Cheat days?

alicia163425
alicia163425 Posts: 80 Member
in Motivation and Support
So I’m feeling guilty about my calorie intake today. It was my birthday on Thursday and everyone wanted to take me out this weekend. I tried to find the healthiest things on the menu, but I am still over by 700 calories. I get 1390 per day. I did my strength training as I usually do today. I know that life gets in the way, and my husband says not to feel guilty because It is just one day. Does anyone else have days like this?

Replies

  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    I've never met a perfect person, so it's fair to say everyone has days like that. You need to learn how to eat for real life, and real life sometimes puts you in situations where you end up making less than the best decisions. One day means absolutely nothing, it's what you do most days that has the most affect on your results. And depending on how aggressive your goal is 700 cals over is probably pretty close to maintenance, so it's not like it's going to cause you to gain weight anyway.

    Finding a way to separate feelings of guilt, reward, good and bad, morality in general from your diet will be one of the most important things you can do.

    Having said that, 1390 calories is pretty low. Make sure that is really appropriate for you. Are you eating back your exercise calories? Undereating can back fire and lead to days where you just go off the rails or even quit. Pick realistic goals and be patient and kind to yourself. And happy belated birthday :smile:
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,532 Member
    edited March 2018
    Days like this? Of course. It’s not possible to be involved in long term weight loss and not go over your number sometime. That’s why I think the focus should be on keeping a diary through good days and bad.

    A diary is something to do. The only way to mess it up is to not do it. The process is more important than the number. See how you come out at the end of the week. 700 cals in a week is a hiccup.

    Oh, and to pick at this nit- if your focus is your diary you can ditch the cheat mentality. There’s just days that work out and days that could go better. Everything gets counted and move on. If you hit a rough spot you can make a better plan next time. There’s no one to cheat, just learning from experience.
  • alicia163425
    alicia163425 Posts: 80 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    I've never met a perfect person, so it's fair to say everyone has days like that. You need to learn how to eat for real life, and real life sometimes puts you in situations where you end up making less than the best decisions. One day means absolutely nothing, it's what you do most days that has the most affect on your results. And depending on how aggressive your goal is 700 cals over is probably pretty close to maintenance, so it's not like it's going to cause you to gain weight anyway.

    Finding a way to separate feelings of guilt, reward, good and bad, morality in general from your diet will be one of the most important things you can do.

    Having said that, 1390 calories is pretty low. Make sure that is really appropriate for you. Are you eating back your exercise calories? Undereating can back fire and lead to days where you just go off the rails or even quit. Pick realistic goals and be patient and kind to yourself. And happy belated birthday :smile:

    This is what MFP recommended for me because I have a desk job and I am 5’4”. I have it set to lose 2 pounds per week. I strength train 3 days per week but have not figured out how to track this reliably so no I have not been eating my calories back. I do fitness videos that have a wide variety of strength moves so it’s hard to track it on this app. So far I haven’t added cardio because I want to make the strength training a habit and if I do too much too fast I burn out in my past experience.
  • musicfan68
    musicfan68 Posts: 1,143 Member
    2 lbs a week might still be too aggressive. How much are you trying to lose?
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited March 2018
    alicia163425 wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    I've never met a perfect person, so it's fair to say everyone has days like that. You need to learn how to eat for real life, and real life sometimes puts you in situations where you end up making less than the best decisions. One day means absolutely nothing, it's what you do most days that has the most affect on your results. And depending on how aggressive your goal is 700 cals over is probably pretty close to maintenance, so it's not like it's going to cause you to gain weight anyway.

    Finding a way to separate feelings of guilt, reward, good and bad, morality in general from your diet will be one of the most important things you can do.

    Having said that, 1390 calories is pretty low. Make sure that is really appropriate for you. Are you eating back your exercise calories? Undereating can back fire and lead to days where you just go off the rails or even quit. Pick realistic goals and be patient and kind to yourself. And happy belated birthday :smile:

    This is what MFP recommended for me because I have a desk job and I am 5’4”. I have it set to lose 2 pounds per week. I strength train 3 days per week but have not figured out how to track this reliably so no I have not been eating my calories back. I do fitness videos that have a wide variety of strength moves so it’s hard to track it on this app. So far I haven’t added cardio because I want to make the strength training a habit and if I do too much too fast I burn out in my past experience.

    2 lbs is the most aggressive goal. If you have a lot of weight to lose that might be fine, but if it becomes a struggle there is nothing wrong with dialing it back a little. The fact that you've chosen the highest goal is even more reason to cut yourself some slack on days you don't quite hit it. with a goal of 2lbs per week, that means your daily deficit is 1000 calories, so 700 cals over is STILL a deficit, plus you said you worked out and don't eat those calories back.

    If you search in the cardio section here there is an entry for strength training. It's not many calories, but on days you strength train I'd allow yourself at least 100 extra calories or so. If nothing else it will give you the opportunity to eat a little bit more protein to support your strength training.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    My birthday is one of the few days I don't worry about sticking to my calories. I always take that week off from counting and get right back to it the following Monday. The biggest thing about weight loss is reminding yourself that you'll still have to be mindful of what you do after you reach your goal. But a few days where you go overboard aren't going to destroy your progress.

    Plus birthday cakes don't have calories :D
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  • alicia163425
    alicia163425 Posts: 80 Member
    Thick_Chickk wrote: »
    I do a cheat meal/day once a week, no biggie

    Do you still lose weight at a good rate?
  • Meelisv
    Meelisv Posts: 235 Member
    edited March 2018
    For f*** sake, it was your birthday! Just feel free to celebrate with your family/friends and be happy, don't even consider feeling guilty about it. When on a weight loss journey, such occasions are even very necessary just to keep yourself sane.
    As for "cheat meals" as such, I don't personally believe in them. I prefer to fit something nice into each day, even if it means sometimes being 100 cals or so over, rather than restrict myself most days and then have a "cheat day" later. It is of course very individual.
    malibu927 wrote: »
    Plus birthday cakes don't have calories :D

    That too :smiley:
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    You're new to this. You'll come to realize that sometimes you just want to have some calories above your mfp-weight loss target. DO NOT punish yourself. Just enjoy the good stuff one day and get back on track the next. Eventually you'll dare the diet break, but even then if you consider yourself to be in control of the decision, you'll be able to take the break and get back on the cut.
  • alicia163425
    alicia163425 Posts: 80 Member
    @kimny72 I have over 130 pounds to lose so that’s why I am doing the 2 pounds a week loss. But thank you for making me feel a little better about eating over my calories. Tomorrow is a new day

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