Workout after cheating, is it less ''damaging''?

Claudiaaa1528

I was wondering, for exemple, wednesday I forgot my lunch because I was late for work, so I ate there (i'm a waitress in an elderly residence). It just happened that this day was smoked meat and french fries. So I ate just a little, but I still ate some ''bad'' calories, but the rest of the day I ate really well and I was even below my daily calories. I also workout to compensate and myfitnesspal calculate also the fat and carbs and told me i'll still lose weight in 5 weeks (I know I cannot just look at that, but still gives a good impression), so even if it's ''bad'' calories, if I compensate by exercising and I have few calories remaining for the day, is it less damaging? I won't eat like that every day, it's not because I want to cheat each day or everything, I just want to know if I can feel less guilty. I allow myself to have a cheat meal per week, but I already had it this week.

diannethegeek

Stop thinking in terms of "good" calories and "bad" calories. The only "bad" calories are food that's spoiled or cause you medical problems (allergies, intolerances, etc). Too many calories is what makes you gain weight, no matter what kind of foods they come from. Less calories than your body uses will let you lose weight, again no matter where they come from. You don't need to exercise them off as long as you are still under your calorie goal for the day.

Claudiaaa1528

Thanks a lot! I was not sure about that. I thought that even if I exercise, because it's not really healthy, I could not lose weight, but exercising would at least make me not gain weight:P

MakePeasNotWar

If you are still under your calorie goal, why do you consider it cheating? There really are no "bad calories". Yes, there are low nutrient foods and there are things that can cause health problems if eaten to excess, but for weight loss, a calorie is just a calorie. Make sure you get your RDAs for macro and micronutrients, and spend the rest of your calorie allotment however you want.

I don't feel guilty about anything I eat, unless I stole it from someone's plate while they weren't looking.

scubasuenc

Exercise doesn't compensate for less nutritious foods, all it does is burn calories. So what if you ate some french fries. You were under your calorie goal for the day, so there is no need to feel guilty or bad.

Sometimes if I know I'm going to eat a calorie dense food, I will do some extra exercise to use some of the extra calories I plan to take in. At the end of the day, as long as you are meeting your macro and micro nutrient goals and you are at or under your calorie goal, then you will continue to lose weight.

It is hard to get rid of the 'good' vs 'bad' food mentality, but it is freeing. To know that I can have ice cream or a candy bar occasionally if I have the calories available is nice. The funny thing is, now I know I can have them, I don't necessarily want them.

deksgrl

It's math.

If you are set to lose 1 pound a week, this is a 500 a day calorie deficit.

So, lets pretend your maintenance calories is 2,000. To lose 1 pound a week, you eat 1,500 a day.

This particular day, you ate 500 calories over your goal, or 2,000 total. You won't gain weight, you would stay the same weight if you ate that much every day. Now you exercise and burn 250 calories. You are still under your maintenance number and on track to still lose weight.

Okay suppose you ate 1,000 calories extra or 2,500 calories on this day. You exercise and burn 250 calories. You consumed 2,250. This is a little over maintenance, if you ate that way ever day you would gain a bit, but this is not an every day occurrence, look at your weekly average.

ashenriver

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants