What do you do after the day you overeat?

It depends. I don't have one go to method. Sometimes I do nothing other than go back to normal eating. Sometimes I exercise a bit more. Sometimes I fast for a day. Sometimes I'll clean up my diet overall for a while. It all just depends on my mood at that time.

I try for a 1000kcal net deficit the next day and 500kcal net deficits for several days after.

Generally if I overeat one day, I am not hungry the next couple of days so I simply eat less. I don't over eat by much when I do overeat. Maybe 500 cals tops in a day because I get full and couldn't eat more if I tried.

Typically I plan my eating schedule so I eat lighter during the week so I can splurge a little more on weekends. If I really go overboard I will just cut it down a bit during the week (not too much, maybe just one less snack or no dessert after dinner) or maybe add an extra walk or cardio session, nothing like a punishment or anything, just to even things out so I can remain in deficit. If I am maintaining I usually just let it be and it works itself out.

I just go back to regular earing the next day. Sometimes try to add more exercise as well.

HappyGrape wrote: »

log it and move on. I would cut calories only if there is weight creep up week later.

Same here. Maybe more water, fruits and veggies the next day, but I just go right back to my regular goal.

When in any given day I eat more than my caloric intake, I take the extra calories and record them in the next days (never more than two days). That way I kinda "punish" myself for overeating and still keep overall goals.

Now that I am in maintenance, it is also normal to do the opposite. Some days I do not reach my caloric intake by 100-200 kcals. In that case I allow myself some treats and "charge back" to the days before, still maintaining my goals.

The important rule is never to span this to more than two days in the past/future.

It helps to focus on my weekly calories rather than daily. One high day will throw it off, and I will try to be more careful until the average is back close to my goal.

I cannot imagine eating 4000 in a sitting, so that's outside my experience. But let's say you somehow did manage to over indulge by enough calories to gain a whole pound. So what. So you lose one less lb. this month. I'd basically not care at all and change nothing. However, with that said, the second time it happens I would wonder if it is a pattern and if I decided it was, I would cancel those parties and refuse to go. No party is worth my health.

As far as exercise to lose weight...also outside my experience. I burn over a thousand calories a day through exercise. But not a minute of that time is spent to lose weight. That's a side effect only...not the main motivator. I understand why those who exercise keep weight off, it really burns through the calories. But it takes a lot to get to the fitness level that you can burn say 1500 calories in a sitting. I cannot imagine getting to that level of fitness with the motivation being the option of burning off binges.....nah, you have to love it for the sport.

If it's a planned thing, like a celebration, I carry on the next day as usual. If it's a response to an extreme craving, I try to figure out where that craving came from and deal with it accordingly. I don't punish myself;
I try to think of strategies that will keep it from happening too often. For example, yesterday I went way over because I had been eating too little for a while, so today I'm concentrating on feeding myself well and paying attention to my hunger and energy level. I realize today that I have way more energy than I have had for a couple of weeks, so I was probably undereating during that time any my body needed a reset. No big deal, just something to watch out for in the future. I think the key to success is not to get too emotionally invested in a particular outcome.

Sometimes I'll crave a bacon burger and go over my goal to get one and realize after that I hadn't been too good on protein that week. But I also make room for bacon burgers within my calorie allotment! And all the foodz. Om nom.