What would happen if i eat?

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nerchk
nerchk Posts: 136 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
We all know its december and im really finding it hard to stick to my eating plan, (like i ever had any) anyway. What would happen if i never worried about food and ate whatever i wanted and continued gym for an hour or more a day? Its really not a question about weightloss but mainly about not gaining during the festive season.

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  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Eating whatever you wanted probably was the problem in the first place. Think about how many calories you burn at the gym and you'll see it doesn't take much over eating to undo that. One thing you'll never do is out exercise a bad diet. Why not eat in moderation and use portion control? Keep logging so you have an idea of how much you're consuming. Tis the season to be jolly, not pig out.
  • wibutterflymagic
    wibutterflymagic Posts: 788 Member
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    Eating whatever you wanted probably was the problem in the first place. Think about how many calories you burn at the gym and you'll see it doesn't take much over eating to undo that. One thing you'll never do is out exercise a bad diet. Why not eat in moderation and use portion control? Keep logging so you have an idea of how much you're consuming. Tis the season to be jolly, not pig out.

    I agree. Not bothering to watch what we ate is what got us here in the first place. What I've done is changed my goal to lose only 1/2lb/week and that added about 200 calories per day for me. I figured why make it really difficult during this time of lots of food. I'm still being watchful of how much of the treats I eat but I'm not going to not eat something if I really want it.

    There's no reason you/we can eat many of the things that will be coming our way, but do it in a much smarter way. Portion control and determine what you really want out of all the options. No mindless eating!
  • DrMAvDPhD
    DrMAvDPhD Posts: 2,097 Member
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    It depends on how much food falls into "whatever you want". I never was a huge volume eater, so it took years for my weight to crawl up past acceptable. I probably only was eating 10-50 cal/day over maintenance on average, so taking a month off wouldn't set me back too far. If your "whatever" is more like 500 cal/day over maintenance, you can gain a lot back in 30 days.
  • nerchk
    nerchk Posts: 136 Member
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    You girls are really being honest. U reminded me why i am here. damn why do u have to be so honest? But i will take your advise and not work my butt off in the morning only to undo it during lunch and super, I will always bear that in mind
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    We all know its december and im really finding it hard to stick to my eating plan, (like i ever had any) anyway. What would happen if i never worried about food and ate whatever i wanted and continued gym for an hour or more a day? Its really not a question about weightloss but mainly about not gaining during the festive season.

    The answers totally depends on what you want to eat.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    ...What would happen if i never worried about food and ate whatever i wanted and continued gym for an hour or more a day? Its really not a question about weightloss but mainly about not gaining during the festive season.
    As the saying goes, "You can't out-train a bad diet". The calorie deficit you create while working out can easily be wiped out by one meal. An intense two-hour workout will burn maybe 1,000 calories - eat a big burger and an order of fries and you've just obliterated those calories plus some. Nothing wrong with loosening up a bit and eating some of what you want through the holidays (if you can handle eating some without eating it ALL!), but if you're trying to stay on top of your weight it would be best to stick with the "everything in moderation" approach.
  • caseythirteen
    caseythirteen Posts: 956 Member
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    Keep in mind how proud you will be of yourself if you stick to it this holiday season. That's not to say you can't have an indulgence here or there, but if you keep up your exercise and stay on track eating wise, you will come through this season knowing you are strong and can do this. The taste of all the drinks & treats will be a distant memory but what you can take away from it if you don't just pig out is that you are capable of what it takes. I think if you give yourself permission to let it go for now, you won't ultimately be happy with yourself for it.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    Another person suggested going to maintainence and eating your exercise calories during the holiday season. I think that is one good plan for enjoying yourself without things getting out of hand.

    I might also consider eating what you want, but logging. I find just the discipline of logging makes me more thoughtful and also educates me about my choices. Like, for example, that the brand of eggnog I normally buy has almost 1/3 my day's calories in a little tiny glass. Without the rum!

    So yes, I'll definitely drink a glass. But not 3.
  • firemanfive0
    firemanfive0 Posts: 228 Member
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    eat what you want..just in moderation. Let's take a peach pie that is double crust. trim the 1/4 of a pie slice to that of an 1/8. Just eat the top crust and the filling. Have a nice cup of coffee or tea with that and to me you have enjoyed a wonderful dessert. This is how I still eat most everything I did before...Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich 524cals...order it with no mayo and then remove the top bun, you have removed close to 135cals from it. But by all means stay on track and dont let all you hard work go for nothing...you have accomplished so much...so for that BE PROUD!
  • lorcart
    lorcart Posts: 406 Member
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    You can't outexercise a bad diet.
  • mominwi419
    mominwi419 Posts: 87
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    To me, it's more important how I eat the other 50 weeks of the year.

    I am continuing to stay very active this holiday season. But, there are a few days where I am not going to worry about calories AT ALL.

    Yesterday (friend's birthday/engagement party), Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.

    I didn't lose 169 pounds in 3 days and I won't gain that much in 3 days either.
  • skyttles
    skyttles Posts: 33 Member
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    It depends on how much food falls into "whatever you want". I never was a huge volume eater, so it took years for my weight to crawl up past acceptable. I probably only was eating 10-50 cal/day over maintenance on average, so taking a month off wouldn't set me back too far. If your "whatever" is more like 500 cal/day over maintenance, you can gain a lot back in 30 days.

    Totally agree with this! I'm the type of person that if i stop caring, I'd eat around 1000+ calories more a day than i should (and enjoy every moment of it) ! Unfortunately that's completely unhealthy and horribly detrimental to my ultimate goals. Also, doing this would completely ruin any habits that were already put in place or those that were starting to form ... which makes any future efforts that much harder!

    Stay on track, practice moderation, and remember all the hard work is completely worth it in the end! :)
  • electricello
    electricello Posts: 40 Member
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    I can tell you precisely what will happen - you will gain weight back, just like I did when I fell off the wagon in July. I quit caring, quit tracking, ate whatever I wanted, etc. Now I am struggling to get back into the routine I was before. It isn't easy. I almost think it's better not to go back to the old ways, because they are way too comfortable and make it hard to get back on track afterwards.

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