Can this really be happening? Surely not.

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urbanruralmomma
urbanruralmomma Posts: 29
in Health and Weight Loss
So most days I exercise, and stay at/under my calories. In the 45 days since I've been on this site, I've lost nearly 11lbs - I'm satisfied with that.

However, I've had a few days of splurging. Went to one restaurant and had pan-fried catfish, a cheese-based soup, and a Jamaican crepe for dessert. The next day, we had our tamale-making party - during the course of the day i had 4-5 glasses of white wine and 4-5 tamales, re-fried beans (had lard in them). Then the next day, we were in a local peanut shop and i had 2 oz of dark chocolate covered almonds.

Now all these splurges were "balanced" with modest healthy meals during the same days, but none-the-less, the calorie count would have been WAY over. Don't bother looking at my diary for these days - I had no idea how to calculate the calories for all that I consumed!

When I weighed myself today I was completely astounded to learn that i STILL lost weight on these days! (about a pound.)

So, my question to you is - how can this be? I certainly expected to gain a pound or two.

Thanks for your help!

Replies

  • shaunshaikh
    shaunshaikh Posts: 616 Member
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    Depends on how much you lost. This happens to me sometimes when I've been drinking, due to being dehydrated because of the alcohol. A lot of the time, when you think you're doing a lot of damage you're really not. Just because you're over your goal calories doesn't mean you're over your maintainance calories. Also I think sometimes we go through such efforts to be healthy and clean and fat free that we almost do it to our own detriment. If you have been like that and all of a sudden reintroduced some fat into your diet, it could have helped your digestion a little bit and got things going. All in all, I don't think you will probably notice a huge change in actual fat loss which is what you're aiming for based on a couple meals of eating poorly... so just get back on the horse and keep chugging along. Don't be upset if your weight bounces back up.
  • tandroes
    tandroes Posts: 163 Member
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    this happened to me once when i ate a piece of pizza and went way over my calories... i lost 1.5 pounds overnight.... I've heard it boosts your metabolism to do this every once in a while because it gets used to only so many calories every day so then when something changes it has to kick back in and work harder... i don't exactly get it, but i know it works! a body builder i'm friends with does this before every show.
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
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    Sometimes a "high calorie" day can give your metabolism a bit of a 'boost'.

    A lot of people have had successful weight loss with calorie cycling. Low days and high days alternating through the week.
  • emaybe
    emaybe Posts: 187 Member
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    Were you still working out? I've found that on days when I go a little overboard (or a lot) on a meal or two, the loss trend generally still continues, as long as I keep active and keep my other meals in check... Nice to know you can cheat a little bit, ain't it?! ;)
  • susancelli928
    susancelli928 Posts: 190
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    Simply put its the exercise. Your body's metabolism has been raised which means you are still burning calories. Don't knock it that's a good thing
  • HelenTheKitchen
    HelenTheKitchen Posts: 383
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    Sometimes it's good to put a little extra gas in the engine.
  • MrsCon40
    MrsCon40 Posts: 2,351 Member
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    A lot of people have had successful weight loss with calorie cycling. Low days and high days alternating through the week.

    I'm doing this and it's really working for me.
  • mbuzalski
    mbuzalski Posts: 30 Member
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    My best guess is that; for one MFP already includes a deficit in your caloric intake, 2 you may not have been eating your exercise calories (which you should according to MFP) and finally your body may have been ready for a slight overage so that it knew you weren't hungry.

    I am no expert on any of this, but I have learned a few things from reading others information. I know that when I was just eating my regular calories I lost less than when I eat my exercise calories as well.

    Anyways congrats and continued success!!:flowerforyou:
  • Hanna82
    Hanna82 Posts: 138 Member
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    I give myself a day where I don't count my calories once a week. I've found that this way I don't have overwhelming cravings for things and then binge eat. I can eat things I love in moderation and as you said with a balanced healthy diet mixed in with the bad stuff. I have continuously lost weight. I can't explain how it all works but I feel like if your body is responding positively and you can still eat things you love then more power to you. You can have your cake and eat it too!
  • kacarter1017
    kacarter1017 Posts: 651 Member
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    Maybe you would have been way lower than that without those days. Also, I've had it happen where that kind of eating seems to hit me the week after it happens. Just when I thought I was "saved" from my transgressions, the scale went the wrong way! The important thing is to not think you can have several of those days in a row frequently and not see things go the wrong direction on the scale. I've played that game with myself before.
  • erin_kercheval
    erin_kercheval Posts: 37 Member
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    Awesome!! I totally agree that it's possible for this to happen and it's not the scale messing with you. :) Calorie cycling does seem a good way to go. I don't intentionally cycle my calories, but I do eat more when I work out and I have fun weekends where I will splurge like you did & eat/drink quite a bit. It has slowed my progress when I splurge a bit too much or don't work out as hard on a given week, but it has not halted my progress. I think this is the best way to go for so many of us who enjoy socializing with food & beverages. Just do everything in moderation and it's all good!
  • urbanruralmomma
    urbanruralmomma Posts: 29
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    Wow. I've never heard of calorie cycling. Maybe that was it. I did workout on some of those days, but not like i usually do.

    I'll investigate the calorie cycling more. I had definitely wondered what was happening to my metabolism with all the extra exercise and dieting. I've often heard that if you don't do things right, your body will think it's in 'starvation mode' and you'll stop loosing weight.

    Maybe this calorie cycling helps to remind the body that all is well.


    thanks for your help!
  • Annie5859
    Annie5859 Posts: 280 Member
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    I find that if I have a "spike" day once a week, meaning my calorie intake is about 200-300 calories higher, I have a bigger weekly weight loss than if I stay strictly on the same amount of calories per day.

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