Help with cheat day

swall13
swall13 Posts: 19 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I overate by 1200 calories today (yikes!), is it better to burn 1000 calories at the gym tomorrow and simply not eat back the extra calories to compensate? Or should I just net 1000 calories as opposed to 1200 calories for the next week? Sorry if I worded this confusingly.

Replies

  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    1200 calories is very little anyway. Overeating by 1200 for a day will not do any harm to your weight loss. Just carry on as normal, maybe do a little extra exercise each day, but no point fretting about this, if anything, when eating so low of a calorie goal, having a day of excess sometimes can do you good and ensure you do not hit s plateau.
  • kwilliam2
    kwilliam2 Posts: 35
    1200 calories=.4 pounds so you put on almost half a pound of fat today if your goal was maintenance. If your goal was 500 below maintenance I wouldn't worry about it though, going 700 over maintenance one meal a month (or even once a week) isn't going to hurt you very much in the long run but I wouldn't make it a habit.
  • swall13
    swall13 Posts: 19 Member
    1200 calories=.4 pounds so you put on almost half a pound of fat today if your goal was maintenance. If your goal was 500 below maintenance I wouldn't worry about it though, going 700 over maintenance one meal a month (or even once a week) isn't going to hurt you very much in the long run but I wouldn't make it a habit.

    Yes, my goal is 500 below maintence
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,453 Member
    1200 calories=.4 pounds so you put on almost half a pound of fat today if your goal was maintenance. If your goal was 500 below maintenance I wouldn't worry about it though, going 700 over maintenance one meal a month (or even once a week) isn't going to hurt you very much in the long run but I wouldn't make it a habit.

    Yes, my goal is 500 below maintence

    That simply won't be the case. 1200 over meant you were "over maintenance" by 700 calories. Like was stated above, it isn't going to affect your weight loss. Just carry on as usual. Under eating tomorrow or over exercising is just setting you up for an unsustainable pattern of restrict/binge. Eating 700 over maintenance on one day won't make any difference at all. Don't step on the scale for three or four days. It will be fine.

    For that matter, unless you are 4'10" - at 18 years old, no way you should be restricting to 1200. Try 1500 or 1600 a day instead. 1200 is really low.

    .
  • swall13
    swall13 Posts: 19 Member
    1200 calories=.4 pounds so you put on almost half a pound of fat today if your goal was maintenance. If your goal was 500 below maintenance I wouldn't worry about it though, going 700 over maintenance one meal a month (or even once a week) isn't going to hurt you very much in the long run but I wouldn't make it a habit.

    Yes, my goal is 500 below maintence

    That simply won't be the case. 1200 over meant you were "over maintenance" by 700 calories. Like was stated above, it isn't going to affect your weight loss. Just carry on as usual. Under eating tomorrow or over exercising is just setting you up for an unsustainable pattern of restrict/binge. Eating 700 over maintenance on one day won't make any difference at all. Don't step on the scale for three or four days. It will be fine.

    For that matter, unless you are 4'10" - at 18 years old, no way you should be restricting to 1200. Try 1500 or 1600 a day instead. 1200 is really low.

    .

    Really?? I am 5'4'', so you are saying that I should be at 1500 net calories?
  • ballman01
    ballman01 Posts: 1
    I can't speak too much for the eating extra, but what I can say is that I am 5'4" and have been setting my goal at 1300 calories per day. There are some days I go over, and some days I go under, but I focus more on the life style and awareness of what i'm eating...and keep a routine. Since I've started my routine (back again in February) I have been able to lose 3-4 lbs just by being aware. So I think it depends on what your goal is, and just developing a life style vs focusing on EVERY DAY...

    Best of luck! :)
  • ecw3780
    ecw3780 Posts: 608 Member
    I would burn a little extra tomorrow, but don't let it stress you out. 3500 calories = a pound, so you would need to eat 3500 more than maintenance to gain a pound. Just drink a lot of water tomorrow and move a little more.
  • larsensue
    larsensue Posts: 461 Member
    I did the exact same thing today.... over by 1300! I will just carry on and hope for the best. I have not lost any weight in over 2 weeks so I hope this will jump start the weight loss again.....
  • MorganLeighRN
    MorganLeighRN Posts: 411 Member
    It's not a big deal, it's one day. You may have some water retention but nothing to truly worry about. Just get back onto your normal schedule tomorrow. Burning extra calories or not eating back you calories tomorrow isn't going to change anything.

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