bit on the chubby side so I think by losing at least some pounds will make me feel better and more confident!

kimmie2128

Hi. I agree with SueSueDio. It's ok to have a binge day. As long as it's not everyday, I think you'll still be on track in reaching your goals. I also agree that your goal may be a little aggressive. 1200 calories a day is truly not a lot and if you are doing 60 minutes of cardio a day, then you are getting even fewer calories a day. Your body needs proper nutrition to change. Yes, consuming fewer calories than you burn a day will help you lose weight, but you don't want to samtatbe yourself or deplete your body of the proper vitamins and nutrients it needs. I would recommend looking up a TDEE calculator. It will tell you how many calories your body needs a day given how active you are, your age, height, and all that stuff. I'm not sure what your end goal is or why you want to lose weight so fast, but if you would like to share (no pressure to of course) send me a message and I will do what I can to help

Neanbean13

If you are logging everything, and are under after a whole week then a binge won't matter if it wasn't too large and u are under your weekly limit.
But again forgive and move on.
Add bit of cardio in on days you feel like eating? But 1200 is really low and unless you are sitting down doing nothing all day and doing no exercise what so ever I think that's quite restrictive and be prone to binges and not sustainable

ilovefastcarstoo

Watch this guy on YouTube. I fell in love with his videos. Search fat meets fire. Just discovered him a few days ago.

SueSueDio

Nightsongx wrote: »

1. Thank you. It was not a terrible amount of food, so I think I'll be fine. Mostly just mindless snacking throughout the day.

2. I am an equestrian and in two months I have a big horse show coming up. I don't think I need to lose exactly 15 pounds by then, but I do look a big large on the pony I ride and I think that by losing a few pounds I'll look better on her and ultimately be more confident with myself. I guess instead of being so aggressive I can just not set a time limit and maybe cut myself some slack. I'm not even overweight, but I am bit on the chubby side so I think by losing at least some pounds will make me feel better and more confident!

Well, I think that unless it's really going to affect the horse's performance if you're carrying a few extra pounds, I'd take the pressure off and not set a time limit. You would probably be able to lose a few pounds before the show, but most likely not as many as you're thinking.

Anything you do for yourself should help with your confidence too - taking care of and loving yourself is a wonderful thing, especially at your age, and if you learn to do that now you hopefully won't go through a few years (or decades!) of hating yourself like some of us on MFP have done. Try not to compare yourself to other people, too (I don't know if you do that, but many people do) - be positive and kind to yourself; never tell yourself you're not thin enough, pretty enough or clever enough compared to someone else. Just be the best YOU that you can be, and you will be 'enough'. *hugs*