Bad at math. Does overeating automatically equal a pound gained or does it just mean you'll stay th

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wokemel85
wokemel85 Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
To elaborate, it was my birthday and I was brought all sorts of yummy goodies. I've been doing pretty good sticking to my calories and have lost over 30 lbs. But I've went over by 1988 calories the past couple of days. I know that 3500 calories equals a pound, but since I'm eating at a reduced rate anyway (not sure what my maintenance calorie level would be, but I eat around 1450 calories day for weight loss) not sure if I will gain a little over half a pound or more than likely just won't *lose* as much, if my rambling is making sense, lol. I'm considering just moving on and not worrying about the 1988 calories but if it means I will gain over half a pound I might cut back for a few days? I'm thinking most likely it just means I won't lose as much for this week (I know weight loss isn't linear but you know what I mean).

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  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    edited November 2016
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    How many pounds per week did you select to lose? That will give you the answer to your daily deficit:

    2lbs per week= 1000 calories below maintenance.
    1.5lbs per week= 750 calories below
    1lb per week- 500 calories below
    .5lb per week= 250 calories below.

    Don't worry about 'cutting back' or over-exercising for a few days, just eat your normal calories.
  • nosebag1212
    nosebag1212 Posts: 621 Member
    edited November 2016
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    An extra 1988 calories is literally nothing in the grand scheme of things, some of it will be offset as extra glycogen storage anyway and at most it would have set you back a few days, I would NOT recommend you try to over restrict and try to "fix" it as this can lead down a bad road of binge/restrict cycles, just get back on your usual diet and forget about it.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,964 Member
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    Bear in mind that you've probably eaten above maintenance for a couple of days, allowing your body to top off glycogen stores, which means more retained water. Plus, for many people the kind of "splurgy" birthday celebration foods that take them that much above their goal often are higher in sodium than what they eat when keeping to a calorie deficit, so that could also mean more retained water. Finally, you could easily have a lot more food (by weight) passing through your digestive system for a few days than you normally do, so that's another reason you might see a higher number on the scale.

    What I'm saying is, if the scale says you've gained five pounds from this, just remember it's mostly water and food weight. It's not body fat. You celebrated your birthday. Happy Birthday!! Now, go back to your usual plan, and the extra water and food weight should go away over the next several days. I wouldn't try to increase your deficit to make up for it, other than if you're just not that hungry the next day -- that happens to me some times after a larger than normal eating day.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
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    Happy birthday! Don't sweat it!
  • Mavrick_RN
    Mavrick_RN Posts: 439 Member
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    Just because you have "ingested" a food doesn't mean you have "digested" it.

    There are times when whole kernels of corn have made it all the way through my system. I may have weighed and measured 100 grams of corn but obviously my body didn't metabolize all of it. There will always be some degree of lost calories in your poop. The corn example is easy to imagine because you can actually see those lost calories.

    When you overindulge for a day (or two), the additional calories are negligible. It's the trend you need to keep track of. Some weighing apps will take this in to consideration and not let one day's binge or water weight gain affect your over all trend so much.

    And Happy Birthday. You have a whole year to enjoy good eating anticipating your next yummy feast.

  • Naija82
    Naija82 Posts: 345 Member
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    Yeah agree with above posters, most of any weight gain will be water retention. I've had days when I have gone out on Fri/Sat and really gone to town with my calories, I just went back on track the next day, no extra calorie reduction, when I weighed in on Monday I still lost weight. On any day your weight can fluctuate by a few lbs anyway so I focus on trends over time.

    The problem comes when you continue eating like this for a week or more.
  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
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    Here's another positive thought: "overeating" occasionally on a diet has advantages. Your body will be reassured that it is not, in fact, living in a famine. You won't feel totally restricted and thus prone to give up or go into "all or nothing" diet mode.
  • MiniMansell1964
    MiniMansell1964 Posts: 188 Member
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    kenyonhaff wrote: »
    Here's another positive thought: "overeating" occasionally on a diet has advantages. Your body will be reassured that it is not, in fact, living in a famine. You won't feel totally restricted and thus prone to give up or go into "all or nothing" diet mode.

    Sorry. but rubbish. your body has no idea what famine is. starvation mode does not exist

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