When You Go Over Your Daily Calorie Allowance Significantly - How Do You Deal With It?

I chalk it up to being human and move on I might do some extra exercise, but not punitive amounts.

Might you be premenstrual? My appetite spikes up at this time and I eat at maintenance for a few days.

Other times when I've eaten more than I intended it was because I had a meal at a restaurant and didn't pre-log it. On days that I know I am going out to eat I try to exercise more and eat less earlier in the day, and approximate the calories of the meal ahead of time.

Go forth and sin no more.

Guilt is destructive so I've learned to treat such events as water under the bridge. Chances are your body didn't manage to absorb ALL the surplus calories anyhow.

The only productive action is to have a deep think about what motivated the overage, your feelings at the time, the circumstances and environment, so you can plan a different approach next time. Disrupt old habit patterns.

I would do an extra cardio workout and subtract 200 calories from my next two days allowances. It wouldn't cover the complete overage but minimize it over the long term.

It's not what you do occasionally that makes the difference but what you do consistently. It happened to me too yesterday, move on and carry on!

It's not even worth thinking about, really. Know your maintenance buffer range and all is good. An occasional break from a deficit isn't going to make a big dent in your progress (and may actually help if it gives you the freedom you need to stay on track for the long haul).

I did that yesterday too. Going over on some days and being under on some days is part of the process. It is not possible to hit it perfectly every single day. To be successful at this whole thing, you will have to make some mental changes along the way. One of the biggest hurdles is the guilt. Once you are able to allow yourself mistakes, can grant yourself forgiveness, moving forward will get easier. Here's one way to look at it...if your best friend came to you and was very upset because she had a bad day with her eating plan, what would you say to her? Would you berate her for "failing", inform her that she's wasting her time because she'll never be able to do it? OR would you give her a hug, speak gently and with compassion, tell her it's ok because it's just one day out of so many and that ONE DAY does not determine her entire future? Whatever you would do for your best friend is what you should do for yourself.

I decided that however I would treat someone else who didn't hit the mark for the day is how I needed to be with myself. I wouldn't beat up another person for making mistakes or poor decisions, so why was it ok to do it to myself? I realized I needed to be my own best friend. The ONLY things I let myself listen to from others is when they congratulate me, tell me I'm an inspiration, tell me I'm looking so wonderful. If it isn't positive, I don't let myself hear it. And now the person who is my best cheerleader, my best support system, my best ally, my best friend, is ME.

All that to say, it was one day. Letting it go could be one of the best gifts you give to yourself. And one more thing I try very hard to live by is this...emotions are for feeling, food is for eating. They are not the same. They cannot be substituted for each other. Once I put that mantra on a loop in my head, some decisions got easier. And I got a LOT better about standing up for myself. That may not relate to you, but it was a HUGE deal for me. Good luck!!

Don't give the numbers so much power. Log your calories, if they are over, even hugely, shake your head, learn from it, and move on. Start again tomorrow, WITH A SMILE! There are a lot of days left in our lives, the roller coaster will go up and down, we just need to learn how to ride the ride without falling off. You can do it, just like any of the "weight loss pros". xo

I have a cheat meal each week and it does not effect my weight loss at all. In fact, it seems to boost my metabolism for some reason. But I still exercise on my cheat meal day, so perhaps that makes a difference. Don't beat yourself up about it. Have something each week that you really like.

I did that yesterday too. I went to pick my son up from college and ended up eating out. I eat out frequently but usually plan it ahead so I don't have too many calories early in the day. Plus since I spent 4 hours driving I didn't work out. I wasn't expecting to use that many calories at dinner and I felt really bad at first, but then realized that I didn't really go over maintenance and there is nothing I can do now anyway. I will just do better today. I weigh every day and track it in happy scale. I was nervous this morning, but surprisingly I was down 1.6 pounds today. Try not to let it bother you. As long going over is an occasional thing it's not going to derail your overall progress.

Use it as a learning experience. Think about the things that triggered the overeating and how you might have handled it differently. Come up with a strategy for future similar situations, and try that next time. See it as am area for improvement. Accept that you will go over some days, and be kind to yourself. What would you say to a friend if she had that experience?

Consider it a splurge and move on. IT's not worth getting down on yourself about.

robingmurphy wrote: »

Use it as a learning experience. Think about the things that triggered the overeating and how you might have handled it differently. Come up with a strategy for future similar situations, and try that next time. See it as am area for improvement. Accept that you will go over some days, and be kind to yourself. What would you say to a friend if she had that experience?

Don't fret about it....it happens.

Over my last two months I've had three or four days when I've destroyed my daily calories....2000 more . Worst was an evening when we had friends over and on top of my calorie allotment I had six pints and most of a huge bag of Ruffles.

That being said there was no real impact on my progress....