So I went (way) over my calories today....

bpetrosky
bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been on my plan for about a month now, logging 30 days since I started. Most days I've been under my allotment, or only slightly over, and I've lost about 10 pounds so far.

This morning I had a networking meeting at 8 am and an interview at lunch time. When I got to the building, I got some coffee, but during the meeting the organizer had doughnuts brought in and I had one. After the meeting a couple of the participants wanted to get a late breakfast and I joined them, and the breakfast items there are not particularly low calorie. So, when I assessed what I had done after my afternoon interview, I was not surprised to be already over my calorie allotment for the day by about 800 calories just by lunchtime.

And my response is:
  1. I went over. Log it as best I can, accept it, own it, move on.
  2. Have a normal dinner, there is no sense in "punishing" myself for going over before lunch by going hungry until next morning.
  3. Understand that I chose to eat the doughnut, and enjoy that I did it. Realize I'll need to either try to take a smaller piece next time and/or adjust what I eat for the rest of my day to stay on my target.
  4. Understand that eating out with the other participants was a way to make connections that will benefit me later, and that is worth working into my diet plan. Look harder on the menu for lower calorie options next time, but don't beat myself up for not making that choice this time.
  5. Don't panic when I weigh myself tomorrow morning and I haven't change or have gone up.
  6. Remember that I've made a lot of progress so far and going over for one day will not keep me from my total goal.

Replies

  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
    Exactly. It's only one day. Good for you!
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    Yep. Days like that happen sometimes. One day isn't gonna derail you. Just move on.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    it happens man, you just need to log it, own it, and move on to the next day.

    curious - what is your daily calorie allotment..?
  • eukleja
    eukleja Posts: 29 Member
    Love this!! You have the exact right attitude!
  • blue_eyes1978
    blue_eyes1978 Posts: 127 Member
    :) glad to read your post it will help me work through my emotions next time I find myself going over. :)
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    Bravo! This is exactly the right response.


    I went over my calories a couple of days this week. I was sick...as in, in bed with a really bad cold sick. I didn't feel like getting up long enough to cook anything, so I ordered a pizza. And between my roommate and my fiance, I ended up with 3 mint oreo milkshakes, which were the only thing that would soothe the raging headache.

    Sometimes you have to realize that there are priorities other than losing weight that are also important. That doesn't mean you have to lose sight of your goal, but you can take a break long enough to attend other goals along the way.
  • NesCastanon
    NesCastanon Posts: 101 Member
    Right on man, that is the way you handle it!
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
    I think you've got a great outlook :)

    You have to go 3500 calories above maintenance for a pound to really come back on. I don't know what your deficit or calorie goal is, but you'd have to add that back in + 3500 calories.

    A day like this may slow progress, and as long as every day isn't a day where you go way over, you're fine!

    Good for you logging as best you could, too. I think that's really important.

    ~Lyssa
  • Bubblemancer
    Bubblemancer Posts: 3 Member
    Good on you for not being hard on yourself! That's a healthy attitude to have. Good job! ;)
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
    @ndj1979 I'm targeting 1520/day, Assuming a conservative TDEE of around 2200/day and trying to get about 1.5 lb/wk loss.
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
    Is 800 over considered a lot? Depending on your deficit you might not even be eating over maintenance yet.

    But at the end of the week it's likely to show as like .2 of a pound. Hardly noticeable.
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
    @Merkavar You're right. 800 over (by lunch) is a lot more than I'm ever used to being over since I started, but since I'm targeting a deficit of between 500-750/day, it's not that much over. Having a light dinner might add another 250-300, depending what I choose...

    But the jist was about keeping perspective, remembering the long term goal, and knowing that keeping to the plan will get the results in the end even if I don't do it perfectly every day.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    bpetrosky wrote: »
    @ndj1979 I'm targeting 1520/day, Assuming a conservative TDEE of around 2200/day and trying to get about 1.5 lb/wk loss.

    That sounds really aggressive. 1520/day is about the minimum that MFP recommends any man eat. And your profile says you've only got about another 25lbs to lose, so 1.5lbs/week sounds aggressive, too. 1lb/week maximum sounds about right for you at this point.

    What setting did you use to assume a TDEE of 2200? Are you factoring in exercise?
  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
    bpetrosky wrote: »
    @Merkavar You're right. 800 over (by lunch) is a lot more than I'm ever used to being over since I started, but since I'm targeting a deficit of between 500-750/day, it's not that much over. Having a light dinner might add another 250-300, depending what I choose...

    But the jist was about keeping perspective, remembering the long term goal, and knowing that keeping to the plan will get the results in the end even if I don't do it perfectly every day.

    Yeah good attitude.
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
    @segacs It's a little aggressive, but at my age and height, and that I'm fairly sedentary (desk job and inconsistent exercise habits), I get a basal rate of about 1830, and sedentary TDEE of 2195. Day-to-day I'm usually right under the 1520 and not hungry or feeling deprived (I even have a cookie every couple nights :) )

    I did set my goal weight to 180, but even that would still be considered overweight for me. I should probably be targeting about 20 under that to get under 159, but I want to get down to 180 first and assess how I look and feel at that point.

    As for exercise, the days I do get down to the gym I do take in the exercise factor and "eat back" about 50%.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    bpetrosky wrote: »
    As for exercise, the days I do get down to the gym I do take in the exercise factor and "eat back" about 50%.

    Hey, if it's working for you, fine. Just, if you can eat more and lose the weight slower, you may have a better chance of long term success.
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
    segacs wrote: »
    bpetrosky wrote: »
    As for exercise, the days I do get down to the gym I do take in the exercise factor and "eat back" about 50%.

    Hey, if it's working for you, fine. Just, if you can eat more and lose the weight slower, you may have a better chance of long term success.

    No problem. I appreciate the thought! :D

    As I get a little closer to my target, I was thinking of adjusting up 50-100 cals/day each week and slowly getting used to what a maintenance level feels like.
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
    billieljaime wrote: »
    next time split the donut with a friend! Like me!!!!!

    I'd love to...it was toasted coconut though... :smile:
  • 89Madeline
    89Madeline Posts: 205 Member
    Amen to that!
  • David_2015
    David_2015 Posts: 231 Member
    Great outlook to have, plus you'll be doing better than you were before starting so all good.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    As long as you are normally eating at a deficit, you'll eventually make up for the occasional one day over. But I'm not sure I would agree with the not skipping a meal later idea. My thought there is that since I've already eaten enough to supply the fuel I need for the day, there's really no point in adding more, since it will just turn to fat. The next day, yes, I would continue on with my normal eating plan, since having good habits is a good thing.
  • bigd66218
    bigd66218 Posts: 376 Member
    I did the same eating Hershey kisses w/almonds and the whole time I've been on MFP I was pretty consistent. I logged the calories and now trying to get back on track. These last 12 pounds are pretty hard to lose....
  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
    TimothyFish wrote: »
    As long as you are normally eating at a deficit, you'll eventually make up for the occasional one day over. But I'm not sure I would agree with the not skipping a meal later idea. My thought there is that since I've already eaten enough to supply the fuel I need for the day, there's really no point in adding more, since it will just turn to fat. The next day, yes, I would continue on with my normal eating plan, since having good habits is a good thing.

    There's some sense to this, but since I blew over the target so early in the day that would mean waiting until the next morning. If I do that because I'm not hungry, that's fine, but I want to avoid a reward/punishment dynamic with eating. That's how so many of us got into trouble in the first place.

    Having a light dinner avoids building the sense that I must punish myself for "misbehaving" earlier in the day, and also avoiding the converse decision to use the earlier indulgence as an excuse to go overboard with another high calorie meal.

    It's as much about retraining and rebuilding a long term habit with eating that renders the short term calorie surplus irrelevant. So much of what passes for dieting lately becomes a "morality contest": did you eat at the right times, did you eat the "clean" approved foods, did you stray from the anointed path set by the creators of the plan. That's what I want to avoid.
  • katsmo
    katsmo Posts: 219 Member
    This is the mentality that I wish I had, years ago. I think so many times, people beat themselves up when they slip, and they just consider the whole day a loss. Then it snowballs when you don't get back on the horse the next day or the next. If your car gets a flat tire, you get it repaired and move on. You don't slash the other three.
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