Used a holiday as excuse to go crazy

lauragreenbaum

Wow, went WAY off my diet yesterday. Feeling angry at my self, but I'm jumping right back in and getting back on track. Anyone else relate??

cwolfman13

Occasions aren't what make or break a diet. In the big picture, they're pretty irrelevant and a part of life enjoyment.

Personally, July 4th isn't a particularly big eating holiday for my family...not much different than a typical weekend cookout, but I do indulge on other holidays and special occasions...and that's ok...I don't get angry about it...it's all pretty irrelevant to the whole of what I'm doing.

fb47

No need to go crazy, but don't need to hold back, just enjoy your one day holiday. One day does not destroy an entire diet just like you can't lose all your weight in one day. You need to eat 3500 calories over your mainenance just to gain 1 lb of fat.

midlomel1971

Ditto. I made a huge, multi-layered cake that contained 4 sticks of butter worth of buttercream icing, and I think I ate about half of it before it got on the actual cake.

Back at it today. I'm just moving on.

HoneyBadger302

Not so much yesterday, but I had a "binge" week the previous week as I was at the WSBK races with my title sponsor and helping them out for the weekend, then traveling for work, and didn't make any effort to make "wise" choices.

After a week of indulgence I did put on 1-2 pounds, but back at it once I was home.

So long as you don't make it a weekly thing, or something you do all the time for every little excuse, enjoy a day now and then, just understand if it's too long you may have to get back on the wagon again a bit LOL!

RoyBeck

Don't stress. PLEASE. I'm the worst for This. About 3 months ago I tried logging again and a few days in we visited a restaurant in Essex called spoons. Basically a buffet type thing. I ate Indian, Chinese, roast dinner and then puddings galore. It set me back about 10 weeks as I only started logging again 2 weeks ago.

If I went back there now is definitely use it as a holiday and not worry about logging for that day. Enjoy your food and remember one day means nothing in the grand scheme of things.

runnermom419

Yep, every single holiday. Still 170 pounds less than when I started. It's one day, not a lifestyle.

etherealanwar

I tried not to go over my usual calorie limit but ending up eating at maintenance. Ofc there was a water weight gain the next day which wont go away for another couple of days

Just got to get back to it. I'm visiting family as well for a 3 day vacation and I usually do really bad on these haha

bufger

I don't stress about it but I also don't log. I still break it down so every decision is a conscious one - sometimes it's easy to say 'well I've already blown it, what the heck' but if you treat each one as a discussion with yourself you can limit some unnecessary damage and still enjoy it.

I also prep for these occasions by 'saving' some calories in the weeks and days before so it's a planned break. That also helps you control yourself on the day a little as you know how much hard work went in to saving those - so now you spend them wisely (sometimes! Most of mine go on beer and then the quality of my decisions goes down with time..)

Athijade

I allowed myself maintenance calories yesterday so I would have some flexibility in what I could eat. Since I was not the one cooking and I had been ill (so no energy to cook even if I wanted to), I didn't have much control over my options. I picked what I wanted and had smaller servings of some higher calorie stuff (like mac and cheese), though I did overdo it on some delicious potatoes smothered in cheese and bacon. I even fit in a small piece of cheesecake.

I am working on not letting myself go completely crazy and out of control, but I also do not want to punish myself and not enjoy life.

CarvedTones

Obviously for a different holiday, but applies to lots of them - "It isn't what you eat between Christmas and New Year's that causes you to be overweight; it's what you eat between New Year's and Christmas". It isn't special occasions, as long as they are truly special and not frequent, that cause problems. they just slow loss or speed up gain a little bit, depending on which way you are trending.

kshama2001

I don't log ordinary cooking and cleaning, but I do log that which I do for family gatherings, and consequently was 253 calories under for yesterday, as I spent hours in the kitchen yesterday AM.

Plus I knew there was going to be peach cobbler so repeated to myself all through dinner "Save room for the peach cobbler, save room for the peach cobbler." MMMMMMMMMMM

willsreb

I went on a 3 day holiday with my children a couple of weeks ago, my partner was meant to come but we separated a few weeks before hand and so I went on my own with the kids. I ended up eating my feelings one night when they went to sleep - a whole (large) bag of Cadbury’s giant buttons. I felt semi-guilty at the time but mostly just enjoyed it lol! I went back to normal the next day and it hasn’t affected my progress at all. In fact, I saw the first glimpse of my abs this week 😂 looking forward to making more progress, and keeping myself healthy physically and mentally. Just keep at it 😊

Lillymoo01

Overeating on special occasions isn't the problem. The guilt that is associated with it is though. There is nothing to be guilty about. You had a special day surrounded by people you love and created precious memories. One day of more indulgent eating may set you back a week at most from reaching your goal. Worth it? Hell yes! However, guilt can lead to a vicious cycle and result in significant setbacks.

nooshi713

It is ok. You can get back to your regular routine the next day. I ate at maintenance the past 2 days due to holiday parties.

rickdkitson

I believe in everything in moderation, even excess.

Once in a while you just need to let go. Get rip roaring drunk, binge eat whatever, then forget about it.

Let's say you over ate by 5000 calories on a holiday. Normally you eat a 1000 calorie a day deficit, that will put you at a small deficit for the week overall so what's the big deal?

Just don't do it too often and don't beat yourself up too much over it.