How do you get back on track after a day of indulgence?

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  • Cc215
    Cc215 Posts: 228 Member
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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.
  • lots2live4
    lots2live4 Posts: 107 Member
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    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!
  • MickeyCastello
    MickeyCastello Posts: 269
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    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!
  • flatlndr
    flatlndr Posts: 713 Member
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    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.

  • Victoriamrs
    Victoriamrs Posts: 99 Member
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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!
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
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    Whadaya mean "how"?

    You just do it.

    There ain't no magic.

    You just do it.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    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.
  • AbsoluteTara79
    AbsoluteTara79 Posts: 266 Member
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    Take the shame out of it and log it. Then resume life.
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
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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.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
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    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.
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
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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 log the good, bad and the ugly. Now some days the logging may be more guesstimates than accurate, but I log it so next week when I'm wondering why the scale didn't move in the right direction I can look back and go oh yea that day. Also, some of my best indulgent days were impressive and I was showing off for my FL.. cause good food should be shared. Also, logging is part of my daily routine, it's just what I do
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    When you come to the realization that you're never going to be 100% on all of the time, it's easier to "forgive" yourself and move on. Maybe take a step back and look at your diet (noun) as a whole rather than this day or that day...look at a bigger picture.
  • jnv7594
    jnv7594 Posts: 983 Member
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    :)
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  • DeWoSa
    DeWoSa Posts: 496 Member
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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 just ate my way through two days. I was super hungry, I wanted to eat, and so I just ate everything I wanted to.

    If I didn't log it, I would just feel fat and sad.

    Because I did log it, I can see that although I stuffed myself, I was only 1500 calories over for two days.

    That's 1500 calories over my "losing weight" target, and only 500 calories over my "maintain weight" target.

    Either way, by logging it, I can see exactly how LITTLE my eating spree cost me, and now, the next time I have a massive hunger day and want to eat the entire house, I will have a much better attitude about it.

    And that's what keeps me here and keeps me losing weight. For the first time in my life, after having an eating spree, I don't feel like a loser. I feel like a WINNER.


  • lawlifehanna
    lawlifehanna Posts: 90 Member
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    When you log your binge/slip up/treat/feast, you take control. If you let the slip up make you miserable, it has control. When you log it and put it in it's place, neatly in the rows and columns and charts that make your food diary, you take control over it.
  • 89Madeline
    89Madeline Posts: 205 Member
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    Just one day isn't going to change anything :) Just like a day of eating healthy doesn't change anything. Start fresh the next day, don't starve yourself and continue like normal. Perhaps exercise a bit more if it makes you feel better. Most probably, one week later you still lost weight or are back at the same weight before the day off!
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
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    Log it all. Don't beat yourself up. If you didn't eat over maintenance, then just accept that it will take you one day longer to achieve your goal, which is really no big deal. If you did eat over maintenance, try to make up for it a bit by eating slightly less the rest of the week. Still, shrug it off -- indulgences happen, and in the grand scheme of things, celebrating and having a good time sometimes is important in life and well worth it.
  • yesimpson
    yesimpson Posts: 1,372 Member
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    I've been maintaining for several years and I just had one of these horrendous pigout days. Usually I beat myself up about it and try to 'repair the damage' over the next few days, which makes me feel rubbish and usually fails. However, this time I've just washed my hands of it, refused to dwell and tomorrow I will continue as normal and eat within my calorie allowance. Punishing yourself promotes failure, not improvement, at least in my experience. Slip ups happen; what you have to do now is not create a vicious circle by over-restricting tomorrow, and not internalise it as a failure or a 'bad thing' you did that's symptomatic of being 'greedy' or 'disgusting' or anything.

    You're just a person, food tastes good, and we can't be on our best behaviour 24/7.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
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    AbsoluteTara79 wrote: »
    Take the shame out of it and log it. Then resume life.
    I log it, even if I am embarrassed by it. If I can't remember all that I've eaten then I log it under the "binge" entry, and try again at the next meal. I lost 60lbs this way, and am maintaining the loss,even with occasional slips. Even some big slips.
  • Wiseandcurious
    Wiseandcurious Posts: 730 Member
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    AbsoluteTara79 wrote: »
    Take the shame out of it and log it.

    This. You log not to own up to it, but to own it.

    Judging from my own past experience, of all the emotions - joy, passion, fear, frustration, anger, etc - shame has the highest calorie content. For most people here, logging is an effective way to take the shame out of it and take back control.


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