How bad is going over one day?

Maelay

Hi everyone. Today I ran 3.1 miles in 39 minutes. That's the good news. To reward myself, this evening I got Starbucks and a slice of pound cake. I've not really cheated at all since starting the diet, and wanted to reward myself. Long story short is that I will end up going over my calorie limit today. I didn't realize ( I know I should have checked MFP) that combined what I got would set me over. I don't really want to starve myself tonight to avoid going over, but I'm worried what it will do to my progress. Have I totally messed up?

loneworg

Hi everyone. Today I ran 3.1 miles in 39 minutes. That's the good news. To reward myself, this evening I got Starbucks and a slice of pound cake. I've not really cheated at all since starting the diet, and wanted to reward myself. Long story short is that I will end up going over my calorie limit today. I didn't realize ( I know I should have checked MFP) that combined what I got would set me over. I don't really want to starve myself tonight to avoid going over, but I'm worried what it will do to my progress. Have I totally messed up?

Don't worry going over every so often is fine

jenndymond

One day is not going to kill you. Enjoy it. Stay on track!

ceejay000

Based on what you set as your goals, MFP has you at a 500-1000 (for 1-2 lb/week) calorie deficit per day. If you went over one day, you're still going to have an overall calorie deficit. Don't worry about it.

TheRealParisLove

If you are over on your calories, you don't need to be concerned about starving yourself. In order to fall into a starvation category you need to eat way under you calories for weeks on end. If you just want to skip your last meal of the day, it won't harm you at all.

I like to practice that exact thing; it's called intermittent fasting. The idea is to not eat for 12-16 hours, then eating all your calories in a relatively small time window, say 4-8 hours and then just stop eating again until the next day.

Or, if you are way over, just try to even out the overage over the week, adding in a little more exercise or a little bit more of a deficit each day until you are back to even again.

ktdiddy

Before I started MFP, I always used to beat myself up whenever I screwed up my eating for the day. I firmly believe getting over the need to do this and just accepting that I am only human has been one of the main reasons that I have lost so much weight.
Just remember that one day will not put ALL the weight back on. In my experience, not even one week!

just4nessa

I go over my goal by a good amount about once a month and it hasn't hindered my weight loss. Don't starve yourself tonight. Just be honest with yourself, log what you had and move on. And congrats on the great run time!

LiftAllThePizzas

It's not bad unless you want it to be. You're probably already eating at a deficit, so unless you ate the whole pound cake you likely won't be gaining anything. All you've done is 'delay' when you will reach your goal by however many calories you went over. If you are in a race to get to your 'goal weight' then maybe it wouldn't be worth it to you, but you also want to find a way of living that keeps you both healthy AND happy otherwise you won't want to maintain it. Another option (if you're in a hurry) is to make up the difference over the next day or few, depending on how much you went over.

There are plenty of threads on "cheat days" and the different approaches people have or that they don't do it at all. You have to decide if it works for you. If doing so keeps you healthy, happy, and sane, then enjoy the occasional treat and keep on!

viccigb

Don't sweat it. It's not worth living if you can't have a treat every now and then. You're doing great!!!

KevinLamb77

Ruined it. You should give up now, and save yourself the time.

kregerems

If I'm not mistaken, it actually is good to change up and be over your calorie count once in a while. So I wouldn't sweat it. Keep up the good work.

ironanimal

You've probably created thousands of calories worth of deficit and gone over by a few hundred today. Big picture, doesn't matter at all.

wvval

One day is no big deal. I look at the week as a whole. You're fine:)

PikaKnight

No one got fat in day. It'll be okay.

slepygrl

Did you get fat in 1 day with only 1 meal? No! So you won't gain it all back in one day with one meal.

Great run btw!! You should feel good about that!!!

RachelM384

don't be a slave to counting your cal. use it as a tool and live your life you are on the right track, getting down about one day is not looking at the big pic

krickeyuu

"Clean cup, clean cup, move down" the Mad Hatter, Alice in Wonderland

MizSaz

If you tripped going down a flight of stairs, and you managed to catch yourself, would you hurl yourself down the rest of them just because you had missed one step? Probably not. A few calories over one day is not going to break you unless you let it. Starving yourself over a slice of poundcake is nonsense.

Nina1007

You're doing great. A calorie spike will do ya good. You just feel a little guilty, but like everyone else (that matters) said, it's not going to ruin ya.

jerbear1962

You'll be fine..as many have said already. Have a great night.

Maelay

Well, I just realized I'm only going to go over by 150. I guess it's not as big of a deal as I thought it was. I have had issues in the past where I would freak out that my diet was ruined by one day, and then one day would turn into two, and so on. At least this time I didn't relapse and eat a whole bag of chocolate and a bag of potato chips...

kimosabe1

A for effort! U got moving.......

contingencyplan

It depends on how you see your limit. My "limit" to me isn't a limit. It's a goal to reach and in order to ensure things work as planned I make it a point to eat enough to put it just slightly into the red whenever possible.

kdeaux1959

Well, I just realized I'm only going to go over by 150. I guess it's not as big of a deal as I thought it was. I have had issues in the past where I would freak out that my diet was ruined by one day, and then one day would turn into two, and so on. At least this time I didn't relapse and eat a whole bag of chocolate and a bag of potato chips...

One day is no problem at all.. even if you went wayyyy over. 150. Not a problem at all.

timmemin

One day is by no means a reason to be upset. If you are really really worried about going over, do a small workout this evening. Otherwise, don't worry. Make sure to log it all and never EVER starve yourself. Just tell yourself that you are stronger and have already progressed. Keep going and realize that there will be a slip up or two along the way. Most of all, do not feel guilty. Sometimes a small slip up is well worth it!

lainiedai

Congrats on the progress you've made thus far and the answer is no you have not messed up everything in moderation enjoy your treat without guilt and resume tomorrow on schedule

bridgewife

Just forgive yourself and let it go. You have been sticking to the plan for a long time and that has built a great habit. But stuff happens and what you do NOW is the most important thing. Are you going to judge yourself harshly and quit? Probably not. I would be more worried that you don't see any weight gain from your slip up, and then slide into a pattern of thinking you can eat more with no consequences. That is how I usually found myself derailing. You have to trust the data and stay with your original goals, and be able to allow yourself a day every (month/two weeks/etc.) to derail but no more than that.

verptwerp

One thing you SHOULD watch out for are any cravings that might stem from the cake ....... 99% chance you'll be fine & feel nothing ....... 1% chance that you'll be looking around for something else sweet to eat for a few days .......

Happens to me all the time ......you'd think I'd learn to stay away from the stuff :laugh: