Can one bad day really do a lot of damage?

ebayaddict0127
ebayaddict0127 Posts: 523 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I thought surely I'd lost some weight, but the scale hasn't budged as of today. On Wednesday we had a mandatory work event that was catered by super fancy restaurants and after being SOOOO good the past few weeks, I ended up eating what came my way. Now, the fancy restaurants do give tiny little portions, but I'm sure they weren't healthy. And I had wine. Could that one bad day look like I haven't lost weight for a few days?

I'm in a Biggest Loser contest at work and Monday is our 2nd weigh in. I'm PRAYING for a decent loss (we have to pay money if we gain.. ) What can I do today and tomorrow to make up for this? Water? Exercise? Counting calories (of course).

Replies

  • ToryCarr
    ToryCarr Posts: 27 Member
    Get right back on track, don't let one day discourage you! If you want to do some more exercises today to makeup for some calories you ate then go ahead! Just don't let the bad eating snowball into an everyday thing!
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    Fancy restaurant food can be very high in sodium so it's likely the meal just caused water retention. Give it a few more days and you'll probably start seeing losses again
  • ebayaddict0127
    ebayaddict0127 Posts: 523 Member
    Fancy restaurant food can be very high in sodium so it's likely the meal just caused water retention. Give it a few more days and you'll probably start seeing losses again

    Awww! Kitty!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    you would have to have overate by 3500 calories over maintenance to gain one pound. Do you think you ate that much in that one day? Probably not. THe answer is that it is just water retention/bloat…drink a crap ton of water and that should flush it out.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    No, it really can not do a lot of damage unless you start letting every day be like that one.
  • ebayaddict0127
    ebayaddict0127 Posts: 523 Member
    you would have to have overate by 3500 calories over maintenance to gain one pound. Do you think you ate that much in that one day? Probably not. THe answer is that it is just water retention/bloat…drink a crap ton of water and that should flush it out.

    Absolutely no way I ate an extra 3500 calories.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    It can, but usually doesn't... long term. Short term, I'm afraid you're not going to like it. The water weight can take a while to go away, and you can easily gain 2-3 lbs from it...
  • bloggymomx
    bloggymomx Posts: 72
    For me, if I go off one day and eat something bad I get right back on track the next day. It really doesn't damage my weight loss progress too much but it will (most likely) put me a day behind. Maybe it's just my body and my metabolism but it doesn't take me long to get back on track. :)
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,207 Member
    D-day........that was pretty bad.:tongue:
  • Followingsea
    Followingsea Posts: 407 Member
    Not typically, though if you went way over on sodium last night it may be a few days until the water retention clears and you're back to your normal fluid balance.


    I went over maintenance to the tune of 1500-2k last Friday night (still had a deficit for the week), and the scale showed a 4 lb gain overnight. Obviously not "real", and it cleared over the course of the week - I'm lower today than I was last Friday.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    I think this, like just about everything, depends.


    One day every few weeks or every month, probably isn't a big deal. You'd have to really have a significant binge in order to have that create a barrier to weight loss.

    However, there are people who regularly go through repeated cycles of restriction and binge eating, and the binges are either frequent enough or big enough in magnitude that they effectively are eating at maintenance. This is one rather common cause when people claim to be eating 1200 calories per day and not losing weight. The issue is that they eat 1200 calories for a few days, then fall off the wagon and go on a food rampage and undo the deficit. Rinse, repeat, and then make no progress and assume you have metabolic damage when the real culprit is lack of continual adherence.

    Also, just for another example, when you're dealing with a smaller female who has already lost a significant amount of weight and may have a lower than average total energy expenditure, the deficit size you can create is much smaller. So now you're looking at someone who might be able to push for half a pound of weight loss per week because they just can't create a big enough energy gap. For someone like this, it's certainly feasible that the one day per week where they decide to go out for pizza and drinks, could certainly wipe out the week.

    All of this isn't to suggest that people shouldn't have days where they eat more. It's a matter of remaining objective about the overall diet over months and making sure that when you add things up, you're still moving towards your goals. And if you aren't, make some changes.
  • abelthephotographer
    abelthephotographer Posts: 127 Member
    Don't sweat it - if you don't win this week, you probably will next week.

    One day won't be a massive issue. On Fri 10 January I logged 4821 calories - and loved it :) [Edit, that's 2800 over calorie budget for the day] On Monday 13 January for my weekly weigh-in I found I had lost 1.5lb over the preceding week ...

    Your mileage may very - but if you are conscientious the direction of travel will be downwards.

    Long term is much more important than short term!
  • FitnFeistyLyness
    FitnFeistyLyness Posts: 757 Member
    you would have to have overate by 3500 calories over maintenance to gain one pound. Do you think you ate that much in that one day? Probably not. THe answer is that it is just water retention/bloat…drink a crap ton of water and that should flush it out.

    this.. weight fluctuates, water, salt.. alot of things can make it go up and down.. jump back on track.. drink plenty of water . eat some fresh clean foods and you will be fine.
  • FitnFeistyLyness
    FitnFeistyLyness Posts: 757 Member
    For me, if I go off one day and eat something bad I get right back on track the next day. It really doesn't damage my weight loss progress too much but it will (most likely) put me a day behind. Maybe it's just my body and my metabolism but it doesn't take me long to get back on track. :)

    my body is the same way.. it could be the way i eat. not sure.
  • maca416
    maca416 Posts: 142 Member
    I don't know why your so worried about just one day of eating a few cal's over your normal intake, relax & enjoy what you ate that day it wont kill you. As long as you only do this every now & then it wont make any difference to your weight loss over time.

    If you start getting worried about the odd meal out or take away you will just get fed up & deprived with dieting & run the risk of going right off the wagon, I don't restricted any food at all & because I do have the odd meal out etc I simply don't feel deprived & don't give myself a hard time if I do eat over, why should I, I am consistently loosing if I look at the months not the days.
  • ffargynnig
    ffargynnig Posts: 60 Member
    I allow myself one "bad" day a week. Let yourself indulge a little bit I go no more
    then 500 over. I found that restricting treats altogether leads to bad binges later
    down the road.
  • SamanthaAnnM
    SamanthaAnnM Posts: 143 Member
    Just look at it this way: can 1 good day of eating make you magically healthy and skinny? Of course not! (I wish it were that easy...) Everyone has bad days sometimes. Just keep on track, and remember that 1 lb of weight is 3500 calories so it takes time both to lose it AND to gain it! One day won't make or break you!
  • DaddyDave101
    DaddyDave101 Posts: 72 Member
    Fancy restaurant food can be very high in sodium so it's likely the meal just caused water retention. Give it a few more days and you'll probably start seeing losses again

    Yep agree with this.... Get loads of water in you

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