I went over my calorie limit?!?! Help?!?

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Shiningstars1415
Shiningstars1415 Posts: 9 Member
edited April 2017 in Food and Nutrition
Hi, so I binge quite a lot! I try not to but it feels like I'm out of control! I've tries really hard today but have eaten 1356 calories rather than my calorie limit of 1200. I've gone 156 calories over and I'm feeling like 'oh well i've already failed, I may as well give up and eat everything in sight!'. Is it really that bad? And what can I do to 'fix it'. Should I go on the stationary bike for an hour? Thanks

EDIT: Just to point out (as I didn't word it particularly well!) that I definitely do not think I binged today. I count a binge as the days when I go thousands over my calorie limit/goal. I think I just panicked today because I'm a little bit of a perfectionist and if it's not under 1200 calories then I have failed! I am considering upping my cals to 1300. Thanks for the answers!
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Replies

  • dmwh142
    dmwh142 Posts: 72 Member
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    Yes you should ride the bike for an hour and while your doing it try to figure what caused you to binge. I have this problem also and I feel like I really need to get to the root of the problem or I'll never fix it. It if very frustrating.
  • T0M_K
    T0M_K Posts: 7,526 Member
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    Look at this like a week rather than a day. giving up makes absolutely no sense.

    there's so much to ask here and so little info. How are you counting your calories? How much you trying to lose? How long have you been at this? Do you have a food scale? Did you do any exercise at all and how did you account for that? What is your TDEE?

    I suggest you listen to your instincts and if they are telling you to get on the bike, get on it!

    one day and certainly 156 calories is in no way at all a failure. Chill/relax. commit to the long haul. there will be many many days like today. the people who succeed never stop until they reach their goal and even then, they just eat a little more than when they were losing and keep going.
  • T0M_K
    T0M_K Posts: 7,526 Member
    edited April 2017
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    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld wrote: »
    dmwh142 wrote: »
    Yes you should ride the bike for an hour and while your doing it try to figure what caused you to binge. I have this problem also and I feel like I really need to get to the root of the problem or I'll never fix it. It if very frustrating.

    The OP should not do this, all this does is reinforce the yo yo of chasing calories and that they are being bad.

    The OP needs to find her correct calorie level and play about with her macros until she finds her satiety.

    Well she shouldn't not ride the bike. :) do what you say but go ahead and ride the bike. if you feel you want to drop a few calories from something you ate, more power to you.

    But OP would appear to have a lot to learn.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    1. Weight loss is a long term proposition, going over your calories one day is not something to freak out about.
    2. It sucks that "binge" is a trendy word right now. Eating an extra 150 calories is not a binge - it's not even a respectable snack.
    3. Everybody goes over every once and a while. With such a small overage, you will still be at a deficit for the week if you get back on track tomorrow.
    4. It's fine to do a little extra exercise to get more calories, but considering how emotional you are over 150 cals, I am concerned that you will fall into a habit of punishing yourself with exercise, and that isn't healthy either.
    5. You are probably struggling to stick to your goal because it's unnecessarily low. Very few people have to eat that low to lose weight. If you set your goal to 2 lbs per week, change it to 1 lb and eat more. And if you are using MFPs calorie goal, they expect you to log your exercise and eat back some of those calories.

    Short answer - it's no big deal. :drinker:
  • grant7767
    grant7767 Posts: 2 Member
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    While it is important to use the guidelines provided, what you eat, when you eat it and why you eat it are things to consider/
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    edited April 2017
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    You are worried about nothing. You are still at a calorie deficit, or UNDER your what your body needs to maintain. You are losing sight of the true picture. A deficit is for fat loss. Eating normal maintenance is actually what your body needs. All you need is a slight deficit over time, or more days per week at a deficit compared to at your normal level (maintenance). You can even eat at maintenance 2-3 days a week and still lose fat over time. In fact at least one day a week at maintenance (TDEE) is best for keeping your hormones stable.

    You've got it backwards. You are treating your calorie level for today like it's normal, but it's not, it's still corrective action. Like medicine. Some days it's okay to not take so much medicine. You will still lose weight because you are UNDER what your body needs.

    It's important to understand what your body needs VS the calorie deficit for fat loss. Do some research on that subject.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    It's only 156 calories. It's a minor blip. Learn why you did it (stress? overrestriction of food/calories?) and move on.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    It's a measly 156 calories...you're still in a substantial deficit...it's certainly not worth the drama.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    edited April 2017
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    Going over by 150 is nowhere near a binge. A proper binge I was expecting 3K+
    You're still in a deficit, relax you didn't do any harm.
  • Shiningstars1415
    Shiningstars1415 Posts: 9 Member
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    redvelvetcupcake123 wrote: »
    Going 156 calories over your calorie limit (which is really low anyway) is not a "binge" and will not cause you to gain or slow down your process.
    Going thousands of calories over your calorie limit is a binge.
    Why are you freaking out over something that is not a big deal? At first I thought you were trolling.
    Maybe you should keep track of weekly calories and not daily calories, that might help.

    Thanks! I'm thinking of doing weekly calories, I think it might help me! I think I might be freaking out because I'm a little bit of a perfectionist! I tend to binge often because when I go a little over I give up and think I've already failed so why not just eat 1000 more calories? After reading some of the replies though, I don't think I will properly binge, I'm trying my best not to!
  • sarraheclark
    sarraheclark Posts: 125 Member
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    Don't freak out over 150 calories. Learn from it and move on. After a few weeks, re-evaluate to determine if 1200 cal a day is something you can keep up with. I did it for about 6 weeks and then upped it to 1350 to give myself a little more wiggle room and to stress less.
  • Shiningstars1415
    Shiningstars1415 Posts: 9 Member
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    VeryKatie wrote: »
    How tall are you and how much do you weigh? How much are you trying to lose?

    It's likely that you are STILL in a deficit and will lose weight after eating 1356 calories in a day. In fact I would not call that a binge. I suspect you have your MFP goals too aggressive. The majority of people have a TDEE (maintenance calories) much above 1356, usually closer to 1800-2200 for average height/weight women (it goes up if you're taller, weigh more, are more muscular, or are generally very active in your daily life and job) and even higher for men.

    You can ride a bike if you want... but I suggest only doing it if you want to. Don't do it to punish yourself for going over your low calorie goal.

    It's okay to relax and enjoy the process. Don't beat yourself up just because MFP makes the numbers turn red.

    If it makes you feel better, I eat close to 2200 or 2300 calories a day to maintain my weight. 5'6" and typical maintenance weight of 140ish lbs @ 29 years old. I could eat 1700 or 1800 calories a day and lose weight (though possibly slower than you're trying to). So trust me. 1356 should not make you gain weight! Unless maybe you're only 4' 6" tall (yes four feet).

    Thanks, I'm 5'5 ". My weight fluctuates quite drastically and I can be anywhere between 190-210, I can change this much over a week or 2. I think this is because I binge so much. I'm currently 208 lbs and from the weight I am now I'm looking to lose about 80 pounds.
  • HazyEyes93
    HazyEyes93 Posts: 89 Member
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    Hm, I'm seeing some red flags in this post. 156 cals isn't even enough to push into maintenance. Also, it's worth noting that a binge is when you literally cannot control yourself and eat enough food to make yourself ill. A binge isn't eating a little more than you had planned. I suggest you speak with a therapist. I think there's more going on here than you're letting on in this post, tbh
  • Shiningstars1415
    Shiningstars1415 Posts: 9 Member
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    Tomk652015 wrote: »
    Look at this like a week rather than a day. giving up makes absolutely no sense.

    there's so much to ask here and so little info. How are you counting your calories? How much you trying to lose? How long have you been at this? Do you have a food scale? Did you do any exercise at all and how did you account for that? What is your TDEE?

    I suggest you listen to your instincts and if they are telling you to get on the bike, get on it!

    one day and certainly 156 calories is in no way at all a failure. Chill/relax. commit to the long haul. there will be many many days like today. the people who succeed never stop until they reach their goal and even then, they just eat a little more than when they were losing and keep going.

    Thanks for the reply! I'm counting my calories using MFP if that's what you mean? I'm looking to lose about 80 pounds, but I'd be at the higher end of a healthy weight after losing 60! I've been at this for over 2 years but I have only gained weight. I do have a food scale and I count my calories very accurately and will not eat anything I have not weighed/is pre-calorie counted! If anything I tend to overestimate my calories so I'm defnintley not eating more than I think! I do as much exercise as I can (running, long walks in the woods, stationary bike, sometimes gym, weights etc...) But I don't log it or change my calories for it. Just calculated and my TDEE seems to be a little over 2000!
  • Shiningstars1415
    Shiningstars1415 Posts: 9 Member
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    fascha wrote: »
    Going over by 150 is nowhere near a binge. A proper binge I was expecting 3K+
    You're still in a deficit, relax you didn't do any harm.

    Thanks! I don't think I binged today but I'm a little bit of a perfectionist and I do quite often binge over 3k! I'm very black and white with calories and either I'm under 1200 calories or I'm over. No matter how many by. Typically the trigger for a binge is when I go a little over and think all is lost and end up going waayy over. I just didn't want that to happen today!

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