When people have a few days over cals what do you do?

XLMACX · July 2014

Hi everyone,

Just wanting advise really I have asked my dieting friends who have both given different advise and I was just wondering what other people thought, I suppose I'm wanting to someone to make my mind up for me!

Basically since doing MFP I have had around 3 episodes of "binging" these usually happen on a weekend Saturday or Sunday and my highest binge day been around 4500

shame on me! Lol

What I would usually do is cut really back The week after to compensate I would eat anything from 700-100 cals and maybe fast day of 500 (I should eat 1600 a day) by doing this I would lose around 1-2lb god knows how but it worked! However this then become a vicious cycle and started happening more often which I know is not good so I took a break from MFP and went to slimming world which was a mistake and I yo-yod for 3 weeks the come back here!

This Saturday and Sunday I went over my calories by around 600 then on Monday me and my partner went to a all you can eat buffet (I went here after using all my 1600 calories for that day) I normally don't have a day off and he gets fed up of all the diet lark so I felt what the hell. I ate 4 plates I'm not one to pile it sky high with foods but Iam aware of just how many calories foods contain especially the desserts which was my biggest plate full.

What my problem is now I do feel a tad guilty even though I shouldn't and I'm fighting every urge not to cut back and carry on as normal which is what normal people do and I really want to try and crack this because I know once I do it will feel a lot less like a diet and more lifestyle my friends both gave me the below advise and I don't know which i should:

A) weigh this Saturday morning like usually take the gain on the chin move on people go out they have a meal they gain it's normal life and I can't lose every week.

weigh in the Saturday after which gives me more then enough time to lose the gain and then some so i will never know how much I gained and in a way it never happened I will just see scale go down again.

I'm just worried seeing a gain will demotivate me and get me down as I haven't yet had one since starting. I think I'm panicking more as I wanted to get close to target for my holiday which is October 9th and nearly all of august I have some event coming up so it's going to be tough And I want to keep vining forward and not back,

Any advise given would be much appreciated, to Add I do work out around 6X a week power walking for miles, swimming and also Zumba once a week as well as barbell squats most nights x

BeginningAgainMay14 · July 2014

I have successfully lost weight many times over the years, and the thing that has tripped me up has been having a bad couple of days of eating and skipping the weigh in. I would skip it and never get back to it. I encourage you to stick with your routine if it has been working for you and go ahead and step on the scale.

Just remember if you see a significant gain, most of it is almost certainly water that will come right back off when you continue your eating plan. You would have to overeat by 3500 calories to gain a pound, so while it is possible the scale may say you put on, for example, 4 pounds, it's virtually impossible for you to have overeaten enough to gain that in fat.

editorgrrl · July 2014

Look at your nutrition for the past 7 days, not just today. (It's easier in the app.)

Eat "good" (whatever that means to you) 80% of the time. Fit yummy, portion-controlled treats into your calorie goal. Deprivation can lead to bingeing.

If you binge, log it accurately & honestly. Then forgive yourself & move on.

The Sexypants post should be required reading: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-Sexypants

kateowp · July 2014

forgive yourself & move on.

This!

EuphonyChloeH · July 2014

I have the same problem from time to time. A bad weekend can sabotage a great week. I think the body responds much better to consistency rather than feast of famine. I saw a health coach weekly for two years and never once did she say to drastically drop calories to make up for a bad weekend. Rather, it's better to go back to eating clean, especially the first three days after. Your body can bounce back after the occasional splurge day, but if it's every weekend it becomes routine.

nomeejerome · July 2014

You are really making this difficult for yourself. You do not have much to lose and by setting a date, you are already setting yourself up for possible disappointment. Read the link (and all of the links in it) provided for you in this thread and re-read the "setting your calorie and macro targets" in one of your other threads.

Set reasonable goals. Be patient.

kgeyser · July 2014

I log it and go back to eating my normal amount of calories.

Voww · July 2014

I had a day over-eating too last weekend, nothing to do but move on and start again next day rather than worry about it. I log everything anyway and any weight gain on my usual weigh-in day I see as an incentive to get back to healthier choices/portions; also it's a more accurate record of my eating habits and weight fluctuation. Sometimes, not often, I try to exercise a bit more and cut back on food a little the following week to make up for the binge.

XLMACX · July 2014

Thanks for all your advise

I''am really obsessed with dieting have been for a while, I think I may just weigh myself Saturday as usual and just carry on doing what I'm doing as before when I have over eaten I have like I said cut way back weigh myself every day to make sure I lose the weight or stay the same and this is probably were I'm going wrong.
I need to change my mindset, maybe seeing a gain on the scale too will stop me from future binged (not that I have one for ages now).

Suppose a gain won't kill me I don't feel I look any fatter any way hahaha and I will be interested to see how much weight I have put on from having a night off it may not be as bad as I think. I hope!

When people have a few days over cals what do you do?

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