Tips to get back on track the very next day?

happimess1
happimess1 Posts: 11,779 Member
edited April 2017 in Health and Weight Loss
We can do everything from drinking lots of water, meal prepping, include our fav meals or calorie dense foods but there are those days when you want to eat everything in sight.

I had one of those days two weeks ago. I resisted the hunger pangs for 9 hours before giving in and eating everything in sight.
Sadly and the part that bothers me is that i kept on doing the same for the next 2 weeks because hey since i have gotten off track once, might as well do it again and again....

What do you do to ensure you are back on track the very next day? Rewarding yourself, Eating at maintenance or locking yourself up in a room, give me anything you got.
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Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    I put those days behind me and make sure I'm hitting my calorie goals. Nothing special is necessary.
  • Tried30UserNames
    Tried30UserNames Posts: 561 Member
    I'm struggle with getting back on track, too. One thing that helps is to preplan my menu for the next day, write it down, print it out and hang it on the refrigerator or carry a copy with me. For some reason I'm better able to stick to my intentions if they are actually written down where I can easily see them rather than if they are just in my head. Also, I don't punish myself with some sort of extra strict menu to try to make up for the bad days. I plan a healthy, reasonable, filling menu.

    I also make some sort of rule for myself that I'm forbidden from doing something I enjoy until after I exercise. For example, I'm not allowed to read these message boards until after I exercise. Or I can't watch my favorite t.v. show until after exercise.

    I seem to be a rule follower, as long as they're written down, even if they're just rules I make up for myself.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    edited April 2017
    I had several high-calorie days in April. After each one, I managed to get back into a calorie deficit for a few days before the next one. It took me a few weeks to realize that I was attracted to the taste of salt, most especially the taste of salty carby snacks of potato or corn chips dipped in Nutella. One tactic I tried before, neglected, and tried again was to keep nearby a jar of pink salt. Yes, pink salt. Every time I caught myself imagining chips in Nutella, I'd eat a few grains of pink salt. So what if I ate an extra gram or 2 of salt that day? I didn't eat Nutella. That's a tactic that I need to remember. So, Monday I had a lot of pink salt. Monday and every day since, I've been able to stay in this calorie deficit without reaching for the remaining Nutella.

    My high-calorie days are not accurately recorded. I have something there, maybe it's even close, but it's not really accurate.
  • LenGray
    LenGray Posts: 855 Member
    For me, it was mostly a time and patience thing. When I started (back in Sept) I'd go off the rails for 2-3 weeks at a time. Slowly, with a lot of tough love and experimentation, I got that down to a week. Then a few days. Then, finally, I got in the mindset where it was just an off day. Now I'm to the point where I re-evaluate and troubleshoot that day. I try to figure out what will salvage the day for me, whether that's working out that day, hitting below maintenance, or dubbing it my '*kitten* it' day for the week.

    And some days, @JaydedMiss is completely right. My body whines and I remind it that I'm the adult and I'm the one in control of my actions. Some days, that means that I eat a pickle instead of a brownie. Or have hot tea instead of pie. But that's just how it goes when you're a grown-up trying to achieve a difficult goal. *shrug*
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    happimess1 wrote: »
    What do you do to ensure you are back on track the very next day?

    I don't try to "make up for it" - what's done is done. Instead I plan/prep the next day's eating down to the last detail.



  • Suuzanne37
    Suuzanne37 Posts: 114 Member
    If I find myself heading there; I will limit the amount to maintenance and log everything. The next day, its back to the regular.
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  • wenrob
    wenrob Posts: 125 Member
    happimess1 wrote: »
    wenrob wrote: »
    If I get a case of "the hungries" and I'm truly hungry (not bored, sad, mad, thirsty etc.) I give myself permission to eat at maintenance that day. If I go over or lose my mind a little bit I don't start over the next day, I regroup and "start over" the very next meal. I've found that if I put getting back on track at a future time and date it's easier for me to keep putting it off. My advice would be don't let yourself get so hungry you want to eat all the things. If you are truly hungry go ahead and eat. If you go overboard, don't beat yourself just regroup and set yourself back on the path right away.

    i will kill to have your mindset. Starting over at the very next meal is as absurd a concept to my piehole as flying cows. why just eat once when the day is still young and full of binging opportunities.

    i eat in regular intervals and consume 2000 calories of my favorite food but i still have such days every 3 months. it's basically dieting based mental fatigue i think because i have been at it for 1 and a half year now.
    Well, I've been at this a very long time so it's had a chance to stick. Why not try to employ it? You may not succeed every time but if you keep trying eventually it's bound to become a habit. That's the whole idea isn't it? Replace bad habits with better ones?
  • wenrob
    wenrob Posts: 125 Member
    Somehow I missed your last sentence. Maybe a diet break is in order. If you have it in your head that you're going to take a break it might be better mentally and more controllable then just kind of going off the rails.
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  • shakenbake57
    shakenbake57 Posts: 303 Member
    edited April 2017
    I've been at this for 4 months now and have found if I have a bad meal/day to let it go and get back on track. You can do it too!
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I never deprive myself, and I make sure I eat healthily, but I get urges and I have to say no to myself sometimes. Sometimes it sucks, but works, and sometimes it doesn't work at all. But I don't go on and off track anymore. The on track/off track, good/bad, clean/naughty mindset and fear of and guilt for eating something I like, made me regain every time I managed to get my weight down. Not anymore. Just tracking calories, but also keeping an eye on nutrition, was very good for me. Food is morally neutral. It has implications for health, but eating well doesn't make me a better person, eating poorly doesn't make me a bad person.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    Bygones. As a preventative measure, trying keeping lots of fruits and veggies already cut up and ready to go and Start with those first when you really wanna eat outside your plan. you'll either be full, bored with the idea of eating more, or will still eat the box of Twinkies.
  • leejoyce31
    leejoyce31 Posts: 794 Member
    happimess1 wrote: »
    JaydedMiss wrote: »
    Your an adult, Pick yourself up dust yourself off and get on with it. You should never feel deprived enough to have to go binge. It honestly helps me to remind my self im a grown *kitten* adult with goals suck it up me

    just say no now why didnt i think of that? genius!
    happimess1 wrote: »
    JaydedMiss wrote: »
    Your an adult, Pick yourself up dust yourself off and get on with it. You should never feel deprived enough to have to go binge. It honestly helps me to remind my self im a grown *kitten* adult with goals suck it up me

    just say no now why didnt i think of that? genius!
    happimess1 wrote: »
    JaydedMiss wrote: »
    Your an adult, Pick yourself up dust yourself off and get on with it. You should never feel deprived enough to have to go binge. It honestly helps me to remind my self im a grown *kitten* adult with goals suck it up me

    just say no now why didnt i think of that? genius!

    Lol. True.
  • leejoyce31
    leejoyce31 Posts: 794 Member
    Triplestep wrote: »
    Um, if you could pick yourself up and dust yourself off, or simply put those days behind you, I assume you would have done this already and not written a post asking for help. Right?

    I'm in the midst of this myself, and now on day three of "back on track". Here's what I did: Pre-plan, pre-log, and on work days, pre-pack EVERYTHING I intend to eat that day. I was failing at getting back on track because day after day, I'd start out fine, then feel hungry and light-headed by the end of my work day, and buy something unhealthy to eat on the way home. By taking not just lunch but dinner and snacks with me, there's always something to eat that's been planned and logged, even if I'm eating it earlier than I normally would because of hunger pangs.

    This is not something I think I can keep up forever, but if I remember correctly, it takes me about two weeks to overcome cravings and feelings of hunger. So I'm keeping my eyes on that prize.

    Good luck!

    Totally agree.
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