Tomorrow's calories tonight: Damage control from late night eating. Fast, or let it slide?

Geocitiesuser
Geocitiesuser Posts: 1,429 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I did it again. I've been awesome about calories. The scale was finally moving down again. I'm looking leaner than I ever have in my life.

But I think calories were too low and I ran into my new personal demon, "banking calories". Banking calories seems to work for a lot of people but for some reason, for me personally, it turns me into a ravenous monster.

Any hoot, I woke up at like 2am, zombie walked down to the kitchen, and proceeded to smear approximately 6 tablespoons of buff bake almond butter onto two buff bake peanut butter cookies, microwaved them, and ate them in their chew nutty glory. This is fine, I mean, it felt like eating warmth and love, but that little excursion was close to a whopping 1300 calories (!!!!)

How do other successful dieters handle these situations?

A) Let it slide, keep eating as normal, and just accept you'll lose a bit slower?

B) Log the calories and make the rest of the days calories still fit? (my current plan)

C) Other?

No matter how I handle this situation, it was kinda worth it. I don't usually say that about uncontrolled eating, but I'm getting better at cutting myself some slack. Current plan is to eat very low calorie high volume foods today to total less than 500, so basically a typical fast day.

Replies

  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    If it's an anomaly, then I'd log it and let it and let it slide. I'd log it to be honest with myself that it happened and because i'd want my data/numbers to be accurate. I'd let it slide because it was a 1-time deal.

    If it's happening frequently enough to counteract the deficit you create on your "good" days, then you need to do something about it. Either stop banking cals so you can eat more cals more regularly, or find lower calorie options for your midnight zombie sessions.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    I tend to figure I will be at maintenance for the day and make sure I don't fall into the "well, I already blew it for today" trap.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,128 Member
    A for me. Trying to do damage control and recoup the calories just makes me hungrier and want to binge. I sometimes try and get a bit more exercise in to offset it a bit. If it's a once in a while kind of thing then it's not going to have massive implications, but if you're doing it regularly you need to work out if it's psychological or physiological, do you do it out of boredom/stress/etc or are you genuinely hungry?
  • postchi1
    postchi1 Posts: 30 Member
    I would personally take the IIFYM approach and hit my cals for the day and maintain a deficit. I think calories intake is slightly more important than macros if i had to choose.
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
    I would spread some of the calories out over the rest of the week, if I could. Most likely I would let some of them slide, but I'm pretty flexible with my exact calorie amount. I tend to look big picture.

    You said yourself that banking calories doesn't work for you-so won't an extremely low day to make up for the overeating be even worse? If I were you-I would just let it go. And I wouldn't bank calories anymore. Or I would bank LESS calories if I was struggling (not sure how you were going about it).

    Not having to eat an exact amount works wonders for me, the flexibility keeps me sane. Other people swear by eating a set amount. Your attitude about the overeating is awesome-which I think is the most important part anyway. Do whatever works best for you.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
    A) Let it slide, keep eating as normal, and just accept you'll lose a bit slower?

    and if banking doesn't work for you then don't bank.
  • slaite1
    slaite1 Posts: 1,307 Member
    Also FWIW, if I'm on a very low cut "banking calories" might mean like 50 calories a day to be able to "afford" a big meal on the weekend. It's all relative to your current goals and calorie allotment.
  • amtyrell
    amtyrell Posts: 1,447 Member
    Take a deep breath
    Drink a glass of water
    Take a 10 minute walk around the neighborhood
    Then forgive yourself and move on.
  • thor_syd
    thor_syd Posts: 7 Member
    I banned all alcohol and sweets storage in our house. If we want it bad enough, we have to drive and get what we need ... for the occasion only.

    I am usually under Mon to Fri ... and over on weekends. Works well for me to maintain the weight.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    I personally just move on and continue as normal knowing I probably won't lose that much that week. It doesn't bother me to lose a little slower.
  • bigmuneymfp
    bigmuneymfp Posts: 2,235 Member
    Exercise off the extra calories

    I call it punishment for my sins
  • Geocitiesuser
    Geocitiesuser Posts: 1,429 Member
    It is incomprehensible to me getting up at 2 am and downing any food, let alone a binge like that. I'd work to figure out how to stop that behavior 1st and foremost. Dieting to the point of doing that is not in any way working properly

    I wouldn't call it a binge beyond the fact it was zombie like and I was half asleep. It was just mega calorie dense. If it wasn't in the middle of the night and I ate that for lunch it would have been fine. My real issue is hunger and energy management. I've been in a calorie deficit for a very long time. Obviously stopping the behavior would be optimal, but considering the rarity and lack of severity, I'm not worried. I'm pretty sure it was set off by raw hunger.

    I banned all alcohol and sweets storage in our house. If we want it bad enough, we have to drive and get what we need ... for the occasion only.

    I do this too for the most part :) But I've gotten much better with portion control over time. I don't consider protein cookies and almond butter "sweets" though, just part of my regular food. IIFYM/CICO etc.

    You said yourself that banking calories doesn't work for you-so won't an extremely low day to make up for the overeating be even worse?

    Yep, this is how I spiral into a binge/fast cycle of unhealthy behavior. I think part of me making this topic is just trying to talk some sanity back into my diet. I could still technically eat another 1,000 calories today and be at a deficit even without exercise.

    ---

    Thanks for all the feed back everyone! Lots of good advice, and thoughts! I posted, blinked twice, and there was already 13 replies, wow!
  • princess0lexi
    princess0lexi Posts: 3,938 Member
    Log the calories and make the rest of the days calories still fit works for me and its very easy to keep from over or under doing everything.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    Since you are having issues with banking, log it and let it slide. Then quit banking (or figure out another way to do it that isn't such a problem - perhaps walking a little extra instead of eating a little less would work better).
  • brznhabits
    brznhabits Posts: 126 Member
    Log it and move forward. I start over at target (not under) the next day/meal.

    I actually eat in my sleep :-) regularly so have to actually budget those calories (and keep trigger foods out of the house),
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    Log it and move on. I wouldn't change things unless it happens again, then try to figure out the trigger.
  • Anaryne26
    Anaryne26 Posts: 23 Member
    I'd log it, and start over the next day.

    I did that last weekend. I ate lots of BBQ and had a bunch of beer. I was quite a bit over on my calories both Saturday and Sunday (500-800 each day). I enjoyed everything I ate and drank. I made sure to log honestly, and went back to my normal routine on Monday.

    I'm not going to punish myself for enjoying food. I don't ever want to develop/redevelop a negative association with food, where food is a reward, and exercising is punishment for bad eating, or that I have to starve myself the next day because I was "bad" the day before. It's a lifestyle, not a diet. I'm going to have days where I'm going to eat and drink 4000 calories, and I'm going to enjoy them. As long as it's not a regular thing, I have nothing to worry about.
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,741 Member
    I think you've received several good ideas so you'll just need to experiment and see what works for you.

    The only thing I wanted to add is that this may be a good way to learn to listen to your body. You may choose to do option A but maybe you aren't that hungry after eating that much during the night.

    Or you may choose option B but you get really hungry and risk a binge. I think it's case-to-case and is dependent on the individual and current circumstances (i.e. is it a workout day or a rest day?, etc.)
  • DrizztGirl82
    DrizztGirl82 Posts: 85 Member
    Personally, I allow myself to go over my calories twice a week, so I would let it slide.
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,753 Member
    Let it slide.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I just move on with my life.

    I also typically have a maintenance day once per week when I'm cutting weight.
  • DamieBird
    DamieBird Posts: 651 Member
    I'd average it out over the next week. Probably let 2 to 300 slide for that day, and try for 150 less per day for the next week (or add an extra 15 minutes to my run) and call it good.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    Geocitiesuser wrote: »
    I wouldn't call it a binge beyond the fact it was zombie like and I was half asleep. It was just mega calorie dense. If it wasn't in the middle of the night and I ate that for lunch it would have been fine. My real issue is hunger and energy management. I've been in a calorie deficit for a very long time. Obviously stopping the behavior would be optimal, but considering the rarity and lack of severity, I'm not worried. I'm pretty sure it was set off by raw hunger.

    Have you considered a diet break?* Just for a week or two? It might help massively with the hunger hormone issues that it sounds like you're experiencing.

    *That just means eating at maintenance to let your hormone levels reset and give your brain a break from dieting. You'd still count calories.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    SusanMFindlay wrote: »
    Geocitiesuser wrote: »
    I wouldn't call it a binge beyond the fact it was zombie like and I was half asleep. It was just mega calorie dense. If it wasn't in the middle of the night and I ate that for lunch it would have been fine. My real issue is hunger and energy management. I've been in a calorie deficit for a very long time. Obviously stopping the behavior would be optimal, but considering the rarity and lack of severity, I'm not worried. I'm pretty sure it was set off by raw hunger.

    Have you considered a diet break?* Just for a week or two? It might help massively with the hunger hormone issues that it sounds like you're experiencing.

    *That just means eating at maintenance to let your hormone levels reset and give your brain a break from dieting. You'd still count calories.

    ^^This. It sounds like you need it. Listen to your body.

    Given your history, I definitely wouldn't recommend trying to offset it, at least not all in one day. Just take the hit, eat at maintenance today, and know that your loss will be a little lower this week. It's not the end of the world.

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