How best to balance out binge?

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hoops1888
hoops1888 Posts: 93 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I went out for a birthday last night and logged all my calories (most of which were alcohol

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  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    You don't balance it out, you aim to not setting yourself up for another. Were you undereating? Otherwise depriving yourself? Too stressed, emotionally drained? Or?
  • hoops1888
    hoops1888 Posts: 93 Member
    edited March 2018
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    I understand your point and yes, I have considered how to minimise the damage next time e.g. drink less calorie dense cocktails and swap for gin slimline. Perhaps binge was the wrong word, also. I have not been under eating, it was a birthday celebration.

    However, what’s done is done and I do wish to balance this out. Any suggestions?
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    So it was a celebration, not a binge, and you know what alternative drinks have fewer calories. All this is great. What do you mean by balance it out?
  • h1udd
    h1udd Posts: 623 Member
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    you dont do anything ..... it was a one day even based binge .... you chill out, think "what a great night" and carry on the next day as per your plan .... worst case scenario you might have gained a 1lb in fat ... "might" .. chances are you will have just restocked your glycogen stores, your liver and given your body a break and the reality is 1/4lb will be stored as fat.

    Just carry on ..... one binge doesnt make you fat in the same way one salad doesnt make you thin
  • hoops1888
    hoops1888 Posts: 93 Member
    edited March 2018
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    kommodevaran wrote: »
    So it was a celebration, not a binge, and you know what alternative drinks have fewer calories. All this is great. What do you mean by balance it out?

    Well I’ve gone over by about 2800 so that’s over and above my limit of 1560. I would like to make up for this over a number of days I.e. cut calories/work extra off. I’d like to do it in a way that is not too counterproductive.
    h1udd wrote: »
    you dont do anything ..... it was a one day even based binge .... you chill out, think "what a great night" and carry on the next day as per your plan .... worst case scenario you might have gained a 1lb in fat ... "might" .. chances are you will have just restocked your glycogen stores, your liver and given your body a break and the reality is 1/4lb will be stored as fat.

    Just carry on ..... one binge doesnt make you fat in the same way one salad doesnt make you thin

    I have learned a lot from last night regarding what would be a better choice to drink and to just drink less haha. From a psychological point of view, I want to even the calories out so that I’m not over by this amount and thus can ‘make up’ for it. If there’s something I could do to reduce the damage, I would like to do it. I’m weighing myself monthly and aiming for 1lb a week so I feel like just carrying on like normal without accounting for the excess to some degree, is going to make me feel bad and that I’ve failed to be accountable for my actions.
  • amtyrell
    amtyrell Posts: 1,449 Member
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    Drink some extra water and take a walk.
  • Mr_Healthy_Habits
    Mr_Healthy_Habits Posts: 12,588 Member
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    I use to do this hardcore every holiday or event...

    Until one Thanksgiving when I told myself that I was going to enjoy whatever I wanted and not give af

    Because the fact is, I had binged before and you know what... I didn't die, I didn't suddenly wake up 100lbs heavier, it wasn't the end of my journey and did not keep me from succeeding regardless...

    And almost magically, the urge to binge was gone... And I haven't binged since, that was several years ago now!
  • smolmaus
    smolmaus Posts: 442 Member
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    I am working through this myself right now after a bad, sad weekend. I went for an extra run Monday morning and I'm not eating back ALL my exercise calories for a few days but I'm not restricting myself drastically. Realistically I was never going to gain that much from one binge (even if it was 4000kcal) but it's making me feel a little better about it and I can practice being a bit more disciplined.

    As with all things, "make up" for it in moderation :)
  • h1udd
    h1udd Posts: 623 Member
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    I guess you could work out how many calories you over consumed by, divide that number by the number of days left in the month and reduce your calorie intake by that much a day to end up in the same place at the end of the month.

    BUT !!!!! ..... this all depends on what your calorie intake currently is, if restricting further harms your diet then dont do it .... if it just means you eat 38g of cheese less a day or leave the Jelly out of your PB and Jelly Sandwich then its easy
  • hoops1888
    hoops1888 Posts: 93 Member
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    I’ve just realised that half of what I wrote in my original post has disappeared. I did give a lot more detail but somehow didn’t go through. Whoops! Thanks for all inputs!
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    Did you log it all? in other words do you know by how much you probably exceeded your calorie allowance by.
  • hoops1888
    hoops1888 Posts: 93 Member
    edited March 2018
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    LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »
    Did you log it all? in other words do you know by how much you probably exceeded your calorie allowance by.

    Yes, I’m over by 2800. I thought I’d explained in first post but didn’t log half of what I said for some reason. My original thought was to cut calories by around 500 a day for a few days. But wasn’t sure whether this would be counter productive I.e. starvation mode etc, because doing this would take me to about 1000 a day but if only for a few days maybe it wouldn’t be that bad? Ok the other hand, could split the gain in calories up between the remaining days of the month as suggested above and then it’s more gradual! I’m just not sure what strategies would be acceptable or counter productive
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited March 2018
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    Ok so it was one day, 2800 isn't even 1lb gain. Go back to usual routine, logging your meals/foods, staying within your normal calories, it will even itself out.
  • guacamole17
    guacamole17 Posts: 109 Member
    edited March 2018
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    For me personally, to make this effort stick and be consistent long-term, I just can't worry about a night out periodically in the way youre talking about. I understand what you are saying, but long-term, there will always been another birthday or event or celebration or whathaveyou. I have to (and this is me personally) live life and not deprive myself of experiences because I want to lose another half a pound that month. I also don't want to remove the jelly from my PB&J for the next month trying to undo a celebratory evening.

    I've found long-term that one night of "excess" does almost no "damage". Yes you will have gained water for a couple days on the scale, but it comes right back off.

    Another example that doesn't spring from eating more than normal via celebration, are Spartan and other obstacle races. On the scale after a race (or a long hike for that matter), I always always always gain 3-5 pounds the next week. Have the scale stop me from doing something I want to do seems counterintuitive to a happy life. Medal Monday > Beating WeighIn

    Life experiences are worth more than the number on the scale.
  • lois1231
    lois1231 Posts: 331 Member
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    I agree. Log it and move on. It isn't going to hurt you unless you do this every day.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    hoops1888 wrote: »
    LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »
    Did you log it all? in other words do you know by how much you probably exceeded your calorie allowance by.

    Yes, I’m over by 2800. I thought I’d explained in first post but didn’t log half of what I said for some reason. My original thought was to cut calories by around 500 a day for a few days. But wasn’t sure whether this would be counter productive I.e. starvation mode etc, because doing this would take me to about 1000 a day but if only for a few days maybe it wouldn’t be that bad? Ok the other hand, could split the gain in calories up between the remaining days of the month as suggested above and then it’s more gradual! I’m just not sure what strategies would be acceptable or counter productive

    It's fine. Reducing your intake by 500 cals for a week or so won't have any negative, physical side effects. Mental ramifications could be a different story, but you don't need to worry about starvation mode or any of that nonsense.

    It doesn't really matter what you do - bigger reduction for shorter time or smaller reduction for longer. The net effect will be essentially the same.
  • hoops1888
    hoops1888 Posts: 93 Member
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    Okay, that makes a lot of sense to me. Thanks very much!
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
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    hoops1888 wrote: »
    LivingtheLeanDream wrote: »
    Did you log it all? in other words do you know by how much you probably exceeded your calorie allowance by.

    Yes, I’m over by 2800. I thought I’d explained in first post but didn’t log half of what I said for some reason. My original thought was to cut calories by around 500 a day for a few days. But wasn’t sure whether this would be counter productive I.e. starvation mode etc, because doing this would take me to about 1000 a day but if only for a few days maybe it wouldn’t be that bad? Ok the other hand, could split the gain in calories up between the remaining days of the month as suggested above and then it’s more gradual! I’m just not sure what strategies would be acceptable or counter productive

    Woah, this is a bad idea. You said your daily calorie intake is 1560 and you're proposing to cut that by 500/day? No I absolutely would not recommend doing this. You're setting yourself up for a real binge if you try to do that. Please just log it and move on. Maybe do a little extra exercise this week, but nothing crazy.

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