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

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  • WinterSkies
    WinterSkies Posts: 940 Member
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    IdLikeToLoseItLoseIt wrote: »
    I find it helpful to look at my weekly average, instead of my day by day goal. If I'm having a low hunger, really busy day, I might end up with a -1000 calorie deficit, which allows me to eat at maintenance on another day. Together they average to two -500 days (the goal for 1 lb. a week). Have a little fun with this process!

    This. As long as my weekly deficit adds up to about 3500 calories, I'm not too worried about how the day-to-day numbers look. Log it, see if you can learn anything from the experience (e.g. did you identify a trigger that causes you to over eat?), and move on with today. Recognizing and coming to terms with the fact that days like this will happen is important, as they will happen, one way or another. There's no point in beating yourself up over it and feeling guilty. Just start the next day on a fresh note, and keep on doing what you've been doing :)
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 4,991 Member
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    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.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
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    No point in feeling guilty. It's over and you cannot change it. You probably ate at maintenance - it's not going to make you gain and it certainly didn't undo your progress. Just keep moving forward.
  • robingmurphy
    robingmurphy Posts: 349 Member
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    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?
  • brianazo
    brianazo Posts: 10 Member
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    You would need to eat 3-5 times that much food to even gain a pound.

    If I'm planning to overeat, I will run an extra mile or two, or more often do an extra half hour on an elliptical in preparation, but if I don't, I pick it up after.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
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    Consider it a splurge and move on. IT's not worth getting down on yourself about. :)
  • mathjulz
    mathjulz Posts: 5,514 Member
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    sastacular wrote: »
    Yesterday I consumed about 700 calories more than I should have. Today I feel really guilty because I've been working so hard all week. I want to correct this and not hate myself so much for doing this. I will try to do some extra exercise over the weekend to mitigate but I still feel terrible about it. How do you weight loss pros deal with this?

    It's just one day. It will only cause a small blip in the overall week (and overall loss). Even if you're only set to lose .5 pound a week, the one day isn't going to be so much that you aren't in a deficit for the whole week.

    I may look at what led me to go over by that much - was it a party (eh, that happens, not concerned) or was I eating my emotions (I'll want to look at strategies to deal with that in the future).

    But, in general, life is what happens while we're working on losing weight. I'm not going to stop enjoying things. And sometimes that means I go over my calories by a lot. Other times I do a whole lot of activity and end up well under (say, hiking or snowboarding with family)
  • sabulaboys4
    sabulaboys4 Posts: 160 Member
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    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?

  • alizesmom
    alizesmom Posts: 219 Member
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    I beat myself up for maybe an hour then log it all here (sometimes posting my "sin" on one of the boards) then move on. Realistically I may have delayed reaching my goal by a few days but that's all.
  • mjwarbeck
    mjwarbeck Posts: 699 Member
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    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....
  • bellabonbons
    bellabonbons Posts: 705 Member
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    I have learned that this is normal and how careful we need to be about letting guilt consume us then derail us. I don't handle cheat days or slipping very well at all. For me it creates a domino effect and I just want to keep eating. When I factor in my calories each day something sweet that I really love, like a single-serving of cold stone ice cream, it works for me. If I deny myself there's no way I can stay strong. Through trial and error you will find what works for you. :)
  • shadows2424
    shadows2424 Posts: 179 Member
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    The worst thing possible. Continue to eat since hey i already messed up.
  • yyyy1313
    yyyy1313 Posts: 10 Member
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    You can be weird like me and work out an extra hour and a half to indulge for the day.
  • 1brandn
    1brandn Posts: 9 Member
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    Sit back in an armchair and enjoy! then get back on track the next day. If its once in a while doesn't seem to make much difference to progress, just don't let it slip into an every other day habit!
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    Virkati wrote: »
    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!!

    @Virkati That is a fantastic post.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    What is your calorie budget? If , say, your maintenance is 2000 and you are eating 1500 to lose weight going over your target by 700 means eating only 200 calories over your maintenance for one day. That's a gain of about 5% of a pound and is barely significant. When you think about it this way you are less likely to beat yourself up over it. Just move on. One day at your usual deficit will totally wipe that gain and more. You may have to deal with some water/food weight for a few days but that's about it.

    Just log it and move on.
  • 1brandn
    1brandn Posts: 9 Member
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    mistakes-are-proof.jpg
  • robs_ready
    robs_ready Posts: 1,488 Member
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    Log it, *kitten* it, move on
  • rikuf
    rikuf Posts: 3 Member
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    Enjoy the memories of the calories. I hope they were something good. Do the proverbial math and relax: 700 calories is a grand total of 100 grams in the scheme of things (a kilo) and your digital scale isn't even accurate enough to show the 'damage' reliably. The tenths on the scale in any given weighing are just apparent precision.
  • KateTii
    KateTii Posts: 886 Member
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    I think about how damn good those calories were. The only time I would feel "guilty" is if I ate things that weren't worth going over. Give it a day or two and i'll be back where I was or closer to my goal than I was. It's not even a "bump in the road" for me anymore.

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