Sabotaged by a good deed! HELP!!!

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2

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  • chicanita91
    chicanita91 Posts: 154 Member
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    Your body only burns an extra 30 something calories a day while it recovers, I would just log what you ate and maybe make sure you don't go under your caloric intake goal today.
  • kimmymayhall
    kimmymayhall Posts: 419 Member
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    Idk about anywhere else - but in UK you are not supposed to donate blood when you are dieting!
    Seriously? Why?
    I donated blood often when I was actively losing weight last year. It's a bad idea if you are starving yourself (that's a bad idea for many reasons) and there is a weight minimum of like 100 lb, more if you are doing a double unit. A couple times I was turned away because my hemoglobin was too low, but that's why they do screening to make sure your blood is acceptable for donation.
    After a successful donation I would go get a nice burger or eat a steak to replenish my iron :bigsmile:
    It usually worked into my calorie, sometimes a little over. But being a bit over calories should not lead you to "gorge yourself on everything in sight."
  • bethannien
    bethannien Posts: 556 Member
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    A tiny blip like crackers and a chocolate wafer cannot put you over by more than a couple hundred calories. You shouldn't starve yourself after donating blood but being over by a little won't derail you. Gorging won't solve anything
  • 84jeepster
    84jeepster Posts: 198 Member
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    They forced me to eat the crackers and wafer bar before I could leave the area and get back to work. Now I feel that I might as well keep eating the snacks since the wafer woke up the "sleeping sweet tooth" inside my belly.

    GET IN MY BELLY!!!!
  • Runner5AbelTownship
    Runner5AbelTownship Posts: 243 Member
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    They forced me to eat the crackers and wafer bar before I could leave the area and get back to work. Now I feel that I might as well keep eating the snacks since the wafer woke up the "sleeping sweet tooth" inside my belly.

    GET IN MY BELLY!!!!

    Just how much blood did you donate?
  • kimbux
    kimbux Posts: 154 Member
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    I'm pretty sure a good POOP will eliminate the calories from the cookies...... you're still ahead on the calories for giving the donation!
  • suppakana
    suppakana Posts: 307 Member
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    Chocolate is part of the donation process. =) Think of it that way, and then go back to business as usual as soon as you're off of the blood bus.

    Chocolate is my favorite part of donating blood.
  • fruttibiscotti
    fruttibiscotti Posts: 987 Member
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    What a great question...I would love to know the answer to how many calories needed to replenish X millilitres of blood, and if there is a certain or optimum macronutrient proportion for it.

    Good show OP for donating blood by the way.
  • asianmonkie
    asianmonkie Posts: 264
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    I don't think you should ever use something as an excuse to gorge. Eat as you normally would the rest of the day and know that your calorie count is going to be a little bogus. Also, thanks for the donation, I'm sure someone out there is extrememly grateful for it.
    This.

    No strenuous exercising for today either. Just kick back and relax. Also, you are "losing" 600 calories after blood donation but that's over a period of, what, 60 days? Don't quote me on that. I give blood all the time too and it's the same as every day except without the exercising part.
  • heatherlynnc123
    heatherlynnc123 Posts: 18
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    If you are seriously worried about the crackers and juice you need to have before you can leave (which is an over-reaction, track and move on) but if you are seriously worried.... you could try to do a double red cell donation next time. They separate out the red blood cells and give you back your plasma and platelets along with a bit of saline.

    I did the double red cell donation this past Sunday and didn't have to sit in the canteen at all, just grabbed a bottle of water and went on my way. Though, if you are prone to over-reacting, be prepared, you might gain an extra ounce or two from the extra saline lol.

    If I'd done the whole blood instead I would have gladly eaten the cookies, recorded them, and not worried about it... think of it this way, I'm sure the person that needs your blood wishes their biggest problem was that they ate an extra freaking cookie or two instead of needing a blood transfusion!
  • sloth3toes
    sloth3toes Posts: 2,212 Member
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    They forced me to eat the crackers and wafer bar before I could leave the area and get back to work. Now I feel that I might as well keep eating the snacks since the wafer woke up the "sleeping sweet tooth" inside my belly.

    GET IN MY BELLY!!!!

    My buddy taught me when we were much younger... and much poorer.... that you could get a better buzz from less beer after giving blood.... put that donation to good use, and hit the bar.

    :drinker:
  • ElizabethFuller
    ElizabethFuller Posts: 352 Member
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    Idk about anywhere else - but in UK you are not supposed to donate blood when you are dieting!
    I've never heard this and I donated blood for over 20 years, often on a diet. Also nothing on the NBTS web site. They won't take blood if you're anaemic but we MFP dieters are careful with our health - and that annoying "starvation mode" warning pops up if you don't eat enough! :wink:
  • chatogal
    chatogal Posts: 436 Member
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    Idk about anywhere else - but in UK you are not supposed to donate blood when you are dieting!
    Seriously? Why?
    I donated blood often when I was actively losing weight last year. It's a bad idea if you are starving yourself (that's a bad idea for many reasons) and there is a weight minimum of like 100 lb, more if you are doing a double unit. A couple times I was turned away because my hemoglobin was too low, but that's why they do screening to make sure your blood is acceptable for donation.
    After a successful donation I would go get a nice burger or eat a steak to replenish my iron :bigsmile:
    It usually worked into my calorie, sometimes a little over. But being a bit over calories should not lead you to "gorge yourself on everything in sight."

    VERY good reply!!

    And coming from the UK I was also perplexed as to why you shouldnt donate blood just because you are following a weight reduction diet. Over here, those with serious health issues and low hb are advised not to donate... for goodness sakes... sorry you got such WRONG information!!!
  • MissKriss3
    MissKriss3 Posts: 117 Member
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    Sabotaged???
  • tomomatic
    tomomatic Posts: 1,794 Member
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    Google says it takes about 650 calories to replace the blood you've lost... which is about a king size candy bar.

    MFP Food database says that consuming blood is about 300 calories for 8 oz.

    So... the message here is that it is better to give than to receive.

    Seriously, if you're light headed, you might need the calories.
  • LilBritGettinFit
    LilBritGettinFit Posts: 106 Member
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    I think when you give blood you're supposed to fast for 3 days after . . . no?

    Yikes. NO. Quite the opposite, you're supposed to eat well that very same day to replenish your blood. Also, avoid strenuous exercise that day.

    ^^^ this. I donate every 6 weeks and you are supposed to drink lots of water and eat well that day and for me the day after. No strenuous exercise for 24 hours. I use this day as a maintenance day. Eat well, drink water and take a rest day your body will thank you!

    Oh eating some red meat won't hurt either. That's what they always suggest I do after!
  • cingle87
    cingle87 Posts: 717 Member
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    Idk about anywhere else - but in UK you are not supposed to donate blood when you are dieting!
    sight."

    Well I call bull**** to that one, I gave my 30th donation december 30th 2013 and at no point recently when Ive been dieting have i been told not to donate blood, hell Im in a clinical trail to see if they can lower the waiting time between donation from the current 14 weeks for males to 8 weeks.

    But to answer the OP just count it as a normal day, just stay hydrated eat so as not to fell faint, its also recommended you don't exercise 16hr before or after due to some science mumbo jumbo.

    Don't use donating blood as an excuse to binge, thats just silly.
  • harphy
    harphy Posts: 290 Member
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    R you serious? You worry about few crackers and chocolate? The only food you shouldn't eat BEFORE blood donation is fat (eggs, milk, sausages, french fries, etc). After donation drink a lot and eat normal or slightly above normal. Here blood donors get a meal of meat sandwiches, muffins, yogurt, fruit, croissants and sometimes sausages with bread (you can choose whatever you like).

    http://www.medindia.net/news/nourishing-foods-you-must-eat-before-and-after-blood-donation-120386-1.htm

    P. S. Well done!
  • cingle87
    cingle87 Posts: 717 Member
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    They forced me to eat the crackers and wafer bar before I could leave the area and get back to work. Now I feel that I might as well keep eating the snacks since the wafer woke up the "sleeping sweet tooth" inside my belly.

    GET IN MY BELLY!!!!

    My buddy taught me when we were much younger... and much poorer.... that you could get a better buzz from less beer after giving blood.... put that donation to good use, and hit the bar.

    :drinker:

    This, I used to do it while at a unit, because you have 1 less unit of blood in your system there is a higher concentration of alcohol per unit than you would normally have. Ive seen a couple of medical documentaries that states its common pratice among medical students to do it as well.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    Sabotage?? Hardly.

    I always go over cals on days I donate blood. Not from the snacks I have right after the donation (I usually go for the healthier stuff - raisins, apple juice, etc, but have been known to snag a Hostess Ding Dong if they have them!), but because I make sure to eat really well the rest of the day. I just lost a pint of blood - my body appreciates a little extra fuel.

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