Guilt after a "slip up"

CaitlinHildebrand
CaitlinHildebrand Posts: 4 Member
edited November 19 in Health and Weight Loss
Some days I do really well with planning my meals and staying at/below my calorie goal... But I have those nights where I just end up shoving my face with food after I've told myself "no more food for today" after my post-dinner snack...

Afterwards, I just have this terrible terrible guilt and it ruins my mood 100% I feel like I just ruined my whole day after a slip-up.

Sometimes it's just a little extra snack, sometimes I'll stand and snack on what feels like my whole kitchen cabinet.

Does anyone have any advice on stopping and on dealing with this terrible guilt? I'm way too hard on myself.

Replies

  • pteryndactyl
    pteryndactyl Posts: 303 Member
    Take a deep breath and move on! Perhaps make a mental note to eat a bit lighter tomorrow or go for a long walk to help combat the extra calories. Basically, logic > emotions. Tell yourself it's okay to make mistakes and try to do better.
  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
    Check out my diary for today. About 1000 calories over, and I feel great. Sometimes a refees is needed to stay on track. No regrets!
  • NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner
    NobodyPutsAmyInTheCorner Posts: 1,018 Member
    Log it, own it, move on.

    No guilt needed.
  • CaitlinHildebrand
    CaitlinHildebrand Posts: 4 Member
    aimeerace wrote: »
    Log it, own it, move on.

    No guilt needed.

    Love this (: thanks!!!
  • mom216
    mom216 Posts: 287 Member
    Think GPS - it doesn't matter where you have been - just look at where you are going :)
  • ashleyhetzel92
    ashleyhetzel92 Posts: 16 Member
    Those nights happen to us all! Just keep moving forward and remember it isn't the end of the world when you have a slip up, we all have and are all human :)
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    I do this too. I try not to make myself feel too bad. In a deficit, it'll will just make you lose more slowly. In maintenance-it's a gamble I'm willing to take sometimes :)
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    Yup. Instead of getting emotional about it (which I do understand), treat it as information. Analyze your nutrition for the day, compare it to your activity, work demands, and sleep (people tend to eat more if they're not rested), and think about how you can use that info to plan your meals more effectively for other days that might look like this one.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    Also, you might consider changing your calorie target so you can eat just a bit more. It might be a little slower, but it'll still come off if you've got an overall deficit going.
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
    The only time you should feel guilty for eating food is when you steal it.

    I look at it this way. Food is not something that I should invest any negative emotions into. If I go over my calories, it's because I made a conscious, grown up decision to do so. I'm aware that the consequence will be a delay in reaching my goal. I try to only go over for items or events that I feel are worth the consequence of that delay.
  • LindyMopLoo
    LindyMopLoo Posts: 14 Member
    We all have slips. They just slow the weight loss down, but they don't have to derail the whole process. Detach from the emotions; let yourself feel them, but also look at them and identify then. If you feel guilty, that's just a feeling. You don't have to make yourself feel bad because you feel bad! That way lies insanity. Use your slips to learn about yourself. Use them to work out what your triggers are, and then figure out what you can do to change either the cause, or if you can't do anything about that, then what can you do to change your response to the trigger. That's how I do the moving on.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    Hi Caitlin!

    Do't beat yourself up--it won't help. Nobody's perfect. What matters is the overall picture! Weight-loss is a marathon not a sprint. Just do the best you can the next day.

    The thing to think about is why you're eating so much at night. The over-eating/bingeing is a response behavior to something else. It doesn't seem like you're eating a lot later at night because you're hungry. Respond to what's making you eat and once you've moved past it your behavior will be easier to change.

    Take care of you! Every time I want to eat in response to stress, I stop and ask myself--"Why am I going to punish my body by over-eating/eating junk because of xxxx? Why would I do that to myself?" In the end, the over-eating doesn't make me feel any better, I actually feel worse, and what made me eat in the first place is still looming.
  • ncfitbit
    ncfitbit Posts: 1,058 Member
    One of my favorite MFP success stories blogged about this very thing. The quote that sticks with me when I slip up is : "There are 365 days in a year. If you fill at least 300 of them with pure awesomeness you are going to see some amazing results."

    Here's a link to the blog. It's full of inspirational stuff!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ShannonMpls?month=201208
  • elize7
    elize7 Posts: 1,088 Member
    The only reason to look backwards is to see how far you've come.
  • CaitlinHildebrand
    CaitlinHildebrand Posts: 4 Member
    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    Hi Caitlin!

    Do't beat yourself up--it won't help. Nobody's perfect. What matters is the overall picture! Weight-loss is a marathon not a sprint. Just do the best you can the next day.

    The thing to think about is why you're eating so much at night. The over-eating/bingeing is a response behavior to something else. It doesn't seem like you're eating a lot later at night because you're hungry. Respond to what's making you eat and once you've moved past it your behavior will be easier to change.

    Take care of you! Every time I want to eat in response to stress, I stop and ask myself--"Why am I going to punish my body by over-eating/eating junk because of xxxx? Why would I do that to myself?" In the end, the over-eating doesn't make me feel any better, I actually feel worse, and what made me eat in the first place is still looming.

    Tonight I reflected on what is causing me to do so well during the day and then terrible at night... During the day I keep myself busy with my daughter and I usually plan my day of eating in the morning so it's not on my mind... Then I put her to sleep and I'm not occupied with anything meaningful, just like watching some Netflix to unwind...

    So I've decided to try doing something that will keep my hands busy at night, race a little Mario Kart, write in a journal, read a magazine... Hopefully this helps!! (: thank you!! I'd feel much better having some "me time" away from the TV.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    None of us are perfect!

    Today I'm sitting on the couch all day and will be eating whatever I want! Zero guilt :smiley:
    Will get back on the wagon tomorrow.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    There's no way anyone can stay on a low calorie diet all the time. Exception: A lady I once knew who, back in the early 80s, didn't eat anything at all but had two tablespoons of some protein medicine or something. Everyone at work kept waiting for her to die, but she didn't. She started out at about 350 lbs. and got down to about 125 within a year with no loose skin. She started eating again and everyone waited to see her gain back her weight. But she didn't. It was simply amazing.
  • Osiris275
    Osiris275 Posts: 228 Member
    We all have bad days, don't worry :) I think opening my diary helped because I thought, I don't want my friends seeing all this junk in my diary. I'm sure they don't care, even if thy do look, but it was in my head they would judge me and it just sort of stopped me doing it!

    The other thing is obviously try not to have too much bad things in the house. If it's not there at night it's harder to get ahold of it. If i am finding that urge I will sometimes put a fitness DVD in or take the dogs for a walk, stops me thinking about it, then it passes!
  • karyabc
    karyabc Posts: 830 Member
    ncfitbit wrote: »
    One of my favorite MFP success stories blogged about this very thing. The quote that sticks with me when I slip up is : "There are 365 days in a year. If you fill at least 300 of them with pure awesomeness you are going to see some amazing results."

    Here's a link to the blog. It's full of inspirational stuff!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ShannonMpls?month=201208

    Love thisss! Thank u
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    Guilt motivates us to do better in the future, so I don't agree with those who say you shouldn't feel guilt. But the question is, what can you do to prevent this from happening again? What works for me is that I plan my day so that I still have calories left late into the evening. I know I tend to eat while watching tv, so I plan for it.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    That's why I log my food, so I can do the math. I usually keep a 200-400 calorie deficit so if I slip up (I have crazy hormones so it happens 2-3 times a month, without counting special events etc), I make up for it easily in a few days... it's really not the end of the world and it stops most of the guilt for me.

    I ate 1500 over maintenance on Tuesday... still at maintenance for the week and probably still will have a small deficit this week after this week end.
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