What the HE Double Hockey Sticks Happened??? and How do I

Twasney

Okay....so yesterday...may go down in the books as the worst day of my diet ever! I didn't even eat that much when I went to the pig roast and was drinking!!

No lectures about the food choices please, I am fully aware that is the problem calorie wise, but what happened in my brain yesterday to think I could keep going like that all day? This was like a day when I wasn't dieting!!! I don't want to go back there!

My big question is this.....when you royally screw yourself over one day....I can shake it off and do good again but how do I make up the INCREDIBLE deficit to try and keep myself from packing some pounds back on.

Appreciate the constructive criticism...but please leave your flaming for another forum okay, I beat myself up pretty good already! I am coming to you guys as my health "family" and looking for advice and support!

Has anyone else done this? Should I just stop being so hard on my self and start over? Can I save my week by kicking it up at the gym?

jamie1888

What's done is done! Get right back to eating well & don't try to "make up for it" by not eating. If you look at this as lifestyle change and not a diet, one bad day isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

DeeJayTJ

well the good news is... one day isnt going to make u gain all your weight back.

the bad news is... u cant eat like that anymore lol.

i had a bad day last saturday when i was at a birthday party, i ate 2 plates of bbq and about 30 sugar cookies and no workout all weekend.

dont let it get to you, all you have to do is get back on track and keep goin.

moxette

Shake it off and move on. You will absorb that quarter pound or so extra you ate with a few days back on track. But now you need to figure out how not to do it again. Did you under eat for a few days before? Or show up starving to the party? I used to drink to much as a way of destressing, it never helped! ;-)
Nobody is perfect and we all have disasters once it a while. Perfection is boring and sooooo overated anyway right?

Beebs33

Don't freak out! You are fine. Many people incorporate a cheat day or meal into their diet. I have a cheat day every week. It's actually good for your body..gives you an insulin spike. Some people say they never cheat because they can't go back to normal. Mentally I was going nuts without my cheat day and physically I could tell my body wasn't pleased because I never ate anything I was craving that was unhealthy.

So you had a cheat day...now today drink a ton of water, be healthy and exercise. Sounds good to me. Don't beat yourself up.

hbrittingham

Could you be PMSing? That's about the only time I sometimes lose it, especially when it comes to sweets.

Just buckle down and look at it as a hiccup in your road to a healthier you. It happens and if you dwell on it and don't just move on, you are being self defeating.

bdurls

If I have a day like that (and believe me, I have!) I just start fresh the next day. Just forget about it and move on. You won't be able to make up for it or anything so just get back with the healthy stuff. We are all going to have setbacks. If you feel better maybe doing a couple extra workouts, go for it! Couldn't hurt! Good luck!

wadesha

i definitely have those days where i'll eat one thing and can't stop! Do some extra running on the treadmill or outside to make up for it

Sezmo83

When I do something like this I just start over. It's done, you can't change what happens but you can get back on the wagon. By all means do some extra exercise but don't kill yourself with it.

I figure in life there are going to be occasions where I go way over on my calories for whatever reason. As long as they're rare then I don't see that as a problem to be honest.

ZebraHead

It's not how many times you fall, it's about how many times you get back up.

We all have had those days to some degree.

Just move on to today. Log what you had yesterday (as best you can).

Don't starve yourself today, continue as normal, drink your water, do your exercise. Start looking at your weekly calories instead of one single day.

This journey is all about choices. This can't be a sustainable lifestyle if we deny ourselves forever.

You will be fine. Forgive yourself and move on.

Z

Larius

You do nothing different. If, for example, you're set to lose 1lb./week, that's 3500 Calories per week. It would be really hard to eat and drink that much over your maintenance Calories in one day. At most, you might have a week to erase your fun. It's no big deal. I watch my Calories and what I eat so that I *can* go out and have fun, not to to stop myself from doing so.

kaitimae

I did the same thing on Tuesday, and I know exactly how horrible you probably feel right now. But here is the deal - one day is not going to make or break you. Don't try to overcompensate at the gym, just get back on track ASAP. You can do it! That said, getting in a good workout will probably make you feel better - just don't worry about trying to burn all the excess you ate is what I'm trying to say.

And believe me when I say I know all about beating yourself up. That is a common topic of conversation between me and my therapist, haha. Bottom line is... if one of your friends had posted this, would you beat them up and berate them? Most likely not - so don't treat yourself that way either. You deserve to be treated with respect, and that includes your own opinion of yourself.

You got this, friend. Get back in the game and keep playing hard!

IggyL

First of all, Kudos to you for logging it to be accountable to yourself and your MFP Family. Drink lots of water to help with the sodium. One bad day is not going to make you gain back a bunch of weight. Work out like normal.

What is done is done, stop beating yourself up and let it go. Get back on track today. :O)

Kimdbro

What's done is done! Get right back to eating well & don't try to "make up for it" by not eating. If you look at this as lifestyle change and not a diet, one bad day isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

That about sums it up. It's a big picture thing, not all is lost. If you're walking to the store from your house and it's 3 miles away, and 1 mile in you stumble and fall on your face, you don't walk all the way back home to begin your journey fresh again. Stand up, dust off and keep going.

StaceyL76

Here is the thing.. Some high days after several consecutive low days - I believe is a good thing. I think it signals the body that it is okay to release pounds.

I say, learn what you can from it.. think about what triggered you.. then plan for the next time that happens as to how you will handle it without the binge or a healthier choices..

You got this. The cool thing is you are aware of what happened and already taking action to prevent it and counter it.

bobbie228

Honestly I step it up on the exercise! I have cheat days where I don't log anything though. Some will disagree with my method but it is MY Method and for ME! Any how. I won't log anything those days and I will eat what I want with in reason. If I want macaroni salad I eat it, however, I don't eat a whole bowl of it I have a serving of it or half the serving. Sometimes for me it is just the taste of the item I want and I am good to go. I will also on those days do my regular workout and something extra. I never ever combine my cheat day with my rest day from exercise. LASTLY! YOU MOVE ON! You just trudge through make a note of the craziness and remind yourself of how stressed you felt today for some only good at the moment choices yesterday.

Michelle9939

What's done is done! Get right back to eating well & don't try to "make up for it" by not eating. If you look at this as lifestyle change and not a diet, one bad day isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

I agree 100% with this statement. Don't let 1 day ruin you. Just do better the next day. Make healthier food choices and exercise.

rococo11

Ok, Going by the 3,500 calories is one lb you ate less than a one pound increase in the day. If you take your goal from that you are less than .3 of a lb increase. Honestly you will probably have a a bit of a spike in weight from water retention from all the sodium. So drink a lot of water today. Maybe add an extra half hour of exercise if you feel bad. But don't worry about it too much. And I would advise not weighing yourself for a few days (not sure how often you weigh but it will only make you feel bad if you take weigh-ins as an end all). You;ll be fine.each day is a new day. Good Luck

roballesteros

Just let it go, move on....if the calorie deficit is GIANT then I wouldn't worry about making up for it in the gym. It happens to the best of us!! It's good that you have recognized that you have gotten off track temporarily but you are picking yourself up and getting right back on. It is impossible for anyone to go weeks, months, years of counting calories and working out religiously without hitting bumps in the road along the way.

Today is a new day!

alyssamiller77

I agree with the don't try to make up for it, just move on. One day of binging isn't going to really cause too much damage as long as it doesn't become a habit. Trying to make up for it is only going to lead to other unhealthy conditions that just aren't worth it. Just get yourself back on track the next dayand you'll be fine. Look at it this way, even if you went over by 2000 calories, if the rest of your week is still at you're regular deficit, you won't gain a pound and likely would still lose. So don't worry about that day so much, just focus on making sure it's an isolated event and not letting it become a regular splurge.

pearannoyed

I wouldn't worry too much about it. I was at an event over the weekend where I had no options but to eat mac and cheese and fried chicken, or just go hungry. I probably still could have come in under my calorie count, except then I also ate pumpkin pie and carrot cake. Yikes.

The next day I got back on track with my healthier eating plan, and for the last two days I've had better weight loss numbers than I have for a while.

So don't think of this a blowing your diet... think of it as reminding your body that it isn't going to starve.

lawtechie

Ditto on what everyone else said. You went 1200 calories over. Assuming you're running a planned deficit the rest of the time in order to lose weight -- this will be just a tiny blip in your weight loss journey. Who knows, it could even jump your metabolism a bit so that you see kick *kitten* weight loss next week!

suavequeen

One day at a time and don't try to undo what's been done as far as meals go. It will do more harm than good. Kick extra butt at the gym and drink tons of water in case sodium intake was high... don't want water weight to show its face and freak you out. Just know that it happens to us all and we have to stand firm and keep going. The fact that you feel so bad shows you have changed and that is awesome!

lb7970

Here's an article that might be helpful: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/sclark48.htm

Give yourself a break, more of us have had these days than you'd care to count. Sometimes the weight loss journey is long and bound to be filled with pitfalls.

funkythreads2004

I also have a weekly cheat day, its something to look forward to. However, i do cut back slightly during the week to accommodate this and do extra exercise, so in the end i don't go over my calories by loads. Weirdly, i still seem to lose my 1/2 lb after!

kasmir8199

I definitely believe you'll be just fine. NO WORRIES! Count it as a cheat day an move on. A cheat meal, usually, keeps us from going off the rocker when we're learning to live a healthier lifestyle. Many trainers would actually recommend it. My fav piece of advice from an old trainer was to make "better bad choices". We're human, we have desires, and sometimes we're limited in our food choices. Just think of a way to have a bad choice every now and then (if you're absolutely dying for it), but in such a way to make is less than 100% bad for you, if that makes any sense. For instance, if you have to have that cheeseburger, what can you do to make it a better bad choice? You can make it open-faced and only eat half of the bun or better yet, without the bun at all; you can get it without mayo, you can squeeze some of the oils out of it before eating; you can top it with fresh veggie toppings to increase your veggie intake. . .hundreds of cals can be saved.

If it'll make you feel better about it, monitor closely your intake for the rest of the week and note how you feel at the end of the day. I personally have had a LOT of success incorporating a cheat meal in my week, sometimes two. I try to stay relatively low on the intake before the cheat meal, but if I don't, I won't allow it to throw me completely off course. Stay dedicated to being active and making good food choices and you'll be fine.

Feel better.

Twasney

Thanks so much guys! I really love you and I have no idea how I would do this with out your support!

I did weight watchers but I never felt as supported or accountable as I do here! I will amp up the water (which I have got to remember to log, I have been bad for that but I do average about 8 glasses per day) and take a nice brisk walk at lunch.

Breakfast was already much better!!

dlyeates

You made a mistake, you felt out of control, and you have identified that you don't want to go back to that way of eating. You can not change it, it's done with.....NOW WHAT? Do you continue or do you start over? Today is a new day so start over.

ashesoh1234

Don't beat yourself up any more! We ALL slip to some degree. Think of it this way: you learned something really important. You learned that you you don't like how you feel afterwards. So, next time, chances are you'll decide not to eat like that. That's a valuable lesson. Honestly, you probably won't even gain any weight. This past week, I went to a birthday party and ate ice cream cake; also went to this super yummy fried chicken place and had fried chicken, fries, and bread and butter. Had a chocolate attack one night and ate nutella and dark chocolate - yum! Lost 2.2 lbs. Go figure.

infamousmk

If occassional days like this stop existing in my world, I might as well roll over and die. Parties, BBQs, weddings, 'bad' days ... are going to happen. A single day of BBQ feasting isn't going to undo all of your hard work. And IMO they're necessary days. You enjoy yourself, you eat like a king, have a bunch of beers - and the next day, life goes back to regular scheduled healthy choices. Ta-Da! You're winning!

stephyy4632

hugs brush it off and start over tomorrow

It might even be a good thing in spike your motabolism needs cheat days can be good I am planning to go out for dinner tonight and I have NO clue where we are going and I`m not going to worrie about it because I`ve been good all week and Know I`ll be right back at it tomorrow