When you eat more calories than anticipated how do you adjust your day? Feeling frustrated...
weightforme8134
Posts: 53 Member
This morning my husband woke up early and made us all a nice breakfast. Usually he only puts 4 eggs in our standard veggie frittata and today he put in 6 (we split it). He also cooked up bacon and made me a piece of toast. Normally I skip the toast if I am planning on a sandwich for lunch (spoiler alert I was!) but I did not want to waste food or hurt his feelings. Next time I will let him know ahead of time I don't want the toast. Well breakfast while delicious and filling put me at 300 cals OVER my normal breakfast. Sandwich for lunch is obviously off the table and I am def not making up the original dinner I had planned because I know it would just put me over. This is almost like a game to me I really like to keep my morn cals lower so I can eat more later. I guess today will have to be rearranged food wise. I feel appreciative and frustrated all at once!
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Replies
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300 calories over is still in deficit, unless you chose 0.5 lbs to lose per week. Just eat the rest of the things you planned for the day and don't worry about it.
2 lbs per week = 1000 calorie per day deficit
1 lb per week = 500 calorie per day deficit
0.5 lb per week = 250 calorie per day deficit
One of the best things I did was learn my TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). For me, this number is ~2400 calories per day. So even though I shoot for ~1900 calories per day, I know that as long as I am under 2400 calories, I'm still in deficit - just a smaller one.
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For me, I just put in a little more activity time. A walk, play a physical game (Just Dance works many times), or hit some extra weight room time.
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I'd give the husband a hug and invite him to take a walk with you after dinner!11
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I tend to be really free with my food choices. I very rarely know what I'm having for the day and I adjust as I go along. I'm not much of a pre-planner and like to go with the flow so I would have a Greek yogurt for lunch and a smaller portion for dinner.
Roll with it.3 -
I'd get in a bit more exercise activity and continue with your original plan for eating. Being a bit over MFP recommended for 1 day shouldn't alter your weight loss.2
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Thanks everyone! I told myself NOT to get obsessive with this as that is a downfall for me. I appreciate the suggestions.
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I have had to talk to my OH about this a little too. I like @DebLaBounty 's comment to appreciate the effort he made (which I think you do) but you can also just talk to him about what works best for you so you can find a middle ground.
We normally make Kodiak cakes for breakfast on the weekends. I make it with water and an egg, and my OH usually does the same. Well, last weekend I walk in and he is mixing the batter after he just added 1/4 cup of half and half and two tablespoons of butter to it. I would not have known he added those in if I had not walked in at the right time (he is not a measuring cook, just one who can throw in ingredients by feel, I had to estimate those measurements based on his explanation of amounts used). I logged the additional calories that I normally would not have eaten, thanked him for cooking, but told him I would need to make mine separately from his if he had to add those things to the batter. In that case, I made vegetables the bulk of the volume of my dinner (a whole bag of steamed broccoli) and ate only a portion of the rest of the dinner (to hit my remaining calories) and saved the rest for left overs.
The next day, I woke up early and made them myself But I did add a tsp of vanilla extract and some cinnamon- they tasted awesome (more awesome, I guess, since I like the normal buttermilk flavor anyway).0 -
So funny penthesliea my husband does not measure things either and I have to be like "So wait how much cheese is in this?" "Oh about a half cup" grrr lol1
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weightforme8134 wrote: »So funny penthesliea my husband does not measure things either and I have to be like "So wait how much cheese is in this?" "Oh about a half cup" grrr lol
Yeah, I have always needed to measure things for recipes but he can eyeball how much he needs for yummy food (it is an impressive skill, but frustrating for logging ).0 -
What a nice guy! I agree with getting extra activity. I would swap the lunch sandwich for a nice lettuce wrap or salad, eat a nice dinner as planned. If needed eat a smaller portion. Or just count it as a cheat meal and plan out the rest of the week.0
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The same thing happens to me a LOT, especially the "oh it was only a tablespoon of olive oil" (as I watch him pour in almost 1/4 cup). I just estimate the best I can and if I know I had more than I intended I'll say something like "Breakfast was amazing! I'll have to eat light the rest of the day though" (with a smile on my face)- that way he knows I appreciate the breakfast and am not complaining about wanting to eat light the rest of the day...but it lets him know- don't suggest pizza for lunch or dinner, lol! And if he does suggest something heavy later on I'll say "I have to pick and choose my splurges. Breakfast was awesome but I'm going to hold off on the pizza for a little while. It will be there another day when we want it." Might not work for everyone but it works for me and my hubby.
At the same time though, a lot of people have success looking at their weekly calories instead of just the daily ones- that way you can make small adjustment throughout the week rather than starving yourself the rest of the day to "make up for it" which can just lead to being miserable and binging.
Whatever you do, don't punish yourself or try to "make up for it" by denying yourself food if you're hungry. One day will not derail all your progress, and often it's best to just brush off the crumbs and move on.1 -
A one off...I wouldn't do anything differently than I planned. You're also still in a deficit.1
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If I put something in front of my wife which she didn't specifically ask for, she wouldn't eat it. That's proven. She's not on a calorie-counting kick either. She's just particular.0
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The curve balls are good practice for maintaining. Maybe make an "open face" sandwich and eat a little less portion for dinner. Or, as others have said- a nice walk or activity will offset it. It will all work out even if you eat that piece of toast. Stay strong.1
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I can relate! Sometimes my boyfriend cooks dinner, and even though I know he's cooking I don't always know what it will be til the end of the day, and by then it's too late! I usually just try to add in exercise the next day or eat a light lunch.0
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When this happens try to chalk the day up to one day on maintenance.
After all a day of maintaining is still a day of not gaining. Back to the deficit the next day.
Otherwise you may find yourself getting anxious, and as you have said, frustrated about days when you really can't avoid extra food, such as surprises like extra for breakfast. As long as it's not a regular thing, your weight loss won't be much affected.0
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