Ate 1500 calories for breakfast today. What should I do now?

It's that time of the month again and I've been craving so much chocolate and sweets. I ate half a bag of coconut chips, chocolate and 2 cookies along with breakfast. This is all around 1500 calories. Should I fast for the rest of the day? Or would I be better off burning 400 calories through exercise and eating 200 for dinner? I feel super duper guilty for eating so much. Help?
«1

Replies

  • rebeccatackett
    rebeccatackett Posts: 37 Member
    Don't skip meals today. Try to eat healthy for the rest of the day and get in some exercise. Fasting for the rest of the day could throw you off track even further. When you finally do eat, you'll end up with another bender. Start fresh tomorrow with a healthy, low calorie breakfast and chalk it up to a learning experience.
  • Jgal8123
    Jgal8123 Posts: 1,378 Member
    I vote for the exercise option. And don't beat yourself up too much...just get back on track and keep pushing ahead =)
  • I'd opt for the exercise...I know how you feel though... Yesterday's calorie count kind of went off the rails. Just dust yourself off and keep on with the good fight.
  • nikibean123
    nikibean123 Posts: 81 Member
    Don't worry about it - we all slip sometimes :) Don't fast, it's not healthy and will just cause problems. Eat as healthily as possible (without starving yourself) today and exercise if possible to help make up for breakfast. Think of calories when they're averaged out over the week. Be uber healthy over the next few days to make up for it :)
  • Adc7225
    Adc7225 Posts: 1,318 Member
    I honestly think that with everything our hormones put us through we need to be able to balance things as much as we can during our TOM, don't stress about this morning, try and balance it out over the week!

    Drink water, and if you need treats throughout the next few days, try what I do - log it first and wait 10-15 minutes or until you finish some small mundane task. This along with looking at the calories usually will alleviate the desire, not always but when I find I eat it anyway I don't even enjoy it. It's a learning/training process we are going through, but there's a learning curve called that time of the month!!!
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    Skipping meals really messes me up. I vote for some exercise and if you go a bit over make it up tomorrow or the next day. I look at the week more than one particular day.
  • MinimalistShoeAddict
    MinimalistShoeAddict Posts: 1,946 Member
    Don't stress out about it!

    It helps me to set weekly instead of daily calorie/macro targets. That way I can go way over one day and compensate on others days while remaining on target for the week!

    Exercise is always a good thing but there is no reason to deprive yourself of food if you want to eat more later today.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    It's that time of the month again and I've been craving so much chocolate and sweets. I ate half a bag of coconut chips, chocolate and 2 cookies along with breakfast. This is all around 1500 calories. Should I fast for the rest of the day? Or would I be better off burning 400 calories through exercise and eating 200 for dinner? I feel super duper guilty for eating so much. Help?
    No, just eat smaller meals in the day and get some exercise. I would also make sure to log all that food for accuracy. It may be less, it may be more, but it will help you plan the rest of your day.

    Remember, you have control over food, it does not have control over you. :smile:
  • I'm with everyone. Move on, get back on the wagon the rest of the day and make sure you get a work out in -- if nothing else, it will help ease the guilt ;)
  • AutumnFrostfall
    AutumnFrostfall Posts: 25 Member
    Don't skip meals today. Try to eat healthy for the rest of the day and get in some exercise. Fasting for the rest of the day could throw you off track even further. When you finally do eat, you'll end up with another bender. Start fresh tomorrow with a healthy, low calorie breakfast and chalk it up to a learning experience.

    What they said in the quote. Changing your lifestyle is like learning to ride a bike. You're going to fall now & then. Just don't stop working towards your goal.
  • jos05
    jos05 Posts: 263 Member
    Personally I would just say screw it! And keep moving forward. Drink your water!! And stay on track for the rest of the day... It happens to everyone! But I wouldn't skip any meals.

    It's a lifestyle... not a diet... and don't derail because you're human and you had some snacks... Just get back on track! I wouldn't even think about it for another minute. It happened... keep moving forward! :)
  • eddiesmith1
    eddiesmith1 Posts: 1,550 Member
    Just move on like a regular day focus on healthy meals and water intake, get some exercise in. what matters is you have a weekly deficit inline with your goals. I blew it on sunday by a fair bit but have still kept on track for the week for example
  • 1shauna1
    1shauna1 Posts: 993 Member
    Don't skip. Work out and then eat lots of veggies with some protein.
  • navyrigger46
    navyrigger46 Posts: 1,301 Member
    It's not a big deal, just log it and move on, don't skip or even skimp on meals the rest of the day, you'll be fine.

    Rigger
  • Eat healthy the rest of the day and get a workout in, you'll feel better after the workout. I wouldn't fast, its not good for your metabolism. Give yourself a break... its just one meal. :)
  • Lunira
    Lunira Posts: 33
    In the future, you might want to get some sugar free chocolate pudding mix from Jello, and keep a couple boxes in your kitchen. If you use 1% milk it's only 90 calories for half a cup, and most of that will come from the milk.

    Or if you drink 8oz of milk with breakfast or dinner normally, just turn your milk into 1 cup of pudding instead, and consume it that way. 1 cup of chocolate pudding, for only 70 more calories than the milk has on its own. That way you can get your chocolate on without eating way more calories than you intended.
  • Toblave
    Toblave Posts: 244 Member
    Exercise and count it as a re-feed day. Don't stress out about it and do better tomorrow.
  • Make sure you get to the gym!!!! Don't skip meals just be more aware about what you eat the rest of the day...
  • Wiseandcurious
    Wiseandcurious Posts: 730 Member
    Focus on feeling better today. You ate the chocolate because you needed it - that's not a bad thing at this TOM, there are good reasons why we crave things sometimes. Now don't punish yourself, eat lighter may be today but don't skip meals, get in as much exercise as is comfortable in this condition, may be do something nice and pleasurable that does not involve food i.e. light a candle... take a bath...

    And read this thread if you haven't already:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1198699-the-most-important-skill-for-weight-management?hl=most+important+skill+for+weight#posts-18728815

    Life will happen, even after we lose the weight. It's about picking yourself up and dusting yourself off and moving on with it, without exaggerating the drama of it all. What happened is really not such a big deal. The big deal is how you will take it and what you will make of it.
  • 1princesswarrior
    1princesswarrior Posts: 1,242 Member
    Ditto everyone else. Eat salads and veggies the rest of the day, and try to get some protein.

    I've been there. It's not the end of the world. You have to eat 3500 calories over maintenance to gain 1 lb, so don't worry if you go over by a few hundred today. Drink some hot tea the next time you get cravings, it always helps with my insane TOM cravings.

    Next month plan ahead and have some craving food set aside in Ziploc baggies that are pre-measured. That's what I do. Then I pull a bag out and already know what I'm eating, when the bag is gone and I'm still craving more I exercise and that usually helps to kick the craving. If it does not I go for the hot tea, then more exercise, then a protein shake, etc. I keep myself busy until the craving goes away. Usually allowing myself the said food does the trick and does not derail my day.
  • Use all those carbs to your advantage and hit the gym hard! This would be a good day to pump some iron but don't skip the cardio!

    Try to set yourself up for success by buying some healthier snacks, and get the junk food out of the house. I find it a lot easier to resist temptation if I have to leave the house to get it.

    By posting here about you're indicating you are in the right mindset. Keep up the good work and don't stress about today. Eat healthy the rest of the day (don't skip meals!) and hit that gym, and you'll be right on track to stay successful.
  • Serenitynow29
    Serenitynow29 Posts: 119 Member
    Log the food. Someone on another thread said they log everything before they eat it. I think that's a great idea. Sometimes seeing it in the log, before you eat it helps a lot. Do I really want to eat this? Answer this question before you eat. it.

    Now about today, if you aren't already someone who has fasted in the past or you have EDs, then no, no fasting today. If you are hungry eat. What I found when I ate heavy hitting nutritious food, that I also liked, was the desire for less nutritious food went away.

    If you are a juicer/smoothie person, start the day with one.

    The local juice bar charges $7.50 for a drink, but I figured out my own version and it is delicious and comforting, even on a cold morning. It's 1 banana,(129 g/4.5 oz) 16-20 grams of pitted dates, 2 oz. of TJ's unsweetened coconut milk(the kind you would use instead of dairy milk so it doesn't taste particularly coconutty), and 1/8 c./11 grams of TJ's organic rolled oats, a splash of vanilla extract, and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top after pouring it into a glass.

    I bet something similar for you with a bit of cocoa & perhaps coconut extract would do the same trick and come in under 300 calories for you.

    Good Luck! And don't sweat the 1500 calories today.
  • VelveteenArabian
    VelveteenArabian Posts: 758 Member
    Get rid of the snacks in the house if you can't eat them in moderation.
    Drink lots of water. Next time you feel giant cravings, drink water instead.
  • FindingAmy77
    FindingAmy77 Posts: 1,268 Member
    It's that time of the month again and I've been craving so much chocolate and sweets. I ate half a bag of coconut chips, chocolate and 2 cookies along with breakfast. This is all around 1500 calories. Should I fast for the rest of the day? Or would I be better off burning 400 calories through exercise and eating 200 for dinner? I feel super duper guilty for eating so much. Help?

    Okay for one: start your workout by getting a sweat on and emptying out your cabinets of that empty calorie junkfood. Then go work out for real. You can not starve yourself for the rest of the day. Just do the time at the gym or wherever you work out and move on. Eat apple slices if you get hungry or another low cal snack idea and drink a lot of water. Go to bed as early as you can and then just start over new tomorrow. That is all you can do. Take this as a learning process and make a plan on what you could do better next time. YOu like sweets? try sugar free cocoa for that fix and make yourself have an apple BEFORE you reach for a junkfood item. It will be okay, we all have slipped.
  • Orion782
    Orion782 Posts: 391
    Don't fast, it's not healthy and will just cause problems.

    FALSE. :noway:

    The misinformation out there about fasting is unbelieveable. I would say for you to exercise, eat a small afternoon meal(or dinner), and do some research so you don't get bad gouge about things like fasting.

    TOP TEN FASTING MYTHS DEBUNKED: http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html
  • tpligon
    tpligon Posts: 8 Member
    Although I am for fasting from food or something specific and believe it to be a healthy tool that creates discipline and confidence, it should be a planned event not a spur of the moment quick fix. If you want permanent results, you need to make permanent changes. Don't live in the past, learn from it and move on. Learn a sustainable and healthy balanced lifestyle. I removed those trigger foods from my house. If you are an alcoholic that is sincerely trying to quit drinking you don't fill your shelves with vodka. I gave up the trigger foods until they stopped calling my name, retraining my taste buds. The brain has the same type of reaction to sugar as it does to cocaine. When I indulge now it is planned out so I don't go overboard. I get one specific amount of one specific thing and it is not called a treat. Don't treat yourself with food, make treats a real reward to a hard fought goal like buying smaller clothes. You can do this.
  • I agree that you shouldn't skip any meals. I also have food cravings at TOM. I eat what I am craving in moderation. Then when I do my workout for the day I do more Cardio to balance the extra I ate. This works for me and I haven't gain. Just remember you are going to have days where you are going to eat more. Just take a note and workout a little more. I use to feel bad if I went over my calorie count and then I would give up. Now if I eat more then my calorie count I just workout more. Now if I'm in a situation when I might go over I think twice. I think is it worth me having to workout more to break even. Sometimes I do. My way of thinking is working for me. I use to think I couldn't have anything and instead of losing weight I would start gaining and say screw the diet. Now I give myself choices and I have lost 23 pounds. You have to find what works for you. But remember this process is a one day at a time. Keep up the good work.
  • Orion782
    Orion782 Posts: 391
    Although I am for fasting from food or something specific and believe it to be a healthy tool that creates discipline and confidence, it should be a planned event not a spur of the moment quick fix. If you want permanent results, you need to make permanent changes. Don't live in the past, learn from it and move on. Learn a sustainable and healthy balanced lifestyle. I removed those trigger foods from my house. If you are an alcoholic that is sincerely trying to quit drinking you don't fill your shelves with vodka. I gave up the trigger foods until they stopped calling my name, retraining my taste buds. The brain has the same type of reaction to sugar as it does to cocaine. When I indulge now it is planned out so I don't go overboard. I get one specific amount of one specific thing and it is not called a treat. Don't treat yourself with food, make treats a real reward to a hard fought goal like buying smaller clothes. You can do this.

    ^^THIS. :drinker:
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    go work it off
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I would recommend eating normally for the rest of the day. Exercise more if you want, but otherwise put it behind you and move forward as if it never happened. Remember the awful feeling you have now and use it as a deterrent for the next time you feel the need to binge on sweets. Though honestly, during TOM that’s not always going to help. Hormones can be a mighty force.