How To Lose Weight Gained On Thanksgiving
PugBug20
Posts: 55
Hi, all. I’m 5 months into my health and fitness journey and (as of Monday) I had lost a total of 30 pounds. Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and, like millions of other Americans, I spent the day stuffing my face with delicious, high-calorie foods. I know I could have (and should have) indulged in moderation, but I lost all sense of self-control and completely gorged myself to the point of illness. I woke up this morning feeling terrible, both physically and mentally. I am so ashamed of myself and my lack of self-control. How could I have let months of hard work go down the drain in just one day? However, the damage has been done and all I can do now is get back on track. The question is, how? I allow myself the occasional “cheat meal” here and there, but that’s all they are: one indulgent meal. Yesterday, I went on a full-day binge; I must have consumed at least 10,000 - 15,000 calories (no exaggeration, it was that bad). What should I do to reverse the damage? On a normal day, I eat 1,2000 calories and work out for one hour (either cardio or strength training, depending on the day). Should I lower my caloric intake for the next few days? Increase the length and/or intensity of my workout? Please help me! Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.
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Replies
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Eat like you always do. One day did not destroy months of work. You would have had to eat 3,000 calories over maintenance calories x 30 lbs to undo all the work you've done. That's more than is humanly possible in one day.
I think you may be overreacting. It happened, just start normally today. No reason to punish yourself with exercise or starvation....0 -
What you've been doing since you started. It's only one day, there's no need to beat yourself up for overeating, especially if you enjoyed your day.0
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10-15000 ???? damn, you definitely won thanksgiving! I only got to about 5500 or so ..
There is nothing wrong with over indulging on a holiday …log it, own it, and move on …and just go back to eating like normal today and get a workout in if you feel like it..0 -
Log it and move on. Today is a new day.0
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You lose it the same way you lose weight gained on any other day.
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Are you sure you ate 15000 calories beyond your normal daily amount would be for maintenance?
That said, not much you can do but get right back on that horse. Don't think of it as, "One whole month down the drain." You may have calculated incorrectly. 15000 calories is A LOT of calories. Even if you did gain three or four pounds, it WILL come off. It will. Think in terms of a lifetime, not this month or even a couple of months. It's too defeatist to think "I blew a whole month" or what-have-you, and could cause a downward "why try?" spiral. There were 12 months this year. Did you blow all 12 months? Probably not.
And although I don't generally recommend restricting on T'gving and Christmas, and I like to think of these as "just one day" each, I do think 15000 is just...so many calories. I don't even know how you physically did that without throwing up. So I *would* recommend trying *not* to go THAT crazy on Christmas (if you celebrate Christmas). You can overeat by 3500 calories and only gain one pound (roughly). 3500 is a lot of wiggle room to have a bit of all your favorites.
Keep your chin up. Today is a brand-new day. Eat normally for loss today and continue along.0 -
In all fairness, I'm not sure if I *actually* ate 15,000 calories. I didn't log, so my estimations are probably not the most accurate. I would say around 5,000 - 10,000, though, easily.0
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Don't berate yourself hon, you probably gained no more than one pound of actual fat and that's if you really did eat that many calories. Today eat lightly and go work out.0
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All you have to do is get back to eating according to your plan.0
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So, basically, I should just go back to normal today (i.e., eat 1,200 calories and work out for one hour)? I shouldn't cut my calories or work out more to reverse the damage? I should probably drink more water and eat less sodium than usual, too, right?0
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Also, in my original post, I meant to say I eat 1,200 calories a day, not 12,000…oops! Major difference.0
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Yep, that's exactly right. 0
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Just move on.0
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It's just one day -- let it go. Just get back on track with your normal eating and exercise plan. You are likely to see a temporary gain which, if you are disciplined, which disappear in a couple of days.0
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JUST GO BACK TO NORMAL. That means, eat what you would normally eat.
If drinking more water and eating less sodium are normal goals for you, fine, but don't do it as some kind of punishment for yesterday.0 -
You could always do a grapefruit juice cleanse. But I prefer pie cleanses. In which I eat leftover pie. J/K I ate a lot too but not too terribly bad. This morning I was very aware that my stomach still felt satiated, so I didn't force myself to eat breakfast. I had a lunch of oatmeal and a peanut granola bar, and I'm going to have a very light dinner. Hopefully being under on calories today will offset my overage for yesterday - though I don't know exactly how bad/good I was, since I didn't log. The point is - don't panic, just get back on track.0
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Congrats on the 30 lbs. I have to get back on track now, too. 0
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I'm sort of in the same boat as OP and it really, really helped to read everyone's logical responses. 0
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Also, when should I weigh myself again? I know better than to step on the scale today (water weight), but when should I?0
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just weigh in next week on your regular day ...0
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I lost 130# once on thanksgiving. Told that chick to get to steppin'.0
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It's not just water weight, but food weight. It will take a few days before the contents of your digestive system goes back to what is normal for you. You can weight yourself now, but just know that most of your gain is temporary. Skip one weigh-in if you think it will bother you.
I once took a week off and ate at maintenance, then binged on a Friday. My normal weigh-in day is Saturday and I kept to that schedule. I was up 2 lbs, most of it binge food still in my body. The next week, after eating and exercising normally, I was down 3.4 lbs. I NEVER lose that much in a week. I didn't gain weight at all from the binge, I maintained then lost when I ate at a deficit again.
You did not undo all of your work! Congratulations on your 30 lb weight loss!0 -
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In all fairness, I'm not sure if I *actually* ate 15,000 calories. I didn't log, so my estimations are probably not the most accurate. I would say around 5,000 - 10,000, though, easily.
Okay. So if, for example (I don't know your stats and am too lazy to look them up right now) your maintenance is 1800 cals, and you ate, say, 7000 cals, then you would have overeaten by 5200 cals.
That would be less than 2 lbs. gain (technically). Not really a ton of weight.
Just get right back on that horse.
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In all fairness, I'm not sure if I *actually* ate 15,000 calories. I didn't log, so my estimations are probably not the most accurate. I would say around 5,000 - 10,000, though, easily.
Okay. So if, for example (I don't know your stats and am too lazy to look them up right now) your maintenance is 1800 cals, and you ate, say, 7000 cals, then you would have overeaten by 5200 cals.
That would be less than 2 lbs. gain (technically). Not really a ton of weight.
And yes, you'll generally "weigh" more than that gain for a few days, for the reasons posters have stated above - the weight of the food not yet eliminated; water retention as necessary for carbohydrates. I overate by less than a "pound" yesterday but weigh three pounds more this morning. That's routine for me if I seriously overeat. Over the course of the following week it all comes off as the food and the water are eliminated.
Just get right back on that horse.
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I'm curious what you could eat that would be 10-15k calories! But then you said 5-10k calories so I'm think you really have no idea and therefore no reason to worry.
I ate until miserable (accidentally...) and calculated roughly 4500 calories with drinks. I can't imagine eating twice that.
You were probably extra hungry from your calorie limit and lost control a bit. Definitely not worth the worry just get back to normal for you and drink extra water. 0 -
I lost a few pounds of my thanksgiving weight gain by drinking a couple cups of coffee!0
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I am totally in excess of calories not just on Thanksgiving, but during this whole week, so I'm making sure not to skip any workouts this and next week and maybe add in a couple more workouts next week. Hoping this will even itself out. I've been indulging in rich food, but logging it and trying to go hard at the gym. Happy holidays!0
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I never could see the point of stepping on the scale the day after a big eating day like Thanksgiving. Your digestive system is still carrying all that food and water (because you're eating more sodium and carbs than you normally do on other days). Why set yourself up for that kind of disappointment and giving a false picture of the overall results, and then beat yourself up over how you've "failed"? It's like weighing yourself the day after you've had a stomach flu and then congratulating yourself on your great loss. While we laugh at the MFP "If every day was like today.... in 5 weeks" prediction, I found mine yesterday helpful. I ate over 900 calories over my goal, and it said that I would have gained 2.8 lbs. That's right, 2.8 lbs. if I ate that day every day for a month, not in just one day.0
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