I overate.
PinkSeaShells
Posts: 15 Member
By almost 1,000 calories. 944 to be exact. I ate almost double my 1200 calorie goal. I was doing so well...where do I go from here? I was thinking of lowering my goal for the next few days and upping my exercise to make up for it. Or even restarting my day 1 tomorrow. I dont know...
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Replies
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Happens to everyone from time to time. It's not the end of the world. Just log it and move on.
Depending on how big a deficit you have set -- which depends on the rate of weight loss you set in your profile -- you might not even have been in a surplus from that. In other words, you lost no real ground. You just paused for the day. It's nothing to stress out over.
There is NO GUILT about this.18 -
If you set your goal for losing 2 lbs a week, which many people do at the start (even though they shouldn't), all you did was have a maintenance day. It's not a big deal. Just keep logging and trying to eat below maintenance instead of at maintenance.13
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Just carry on as normal. You'll lose a little less weight for the week than you would have, that's all.
You may want to put some thought into why you overate though. Have you set a weekly weight loss goal that is too aggressive, for example (eg you've gone for 2 lbs per week when 1 lb, or even 0.5 lb may be more appropriate for you)? Have you gone gung ho on cutting out a bunch of foods you consider 'bad', instead of finding ways to incorporate those things into your calorie allowance in small amounts?15 -
Get rid of the “restart” mindset. If you were driving from LA to NYC and you made a wrong turn in Denver, you wouldn’t go back to LA, you would just get back on the road and keep heading east. The next meal is just a continuation, not a restart.85
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PinkSeaShells wrote: »By almost 1,000 calories. 944 to be exact. I ate almost double my 1200 calorie goal. I was doing so well...where do I go from here? I was thinking of lowering my goal for the next few days and upping my exercise to make up for it. Or even restarting my day 1 tomorrow. I dont know...
This isn't a game and you didn't lose because you went above your target. You will not be penalized by gaining fat weight. At most you may have a water weight gain but don't let that freak you out. It is completely normal and very temporary.
If you are struggling at all and that caused you to slip past your goal you need to let the people here help you by answering some questions and reviewing how you are approaching your diet. One thing is for sure you can't be scared of calories. You will be constantly stressed and that is no good.14 -
Don't even give it another thought, just hop back on the wagon tomorrow. I gained 6 lbs after a week long vacation/cruise. This was with eating a ton of yummy foods/alcohol and not regretting a single ounce of it. I lost the 6 lbs in 3 days and I'm still losing more. A single day of overeating is just a blip in the grand scheme of things and trust me, we ALL do it. The key is to realize that it's OK and to keep going.10
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Log it and move on. Restricting even further could cause you to overeat again. But I would also lower your rate of loss, since you’re at the minimum calorie intake already and likely shouldn’t be aiming for 2 pounds a week.7
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The most important thing at this point is to get back on track and continue forward. Don’t let that slip derail you! It happened, log it and keep going.2
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PinkSeaShells wrote: »By almost 1,000 calories. 944 to be exact. I ate almost double my 1200 calorie goal. I was doing so well...where do I go from here? I was thinking of lowering my goal for the next few days and upping my exercise to make up for it. Or even restarting my day 1 tomorrow. I dont know...
How long have you been at 1200 cals?
Don't eat less to 'make up for it', just go back to your deficit. You might want to think about whether 1200 is appropriate though.2 -
Thanks everyone for the support! I am still trying to get out of the mindset of "all or nothing" with this 1200 calorie goal...sometimes if I eat 50 over then i feel that i might as well keep going,since I already surpassed it anyway.
I guess its ingrained in me that 1200 is the only amount to eat to lose weight, but I'm going to raise my cal goal without feeling too paranoid about it5 -
TavistockToad wrote: »[
How long have you been at 1200 cals?
Don't eat less to 'make up for it', just go back to your deficit. You might want to think about whether 1200 is appropriate though.
I have honestly have been at 1200 cal for years lol..and of course I was never able to stick with it. This latest round has been since the 1st of May.
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since you're eating low to begin with at 1200...just exercise twice this week to make up for the 1000... two hours of cardio will do it. i eat cheat meals all the time and still lose consistently...i just exercise the calories off over the rest of the week. And...for you, i wouldn't cut calories because you're eating at rock bottom at 120010
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Maybe rethink your calorie goal if you have trouble sticking to it. 1200 is really low and maybe you could eat more and lose slower but more sustainably.
Set your loss to no more than 1 lb a week.
If you exercise eat some of your exercise calories.2 -
Redordeadhead wrote: »
Thanks - this was some of the best advice I was given at the beginning of my weight loss journey 3 years ago. I am living it myself every day as I’ve spent a year trying to lose the last 20 lbs. I might not have lost them, but I’ve maintained a 95 lb loss for a year and that’s a huge victory for me.9 -
PinkSeaShells wrote: »I have honestly have been at 1200 cal for years lol..and of course I was never able to stick with it. This latest round has been since the 1st of May.
There is an old saying that if you do what you have always done you will get what you always get. Trust me, it took me longer than I'd like to admit to give up on faulty diet notions. 1200 is either not enough calories for you are you are not eating in a way that you can sustain. Can you provide your age, height, and starting weight? One of the very helpful people here will help guide you to a daily calorie amount that your body might find more comfortable and sustainable. If it happens to be close to 1200 someone here can also help you with your diet mindset with regards to food.
It will be much easier if you get off this roller coaster. Give this forum 6 weeks. I have a feeling you will be surprised and relieved.
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Since you have over 100 lbs to lose you probably need to raise your daily calories. Too big of a deficit can make you hungry and cause bingeing and possibly make you tired and irritable.2
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I did the same thing yesterday! (darn pizza) But, that was yesterday and it can't be changed. I am focusing on today and getting back to where I need to be. My calorie goal is set at 1200 also. I usually have no problem with it, but yesterday I wanted pizza and I couldn't make myself stop at one slice.3
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This happened to me on yesterday, I just counted it as my cheat day.2
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PinkSeaShells wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »[
How long have you been at 1200 cals?
Don't eat less to 'make up for it', just go back to your deficit. You might want to think about whether 1200 is appropriate though.
I have honestly have been at 1200 cal for years lol..and of course I was never able to stick with it. This latest round has been since the 1st of May.
So what does that tell you?7
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