4th of July Beer and BBQ....

For some perspective: the first day of my long weekend spent with family at the lake (Saturday) I managed to log 3600 calories...I did not even log the following 3 days as my foods were so varied, all kinds of bites of this and that, and everything homemade from scratch, and my butter-crust strawberry-rhubarb pie smothered in whipped cream, but I am sure they were equally as bad (and while counterbalanced with a lot of swimming, biking, kayaking, etc. the activity most certainly did not make up for calories). Since my TDEE is normally around 2200 to 2500 calories, I might have been 1000 calories or so over each day.

It was a holiday, and now the holiday is over, there is not another holiday coming for a long time, and I am back in the groove with my usual weighed and portioned healthy, whole foods packed in my lunch, and my usual routine and expectations. I greatly enjoyed the several days of splurging, but probably won't have put on more than a pound, if anything, and have the disciplined framework in place to get back to my habits that have helped me successfully lose weight, and then maintain for the past year at a healthy weight.

What I have bolded above is crucial. I do not self-flagellate over food. Why do that? Rather than rake yourself over the coals a full day (or more) later, just go out and take a long, brisk walk and call it even. I take a moderate approach grounded in good habits and exercise, and enjoy the occasional joyful feast days as they come up, and refrain from feasting when it is not a legit occasion for feasting.

I usually just try to balance out for the rest of the week by eating a bit less each day.

That just sounds like Life was happening. No need to beat yourself up over it and feel guilty. Try to remember that you're trying to make better choices over the long run, but you'll eat plenty of fajitas and baked beans in days to come. Plan for it, track it, adjust your other days around it, be a little more active, etc. It'll be ok as long as you just get right back into the swing of things.

Personally, I planned to eat whatever I wanted on Fourth of July. I tracked to the best of my ability, saw some frightening numbers, but didn't feel any panic or guilt because it was part of my plan. Today, I'm getting right back into the swing of things and trust that as long as I keep this up, my weight will trend down in the long run.

Good luck!

You need perspective. That's what always gets me back on track.

What is your daily goal that 1000 cals for dinner is causing you to feel like you've gotten way off track?
Do you typically aim to achieve that goal, or be under it?
How far over your goal were you for the entire day?
What is your goal rate of loss set at?
Are you losing at that rate currently?
Do you exercise? Do you eat back some of those exercise calories?

It is very likely that this small indulgence does not even put you at maintenance calories for the week. Depending on the rate of loss that you chose, and how you balance your calories over the week, you are probably still at a deficit for the week meaning you wouldn't see anything other than a short term blip on the scale from water retention maybe.

Also for what it's worth, my Fourth of July dinner clocked in at 2,074 calories yesterday. I'm not even worried about it. Perspective.

I had 12 ounces of rack of lamb at our cook out yesterday (actually a 1 lb rack, I just adjusted for the meat only). Easily a 1500 calorie meal with all of the sides. I do love me some lamb.

I did plan around it and only ate 400 calories beforehand so all in all I kept within target but man, that meal felt so indulgent.