Special Occasions - calorie disaster: What to do??

robinmarkz

Summer is almost here, and it's a tradition to go to Knott's Berry Farm on July 4th and have a "Mrs. Knott's Fried Chicken Dinner."

The biscuits ALONE with some boysenberry jam are like two full days of calories! (I don't think I'm exaggerating.) 3 pieces of pan fried chicken, cream potatoes with the best chicken gravy anywhere . . . and uh, soup, pie . . .

Will this destroy everything? I am not going to have a salad *there*! Not there.

How do you recover from this? If it sets me back a week, no biggie. But does it ruin your whole metabolism to eat something like this on an occasion? I want to have fun that day.

I will be walking like crazy that day, but it won't be close to enough. Should I do an "almost fast" the day after? Or before? There is only so much exercise one has the capability of doing with their lower level of fitness. I don't want to do hard exercise for 3 hours the day before and have a heart attack or something.

What is the protocol? I am new to formal dieting.

Thank you.

AmyRhubarb

Will this destroy everything?

It's one day - you will not undo all your progress in one day. You might show a gain due to retained water from high sodium or something, but that's about it. Log it, enjoy it, move on.

That being said - I know when I'm going to enjoy something like that, I still reign myself in a bit, and keep myself from eating so much that I feel uncomfortable - I hate that feeling! Eat a reasonable amount of all the foods you love and enjoy - you'll enjoy them better if you're not miserable 30 minutes later because you ate too much!

The next day I'd just eat normally (assuming normal is healthy!) and drink plenty of water.

zoeysasha37

One day won't ruin everything. You may retain water afterwards, but that would be temporary. Don't sweat it, enjoy your one meal with your family and get back to your normal routine the next day.

EvanKeel

It won't destroy "everything" unless you started adjusting your intake that week. And no, it's not going to damage your metabolism. Technically, increasing your intake will raise your metabolism--just not enough to offset a significant increase in calories.

There are a couple different ways to view this.

You could:

1) Lower intake for 3-4 days before in an attempt to account for the overage.

2) Call that day a loss as far as your deficit goes, don't stress about it, and enjoy good food.

Personally I like a combination of 1 and 2. Some people really don't recover well from a day like that, though. It's very difficult for them to get back on the wagon. If you're one of those people, you may want to consider being very selective about what you eat and how much of it you eat at the special occasion.

weird_me2

It won't ruin your metabolism and I so totally wouldn't have "salad" at a place like that!

Try looking up the NI for the foods- you might be surprised that it's not as bad as it seems. The biscuits are probably way more calorie friendly than you think! Have a biscuit or two, eat your chicken - maybe just eat 2 pieces instead of 3. The potatoes are also probably not as bad as you think. Be real with your estimates and see what it'll set you back. Then, maybe add an extra 30 minutes of exercise most days of that week, plus wear a pedometer (or download a pedometer app) when you go to there and log all those extra steps. You might find that you still have a decent loss or at least no gain (after any water weight is gone).

Go, enjoy yourself!

TechNerd42

As long as that doesn't become your new normal eating pattern, go for it! When my MiL passed, I intentionally stopped weighing and logging, because I had other things to do (comforting my kids and husband, cleaning out a decade of hoarded food, etc). Of course it all happened over a weekend. Weighed myself the morning after we returned home, I'd gained 3.2lbs. By the following Saturday, I'd lost 3.6lbs. Water retention is annoying, isn't it? Moral of the story, go for it. Any bit you do gain (via water or otherwise) will disappear once you're back on the wagon. Better to enjoy the time with your family, than to spend it stressing about every ounce of food you eat. (But do try to avoid eating until you're sick, it's never as good the second time. )

RllyGudTweetr

Log it, move on. You won't wreck your diet in a day, unless you start repeating the same behaviors every day.

Ninkyou

Enjoy it, log it, and move on.

UmmSqueaky

I try not to approach logging via MFP as a formal diet - it's a lifestyle change. I'm not going to give up anything I'm not willing to live without for the rest of my life. So if this is an important part of your year, of course you should go for it. Just realize that it's a special occasion and that a gazillion calorie meals only come along every once in awhile.

The only thing I would worry about is that if you've been faithfully logging and eating less for awhile, all of that extra fat might make your stomach turn, which could then ruin the rest of your day at the park. For example, I still eat chocolate often and a cookie once or twice a week. Today, I had a piece of birthday cake with extra frosting, which had a lot more sugar than I normally do. My stomach started to rebel shortly there after. The same thing happened when I was at Universal Studios in March. After 4 months of a lot less sugar than I used to consume, a whole butter beer led to a half an hour spent in the rest room ha. If you can enjoy one biscuit, a piece or 2 of chicken and then half the mashed potatoes, your stomach will probably thank you.

corgicake

Those numbers may not be the disaster you're thinking they are. Figure out what maintenance may be for you by then, then find a map of the place and guesstimate how much walking this will be. Add the walking calories to maintenance and figure out if this will do anything more than remind your body that there is still plenty of food to be had and it doesn't need to hang on to all that weight.

Edited to add: there's also ordering off the kids menu. I do this at places like Cracker Barrel and have yet to get an odd look for it.

ParkerH47

I agree with what everyone else says. But this is what I do... I eat every single thing that I want to eat.... BUT I try not to eat a huge amount and I will take home leftovers if needed.

FireOpalCO

I have a particular love for fried chicken. I always eat it on my son's birthday and on Mother's Day (my husband brought me take-out from my favorite place on the day he was born).

Eat it, don't regret it. Chew slow and wallow in it.

robinmarkz

Thanks, everyone! I tried to find out the calories before I posted, and those wonderful biscuits are killers! You can't eat one. LOL! I can eat less chicken. And the potatoes and gravy are not too bad.

It's those biscuits! Maybe, like you said, I won't want it as much. Hope so.

And yes, the walking and activity that day is a lot! Very exhausting, which is good!

I will download a pedometer app, or just use Map My Walk like I do.

Thanks again! I think I'm gonna like it here.

All the best!