Cheat Day Damage Control

cmw72
cmw72 Posts: 390 Member
edited September 20 in Health and Weight Loss
I think I'm going to have to classify today as a cheat day.

I didn't start out that way, but I wound up about 1200 calories over my limit anyways. A spontaneous date-night with the wife to see Ironman 2 (which was awesome) led me to eat about 2/3 of a bag of medium popcorn (no extra butter or salt at least) and a container of Dibs. I was already heading for a big sodium overload (about 3000mg over the limit) anyways, and all the junk food didn't help matters.

On the plus side, I spent about 4.5 hours at the gym last night and managed to burn over 2000 calories. Add to that the fact that I only managed to eat about 1400 calories yesterday (though I did drink a ton of water). Also, even with my extra 1200 calories today, I'm still slightly under my RMR. I'm planning on spending another four hours at the gym tomorrow as well.

I'm just wondering how bad the damage will be.

I have no regrets, but if there's any healthy way to mitigate the damage, I'm open to suggestion.

Replies

  • Whiskey5JDA
    Whiskey5JDA Posts: 37
    I usually try to go to the gm that day or the next. i work out 3 times a week so i may do a extra workout if my schedule permits me. if not i try to eat a little less for the next few days. also you can still make smart choices even at the movies or the ballgame.
  • bekah1301
    bekah1301 Posts: 48 Member
    I always find the most important thing to do after a bad day is to pretend it didn't happen - i.e., don't mess up your body by starving yourself, and remember that you're trying to lose/maintain weight over time - you see your best results over a week or a month and usually one day of falling off the bandwagon every now and then doesn't do any harm. As long as it doesn't happen too often there's no need to beat yourself up over it :)
    (Plus, 4.5 hours at the gym?!? Well done! I think I'd only ever have the motivation to work out for that long if I got locked in over night :P)
  • HealthyChanges2010
    HealthyChanges2010 Posts: 5,831 Member
    I'd say let it go meaning that in several ways, you shared you're going to the gym again tonight for several hours that'll help & get lots of water in to help get rid of that sodium, and just plan to weigh yourself next week or so. On the otherside of letting it go, let go of any guilt, anxiety etc, realize you enjoyed time with your wife saw a good flick, had a few movie treats and are dealing with damage control. end of story!:wink::tongue:

    Know what I mean? :wink:

    Sometimes we hang onto something far longer than needed and then it becomes a weekend junkfest, then a week of junk. I think you've made some smart plans on what you need and want to do to sort through ridding your body of the salt etc. Another HUGE part to the cleanup is keeping on top of making out your food diary so you have a plan in place everyday so you know exactly what your meals are and to keep on top of that sodium each day and toss in lots of fruits and veggies & grains.

    Cheers for changes in your thinking, probably not long ago you'd not have worried about eating that way, so congrats for the progress!!:drinker: :wink:

    Becca:flowerforyou:
  • sonjavon
    sonjavon Posts: 1,019 Member
    I completely agree with the "let it go" advice. We all have those days... Not last night - but the Friday before... we ordered pizza. I'm generally pretty good at having my salad and a slice or two of pizza. Not that day... I ate all but one piece of a spinach alfredo and chicken pizza. There was no "making up" for that. So - the next day I drank as much water as I possibly could and really watched my sodium. It didn't stall out my weight loss... I lost 1.2 lbs this week.

    Remember that healthy people occasionally have these days too... and they don't feel bad about it... they don't even purposely try to to make up for it - they just pick up where they left off.

    Hope that you and your wife enjoyed your movie!
  • amtrust
    amtrust Posts: 178
    You can always...."begin again now."

    Yes, go ahead and let it go...
    :happy:
  • kellykat
    kellykat Posts: 180 Member
    Drink tons of water to flush out the extra sodium. Enjoy the fact that you had a great time yesterday, but that yesterday is over and now you need to get back to your plan. Don't stress over a fun day. You have to indulge every now and then!
  • Dana_W
    Dana_W Posts: 1
    Have to admit this week has been really bad. It's been really busy at work (office job) with easy to access to free vending machine hot drinks (hmm hot chocolate) is not good :sad: , although only slipped up twice this week! otherwise have been sticking to herbal teas (which increases my water intake i think??) and cold water. Bad times though when it's someones birthday and there's cake in he office! only a small slice consumed though (VERY good for me! as it was chocolate) , but other days this week have been rubbish with hardly any exercise taken. Good point tho, although havent lost any weight (it's my first week of weigh in) have maintained at the same weight, so it's not all bad i dont think? Plan to recover, but am stuck at desk all weekend studying....think stocking up and fruit is a must, and to hide the chocolate! wish me luck :smile:
  • Mom2Emery_Liam
    Mom2Emery_Liam Posts: 149
    I always remind myself tomorrow is a new day. I don't let it get to me like it did before- It doesn't defeat me. Drink plenty of water and exercise like usual. One mess up isn't going to cause you to gain unless you continue to go over by that much several times a week.
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