Consciously overindulged, tracked anyways and glad I did

aalbert_82
aalbert_82 Posts: 95 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So I've been doing really well sticking to my allotted calories since I started on MFP at the end of Feb. After dealing with some pretty hefty stress for the last two weeks (and not using emotional eating to cope like I used to), I thought to myself, "I've been losing weight pretty fast...I'm going to indulge tonight and have popcorn the way I used to". So I made my normal 6 cups of popcorn with enough coconut oil to prevent burning, and 1/4 cup butter. I also had a can of pepsi and half a Lindt dark chocolate bar. When all was said and done, I had consumed 1200 calories, and I was already at my limit for the day before I ate this "snack". I didn't even enjoy it that much.

In the past, if I had indulged like this while I was supposed to be watching what I ate I wouldn't bother to track it. I'd treat it like a free-for-all. But this time I'm considering this a lifestyle change. For that reason I'm so glad I did track it. I'm all for overindulging from time to time if it is worth it to you and if you enjoy it. In my case i was not worth it and I believe that tracking my overindulgence will result in me reconsidering next time.

Replies

  • UmmaOfThree
    UmmaOfThree Posts: 31 Member
    I do the same, and I'm glad I do! I can't believe how much I can actually consume while actually knowing I'm doing it. Imagine if I didn't track. That would be disaster!

    Good for you for being responsible for your health and choosing to know :smile:
  • skittlesnhoney
    skittlesnhoney Posts: 651 Member
    I tell myself "you are only hurting yourself when you don't track your foods honestly". Good job! And I know what you mean about it not really being that enjoyable. I stick with smaller portions, or just a bite now and then instead and try not to go crazy over an entire plate of brownies like I used to, lol. Or a higher calorie indulgence meal I split in half and save the rest for another day. :smile:
  • zeal26
    zeal26 Posts: 602 Member
    Sometimes I am really really tempted not to track. But I force myself to anyway- I'd only be fooling myself, it's not like anyone else is bothered!
  • wannakimmy
    wannakimmy Posts: 488 Member
    Great job staying with the tracking. I think we have all had days where we felt like saying forget it, I'm gunna just indulge and not care. It's a great idea to still keep track even if you do have an indulge day. Log it, learn from it, and move on. Proud of you for thinking it through for the long term!
  • crazyforbooks
    crazyforbooks Posts: 10
    This is so good, this is probably my biggest issue, the 'indulging' because of this or that, never really good reason. So, I am tracking but get discouraged because even tracking it, I am still emotionally eating. Any tips?
  • lizzyclatworthy
    lizzyclatworthy Posts: 296 Member
    Yeah I have done similar, given myself a 'day off' from worrying but logged it anyway (after a major battle with myself) and it's been nowhere near as bad as I thought!

    Please stop talking about lindt chocolate tho.. my boycott is killing me this close to Easter! :sad:
  • fitbrit19
    fitbrit19 Posts: 55
    Exactly! Something about seeing it all written out & that big red number at the bottom makes me realize it isn't worth it. It really isn't making me feel better!
  • scubasuenc
    scubasuenc Posts: 626 Member
    Tracking when you know you've over indulged is a victory in itself. You are acknowledging the mistake and moving on.

    The way I look at it, the only person I hurt if I fail to log it is me. I am a bit of a numbers geek, so I look at my calories in and out each week to estimate what my loss should be. Then I see what the scale reports. Some weeks the loss is more, some weeks the loss is less. But since January the actual loss has been within 5% of the predicted loss. If I didn't track the ugly along with the good I wouldn't have that level of accuracy.

    Also, you know how much you over indulged. If you want, you can choose to go under a couple of hundred calories for a week or to exercise more during the week to offset it. It gives you the control to make informed decisions about how you proceed.
  • JMoore221979
    JMoore221979 Posts: 266
    Tracking when you know you've over indulged is a victory in itself. You are acknowledging the mistake and moving on.

    The way I look at it, the only person I hurt if I fail to log it is me. I am a bit of a numbers geek, so I look at my calories in and out each week to estimate what my loss should be. Then I see what the scale reports. Some weeks the loss is more, some weeks the loss is less. But since January the actual loss has been within 5% of the predicted loss. If I didn't track the ugly along with the good I wouldn't have that level of accuracy.

    Also, you know how much you over indulged. If you want, you can choose to go under a couple of hundred calories for a week or to exercise more during the week to offset it. It gives you the control to make informed decisions about how you proceed.

    Hammer hitting nail on head!
  • aalbert_82
    aalbert_82 Posts: 95 Member
    Thanks for all the reinforcement and encouraging responses :happy:

    I like the idea of saving some calories for an occasional/weekly indulgence. I used to do that when I was on weight watchers (with the flex points) and it worked really well for me.

    @crazyforbooks - You're half way there just by being aware of your emotional eating. If you catch it before you act, you might be able to find other ways of coping. Think to yourself, what would help right now (other than food)? Am I bored, do I need comfort, do I feel the need to celebrate, what is it? And if it's something really deep like a childhood trauma or a loss, work on that in a broader way with a therapist or on your own. Trying not to use food to cope can be such a struggle because you can't just quit eating like you would drugs or alcohol.
  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
    Most of the time, when I overindulge, I find that the calorie amount isn't as bad as I would have imagined. For example, after a really, really, really bad workday yesterday, today I had ice cream for breakfast. I weighed the container, ate out of it with a spoon, then weighed to see how much I consumed. It was 500 calories, just 100 calories more than my normal breakfast. Not such a big deal in the whole scheme of things, I feel better for having indulged, and now my sweet craving for the day is done.
  • Mangopickle
    Mangopickle Posts: 1,509 Member
    Tracking an overindulgence really helps me keep the treat to a reasonable level. I find that I am unwilling to indulge beyond 350 calories extra. I seem to lose all interest in eating further. I also find that my food interests are shifting and my palate prefers more complex carbs and fats. For example, potato chips boring, okra chips interesting and half the calories.
  • feelin_gr_8
    feelin_gr_8 Posts: 308 Member
    Good job :) I've found that tracking when over-indulging has done 3 things for me:

    1-Reminds me how my taste buds have changed-that calorific burger from BK or the beloved raspberry filled powdered donuts that I sometimes still crave just didn't taste worth the calories I see.

    2-I may surprise myself. I went way overboard on a meal the other day, but decided to still put it in, I didn't do nearly as much damage as I thought I had, and I made up for it out of the next day's calories :)

    3-I feel proper shame, which can definitely be healthy when we make a bad decision whether it's about our food or gossiping, or telling a lie, or anything...if we feel the guilt we need to and channel it in a healthy way to better ourselves, that it what brings true growth! Seeing a shocking number might be the thing we need instead of sweeping it under the rug.
  • tech_kitten
    tech_kitten Posts: 221 Member
    I have found that psychologically if I make myself log it right BEFORE I eat it, then I am less likely to eat the whole thing, or go grab something else to munch with it. That way, if I'm not enjoying it as much as I should, I stop eating and adjust the serving to how much I really ate of it. For instance, people at the office bring donuts sometimes, and I felt it was time to eat a glazed donut as a treat. I logged it, but then after eating about half, it was tasting sort of stale, and it was no longer a treat to me, so I threw the other half away and adjusted the serving to 1/2. If I don't log it prior, I don't think as consciously about if "it's worth it". I'm going to a party tonight, and I know I will have birthday cake, but I will log it, and if it's not awesome, I will not eat all of what I take. I have always been a foodie, but tracking calories has made me more aware of the quality of food I'm putting into my body, because every calorie counts, and I don't want to shove extra calories in if it's really not what I was craving.
    When I say screw it and don't log splurges, I don't have any record, but I can't just pretend it never happened, so sometimes I will go in and log it afterwards, even if it is a day later. It is better in the long run if you log everything. I hear one day I might get a feel for calorie intake and have a more natural idea of how much I intake and can stop logging. I hope that happens. I don't want to become obsessed with numbers, but for now, that is what it takes.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    Hmm. I should log just before eating during and overeating week! I'm visiting somebody and they basically have everything I usually keep away from my house so I'm inhaling everything in sight. Log just before I eat could be a way to review the numbers and my actions before getting up, this could help in the future!

    A lot of times people say forget the logging and just enjoy your vacation but I'm not necessarily seriously enjoying all the stuff I'm eating; mostly just eating it because it's there. I've noticed that my true eating for enjoyment sakes does not typically exceed 500 calories - most anything else could have been done for less.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    I totally agree...but when I did this for the first time it made me realize that instead of over indulging in the food and eating too much that I would now have a serving of whatever it was that I wanted and that fit into my goals.

    My normal goal is 1700 calories...my "party, holiday, night out" goals are maintenance and this seems to really help me stay on track.
  • KnitOrMiss
    KnitOrMiss Posts: 10,103 Member
    @tech_kitten I completely LOVE the idea of logging BEFORE indulging! It is amazing what awareness alone can do for the willpower!! I'm going to start doing that. :-)

    And I choose to indulge this past Friday night. I ate pizza and cake. My first adult experience with a sugar rush, which I'm in no hurry to repeat. I surely didn't feel good afterward. And I intentionally ate a bunch... Made the rest of my weekend being on track much simpler!

    And as a result, on a typical weekend I gain 1-4 pounds. This weekend, it was only 0.2 pounds. I loved that feeling. I indulged and still had a great weekend!!
  • katro111
    katro111 Posts: 632 Member
    I did the same thing yesterday - I had cake for the first time in months. It was great. I weighed it and logged it. I haven't been purposely avoiding it, but it never ended up fitting into my macros, but I MADE it fit yesterday. I don't feel bad about it at all and according to FitBit, I still ended up at a deficit yesterday. Go forth and EAT CAKE!
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    nice...flawed data is useless... poor tracking is useless
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    That is great! I find that when I overdo it and track whatever I ate, I'm usually surprised in a good way - like I feel that I may have gone over by 1400 and it's like 270 over.
  • Joiful06
    Joiful06 Posts: 8
    I thought I was the only one. Honestly, need to track even if its poor food choices.
  • tabbyblack13
    tabbyblack13 Posts: 299 Member
    I always track as much as I can. I makes me very aware of what I am eating and doing to my body.
  • nehushtan
    nehushtan Posts: 566 Member
    I love this thread, and the audacity of the first post! It's amazing how much crap there is on this site, while this piece of wisdom is so desperately needed but not discussed... even unknown!

    I believe this is a crucial piece of the success puzzle, and vastly underrated by beginners.

    Logging after a binge is a way of turning failure into success.
    Logging your failure is facing up to reality instead of sweeping it under the rug.
    Logging after losing control is a way of regaining control.
    When I go crazy binging, logging turns me back toward sanity.
    Logging is my way of looking in the mirror and saying "I can count on you!"

    Hurray, hurray, hurray! Three cheers for always telling yourself the truth!

    I wish I could sit down with every newcomer and vigorously drill them on this.

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