How much damage does one bad night do?

localgrr

Had a very indulgent taco night last night. So many margaritas and carnitas, really went overboard. How much damage to my diet could I have done say I went 1000 calories over or so? 😬

TavistockToad

1000 cals over maintenance or 1000 cals over your calorie goal that includes a deficit?

ceiswyn

1 lb of fat is approximately equivalent to 3,500 calories. Since haven't told us what your deficit is, or what it is you went 1000 calories over, you'll have to do the maths yourself.

localgrr

To be honest the whole night was a blur and I have no idea! Let's say it was 1000 over maintenance?

an0393na

How ever much you let it do... 1 night as in 1 meal won't make much difference in the long run but the question is will you let it turn into 1 day, 2 days... Etc

ipiddock

If the night was blur then you probably did more margaritas than you thought, each one being around 400Kcal, then each taco must be around 300Kcal. I think 1000 over is probably conservative to say the least. Without all the exact facts (as people point out above) it's hard to say what the effect will be. But I would guess that a "good night out" could be responsible for 0.5 - 1lb of weight gain from excessive carb and fat consumption + the effect of dehydration - so the body will retain that extra weight until you are once again fully hydrated.

DanSanthomes

I don't know - how much 'good' did a night out do you - where you relaxed, ate and drank and enjoyed yourself...? I take it you don't do this often so ease up. We all need a reboot occasionally. You'll probably be heavier on the scale from a bit of extra water but that will be gone in a couple of days.

Don't sweat it, move on and continue doing what you were doing. You'll only 'damage' your weight loss if you start to make it the norm rather than the exception.

*Don't do a drastic cut in calories to make up for it - just hit your targets for today and so on.

Losing weight doesn't have to feel like a punishment. Best of luck. (Oh, and you've made me really hungry now - and it's only 9:20AM where I am! :-)

tinkerbellang83

localgrr wrote: »

To be honest the whole night was a blur and I have no idea! Let's say it was 1000 over maintenance?

Short answer: Pretty much no damage in the long term

Long answer: It's what you do most of the time not all of the time that matters.

1lb of fat is roughly equivalent to 3500 calories, so this is how your calorie goal is worked out.

0.5lb loss per week = 1750 calories/7 days (Calorie Goal = 250 cals per day under Maintenance)
1.0lb loss per week = 3500 calories/7 days (Calorie Goal = 500 cals per day under Maintenance)
1.5lb loss per week = 5250 calories/7 days (Calorie Goal = 750 cals per day under Maintenance)
2.0lb loss per week = 7000 calories/7 days (Calorie Goal = 1000 cals per day under Maintenance)

If you have been in hitting your calorie goal for the rest of the week for loss then your deficit will just be a little smaller. If you were set to 1lb per week for example you'll be in 2000 calorie deficit rather than 3500 calorie deficit, so would expect to lose around 0.6lbs rather than 1.0lbs.

Other things to consider:

• Don't panic if your weight goes up after a night like this for a few days; alcohol, carbs & sodium are most likely going to cause your body to retain water. It's not a bad thing, just your body reacting to the change in your diet.
• Don't be tempted by restricting food intake/increasing exercise as a form of punishment for having an enjoyable night, that can lead to unhealthy cycles of bingeing and restricting and a poor relationship with food.
• Learn from it and plan for these things in future, it's unlikely to be the last time you fancy going out with friends for cocktails and tacos, next time look at your calories over the week rather than the day.

TavistockToad

localgrr wrote: »

To be honest the whole night was a blur and I have no idea! Let's say it was 1000 over maintenance?

so if the rest of the week you are in a deficit, just look at your weekly goal...

localgrr

Thanks everyone. Yeah nights like that are few and far between do I think I'll be fine. Boy my head though! 😳

funjen1972

I can relate! I ate half a 14" pizza last night along with too much wine 😒

Today the scale is up a bit, but I know it's mostly water weight. I'll balance with some lower calorie days and/or additional exercise for the next few days.

neugebauer52

Zilch.

shaf238

Keep calm and carry on (no, not with the tacos and alcohol)

sytchequeen

To your body, not a lot. The trick is not to let if affect your mind. Don’t dwell on it too much, get back to what you need to do.