"Just get back on the wagon!"

WitchesGuildMaster
WitchesGuildMaster Posts: 114
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
A quick question. Say perhaps someone maintaining has a TDEE of 2000. Then they have a cheat day and overeat by 3500. They panic and ask for help here and everyone tells them, don't worry! Just get back on the wagon tomorrow! Or, just log it and move on!

What exactly does that "getting back on the wagon" mean? Does it mean you continue eating 2000 calories just as if it never happened (won't that make you gain over a period of time, example if cheating once a month?) or does it mean that you work off the 3500 through the course of the week? :ohwell:

Replies

  • bluetuesday5
    bluetuesday5 Posts: 99 Member
    The first one. And no you won't gain, so long as you don't keep cheating and your target is under your TDEE.
  • WitchesGuildMaster
    WitchesGuildMaster Posts: 114
    Why would your "target" be under your tdee if maintaining weight? That would mean you DO work it off then?
  • WitchesGuildMaster
    WitchesGuildMaster Posts: 114
    Or does that mean you should always slightly undereat? Like maybe 50 cals a day below tdee just to be safe?
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
    Depends on your goals. What are your goals?
  • oneoddsock
    oneoddsock Posts: 321 Member
    It depends on how you define maintaining. If your cheat day causes you to gain a pound, are you happy to weigh a pound heavier than you did before? If so, just carry on eating your TDEE of 2000. If you're unhappy, work it off over the next few days to get back to your maintenance weight.
  • accelerashawn
    accelerashawn Posts: 470 Member
    If you consistently eat 2000 a day, then "fall off" and go to 3500...then "get back on" the next day...you'll be fine. You'll probably excrete most of the extra calories in various ways, also this could help jump start your metabolism again so you end up losing.

    Shoot I just did this. Saturday night I got a insane craving for (I wont tell you) and I went and bought one at 9:30pm...ended up eating 1700 calories worth at 10pm...then went to bed. Monday, I weighed less than ever. My weight loss has continued all week.

    Every once in a while you just need to fall off on purpose and then get back on like it never happened. Its not an exact math thing. If you try to apply math to the weight loss thing you'll go crazy. Its repeated trial and error and consistency that win the battle.
  • bluetuesday5
    bluetuesday5 Posts: 99 Member
    Apologies, that part didn't register properly. I would still just not worry about it, as TDEE isn't exact you will never be exactly at maintenance anyway and if you are happy with how you are, no need to change anything. Theoretically you would gain weight over time, so I would just start eating a little under if you notice any change.

    Also agree with the above post, often when I have stalled and get frustrated I "fall off the wagon" and it has seemed to re-initiate weight loss.
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
    I often find it easier after a heavy calorie day to eat lightly the next day or maybe even the next two days. Some people make a lifestyle of this with various forms of intermittent fasting. So if you want to eat lighter for a couple of days and you have no medical reason not to and it won't interfere with your daily life or exercise routine, go for it.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    You need to remember that your TDEE isn't a constant - it changes every day depending on your activity and exercise.

    You also need to remember that your weight isn't a constant and changes every day.

    Plus fast fluctuations in weight cannot be fat gains (unless you are over-eating in multiples of 3,500 cals!!).

    In the light of the above over-eating by 1500 once is a drop in the ocean. If over a decent period of time your weight starts to trend upwards (or downwards) then that's the time to make adjustments.

    Maintenance really needs to be sustainable which includes vacations, meals out, big exercise days etc.. For me that means if I go out to a restaurant or a special meal I will choose/eat what is the most enjoyable rather than what fits my calorie allowance for that day. On the other side of the coin on days when I have huge calorie burns from cycling I'm not compelled to stuff my face to balance the books that day.

    So "getting back on the wagon" is simply resuming your normal routine.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    I get back on the wagon buy logging, eating lighter the next day and then resuming my normal diet.
  • brynnsmom
    brynnsmom Posts: 945 Member
    I get back on the wagon buy logging, eating lighter the next day and then resuming my normal diet.

    Exactly!
  • rainbow198
    rainbow198 Posts: 2,245 Member
    Last week I celebrated both Canada Day and July 4th and I also went on a mini vacation. Even though I still exercised daily, I still went over many days with all of the lovely desserts, snacks and good food I ate and I enjoyed every bite. Even though I stayed in control, I know I gained lots of water weight and a little fat. I saw it in my face and belly.

    I got back on the wagon Sunday afternoon and for me that consists of drinking more water than usual, eating less and consuming mainly whole, healthy foods.

    The water weight is gone so now that I'm back to normal I am resuming back to my normal way of eating today. Not as strict as "getting back on the wagon", but not as loose as I was with my eating last week.

    For me this is one of the major keys to maintaining successfully. Having balance.
  • WitchesGuildMaster
    WitchesGuildMaster Posts: 114
    Thank you for all the replies! I'm not at permanent maintenance yet. (I did maintain for 6 months before deciding to lose again though, but I never went over.) This was just something I've wondered about. :smile:
  • WitchesGuildMaster
    WitchesGuildMaster Posts: 114
    Doesn't seem like there's a one size fits all, even with getting back on the wagon! :bigsmile:
  • joni41
    joni41 Posts: 1
    what does TDEE mean? also I think cheating once in awhile is ok, just dont do it too often. get back on the wagon and keep going.
  • rebeccaplatt21
    rebeccaplatt21 Posts: 175

    Every once in a while you just need to fall off on purpose and then get back on like it never happened. Its not an exact math thing. If you try to apply math to the weight loss thing you'll go crazy. Its repeated trial and error and consistency that win the battle.

    i like this! ^^
  • WitchesGuildMaster
    WitchesGuildMaster Posts: 114
    what does TDEE mean? also I think cheating once in awhile is ok, just dont do it too often. get back on the wagon and keep going.

    Total Daily Energy Expidenture.

    So if you'd set mfp to sedentary, and then include every single thing you did in the day, exercise ect, that would be your tdee! For the day. It changes depending on how much you do in the day.
  • MscGray
    MscGray Posts: 304 Member
    I would take this to mean....ok, you went of the rails on your cheat day....but get back on track, don't allow one bad day turn into 2 and then 2 into 3 etc. Get back on the wagon! With that said if you have a similar cheat day every week, then eventually it would stand to reason that the weight will creep back up as you would be eating 1500 surplus for the week unless you made adjustments through out the week. I am not even close to eating at maintenance, but if I have an event coming up that is going to press my limits, I cut 100 or so each day leading up....and I try to look at my weekly overall totals rather then day by day. Hope that helps a bit :)
  • WitchesGuildMaster
    WitchesGuildMaster Posts: 114
    I cut 100 or so each day leading up....and I try to look at my weekly overall totals rather then day by day. Hope that helps a bit :)

    That's a great idea! I however always do it in reverse. If I go over my limit, I take that number and divide it by 2 (sometimes 3 if it's a lot) and then eat that much less for the next 2 or 3 days. I always overeat before I can prepare for it.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    I think it means work it off or eat for a deficit for a couple of days to balance the week. Basically, the phrase just means "don't give up just because of one slip-up".
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
    bump
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
    http://forums.eatmore2weighless.com/showthread.php?tid=1

    If you read the link it gives a better definition of TDEE.
  • WitchesGuildMaster
    WitchesGuildMaster Posts: 114
    I have a lot of slip ups, one a week on average. I love binging on candy :P
  • Ferrous_Female_Dog
    Ferrous_Female_Dog Posts: 221 Member
    Does it mean you continue eating 2000 calories just as if it never happened?

    Yeah. That's what it means.
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
    I go by weekly totals as well. I tend to eat less during the week, because of busy schedules, etc., and I eat more on the weekends. It all averages out. Been doing this for over 10 years without gaining or losing more than 3 pounds either way (except weight I have tried to gain). It works just fine, as long as you have a healthy mindset and don't over analyze it.
  • tcamp02
    tcamp02 Posts: 61 Member
    It means what is done is done so just move on and get back on your plan. Also, just because you fall off the wagon for a meal doesn't mean it has to turn into a whole day - get back on track with the next meal. Eat according to your plan right away. Always remember that this is a lifestyle change, not a "diet", so you will have slip ups and you have to learn how to live with them and not let them derail your overall healthy lifestyle.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    Personally, I would log it and then try to hit my goal for that week. If I'm over by 1500 one day, that means I have 6 more days to try to incorporate that 1500. So I could be under 250 or so every day or I could exercise a lot more or I could do a 500 calorie deficit for 3 days.

    We all have days when we're under or over. They have to even out. You can't say 'it's a cheat day and doesn't count' and then eat all your calories every other day and think you're going to maintain.
  • EuphonyChloeH
    EuphonyChloeH Posts: 107 Member
    Get back on the wagon means jump back into your everyday, healthy routine. If your daily routine is 2000 a day plus a good workout, there's your wagon. You can't really make up for a bad day without depriving yourself, so it's best just to get back on your routine. Kind of like tricking your body into thinking nothing happened :)
  • Azurite27
    Azurite27 Posts: 554 Member
    If you regularly have a cheat meal/snack you may want to save your calories over the week (undereat by 50-100 calories a day for 5 or 6 days) and then plan to go over by that amount on your cheat day. Then your weekly calories should balance out and you'll maintain. If you just happen to go over by a couple hundred calories once in a great while, just don't sweat it.

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