Is it worth logging days when everything goes wrong?

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So I had one of those days. Those days when you have no idea why you're even trying to eat healthy, so you just... give up. I have never been a "binge eater", so that doesn't quite describe my day, but I was easily 1000 calories over my goal. Easily. And I didn't work out. Well, I did do 2 lunges. While carrying bacon to the computer.

Is today even worth logging? Should I really re-live every mistake I made and catalog it? Do I really need to see the "if every day was like today, you would weigh xxx in 5 weeks!" Or should I just pretend it never happened, go to bed, and wake up fresh and back on my routine when I go back to work tomorrow?

Thoughts from someone else who's had a fail day?
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Replies

  • mamadon
    mamadon Posts: 1,422 Member
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    Absolutely. How else do we really learn? I do see some people that choose not to log on days they go over, but I think that honest logging is all part of this learning to change our lives deal.
  • angelzprophecy
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    It depends on if you're the type of person to try to make up for it the next day or just restart and try to do it right the next day.

    if youre just going to reset then i wouldn't log it in. i think that once the number goes past a certain point, it looks all the same and the guilt felt is all the same.

    I dont think seeing the number would really have a big psychological effect that would last either. Its kinda hard to make a connection to the number and the actual diet in reality. Like, once the food is in, its in and logging it wont really change that.
  • ThePlight
    ThePlight Posts: 3,593 Member
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    I log it all. I'm new to THIS site in particular, so I don't have anything logged of much importance yet.
  • iamaviking007
    iamaviking007 Posts: 23 Member
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    I just have to say that " I Love" that you typed that you did 2 lunges while carrying bacon to your computer!! lol ...... nothing like a good sense of humor!! lol, love it!! ............ to answer your question though, I usually don't log on days that I screw up and eat whatever I want but today for some reason I did, I think I wanted to see the actual damage today to see if maybe I could make up for it in exercise and not eating the calories a few days this coming week. With that said, I say, " do what ever makes you feel happy ". As long as you get back on the horse after you fall off then you'll be fine, that's what counts :)
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
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    man, on christmas or a family gathering - ALL BETS ARE OFF.

    2 full plates, 3 plates of desert! man, I go for it. no guilt man, no guilt.

    BUT

    yes. its important to see what your eating.

    either you will be like "woah thats way too much"

    or "mmm, its not that bad, maybe I should just eat a little less tomorrow".

    MOST IMPORTANTLY:

    you are talking like you need to punish yourself and this is a failure and you failed.

    F**K THAT! you had an awesome indulgence! now you got it out of your system, eat good tomorrow, and maybe add in another gym session if you feel like it.

    dont feel bad. if you are within your goal for the rest of the week you will still be in DEFICIT!

    seriously. its all good.
  • GiGiBeans
    GiGiBeans Posts: 1,062 Member
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    The fact that you said days is kind of a red flag. If you are just starting out I think it's really important to weigh and log everything. It helps identify patterns too - maybe working out harder is causing more hunger, maybe a particular food, maybe stress and you need to find better alternatives.

    Denial and avoidance is what got me in trouble in the first place so I log it.
  • AccioFitness
    AccioFitness Posts: 244 Member
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    For me logging every day, even the ones where I go completely overboard helps tremendously. Sometimes it's the act of logging the food I'm eating the snaps me backs bit and I'll go have a glass of water realizing I'm not hungry. It's like havinf instant accountability, which is something i need to keep myself on track. Other times it helps me to see patterns of when I binge eat and why; and from that I am able to try and help myself overcome whatever it is that is creating the issues (I'm an emotional eater so much of the time when I over eat it's due to stress or another negative emotion). Am I stressed? Upset? On my period? What can I do to help make the best possible choice for me? Sometimes the best choice is just having that damn slice of cake, other times it's going for a walk.

    When I do have those days though, and everyone does, I remind myself it's only one day. It's okay. Tomorrow I will jump back in track and I won't let this define me or stop me. Heck, sometimes it's just an afternoon or an evening of over indulgence. No matter what though I know I can start over in the morning.
  • bird_3_lee
    bird_3_lee Posts: 64 Member
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    I log it all too; And in the diary part I write the way I felt that day. You might start to see a pattern like if ur hormonal or sick or sleepy your diet habbits may be a certain way..The more you know about why you act in certain ways the better.
    Tomorrow is a brand new day so dont beat yourself up over a bad day think how easy it will be to do a better job tomorrow :)
  • MizSookeh
    MizSookeh Posts: 106 Member
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    Yep, I log it. I like having it right there in front of me to clearly see how much difference one more beer, one more slice of pizza, half a tube of Pringles adds up to, so that I remember next time I'm tempted (or drunk!)

    However, I'm on vacation from this Saturday for just over a week, it's much needed R&R with lots of drinks, restaurant meals, and so on... so I'm not going to log. It's a planned mental break, and I'm okay with that.
  • Ophidion
    Ophidion Posts: 2,065 Member
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    It has all pretty much been said in previous reply's, just will add honest logging=best logging.
  • gamerkiwi
    gamerkiwi Posts: 93 Member
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    Yes, then you can tell how much you go over, and compensate for it for the next couple days'/week.

    So if you go 1000 Calories over, then you can go 200 calories under for the next 5 days. You could look at it as learning to splurge for a day without sacrificing your diet.
  • Cinloykko
    Cinloykko Posts: 117 Member
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    i log it up to a certain point. There is a fail day and then there are hell days.... When i start going over in the hundreds, i still log. When i hit 1,000+, I start getting sloppy with my logging but I still try really hard while I negotiate with myself about ethics/honesty and such... When I hit somewhere in the 2,500+ then its gets really bad and I stop logging and just let it fade away.... its all the same after that.

    But these overeating/binge days should not be common! And since they are so rare, you can let it go and reset the next day. Feeling guilty is natural but don't let it defeat you. Always remember that!!! If it is in the hundreds, you can always work it off the next day. But if it is too high, just rest. No reason to log sleep over what cannot be un-done.

    Plus, I read somewhere that it takes about 3,500 calories to gain one pound so until you hit that number, its not a total loss :)
  • ThePlight
    ThePlight Posts: 3,593 Member
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    I have honestly noticed that AS SOON as I start to log for the day, I won't mess up for the rest of it, because I am constantly thinking about logging my next meal.
  • 2spamagnet
    2spamagnet Posts: 60 Member
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    Hell yeah. Never give up! You can indulge while losing weight, if you make up for it. Or, forgive yourself and keep trying. Once we meet our goals, we have to maintain our weight for life. Don't worry about one day now. If you enjoy your weekend (like I surely did), no worries. Make up for it this coming week. This is a tool that will help you enjoy the rest of your life:

    Look at your weekly calorie intake - not just daily. So - you ate 1,000 cal over your daily goal... Tomorrow you can start digging yourself out of that hole. Cut an extra 250 cal (or more) out tomorrow by skipping breakfast and do not over compensate for the hunger at lunch. Do that for 4 days, and you have balanced your indulgence. Cutting calories and losing weight is simple, but not easy. Dealing with hunger and urges to eat is very hard, but you can do it.

    Keep in mind - 3,500 cal equals 1 lb of fat. If you cut 3,500 cal our this week (less than what your body needs), your body will extract the 3,500 cal of energy it needs from fat stores. If you eat 3,500 cal more than you need, your body will store about 1 lb of fat (that is can use for energy later).

    So, your 1,000 cal indulgence has been stored to be used later. Use it this week by being better about food choices. If you log it, and at the end of the week you can look at your net calories and see a bunch of days that offset the "over" day, it will make you feel pretty good.

    And don't worry much about "eating healthy". Eat what you want, but don't too much of it. Enjoy snacks, goodies, foods you love. But try to balance your calories overall and you can manipulate your weight. Eating some foods are better than others, but if you make food you love taboo, you'll feel like crap if you indulge in it, when you don't need to feel bad about it.
  • eazy_
    eazy_ Posts: 516 Member
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    I log it all. Only way this tool will be accurate and useful.
  • novakac
    novakac Posts: 22 Member
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    Thanks all. I guess I'll start logging it. I know why I went over, it's not hormonal. Well, yeah, it is. Boy problems. And since I started this diet because of.... well hell. It's really all about me, not him. But I was in a f*** it all mood. I can't really "make up for it", because I'm already setting my goal at the bare minimum of net calories. It did feel good to have all those days in a row of making or nearly missing my goal weight. I had one day I was 500 calories over, but that just brought me up to maintenance calories, so I didn't feel too bad. We don't' have to lose weight EVERY day. But gaining weight is another matter.

    But you do bring up a good point. One of the BAD things about this site is that it overemphasizes the "day". We really should look at longer periods of time like the "week". Sure, I can pull up my weekly reports, but every time I go to my log, or my diary, the default view is "day". No one day is really all that important.

    OK. Off I go to find out exactly how many calories I consumed in one day. If nothing else, once I am finished losing, and back to "maintenance", it will be good to know.
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
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    For me, it depends. I generally log everything, but I've had a few days where I went completely off the rails, quick-added my maintenance-calorie number and called it a day.
  • novakac
    novakac Posts: 22 Member
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    OK. I logged it. And it was worse than I thought it was. I was 1500 calories over my goal.

    However.... it was useful because the harm wasn't where I thought it was. Apparently you can eat half a pound of bacon for breakfast, and still be able to recover just fine. After my 8th slice of bacon, I gave up. I shouldn't have. It was what I ate AFTER that bacon that killed me. Not saying the saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, etc was great, but as far as pure calories go... bacon is actually reasonably low! Once again, I'm not saying bacon is good, I'm saying, I shouldn't have said, "Oh, I f***'ed up by eating half a pound of bacon, I'll just eat what i want for the rest of the day because it's screwed to hell and back anyways".
  • itsfruitcake
    itsfruitcake Posts: 146 Member
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    I try to log even the days when I know I've gone over, just to see the nutritional values of everything... It's really interesting and sometimes surprising to see how many calories things have. As you've just found out as well! :)
  • smuller73
    smuller73 Posts: 71 Member
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    I log everything and have been pleasantly surprised on some occasions when I realize that, although I thought I had gone way over my calorie limit, I was still under the the number of calories I would need to maintain. I then adjust my calories a little for the next few days to 'make up' for the overindulging. When I go too crazy I can see what it is that sets me off on an eating binge and try to avoid those situations or at least deal with them better in the future. If I don't acknowledge my mistakes I will make them over and over.