Tracking on days you know you will go over

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cessi0909
cessi0909 Posts: 654 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Out of curiosity -- do you track on days you know you will go over? Today we are going out to celebrate our wedding anniversary and we have an awesome mud run, but know I will end up over today. Do you track that and try to balance out the rest of the week?

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  • williammuney
    williammuney Posts: 2,895 Member
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    Yes in the long run it balances out
    Think long term at least weekly average
  • Shadowmf023
    Shadowmf023 Posts: 812 Member
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    Yes, because that way I can see how it averages out over the week, and it cuts some of the anxiety of thinking you will gain, especially if you see you never even ate above maintenance.
  • cessi0909
    cessi0909 Posts: 654 Member
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    Awesome, thank you. I am a little nervous to track today but I do think seeing the weekly average will help.
    Shadowmf023 wrote: »
    Yes, because that way I can see how it averages out over the week, and it cuts some of the anxiety of thinking you will gain, especially if you see you never even ate above maintenance.

    I have a feeling I might but I am not sure.
  • mccokat
    mccokat Posts: 130 Member
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    I always track, but no judgement, because even on the days I go over, I'm eating better and less than what I was.
  • cessi0909
    cessi0909 Posts: 654 Member
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    mccokat wrote: »
    I always track, but no judgement, because even on the days I go over, I'm eating better and less than what I was.

    That is a really great outlook and true even for me today, I was eating pretty terribly before and way too much

  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
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    I would think if someone doesn't it pretty much sets them up for failure. Don't worry about a single day, look at a week or 2 week average.
  • ponycyndi
    ponycyndi Posts: 858 Member
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    I eat what I want, but if I don't measure, how will i know how much I can have? If I measure, then I'll know. I'll know that in a week, I'll still be in a deficit. I'll know that my extra workout will go towards that deficit.
  • niblue
    niblue Posts: 339 Member
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    Yes - best to be honest with yourself!
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
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    I log every day. Even the days I go over. I find that it helps me quite a lot to be honest with myself. I don't look at it as failure or being bad it is just a way to stay honest and seeing the numbers helps me. Often I notice that even though went over my goal I am often still in some kind of a deficit. That is encouraging. Sometimes I go way over and that too helps because I am aware of my choices and sometimes it helps me to rein things in so I don't go over as much as I might if I were not logging.
  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
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    when i was actively trying to lose significant weight i did. now, date night, nah, but i try and eat sensible throughout the day rather than completely letting go of the reins.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    I log everyday as best I can. Not logging doezn't mean it didn't happen and it can be useful to see what it really was in numbers instead of getting dramatic about it.
    If you can't face it at all maybe you need to rethink your choices and attitude that week. I've celebrated all kinds of events and just ate at maintenance. I have not gained weight from just one day of going slightly over maintenance either.
    Enjoy the day.
  • LisaKay91
    LisaKay91 Posts: 211 Member
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    Yup. I went out last night and was like 1200 over my calorie goal. Tracked every piece of fried chicken and beer.
    I may skim 100-200 calories off my goal the next 5 or so days to make up for it or hit the gym double next week. I feel accountable by logging it.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,922 Member
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    cessi0909 wrote: »
    Out of curiosity -- do you track on days you know you will go over?

    Sometimes.

    I tracked on Friday when I deliberately went over.
    I didn't track today because the number of calories I consumed today is not important to me.

  • MorganMoreaux
    MorganMoreaux Posts: 691 Member
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    I track everyday for a variety of reasons. Leaving items or information out of the diary does not mean that your body will ignore it and you get a pass on potential weight gain. I have good days and bad days and they are all recorded, which I'm glad I recorded everything. I recently had a bout of food poisoning and was curious where t came from, my husband's case was not as severe. We compared diary's and were able to identify what caused the issue. Tracking everything also comes in handy for other health issues should anything be a miss. That being said you hve to do what your most comfortable with. If you have MFP friends and are hesitant to log everything because of an open diary and don't want scrutiny then make it private. Good luck and enjoy your activities!
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
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    Yes. I have days where I eat over (usually the weekend) because, life.

    I try and eat naturally, so there are days when I feel like eating more and other days where I want less or do more exercise b monitoring my weekly intake means I can keep an eye on things and rein it in if my eating looks like I'm going over too much.

    For me it's a much better way of managing my life (I have foodie friends) and still maintain a deficit. Sure I could probably lose weight faster by never going over, but that's just not how I want to be living my life b
  • STEVE142142
    STEVE142142 Posts: 867 Member
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    I try to track everything no matter what the numbers are. Even if I blow the limit at least I'm being honest to myself.

    Remember this is a lifelong journey it's not a Sprint. For this to succeed you have to be honest with yourself
  • Zipp237
    Zipp237 Posts: 255 Member
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    Yes, I track it because I like seeing everything on the charts and what point is there of tracking if you don't track everything but No, I don't try to balance it out since I'm already undereating every single day and losing weight. A day off here and there will just slow down the weight loss, not stop it. If I overeat, I just don't care.
  • llbrixon
    llbrixon Posts: 964 Member
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    Yes, I track...but, with very special events I have a listing for my food log "Special Event, No Logging" "Make Good Food Choices!" I still make very good food choices and try to gauge the calories with each serving. I do not choose high sugar density foods, alcohol, sodas. or breads because I am not logging. You have to learn how to eat in special situations. This is a life long journey of learning to make the right choices of foods. If you go a little over, it balances out within the week.

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