How do you get back on track after a day of indulgence?
ravenrainchild
Posts: 22 Member
So...I messed up bad today. I was home all alone and there was an entire bag of after dinner mints in the kitchen that just isn't there anymore.
*looks down at tummy*
Not just that, but I ate probably a good 3-4 granola bars and about half a personal sized pizza. ALong with what I would usually eat, which would be lean ground turkey..vegetables...good-for-your-body stuff.
...This is so wrong!! I was doing so good!!!!!! My legs are getting more toned, my tummy is shrinking and my arms and back feel so strong. Now I just feel blah. Blah! (Witha capital 'B'!) I have a workout class in about an hour - which i'm going to FORCE myself to go to, but I still don't feel like thats enough.
So, friends, how do I come back from this tomorrow? How do I wake up and get my routine back on track on a weekend nonetheless? (Weekends are usually less structured for me so they're harder to stick to my eating routine)
How do you normally get back into it after a day of no-no foods?
*looks down at tummy*
Not just that, but I ate probably a good 3-4 granola bars and about half a personal sized pizza. ALong with what I would usually eat, which would be lean ground turkey..vegetables...good-for-your-body stuff.
...This is so wrong!! I was doing so good!!!!!! My legs are getting more toned, my tummy is shrinking and my arms and back feel so strong. Now I just feel blah. Blah! (Witha capital 'B'!) I have a workout class in about an hour - which i'm going to FORCE myself to go to, but I still don't feel like thats enough.
So, friends, how do I come back from this tomorrow? How do I wake up and get my routine back on track on a weekend nonetheless? (Weekends are usually less structured for me so they're harder to stick to my eating routine)
How do you normally get back into it after a day of no-no foods?
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Replies
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It's normal to slip up so please don't be hard on yourself.
Just get up in the morning with the confidence that you'll eat right and make good choices.
It could be possible that there was something in that granola or pizza that your body needed. Maybe add more protein and fiber to your diet to keep you fuller.
Last week I ate 2 giant bowls of Rasin Bran. 2 HUGE bowls - didn't even bother logging it. Clearly I needed the bran and it served it's purpose lololol0 -
Possibly...I think it was more so the case of me being bored because I was home alone and that rarely happens. Thank you for your encouragement, it means a lot : )tracyannk28 wrote: »It's normal to slip up so please don't be hard on yourself.
Just get up in the morning with the confidence that you'll eat right and make good choices.
It could be possible that there was something in that granola or pizza that your body needed. Maybe add more protein and fiber to your diet to keep you fuller.
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The same way you get up off the floor after you trip and fall. Get up, dust yourself off and move on.0
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Log it all today and start fresh tomorrow. If you feel like weekends are harder for you, I suggest doing some meal prep and menu planning tonight so you have a game plan going into tomorrow. Also plan some good for your body yet relaxing workouts....yoga, hikes with the family or friends, or a fun class you enjoy. And stop beating yourself up over today. You weren't "bad", you just made some food choices that don't fit into your current meal plan. But do record it. I usually include a note with my food diary saying why I was above my calorie allotment and how I felt afterwards (ie: lethargic, bloated etc) so I can read this the next time I want to go totally off the rails so to speak. I find it helps.
Good luck this weekend and enjoy your class tonight0 -
ravenrainchild wrote: »
How do you normally get back into it after a day of no-no foods?
There are (or should be) no "no-no" foods, for one thing.
Bored binging is something I've run into as well. I wish I could tell you how to stop entirely. But carrying on is easy: admit you screwed up and keep going.
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Thank you guys. I appreciate it.
Although why are you guys generally telling me to log it regardless if it's bad? I just usually chalk up the whole day and begin anew the next. Just curious!0 -
Yes, I would always log a day like that. It helps you to see it and could stop you next time. I usually pre-log and only eat what I've planned.0
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1) I make myself log it. You don't have to, but I find that I can calm down about the whole thing quicker if I know exactly what I ate. I can also plan my recovery, should I choose to "recover," which I don't always -- sometimes I just write the whole episode off.
2) I think about why I overate and I talk it through somehow, either in a personal journal or here on MFP. I try to pinpoint what caused it, how "bad" it actually was, how I could avoid it in future, etc. (If you look at my profile you'll see a lot of status updates where I process through a binge.)
3) I make a plan: either I'm writing off the day or I'm going to attempt to save the week. If I'm writing off the day, I do nothing further. I let it go and start the next day fresh, eat to my goal, and just move forward. If I'm going to attempt to save the week, I cut my calories the following day (or two or three) by 200 or so in order to end up with a normal deficit at the end of the week. And then again, I let it go and continue with my normal plan.
I think the important parts here are processing, understanding, letting go, and moving forward. All else is optional.0 -
I don't log it...because for me "what's done is done" and I move past and get on with my healthy eating. I don't need a glaring reminder of my slip up...and logging it doesn't serve me in a positive way.
It's purely a personal choice. Either way I'm sure you'll pick yourself up and get back on track right away
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Honestly log it all, and continue onwards. You'll be able to look back on it as the rogue data point it is.0
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well yesterday i screwed up at lunch .... how i came back was not having dinner and I am doing the same today .... if you make a mistake just forget it and move on.0
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I am into FASTING. but if you mention that here. ITS EVIL... well, it works.0
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ravenrainchild wrote: »Thank you guys. I appreciate it.
Although why are you guys generally telling me to log it regardless if it's bad? I just usually chalk up the whole day and begin anew the next. Just curious!
I find that logging the whole mess makes me much more mindful, and it has helped enormously in my very long-standing struggle to learn moderation. How? Like so:
Generally, when I blow it, I blow it BIG TIME. I'm talking 5000-7000 caloriepalooza type of blowing it. I have a really bad issue with an all or nothing mindset towards everything in life, including my diet, which encourages that kind of blow-out.
The last two times I did have that kind of crazy blow-out... I forced myself to log every. last. calorie. And you know what? I haven't been tempted to do that again. I've had that "I want to eat like a crazy person" itch... But when I'm thinking of scratching it... Something in my mind just doesn't want to do that again.
The last time I had that feeling and went overboard.. I hit a grand total of about 2400 calories for the day. A huge improvement, wouldn't you say? That's why everyone who's been at this for a good long while will probably encourage you to log it. It really helps, at least for me, to know how I stand. The math will tell me how long it will take to repair the damage... And it's usually not as bad as I would expect.
As for what to do now about your indulgence... I would say log and move on. I've always suffered consequences if I give in to the need to punish myself for messing up, so I actively avoid that now. I might eat a bit lightly the next day if I'm feeling bloaty and gross.. Otherwise I go back to normal and my deficit will take care of it in time.
Sorry for being so long-winded! All the best to you. 0 -
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ravenrainchild wrote: »Thank you guys. I appreciate it.
Although why are you guys generally telling me to log it regardless if it's bad? I just usually chalk up the whole day and begin anew the next. Just curious!
When you log it, you can see exactly how much you've eaten calorie-wise and sometimes, it's not as bad as you thought it was. Maybe you just ate your deficit instead of gong over maintenance. You can keep yourself honest and have a better idea of how your indulgence affects your body (weight gain, bloating, mental alertness, etc), perhaps even figure out why your scarfing down the after dinner mints.
You're not alone, OP. Though I don't have off-limits foods, I do have times where I boredom eat and eat just to get rid of the last of the whatever-it-is.
ETA: now I want after dinner mints. :P
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One reason I log when I have made missteps is because sometimes when I log it, it wasn't as bad as I thought and it makes it a little easier to continue on a good path today knowing that I didn't do as much damage as I thought.0
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This."Camo_xxx wrote:The same way you get up off the floor after you trip and fall.
Get up, dust yourself off and move on.
Be flexible. If maybe 80% of your diet is relatively healthy, enjoy the 20% that's not.
Forgive yourself. Don't try to be perfect because you can't. You're not.
Don't give up! If you give up, things won't get better.
So you ate too much. It's one day. And unless you do a really really major binge (like susieq used to) it's not going to set you back all that much.
If you had 3500 extra calories, you could do an extra 100 calories of exercise every day (on top of what you usually do) and in 5 weeks you'd be rid of the excess. 100 calories is nothing. Do an extra 250 per day, and it's gone in 2 weeks.
You haven't ruined anything, just delayed reaching your goal.
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look at the week as a whole, not individual days - you may find that, although your day was a bad day (mine was today as well), your week may be ok. I always think that a good week is one where I maintain the current weight, an excellent week is one where I lose weight. I have learned not to beat myself up for the bad days and focus on the good.0
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I just move on or try to make it even out depending on how the week has gone. So like last night after dinner I ate around 1500 calories of dried fruit and larabars. Today, I decided to stay away from all fruit. But that is all.0
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I look at how much I over did it by. If I can make up for it over the next couple of days with being a little tighter on my food intake and working out a little more then I do that.
If (like today) I have totally blown my calories out of the water - I draw a line under it and start again tomorrow.
I didn't get fat overeating for one day. One day of overeating (as long as one day doesn't become every day) won't totally derail my plans to get thin.0 -
Read my favorite poem...
Don't Quit
When you've eaten too much and you can't write it down,
And you feel like the biggest failure in town.
When you want to give up just because you gave in,
and forget all about being healthy and thin.
So What! You went over your calories a bit,
It's your next move that counts...So don't you quit!
It's a moment of truth, it's an attitude change.
It's learning the skills to get back in your range.
It's telling yourself, "You've done great up till now.
You can take on this challenge and beat it somehow."
It's part of your journey toward reaching your goal.
You're still gonna make it, just stay in control.
To stumble and fall is not a disgrace,
If you summon the will to get back in the race.
But, often the struggler's, when loosing their grip,
Just throw in the towel and continue to slip.
And learn too late when the damage is done,
that the race wasn't over...they still could have won.
Lifestyle change can be awkward and slow,
but facing each challenge will help you grow.
Success is failure turned inside out,
the silver tint in a cloud of doubt.
When you're pushing to the brink, just refuse to submit,
If you bite it, you write it....But don't you quit!0 -
lots2live4 wrote: »Read my favorite poem...
Don't Quit
When you've eaten too much and you can't write it down,
And you feel like the biggest failure in town.
When you want to give up just because you gave in,
and forget all about being healthy and thin.
So What! You went over your calories a bit,
It's your next move that counts...So don't you quit!
It's a moment of truth, it's an attitude change.
It's learning the skills to get back in your range.
It's telling yourself, "You've done great up till now.
You can take on this challenge and beat it somehow."
It's part of your journey toward reaching your goal.
You're still gonna make it, just stay in control.
To stumble and fall is not a disgrace,
If you summon the will to get back in the race.
But, often the struggler's, when loosing their grip,
Just throw in the towel and continue to slip.
And learn too late when the damage is done,
that the race wasn't over...they still could have won.
Lifestyle change can be awkward and slow,
but facing each challenge will help you grow.
Success is failure turned inside out,
the silver tint in a cloud of doubt.
When you're pushing to the brink, just refuse to submit,
If you bite it, you write it....But don't you quit!
Awesome!0 -
ravenrainchild wrote: »How do you normally get back into it after a day of no-no foods?
It happens. You get up the next day, and start again. You ignore your fall, and you commit to do well today. What you don't do is kick yourself. No self pity or self loathing. Accept that it happened, and move on today. Take it one day at a time, and you'll get there.
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Don't beat yourself up for a start. You said you ate cause you were bored that's your first clue, as soon as you feel bored find something to do that will distract you like prepping meals for the next day or your lunches for the week, cleaning, go for a walk, do your shopping, whatever will take your mind off binging.
I agree with some of the others who responded that it can be beneficial to log it. It gives you a clearer idea of how much over your calories you went and as some said maybe it wasn't as bad as you think. For me by logging it I can determine if I need to fit in an extra exercise class or a brisk walk to burn it off. That puts me back on track then.
The best advice, get back up, dust yourself down and start again. Remember it's about balance, we will always have great and then not so great days. to be human is to err so all we can do is try our best then try again.
Good luck!0 -
Whadaya mean "how"?
You just do it.
There ain't no magic.
You just do it.0 -
ravenrainchild wrote: »Although why are you guys generally telling me to log it regardless if it's bad? I just usually chalk up the whole day and begin anew the next. Just curious!
Your log isn't good or bad. It contains useful information. Even if I go 1000 calories over my goal, I log what I eat, because I don't want to lie to myself.
If you log everything, you'll find out what effect—if any—a day of indulgence has on your overall progress. If you don't log, you'll be in the dark about that. It's easy to beat yourself up for going over, but if, in a month, you've lost your goal weight despite the indulgence, you might learn to be more forgiving of yourself. On the other hand, if your weight hasn't changed, and your log for the past month shows 6 or 7 days of indulgence, then you'll know what the problem is.0 -
Take the shame out of it and log it. Then resume life.0
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I just get right back on that horse. I don't try to "make up for" the binge the next day, as then I'll simply be hungry all over again and more prone to slip up once again. I just eat "normally" within my calorie allotment.
Most people slip up at least once in a while and have a big food fest. It happens.0 -
I try to stick very close to the lower limit of my calorie target for a couple of days and work out more. However, I don't "starve" myself.0
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