Overeating woes :(

rodiell
rodiell Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys. Recently, I've been having a hard time maintaining my 1900 calorie/day intake because of some hangouts with family and friends. So I've been trying to compensate it by limiting my intake the next days. But I find that I feel like my mind crumbles easily and then I overeat again at the nearest opportunity. And si the result is like this yo-yo thing with my caloric intake. Is this healthy? I'm afraid that all this might be just counterproductive and I'm going to 56gj92zeaqlb.png
gain back all the weight I lost :(

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Just aim for you calorie goal the next day. You're right in that overrestricting can be causing you to eat more. If you do know you're going to have a day where you go out to eat, you can follow your weekly deficit to save some calories for that.
  • caurinus
    caurinus Posts: 78 Member
    Consistency builds consistency. You have to be more disciplined on those 4000 calorie days, or you're not going to make progress towards your goals. Honestly, I do go over my goals when I'm hanging out with friends and family, but I try to keep it within 100-200 calories of my maintenance calories so the extra doesn't get packed away into my fat cells. By the way, it's a lot easier to be disciplined when you're out with friends, if you're not eating 600 or 800 calories in the days before. I bet you were starving by Saturday. Try to hit your goal calories every day - not over, not too far under.
  • LC107
    LC107 Posts: 41 Member
    I had no clue you could do this type of graph! Im always doing my weekly average on a calculator lol so thanks op! To your post though I think we all may let our guard down a bit with friends for a night out but I would think by cutting little things here and there will be helpful and also you still can enjoy time with friends. Not sure what those extra calories come from but just guessing maybe some are from chips and salsa before dinner at a Mexican restaurant or maybe it's two beers too many? I could probably easily consume 500+ calories in chips and salsa alone waiting for my main meal and they barely ever fill me up so yeah add another 700-800 cals from my restaurant meal, with two beers and I blew my day in one sitting. :s I try to limit these calories. Still have a beer and maybe a handful of chips at most. Little changes.

  • livelovebbg
    livelovebbg Posts: 45 Member
    I hear ya... I've gone over my goal the last two days. I do feel a bit lousy about it, but I'm not going to restrict myself today to make up for it. Try to eat under your goal, and maybe go for a nice long walk. You'll crash and burn on so few calories, even if you did eat over your goal yesterday.
  • ElJefeChief
    ElJefeChief Posts: 650 Member
    When I was actively losing (well, I still am - just at a very slow pace since I'm pretty close to goal), I would discipline myself so that I would pretty much never go over. I just firmly used the word "no" a lot, and people just got to know that was my thing.

    Now that I'm goal-ish / maintainence-ish, occasionally, when I'm out with friends, I'll have a day where I go over. Typically I'm over by only 300-400, but occasionally I'll go over by a couple thousand (such as that time I went to the steakhouse to celebrate my friend's retirement.... ugghhhh so good, ribeye plus french fried onions plus a pan cookie.... so worth it!!!).

    I agree with the advice not to restrict later to compensate. I don't do that either, because that leads to a binge-and-purge mentality. Just log it and move on. If you're earlier on in your weightloss "journey" (I hate that word), consider that right now, you really need that consistency and constancy to your program in order to make the gains you'd like. Later on, when you're more close to your goal weight and comfortable with where you are, you can splurge every once in a while, because, well, you need to live life and enjoy yourself like a normal human!!!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Uh yeah eating 600 or 800 calories a few days would do it.

    Pick a reasonable goal and EAT THAT. And include things you love in moderation so you don't end up going nuts at the first opportunity again.

    Look at it this way.. your maintenance calories are probably around 2900 or something (assuming you picked a 'lose 2 pounds a week' setting, considering that you're 21). Even if you eat 4100 calories, that's still only 1200 calories over your maintenance... so you would make up for it in two days just sticking to your calories... you don't have to starve yourself if you have a bad day.

    And yeah, if your goal is too low anyway, just set your account to lose 1 pound a week instead.
  • IGbnat24
    IGbnat24 Posts: 520 Member
    What on earth are you eating when you're with them? It's fine to indulge every once in a while but that doesn't mean you need to eat EVERYTHING in sight. Allow yourself to eat at maintenance when you're with them which, depending on what you have your loss goal set at, could be anywhere from an extra 250 (1/2lb loss per week) to 1000 (2lb loss per week) calories. Discipline.
  • maxit
    maxit Posts: 880 Member
    Look at the contents of those 4000 calories - how much was alcohol?
  • TxTiffani
    TxTiffani Posts: 799 Member
    I plan ahead if I'm going to a restaurant. Look at calorie counts online and plan what I'm going to eat before the meal like a roll, my meal and possibly dessert or share dessert, more likely. If I don't plan then I end up eating way over! Also, extra exercise that day. I'm proud of the success I've had so far and I don't mind saying no if something's offered
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    Well if you're restricting yourself to 600 and 800 calories, it's no wonder you're overeating on others. That's your body giving you signals to give it the nutrition it needs.
  • rodiell
    rodiell Posts: 2 Member
    Thanks for the advice, guys!
    All this help really gives me the feeling of support that I can conquer this. I just need to be consistent.

    Well, I'm asian so I eat lots of rice and like to eat lots of meats too. And last night, when I was already over 1,300 cals over my diet, I felt so awful and just said "*kitten* it, I'm gonna have some dessert."
    And I basically downed lots of stuff after that.

    But anyway, I'm now back on track and feeling a bit better knowing I just have to work hard at maintaining the 1900 cals/day goal :)
  • Mersie1
    Mersie1 Posts: 329 Member
    Brilliant thread! As I have learned through 2 decades w eating disorders, the restriction/diet mentality is what will absolutely make you gain weight and be miserable. Enjoy yourself!!! Generally stick to a reasonable plan! Best to you!!
  • alittlelife14
    alittlelife14 Posts: 339 Member
    IGbnat24 wrote: »
    What on earth are you eating when you're with them? It's fine to indulge every once in a while but that doesn't mean you need to eat EVERYTHING in sight. Allow yourself to eat at maintenance when you're with them which, depending on what you have your loss goal set at, could be anywhere from an extra 250 (1/2lb loss per week) to 1000 (2lb loss per week) calories. Discipline.

    Cmon don't shame OP. 4000 cals can happen quick with the right dense foods. We're all human.
  • OhMsDiva
    OhMsDiva Posts: 1,073 Member
    I did not know you could do a graph like that either. Graphs and charts overwhelm me, but i know I will have to learn to look at them to track my weight loss patterns.
  • Mirasaki
    Mirasaki Posts: 27 Member
    Whenever I go out with friends I always try and do 'damage control', so I'm still eating a burger but maybe with a side salad rather than chips. This is good for me because I feel like I can still eat something that I want, without hurting my calories as much.

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