When You Blow Your Cal Count

Deipneus

I find myself sitting here think "Ok if I have a 400 calorie dinner I've only gone over by 200 calories and that won't cause any gain just slow my loss per week goal. Just swim some extra laps tomorrow."

It's even better than that. Caloric estimates on food packaging are just that, estimates. 200 calories is for most people within tolerance. A win for you.

ddkphotos

it happens. don't beat yourself up... move on - fresh new day tomorrow - and you can even try to go back to a healthier dinner...
just don't let it get you in a bad choices downward spiral... it's just one meal... move on...

brower47

Um so I may or may not have hit up Burger King instead of eating the sandwich and fruit I brought for lunch leaving myself 200 calories for the day. (I did have a healthy breakfast and morning snack.) Of course I hate myself and feel like crap (emotionally and physically) for eating junk now. I'm trying to break from the vicious cycle of doing this to my body. For those of you have overcome life long battles with food, how did you handle backslide moments? How do you keep 1 bad choice for a meal from turning into a bad day or day week?

I find myself sitting here think "Ok if I have a 400 calorie dinner I've only gone over by 200 calories and that won't cause any gain just slow my loss per week goal. Just swim some extra laps tomorrow."

The bolded was your first mistake. Do not let food make you feel. Your second was in looking at any food as 'junk'. It's just food. It might warp your macro goal for the day but that's only ONE day. Just focus on the next day and maybe eat something that nutritionally dense.

If you change these two viewpoints, you might break your vicious cycle. I used to think exactly like this. It took some time but I stopped telling myself that I'd ruined my progress. You didn't ruin anything. You just had some food and went over your calories a bit. How much is that really setting you back? Are you over by 200? So if you are thinking of some imaginary end date, you've set yourself back by what? Half a day? That's nothing; completely insignificant.

When you eat those indulgence foods, ENJOY them. And then when you've finished, say to yourself, actually say it out loud, "That was good. I like that I was able to eat that and know that I haven't ruined my weight loss. I'm glad I let myself enjoy life. Now, let's go do something else."

You didn't ruin anything. The only ruin that can come from it is if you let your feelings overwhelm your rationality. I used to do that but don't any longer. Thrust me, you'll be much happier if you manage to do it too.

misskarne

I had McDonalds for breakfast this morning. And not a little meal either - sausage mcmuffin and quite a few hashbrowns too. Yum yum, one of my favourite parts of the weekend!

But I also am not having lunch (the breakfast leaves me full for most of the day), and I'll eat well at dinner tonight, and kaboom, I'll be fine. In the afternoon I will be dancing around in my house a lot as I clean (I'm a bit of a neatfreak) and tonight I'll do my pilates and my crunches.

I fell off the bandwagon the first couple of times when I thought that this whole weight-loss shebang meant never eating anything I loved again. This time around, I'm still eating the way I liked - I just use the junk food as a reward for a great week. And I'm losing again, and enjoying it more! (And confusing my parents, but that's another story.)

nicsflyingcircus

Um so I may or may not have hit up Burger King instead of eating the sandwich and fruit I brought for lunch leaving myself 200 calories for the day. (I did have a healthy breakfast and morning snack.) Of course I hate myself and feel like crap (emotionally and physically) for eating junk now. I'm trying to break from the vicious cycle of doing this to my body. For those of you have overcome life long battles with food, how did you handle backslide moments? How do you keep 1 bad choice for a meal from turning into a bad day or day week?

I find myself sitting here think "Ok if I have a 400 calorie dinner I've only gone over by 200 calories and that won't cause any gain just slow my loss per week goal. Just swim some extra laps tomorrow."

I don't think of it as backsliding. I went out to dinner tonight with friends and consciously chose to spend 400 calories on beer alone, lol. Plus 1/4 small pizza and a caesar salad. 920 calories later... whatever. This is a lifestyle change and I am still at a deficit, if not as big a one as I'd like. Even if I wasn't still at a deficit, it's nothing to panic about.

There is no way I am living the rest of my life a hostage to food!

1LadyKate

I downloaded a note taking app on my phone that all I record is fast food places that I like to eat and a reasonable meal i can order and exactly how many calories the entire meal is.

That way I don't worry if I am over eating. However if I feel having french fries instead of apples, I will try to make sure and cut down a little bit over the next couple of days like another poster said.

doctorsookie

Girl, I just overshot my daily calorie allotment by over a grand and I didn't bat an eye. The o ly regret I have is the tummy ache I can feel coming on. I was celebrating tonight so I treated my self but with as many days I am under its not going to set me back. Days like these are going to happen so the important thing to do is learn to cope with them now. So you enjoyed some yummy food...you eat well most days so no big deal. You should also teach yourself to incorporate fast food into your new lifestyle. You certainly aren't going to avoid fast food for the next fifty years...right? So why avoid them now when you are actively losing weight. Learn to eat everything you love in moderation and you'll watch the pounds come off and stay happy and satisfied while you do. Now stop feeling bad and enjoy your night. Lots of love to you!

JilJon

Oh the despair! I know the feeling so well.. i've had a not so good week but have worked hard to repair the damage.. for example, if I have eaten 300 cals over my daily calorie limit, I have entered 100 cals over the next three days .. I then allow myself to complete my diary for the day under my calorie content.. then over the next three days I do extra exercise to 'consume' the 300 cals I've overeaten.. I have struggled a bit this week and have entered quite a bit in the following days.. Finally I was able to catch up and I started today from scratch.. My weekly average remained in tact and I had time to work through it .. I have yet to do my measurements to see if I've succeeded in losing whilst 'amortising' my calories.. I don't really mind if I haven't lost.. The goal was maintaining control over the whole of the week and not letting one day of overeating blow the whole diet.. I am back in control and feel fantastic for getting through.

LAT1963

200 calories is low enough that you could walk for less than an hour to clear your ledger.

arnostbilej

It's a process, really ... I've never had this issue with food, but there are other things in my life that I have to stay away from completely or they will send me into days-long binges. So I completely understand that once you give in to the temptation, it just seems like a good idea to continue because that's what makes you happy (even though deep down you may feel guilty or hate yourself, let's face it, giving to the temptation filled a certain void).

Just keep trying, accept that you will lose a few battles from time to time, and don't consider failure the end of the world. Unless you completely throw in the towel, you will find yourself giving in less and less frequently, and, in the process, you will win the war. Good luck and stay positive!

PapaChanoli

Here's what I do: I forgive myself and move on. ONE MEAL isn't going to ruin your day. Have a sensible dinner, log everything, drink some extra water to counteract the excess sodium, and start fresh tomorrow.

Trust me on this... I've done it many times over the last several months, and have still made good progress.

Awesome answer.

PapaChanoli

Um so I may or may not have hit up Burger King instead of eating the sandwich and fruit I brought for lunch leaving myself 200 calories for the day. (I did have a healthy breakfast and morning snack.) Of course I hate myself and feel like crap (emotionally and physically) for eating junk now. I'm trying to break from the vicious cycle of doing this to my body. For those of you have overcome life long battles with food, how did you handle backslide moments? How do you keep 1 bad choice for a meal from turning into a bad day or day week?

I find myself sitting here think "Ok if I have a 400 calorie dinner I've only gone over by 200 calories and that won't cause any gain just slow my loss per week goal. Just swim some extra laps tomorrow."

I crunched a couple of numbers. If the OP followed through and ate a 400 calorie dinner, only going over by 200 calories, that 200 calories would only equal about 0.1 of a pound. She said she is set at 1.5 pounds loss per week. Assuming that she was at her goal every other day of the week, that would change her loss for the week to 1.4 pounds for that week. (At least, according to the math)

That's so minimal that I find it encouraging just to realize that. In the end the weight is still coming off, and the impact isn't even noticeable with the way weight fluctuates from one day to another.

If the OP sees this, I hope that's some small encouragement.