Cheated on my low carb diet and I feel like capital S*it?

brelyn18
brelyn18 Posts: 5 Member
in Motivation and Support
I've been doing so freaking well; I just had my free day on Saturday and was feeling on cloud 9...until I started to feel down on myself and had a big bowl of spaghetti and a cinnamon and raisin bagel.
The carb level must've been 100max when i only allow 10 daily.

What on earth should I do now? I'm trying not the beat myself up so bad but I had a goal to lose 40 pounds before the end of August and I feel like I can't accomplish it now.
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Replies

  • BaackOnIt
    BaackOnIt Posts: 26 Member
    If this is a real post............it seems nearly impossible or unhealthy to lose 40 pounds in 2.5 months. And we all mess up. Pick up and keep moving. What is dwelling on it going to help? Might help if you made a more realistic goal as well. And 10 carbs a day? Crazy! I <3 carbs. :)
  • shelbielmiller
    shelbielmiller Posts: 27 Member
    Everyone has their bad days. Just get back on track tomorrow and don't let it get you down! :)
  • betsyr13
    betsyr13 Posts: 45 Member
    Try not to let one mistake derail your progress. We all mess up sometimes. This is not a total failure. Just try not to do it again.
  • Alissakae
    Alissakae Posts: 317 Member
    Just track the calories and move on. One problem with "diets" is that you can get these bad feelings about "cheating" and ruining everything. Even if you did go over calories you can take a walk or something to earn some calories back so it's not such a big deal. And a goal to lose 40 pounds in only two months might not be realistic, you might have to adjust your thinking to something you can be more successful with. Good luck!
  • amraf1024
    amraf1024 Posts: 74
    U didn't get big over night just like u won't get small overnight...so it's safe to assume that 1 bad meal won't make u gain all the weight back or push u so far off course u can't reach ur goals!
  • sdpursley
    sdpursley Posts: 63
    what you need to do is to move on! you can't beat yourself up and you definitely cannot make yourself miserable. your body isn't going to get off track and pack on pounds just from one slip up!

    keep your head up. sounds like you are doing a great job!!! remember, weight loss is a process and a journey. it's not a race!

    YOU CAN do it!!
  • puggleperson
    puggleperson Posts: 740 Member
    That is why I hate restricted no carb diets... I always always always fail on them..
  • brelyn18
    brelyn18 Posts: 5 Member
    Yeah I know its a bit...ambitious. I'll think it over some. @Alissakae
  • vjohn04
    vjohn04 Posts: 2,276 Member
    why don't you pick a diet (like a reasonable caloric deficit) where you don't have to eliminate foods from your diet?
  • Tan43
    Tan43 Posts: 87 Member
    Wow. I had 200 grams of carbs yesterday. I feel fantastic. With all that body fuel I`m about to head off for a 12km run. Wouldn`t get 1km in on just 10 carbs. Just saying. Good luck. We each have our own road to travel.
  • BluejayNY
    BluejayNY Posts: 301 Member
    The thing with low carb diets is they don't work unless you basically stick to them forever. I have zero desire to have a low carb lifestyle. I can be thin, healthy, and eat lots of carbs.

    Are you sure this is a diet you want to commit too? How about counting calories with lean protein, veggies, and complex carbs?

    You just have to pick yourself up and continue. I am a big believe that one day isn't going to ruin everything.
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
    I've been doing so freaking well; I just had my free day on Saturday and was feeling on cloud 9...until I started to feel down on myself and had a big bowl of spaghetti and a cinnamon and raisin bagel.
    The carb level must've been 100max when i only allow 10 daily.

    What on earth should I do now? I'm trying not the beat myself up so bad but I had a goal to lose 40 pounds before the end of August and I feel like I can't accomplish it now.

    If you are going low carb--you might find that you are able to follow a "lower' carb plan more consistently. I generally eat between 70 and 100 grams of carb per day (healthy carbs--not sugar and starch). It seems to be the "sweet spot" for fat loss for me while getting good appetite control at the same time---and I seem to be retaining my muscle. When you go too low on the carbs, you lose the "muscle-sparing" effect of carbohydrates and the result could be that you lose more muscle than you would on other types of calorie restriction. (Some studies suggest that very low carb diets set you up for regain because you lose muscle mass on them.) When I lose all the body fat I want to lose, I will increase carbs to between 120-150 grams per day (unless I start to gain body fat, and then I will cut back to a level where I neither gain nor lose). I found exercise next to impossible on a very low carb diet. I do cardio at the pool now a couple of times a week and lift weights three times a week and use "good" carbs to fuel my exercise. When you work hard at exercise, you really don't want to mess up your hard work by eating stuff you shouldn't eat. :smile:
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    One day is NOT a big deal. Just carry on. It's the overall trends that matter most. :flowerforyou:

    Restrictive diets are hard to follow for the long term. What happens when you get to goal? Are you gonna carry it on for the rest of your life? It's probably best to lose the weight with a permanent lifestyle change, rather than a temporary diet, so that once you get to goal you can stay there. The permanent lifestyle change CAN be low-carb, but it's not for everyone (I know I would fail on anything that restrictive.)

    I know a guy on low-carb that has managed to stay low carb for years (he yo-yo's with his weight though, because he doesn't control his calories, just his carbs.) The other people I know who've done low carb haven't been able to keep it up long term and they've all put the weight back on. It's do-able, though.

    I'm sure there are tons of people here with low carb success stories, but you have to be dedicated to that lifestyle to make it last. So just make sure that if that's how you lose the weight, that's how you plan to maintain it as well, otherwise, it's probably gonna come right back on when you stop. Good luck!
  • KatLifter
    KatLifter Posts: 1,314 Member
    why don't you pick a diet (like a reasonable caloric deficit) where you don't have to eliminate foods from your diet?

    This is amazing - in theory. I ate at a reasonable deficit (TDEE-20%), 40/30/30 macros, lifted, and the scale didn't move for months. I could see changes, but wasn't losing any weight. For me, cutting carbs is pretty much the only way to get the scale to move. Call it insulin resistence, call it what you will, but that has been my recent experience. I'm doing much better now on a high fat, high protein, low carb diet.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,021 Member
    Why are you acting like your "diet" is a homework assignment? If you are feeling uncontrollable urges to "cheat," then clearly your diet doesn't work for you. Find something you can stick with permanently.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    This is the problem with diets that restrict certain foods.

    Most people can't simply deny themselves foods they love for any length of time.

    I type this over a bowl of ice cream.
  • vjohn04
    vjohn04 Posts: 2,276 Member
    why don't you pick a diet (like a reasonable caloric deficit) where you don't have to eliminate foods from your diet?

    This is amazing - in theory. I ate at a reasonable deficit (TDEE-20%), 40/30/30 macros, lifted, and the scale didn't move for months. I could see changes, but wasn't losing any weight. For me, cutting carbs is pretty much the only way to get the scale to move. Call it insulin resistence, call it what you will, but that has been my recent experience. I'm doing much better now on a high fat, high protein, low carb diet.

    Water weight is an amazing thing- in theory.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,021 Member
    Also, TDEE - 20% is not a reasonable deficit for everyone. If you were anywhere close to the size you are now, it was not a reasonable deficit for you.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    why don't you pick a diet (like a reasonable caloric deficit) where you don't have to eliminate foods from your diet?

    This is amazing - in theory. I ate at a reasonable deficit (TDEE-20%), 40/30/30 macros, lifted, and the scale didn't move for months. I could see changes, but wasn't losing any weight. For me, cutting carbs is pretty much the only way to get the scale to move. Call it insulin resistence, call it what you will, but that has been my recent experience. I'm doing much better now on a high fat, high protein, low carb diet.

    Why would you care about the scale if you were seeing visible changes?

    *sigh*
  • MoJoPoe
    MoJoPoe Posts: 139 Member
    Stay positive. The nifty thing about these bazillion reports is that they reveal patterns. I have also yoyo-ed. I think my son pegged that I was going too low on protein.

    Figure out your trends and keep the faith that you WILL reach your goals.
  • shadus
    shadus Posts: 424 Member
    Go easy on yourself here, everyone will fall off the wagon occasionally. The key is to get back up on the wagon and progress forward. You messed up, move on, do some extra exercise to help compensate (remember exercise burns up blood sugar too!) and move forward another day.

    10g of crabs a day is very very low, even for a fairly strict keto diet, are you in the first introduction phases? If not I would seriously consider upping your potential carbs a bit.

    Another thing to consider is this ~really~ going to be something you're going to be able to do long term or is this a quick fix? If it's a quick fix try adjusting to a lifestyle change dietary goal instead, maybe lower carb higher protein works for you, but maybe not 10g a day?

    No matter what, don't let a single slip up get you down, everyone makes them and the only way to fail is to give up, so don't.
  • KatLifter
    KatLifter Posts: 1,314 Member
    why don't you pick a diet (like a reasonable caloric deficit) where you don't have to eliminate foods from your diet?

    This is amazing - in theory. I ate at a reasonable deficit (TDEE-20%), 40/30/30 macros, lifted, and the scale didn't move for months. I could see changes, but wasn't losing any weight. For me, cutting carbs is pretty much the only way to get the scale to move. Call it insulin resistence, call it what you will, but that has been my recent experience. I'm doing much better now on a high fat, high protein, low carb diet.

    Why would you care about the scale if you were seeing visible changes?

    *sigh*

    Because my body fat wasn't decreasing; I was measuring that as well. I was developing muscle - the changes I saw, but not decreasing body fat.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    why don't you pick a diet (like a reasonable caloric deficit) where you don't have to eliminate foods from your diet?

    This is amazing - in theory. I ate at a reasonable deficit (TDEE-20%), 40/30/30 macros, lifted, and the scale didn't move for months. I could see changes, but wasn't losing any weight. For me, cutting carbs is pretty much the only way to get the scale to move. Call it insulin resistence, call it what you will, but that has been my recent experience. I'm doing much better now on a high fat, high protein, low carb diet.

    Why would you care about the scale if you were seeing visible changes?

    *sigh*

    Because my body fat wasn't decreasing; I was measuring that as well. I was developing muscle - the changes I saw, but not decreasing body fat.

    If the scale was not moving, and you were increasing muscle mass, then your fat mass HAD TO BE DECREASING.
  • KatLifter
    KatLifter Posts: 1,314 Member
    why don't you pick a diet (like a reasonable caloric deficit) where you don't have to eliminate foods from your diet?

    This is amazing - in theory. I ate at a reasonable deficit (TDEE-20%), 40/30/30 macros, lifted, and the scale didn't move for months. I could see changes, but wasn't losing any weight. For me, cutting carbs is pretty much the only way to get the scale to move. Call it insulin resistence, call it what you will, but that has been my recent experience. I'm doing much better now on a high fat, high protein, low carb diet.

    Water weight is an amazing thing- in theory.

    I see what you did there - clever.
    I only said this is my experience. It works for me. It's great if you found something else that works for you.
    Calories in calories out is sound - but the way our bodies work (hormones) affect the calories out part. That's where shifting macros helps me.
  • KatLifter
    KatLifter Posts: 1,314 Member
    why don't you pick a diet (like a reasonable caloric deficit) where you don't have to eliminate foods from your diet?

    This is amazing - in theory. I ate at a reasonable deficit (TDEE-20%), 40/30/30 macros, lifted, and the scale didn't move for months. I could see changes, but wasn't losing any weight. For me, cutting carbs is pretty much the only way to get the scale to move. Call it insulin resistence, call it what you will, but that has been my recent experience. I'm doing much better now on a high fat, high protein, low carb diet.

    Why would you care about the scale if you were seeing visible changes?

    *sigh*

    Because my body fat wasn't decreasing; I was measuring that as well. I was developing muscle - the changes I saw, but not decreasing body fat.

    If the scale was not moving, and you were increasing muscle mass, then your fat mass HAD TO BE DECREASING.

    Sorry, should have been clearer - scale didn't move DOWN.
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,025 Member
    Well, I can see that no amount of reasoning wil change your mind, so best of luck to you on your low carb diet.
  • KatLifter
    KatLifter Posts: 1,314 Member
    Well, I can see that no amount of reasoning wil change your mind, so best of luck to you on your low carb diet.

    Oh you. Sorry, I didn't realize your way was the only way. My bad. :flowerforyou:
  • Nerdybreisawesome
    Nerdybreisawesome Posts: 359 Member
    why don't you pick a diet (like a reasonable caloric deficit) where you don't have to eliminate foods from your diet?

    ^This

    If you enjoy carbs and want to eat them after you lose weight, how about eating a balanced healthy diet that is within your calories? Something you can do for life, not just to lose 40lbs by August. Something you can live with, forever.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    Well, I can see that no amount of reasoning wil change your mind, so best of luck to you on your low carb diet.

    Oh you. Sorry, I didn't realize your way was the only way. My bad. :flowerforyou:

    When you cut the carbs down, did you make up the macros elsewhere?
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Well, I can see that no amount of reasoning wil change your mind, so best of luck to you on your low carb diet.

    Oh you. Sorry, I didn't realize your way was the only way. My bad. :flowerforyou:

    What he is trying to explain is that if the scale did not move as you note, but you gained LBM, then you have to have lost fat. It's math.

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