new and feeling defeated

teacher_transformation

Hi! I have recently been making conscious choices about my health. However, I have fallen off the wagon today. I bought my fitbit to help me get some accurate calorie counts. In the last two days I have overeaten by 1217 total. My deficit is 410 calories per day. This means that I am 397 or roughly 400 calories ABOVE maintenance. How would you suggest getting back on track. I am dkscouraged because I was so ready for a fresh start and I feel like a failure. I am planning to workout tonight which could potentially put me right back on track, although, maybe not. Any suggestions? Did.anyone.else start off shaky like me?

Kegha

View tomorrow as a fresh start, no point beating yourself on the head, it happens. Plan your meals in advance, try to see what fits in your calorie goal, this prevent over eating.

teacher_transformation

View tomorrow as a fresh start, no point beating yourself on the head, it happens. Plan your meals in advance, try to see what fits in your calorie goal, this prevent over eating.

Thank you! I just feel like it is too early to be messing up. Ugh!

Heatherybit

View tomorrow as a fresh start, no point beating yourself on the head, it happens. Plan your meals in advance, try to see what fits in your calorie goal, this prevent over eating.

Agreed! You can't change yesterday, but you can make a choice at your next meal and the one after that.

kmariet7

Definitely plan your meals in advance so you know how many calories for snacking! It tough learning new habits so don't go too hard on yourself! You can do it!

teacher_transformation

Thanks for the support!

healthygreek

You will eat too much at times during your weightloss journey.
People who are ultimately successful are the ones that just go right back to eating at their calorie goal.
It's ok! It's human! Just forget it and move on.
Just make sure that your calorie goal is appropriate to your weight, height and work-outs so you are eating enough to sustain you.

skinnysushicat

If you are new to all this, and new to your fitbit, maybe for a week or so you should just track what's going on. See what you eat by logging accurately, see how many steps you do on work / nonwork days, see how you feel when you look at your graphs and see how many calories you are over your weekly goal. I founf it easier to gradually reduce the calories I was eating (which was way too many!) that give them up all in one go.

ALso, even by making the decision to start, you have taken the first step. This is not a failure - it is a reconnaissance exercise so you know where you are, and where you want to get to.

Watermelon_Crush

View tomorrow as a fresh start, no point beating yourself on the head, it happens. Plan your meals in advance, try to see what fits in your calorie goal, this prevent over eating.

Thank you! I just feel like it is too early to be messing up. Ugh!

Hey now...or you could look at it from the point of view that it's the most likely time you will mess up because it's still new and you're still learning

I would definitely agree with the poster above who said just track for say 2 weeks, even if you are going over, and then look back at the records of the two weeks as a whole and it will probably be easier to see where you can shave some cals off.

teacher_transformation

View tomorrow as a fresh start, no point beating yourself on the head, it happens. Plan your meals in advance, try to see what fits in your calorie goal, this prevent over eating.

Thank you! I just feel like it is too early to be messing up. Ugh!

Hey now...or you could look at it from the point of view that it's the most likely time you will mess up because it's still new and you're still learning

I would definitely agree with the poster above who said just track for say 2 weeks, even if you are going over, and then look back at the records of the two weeks as a whole and it will probably be easier to see where you can shave some cals off.

Thank you so much all the above advice is so belpful and encouraging, I do appreciate it.

ahoy_m8

Sure, I'm shaky sometimes. Most of the time, though, I'm really happy and comfortable sticking to my plan. (I agree, having a plan makes it much, much easier to avoid going way off course.) It is said that self control is like a muscle that can be trained to be stronger and that can give out under stress. Start new tomorrow. As you practice self control, it will get stronger. Don't over-stress it, though (i.e. set reasonable goals). Your shaky episodes will grow fewer and farther between. You can erase a 400 kcal surplus in a day with your normal deficit. It's not a long term setback.

Another commenter gave what I thought was really good advice. If you feel yourself veering off your plan for more than a day, switch to a maintenance diet for your target weight for a week. It will give you a break (and room for modest treats) without losing ground. Good luck!

SLLRunner

Hi! I have recently been making conscious choices about my health. However, I have fallen off the wagon today. I bought my fitbit to help me get some accurate calorie counts. In the last two days I have overeaten by 1217 total. My deficit is 410 calories per day. This means that I am 397 or roughly 400 calories ABOVE maintenance. How would you suggest getting back on track. I am dkscouraged because I was so ready for a fresh start and I feel like a failure. I am planning to workout tonight which could potentially put me right back on track, although, maybe not. Any suggestions? Did.anyone.else start off shaky like me?

It's going to be okay You just got your fitbit and are learning how it works. Also, have you set your goals up in MFP to lose a certain amount per week? If so, that's a great start too. Weight all your portion and ensure that you logging using correct entires. Work hard to stay within your goals one day at a time. it takes time, practice, and accuracy. You can do it!

teacher_transformation

Sure, I'm shaky sometimes. Most of the time, though, I'm really happy and comfortable sticking to my plan. (I agree, having a plan makes it much, much easier to avoid going way off course.) It is said that self control is like a muscle that can be trained to be stronger and that can give out under stress. Start new tomorrow. As you practice self control, it will get stronger. Don't over-stress it, though (i.e. set reasonable goals). Your shaky episodes will grow fewer and farther between. You can erase a 400 kcal surplus in a day with your normal deficit. It's not a long term setback.

Another commenter gave what I thought was really good advice. If you feel yourself veering off your plan for more than a day, switch to a maintenance diet for your target weight for a week. It will give you a break (and room for modest treats) without losing ground. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for all the advice!! I am starting to take it one day at a time. Slowly but surely!!

Ldbg289

I lost about 25 pounds in my first few months but then proceeded to gain it all back over holidays but knew I didn't wanna quit, not this time.

grandloves

Look at it this way: at least you caught your mistake early before it could really set you back. 2 days over maitenance won't affect much, it will all balance out. Good luck on your journey.

MrsATrotta

Don't be so hard on yourself, the first thing you need to understand this is not about beating yourself up. If you have a good day feel good and if you have a day where you need a piece of cheesecake then eat it. Just know the HEALTHY stuff is your lifestyle and that cake is the TREAT. It's all about balance.