Messed up yesterday - can I cut my calories down to 1000 for the next two days to compensate?

No professional here, but 2 days seems fine.

No need to be so drastic, no need to punish yourself. It will even out over a week or so with a bit of extra exercise and by maintaining your daily target.

IMO, the important thing is to get in the habit of eating at the level at which you will lose weight. At this point, you cannot change the past. Just as you wouldn't drastically restrict calories below the level you will lose at to compensate for how you ate 3 years ago, don't do it because of what you ate yesterday.

If all of these concerns are because of the approaching weekly weight-in, then you are still overemphasizing the scale. Even eating consistently, changes on the scale can be flat for weeks and then suddenly there's a big drop. It can be difficult to do, but I find it more productive to find accomplishment in knowing that I've eaten well and been active. Celebrate doing things the right way, rather than the result at the scale. The results will take care of themselves, but only over time.

There are a number of factors that will influence the scale besides calorie intake and the only way you're going to get used to slowed or paused progress is to accept it. This summer my biggest problem has been constipation, which can sometimes add up to 5 lbs in waste, especially if hubby cooks or decides he wants takeout. The important thing to remember is that none of us got fat in a day or even a week. Messing with your daily intake over a single day that wasn't even in excess of your maintenance weight only increases the odds of future "binges" and encourages an unhealthy attitude towards food and diet.

sam_c_93 wrote: »

Thank you, the last part of your post helped me a lot. It adds one day to my progress and that's nothing. I think I need to think that way. I've kind of guestimated that it will take me a year to lose what I need to lose so a day is nothing.

Massive well done for finding that mindset.
Although it's best if blow-out days don't happen often, understanding that you don't need to punish yourself massively for them when they do happen is a really good foundation for a healthier approach to the journey.

As you've identified, they're not free - it's added a day - but for sure they're not the end of the world.

Keep it up!

BananaJoanna wrote: »

Is your goal to see a number on the scale you are satisfied with on Wednesday, or is it to achieve long-term weight loss by changing your habits for good? I suspect it's the latter. So no, don't respond drastically, especially if you were eating within your maintenance limit anyway. Just treat each day as a new one and try to think about what's making you turn to food for comfort in the first place, if you think that's a problem for you. And, if the fluctuations bother you that much, you might even want to switch to weighing once a month.

Everything about this! You may show a pound or two or even more higher than you want on weigh-in day, but that will just be water weight since you haven't eaten enough calories to gain even 1 lb of fat. That extra water weight will flush out in just a few days and you'll be back on track. Taking drastic measures to get the weigh-in results you want for one week could potentially work, but as BananaJoanna mentioned, you don't have to change a thing in order to continue to see sustained progress over time. I would argue that getting used to taking drastic measures could form unhealthy habits in you over time, like severely restricting calories before weigh-ins to maximize results, and won't really do much to push you toward your goals. If I were to eat 1000 calories two days in a row, I'd be setting myself up for a hell of a binge on day 3!

sam_c_93 wrote: »

ck2d wrote: »

I wouldn't restrict. It's harder to be kind to yourself rather than punish yourself. What would you say if a friend did it? "No big deal, new day today, put it behind you." Right? Plus there's evidence that having a 'cheat meal' resets your body and helps you lose more in the long run.

What matters most is you don't let it snowball and continue to overeat.

Are you eating enough now? If you're feeling overly restricted maybe up it by 200 calories and have a slower - and more permanent - weight loss. And definitely eat back exercise calories while you're at it.

I feel like I'm eating enough now. I haven't felt particularly restricted or hungry. I've only had two incidences of breaking my limit in the four weeks I've been doing it, and one was yesterday. It was emotional eating rather than me being hungry.

Silentpadna wrote: »

sam_c_93 wrote: »

Hi all,

I majorly messed up my plan yesterday by comfort eating at night. This added 1000 calories to my day

I weigh on Wednesday mornings and was wondering could I balance out the damage by reducing my calories to 1000 for today and tomorrow?

I read so much about starvation mode that I just wanted to check 1000 calories isn't going to slow it down just for two days or something. I'm just trying to save the last week's progress, which has generally been good apart from that 1000 calorie binge.

Thanks

It's not a major mess up. Don't worry about starvation mode. It won't happen.

That said, if you decide you want to "make up" for it by overdoing the next couple of days with restriction (if you are convinced you should do this, I would see it as a red flag), you may or may not get the result you hope for. You may not have gotten it anyway because of normal fluctuations! Those extra calories would have done exactly what? Maybe add 1/3 of a pound to your Wednesday weight? You could have 3 pounds of water weight that day! Or maybe have gotten rid of 2-3 pounds of water weight.

How would you know in either case?

This is why you can't obsess over a number on a particular weigh in or punish yourself for a "mess up". If you eat at maintenance for day, all it potentially does is add one single day to your progress. Depending on your weight loss goal, one single day is, at the most, 0.29 pounds.

Thank you, the last part of your post helped me a lot. It adds one day to my progress and that's nothing. I think I need to think that way. I've kind of guestimated that it will take me a year to lose what I need to lose so a day is nothing.

WinoGelato wrote: »

sam_c_93 wrote: »

I'm eating to 1400 (ignore my profile, it's out of date mostly). I know that adding a 1000 to that still means I won't gain weight (according to Google I need 2300 to maintain). I've lost 1 stone 2 pounds in three weeks so far and I guess I'm deluding myself into thinking it can continue at this rate, but I know that doesn't really happen.

I do obsess over the scales and I have opted out of daily weighing for that reason. I know fluctuations are normal but I worry that it would put me off

There are a lot of red flags in your posts...
You've lost 16 lbs in 3 weeks - how much total are you trying to lose?

You're eating "to 1400" does that mean sometimes less? Are you exercising? Do you eat back exercise calories?

You are concerned about a day or two of "messing up" and eating at a level that is right about your maintenance calories. You want to compensate for that by eating at an even steeper deficit than you already are, and you mention obsessing over the scales. This is concerning.

I'm trying to lose eight and a half stone total. So I have a long way to go.

I swim three times a week and walk everywhere I can. That's the exercise I do. I really hate exercising in the gym and jogging so they are the two things I've compromised with. I don't add exercise calories to anything, I don't even think about them. I was under the impression you shouldn't eat them back?

Generally speaking you should eat them back, but it is an extra variable to consider, and since you're still early days and aren't going all nutballs with exercise, you might not want to worry about it at this point. Assuming you're feeling pretty well at your current level of calories, of course. You'll probably want to start taking them into account eventually, but I didn't for the first few months I was losing (I also get all my exercise from walking) and it was fine. The big debate around how much to eat back has to do with the fact that it's really hard to estimate how many calories you burn from various activities, so people go with a certain percentage to make sure they're not overestimating. For me, I assume that everything's an estimate, but so long as I'm losing weight at about the rate I'd expect, it's fine. Don't get too caught up in any particular number would be my advice. You want to keep your eyes on the big picture - a lifetime of healthier living.

2 days isn't that bad. On a brighter note:

So you had a bad day, ate too much, missed a workout, ate too little. Congratulations on being human, there are 8 billion of us.

You had a bad day. Do not punish yourself for it. Especially if it's just one bad day in the midst of a lot of good ones.