How to recover from a slipup?:(

DreamChaser9717
DreamChaser9717 Posts: 32
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been trying to stay under my calorie goal since the beginning of the month and I've always had eating issues to its amazing that I actually went a week in succeeding. Then my usual urges flared up and last night I had a huge pasta meal, over my calories, this morning I ate too much, and this afternoon I snacked on an unacceptable amount of junk. Now I feel uncomfortably stuffed and sad:( this morning I weighed myself after last night's meal (i know i shouldntand im trying not to) and I had gained back 2.5 of my progress pounds and now probably even more because of the rest I've eaten today:( I know the weight isnt actually all fat and is probably mostly food and water weight, but i still cant help from being bummed. I just don't know what to do in order to recover and still have a loss for my next weigh in on Friday, but I desperately need it as I'll be going on vacation! Any wise or been-there advice would be greatly appreciated, because this one horrible habit has always been my downfall. If anyone's ever done this but still had a loss at the next weigh in please tell me how you achieved that. Thankyou!!

Replies

  • TheHealthyVegetarianGirl
    TheHealthyVegetarianGirl Posts: 3 Member
    Hi Dream chaser, I completely agree with PU_239, you just have to draw a line under it and carry on as nothing has happened.

    You could try doing a couple of things to make you feel better (worth a try) . For example you could try eating a 'mood boosting food' such as porridge oats tomorrow morning for breakfast and just start from there. Also, drink loads of water as well because you've probably eaten a lot of salt as well.

    And perhaps get out and do some exercise tomorrow if you can. It always makes me feel better mentally and it will help to burn of some extra cals as well.

    Good luck and don't beat yourself up (easier said than done I know)
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Why so many words?
    Log it and move on.
  • aj445
    aj445 Posts: 183 Member
    you didn't gain 2.5lbs of fat from a little overeating for 2 days. Just go back to your normal :) pretend it didn't happen.
  • DreamChaser9717
    DreamChaser9717 Posts: 32
    Hi Dream chaser, I completely agree with PU_239, you just have to draw a line under it and carry on as nothing has happened.

    You could try doing a couple of things to make you feel better (worth a try) . For example you could try eating a 'mood boosting food' such as porridge oats tomorrow morning for breakfast and just start from there. Also, drink loads of water as well because you've probably eaten a lot of salt as well.

    And perhaps get out and do some exercise tomorrow if you can. It always makes me feel better mentally and it will help to burn of some extra cals as well.

    Good luck and don't beat yourself up (easier said than done I know)
    Thankyou guys:) Iknow some of you don't understand why I'm so bothered by this, but is because days like this have caused me to be back at my starting point before! So thankyou to you for actually giving me advice! I know I shouldn't let it bother me because I'ts not logical and I'm trying quite hard to shift my thinking into that mentality.
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    It's just a day. There will be other days, and you are in control of what happens in them.
  • chrissi024
    chrissi024 Posts: 12 Member
    My favorite quote right now is " You haven't failed until you have stopped trying." Pick yourself backup, refocus on your goals, and just do it! Also dont try to go under your calorie limit. You need to make sure you dont feel deprived by not eating enough calories. I had to up mine a bit because I was not eating enough. Since then I have been losing weight again. Your going to have bad days but are you going to let that ruin your goals?
  • GG70
    GG70 Posts: 232 Member
    Look.. reality is that it takes 3500 EXTRA cals over your regular cals to maintain your weight to even gain 1 pound.. so perspective here.. You cannot lose 2.5 lbs in 2 days and you can't gain that in 2 days.. so move on.. drink water, eat lots of protein and get some exercise. RECOVER from your screw up or you really will gain weight. People have indulgence days..no big deal.
  • freelancejouster
    freelancejouster Posts: 478 Member
    Just go back to your plan before (make sure you're eating enough then - not netting less than 1200) and get back on the horse. I've had one bad day since starting almost a month ago (I ate 600 cals over my limit) and then a few days about a week ago where I was consistently about 150 cals over. Just get back on the horse.
  • DreamChaser9717
    DreamChaser9717 Posts: 32
    My favorite quote right now is " You haven't failed until you have stopped trying." Pick yourself backup, refocus on your goals, and just do it! Also dont try to go under your calorie limit. You need to make sure you dont feel deprived by not eating enough calories. I had to up mine a bit because I was not eating enough. Since then I have been losing weight again. Your going to have bad days but are you going to let that ruin your goals?
    No I won't!:) I will keep going and succeed this time, thankyou!
  • VickyO1977
    VickyO1977 Posts: 156 Member
    Visualise your goal tell yourself you are worth it and remind yourself how much it means to you! We all have days where we over indulge the important thing is that you recognise it and don't want to continue that in itself is half the battle. Tomorrow is a fresh day drink plenty of water tell yourself you can and will do this and get back on track. I believe you can do this stay strong x
  • TArnold2012
    TArnold2012 Posts: 929 Member
    Reflect on why you made the choice to indulge and make it a learning experience. After that let it go.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
    Get out of the house, away from your snacking triggers, and do something new, today, now. Distractions help.
  • DreamChaser9717
    DreamChaser9717 Posts: 32
    Visualise your goal tell yourself you are worth it and remind yourself how much it means to you! We all have days where we over indulge the important thing is that you recognise it and don't want to continue that in itself is half the battle. Tomorrow is a fresh day drink plenty of water tell yourself you can and will do this and get back on track. I believe you can do this stay strong x
    Thankyou so much:) now that I think about it I think that has always been my main problem, I haven't felt like I deserve to feel great when I lose weight so when I used to slip up I'd allow it to conquer me.i won't this time and I will be the one conquering! Thankyou:)
  • TheHealthyVegetarianGirl
    TheHealthyVegetarianGirl Posts: 3 Member
    Hi I know exactly how you feel...cause I do this to myself all the time. It wasn't until my friend told me not to be so hard on myself that I actually realised what I was doing.

    You'll be fine hun, chin up (:
  • inshapeeasy
    inshapeeasy Posts: 50
    Yes, I have experienced this before and so has many of my clients. When you eat a lot of sodium based foods, the salt in the meals has you retaining water and thats why your weight can flux going up that fast, so soon. It will be off within a few days if not tomorrow if you get back on your diet. As long as your diet is "clean". low sodium, not processed foods. Here is a link to some warm up exercises that you can try at home as well.


    http://www.isefitness.com/exercises/total-body-exercises/warm-exercises-cardio
  • DreamChaser9717
    DreamChaser9717 Posts: 32
    Hi I know exactly how you feel...cause I do this to myself all the time. It wasn't until my friend told me not to be so hard on myself that I actually realised what I was doing.

    You'll be fine hun, chin up (:
    Exactly it's so hard to break a habit you've had for so long. Thankyou everyone for the advice and support!:)
  • DreamChaser9717
    DreamChaser9717 Posts: 32
    Yes, I have experienced this before and so has many of my clients. When you eat a lot of sodium based foods, the salt in the meals has you retaining water and thats why your weight can flux going up that fast, so soon. It will be off within a few days if not tomorrow if you get back on your diet. As long as your diet is "clean". low sodium, not processed foods. Here is a link to some warm up exercises that you can try at home as well.


    http://www.isefitness.com/exercises/total-body-exercises/warm-exercises-cardio
    Thankyou for the link! And that's amazing are you a nutritionist or personal trainer? I want to go to school to become a dietician! Which is another motivation for me to get my health together, people won't want to listen to a dietician that has her own issues with food.
  • rosiereally2
    rosiereally2 Posts: 539 Member
    Are you logging everything, even the overindulgences? If not, do so. Seeing the math there in black and white will eventually help to kick you out of your tailspin. Just writing off the day as "lost" and not tracking is the exact wrong thing to do.

    It's okay to occasionally slip. You didn't get overweight overnight, and you won't ingrain new, healthier eating habits overnight, either. But you've got to be an honest and willing participant in the process that will help you to make lasting change, and that process is the monitoring and adjustment of your caloric intake and expenditure.

    Just do it.
  • vcancel
    vcancel Posts: 96 Member
    Never harp on the negative. Log it for accountability and move on.
  • wendylgoodman
    wendylgoodman Posts: 7 Member
    If possible, try to start your day with a workout, be it a walk, dvd, whatever. It will put you in a good mood and set up your day thinking healthy thoughts! :smile:
  • Emtabo01
    Emtabo01 Posts: 672
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/12145-50-day-binge-free-challenge

    There's a 50 day binge free challenge, join, helps keep you accountable. We're all on different days.
  • FitandFab33
    FitandFab33 Posts: 718 Member
    For me- a food journal helps with this- I don't mean logging food, I mean the emotions/feelings/circumstances surrounding the meals.

    Before you eat, write down your:

    mood, location, any additional circumstances, and why you're choosing the foods you're eating.

    After you eat record you feelings/mood/thoughts.

    Yeah- it takes a minute to do, but it makes me think about what I'm eating and more importantly WHY. It also helped to establish some patterns/triggers (like eating alone on the couch in front of the TV consistently leading to overeating etc etc) and even some trigger foods that I need to be careful with (bacon for instance NEVER stops at a single serving, and beer leaves me hungry and unsatisfied).
  • DreamChaser9717
    DreamChaser9717 Posts: 32
    Are you logging everything, even the overindulgences? If not, do so. Seeing the math there in black and white will eventually help to kick you out of your tailspin. Just writing off the day as "lost" and not tracking is the exact wrong thing to do.

    It's okay to occasionally slip. You didn't get overweight overnight, and you won't ingrain new, healthier eating habits overnight, either. But you've got to be an honest and willing participant in the process that will help you to make lasting change, and that process is the monitoring and adjustment of your caloric intake and expenditure.

    Just do it.
    I did log it! It was to hard to decipher the portion sizes of what I ate so I logged quick calories that I knew would be at or maybe above what I actually ate for today. And I'm not overweight, I'm in the healthy bmi, but I would like to low my bf% and weight to feel happier so I am commuting and will continue to log everything even if it's not pretty!
  • DreamChaser9717
    DreamChaser9717 Posts: 32
    For me- a food journal helps with this- I don't mean logging food, I mean the emotions/feelings/circumstances surrounding the meals.

    Before you eat, write down your:

    mood, location, any additional circumstances, and why you're choosing the foods you're eating.

    After you eat record you feelings/mood/thoughts.

    Yeah- it takes a minute to do, but it makes me think about what I'm eating and more importantly WHY. It also helped to establish some patterns/triggers (like eating alone on the couch in front of the TV consistently leading to overeating etc etc) and even some trigger foods that I need to be careful with (bacon for instance NEVER stops at a single serving, and beer leaves me hungry and unsatisfied).
    This is such a good idea thank you! I've never
    Thought about this but with my crazy emotional attachments to food and my weight, this sounds like a very smart idea to start doing.
    Thankyou everyone really! I'm so glad everyone's so helpful:)
  • MyOwnSunshine
    MyOwnSunshine Posts: 1,312 Member
    I think that there's several things you can do to move on:

    1. Log everything you ate, so you can see a realistic picture of the damage. Sometimes I think I really went overboard, but when I enter the foods I ate, it wasn't as bad as I thought.

    2. Decide whether you can adjust your day to ameliorate the damage. If you killed your calories for the day, just move on and eat healthy for the rest of the day. If you only messed up a little, you may be able to adjust what you eat the rest of the day to still come out within your macros and calories.

    3. Assess the what and why's behind your overeating. Can you identify any triggers? Did eating a specific food set you off? Was your eating due to stress, boredom, fatigue, emotions, a social situation, the easy availability of food?

    4. Make a plan to not do it again in the future. I have come to a place where I'm very familiar with my triggers. Being tired and stressed is a huge trigger for me. I know that I am at a high risk of overeating on days where I'm tired and overwhelmed. If I know it's coming, I try to give myself a few more calories for the day and plan some healthy comfort food to avoid an all-out junk food binge. If I feel like eating everything in sight, I may forgo calorie counting (not logging) for the day and allow myself to eat all the healthy foods I feel like I "need," which also can prevent a binge.

    5. Forgive yourself and move on. It's one meal, one day, one week. I overate for a lifetime. One day isn't going to kill you, and guilt and shame will just trigger hopelessness and more overeating. Move on and plan to do better in the future.
  • FitandFab33
    FitandFab33 Posts: 718 Member
    For me- a food journal helps with this- I don't mean logging food, I mean the emotions/feelings/circumstances surrounding the meals.

    Before you eat, write down your:

    mood, location, any additional circumstances, and why you're choosing the foods you're eating.

    After you eat record you feelings/mood/thoughts.

    Yeah- it takes a minute to do, but it makes me think about what I'm eating and more importantly WHY. It also helped to establish some patterns/triggers (like eating alone on the couch in front of the TV consistently leading to overeating etc etc) and even some trigger foods that I need to be careful with (bacon for instance NEVER stops at a single serving, and beer leaves me hungry and unsatisfied).
    This is such a good idea thank you! I've never
    Thought about this but with my crazy emotional attachments to food and my weight, this sounds like a very smart idea to start doing.
    Thankyou everyone really! I'm so glad everyone's so helpful:)

    Food is very emotionally linked for a LOT of people- we use it in celebration, out of sadness/gladness/guilt/anxiety... so understanding the WHY is a big part of changing your habits and approach to food. :-)

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