Unintentional cheat day

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23rochelle23
23rochelle23 Posts: 269 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So I’ve been following a low carb, low cal diet and lost 3.4kg in a few weeks - however over the next few days I’m travelling and today have had a total blow out after weeks of no cheating whatsoever (crepe with ice cream and fries for dinner
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  • 23rochelle23
    23rochelle23 Posts: 269 Member
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    ETA: I’ve just worked out how to see my week view and I’m still 1200 calories down for the last 7 days - and today’s is the only exercise calories I’ve counted
  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
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    23rochelle23 wrote: »
    ETA: I’ve just worked out how to see my week view and I’m still 1200 calories down for the last 7 days - and today’s is the only exercise calories I’ve counted

    then you didn't cheat. Calories can't read a calendar and ding reset at midnight. Sounds like you're way under eating though
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    23rochelle23 wrote: »
    ETA: I’ve just worked out how to see my week view and I’m still 1200 calories down for the last 7 days - and today’s is the only exercise calories I’ve counted

    Why are you eating so little?
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    edited May 2018
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    23rochelle23 wrote: »
    ETA: I’ve just worked out how to see my week view and I’m still 1200 calories down for the last 7 days - and today’s is the only exercise calories I’ve counted

    I read that as saying her total deficit for the last seven days is 1200 calories. If so, good work OP!
  • Katiebear_81
    Katiebear_81 Posts: 719 Member
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    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    23rochelle23 wrote: »
    ETA: I’ve just worked out how to see my week view and I’m still 1200 calories down for the last 7 days - and today’s is the only exercise calories I’ve counted

    I read that as saying her total deficit for the last seven days is 1200 calories. If so, good work OP!

    Me too. This is less than 1 lbs per week loss.

    Well done on the overall compliance, OP. You may see a bit of a swing up in weight, as your body will retain some water with the increased carbs... but if you go back to your plan it will drop off again. :)

  • 23rochelle23
    23rochelle23 Posts: 269 Member
    edited May 2018
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    I’m 1200 under my 1200/day total over last seven days so I’ve had an average of 1000ish a day - it’s mainly due to shift work that I eat little - I have been trying to keep up food intake on night shift but I wake up at around 12/1pm but stay in bed to rest more. At 3pmish get out of bed and eat a meal, get my life ready, go to the gym then have a protein based snack (say a chicken thigh or something) on my way to work.

    Usually don’t get my single 30 minute meal break til 2-4am, by then I’m just tired and nauseous after a million or so coffees so have a protein shake or something light, finish work between 6-9am (or occasionally even later) depending on overrun and go straight home to bed because by that point I’ve been awake for far too long on far too little sleep.



  • 23rochelle23
    23rochelle23 Posts: 269 Member
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  • avadahm
    avadahm Posts: 111 Member
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    Looking at that, you’re probably totally cool cheating a couple more days like that. Some of those days are super low assuming you’re tracking them correctly.

    Could you add some protein to your coffees? That’s how I sneak some useful calories in because I don’t handle food well early in the day. Should help you feel less like “cheating” to be consistent.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
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    You're undereating. Eat 1200 calories per day, not less. You didn't "cheat," you gave your body some much-needed nutrition.
  • 23rochelle23
    23rochelle23 Posts: 269 Member
    edited June 2018
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    I worked 80+ hours this week - half of which were overnight. If you look at the trend I’ve done exactly that as the week has progressed and I’ve realised how low I was on Cals, adding in avocado, olive oil etc to meals. However amazingly food prep isn’t what I feel like doing when I get home from a 12hr + shift. Additionally I work on an ambulance so have no fridge to keep things cool and no expectation of getting back to home station to eat anything I’ve left there. Then to further complicate matters I have celiacs which limits grabbing food when out and about (hence my excitement and eating of gluten free crepes in the Netherlands)
    Realistically I’ve prob always made up and exceeded calories by drinking wine - however I’m not drinking for three months and it’s hardly an ideal way to hit target.

    Anyway if you’re offering to come and do my meal prep for me so I have no excuse then please do... pretty pretty please?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Katiebear_81 wrote: »
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    23rochelle23 wrote: »
    ETA: I’ve just worked out how to see my week view and I’m still 1200 calories down for the last 7 days - and today’s is the only exercise calories I’ve counted

    I read that as saying her total deficit for the last seven days is 1200 calories. If so, good work OP!

    Me too. This is less than 1 lbs per week loss.

    Well done on the overall compliance, OP. You may see a bit of a swing up in weight, as your body will retain some water with the increased carbs... but if you go back to your plan it will drop off again. :)

    no, it means she has a deficit (probably 1000 cals) which puts her at 1200 per day, and she is 1200 under that for the week...
  • LifeWithPie
    LifeWithPie Posts: 552 Member
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    If a crepe with ice cream and some fries is considered a 'total blowout', then I'm doomed.
  • emmamcgarity
    emmamcgarity Posts: 1,594 Member
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    I'd like to start by commending you for logging the meal that put you over your calorie goal. It's a good thing to do. No day is perfect and we all have days that we exceed the calorie goal. Tracking the data is an important step on this journey.

    As for the undereating, please eat more. I am also set to the 1200 goal due to my height, age and activity level. My daughter works on an ambulance as well. It's challenging work. My gut says you likely have an activity level that would set you at a calorie goal higher than 1200. I admire you for working in this field. I know you give a lot to the community you serve. You deserve to treat yourself to good nutrition so that you can be the best you can be for yourself an the patients that are counting on you.

    The 100 calorie packs of almonds and gluten free Kind bars are things I keep on hand to throw in my purse when I'll be out and about without easy access to food. No meal prep makes them easy for me for those really busy days. An apple or an orange holds up pretty well in my bag as well. I also buy the fruit cups for emergency situations. I throw them in my bag on the way out the door. Boxes of raisins are more calorie dense but very handy. I realize on the ambulance you won't have easy access to refrigeration. So, maybe having a glass of milk and a banana before you start your shift will help you get the day off to a good start. Undereating can cause problems with malnutrition.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
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    You don’t have to do complicated meal prep. Protein bars (Quest is gluten free, as are some others), jerky, single servings of nut butter, or fruit (fresh or dried) are all quick things to throw in your bag. There are a lot of other things you might be able to find prepackaged into individual portions. If you have an insulated bag, then you could also do single serving cheeses, yogurt, pre-cut vegetables (buy them already washed and cut if you don’t have time to do it yourself). None of those things take time to prepare. I always, always have at least one protein bar in my bag in case I don’t have time for a proper lunch.
  • 23rochelle23
    23rochelle23 Posts: 269 Member
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    Haha didn’t think anyone was being mean ❤️ - as I said once I tracked and realised how low it was I did try and up it. I’m trying to completely avoid prepackaged stuff (except a bit of dark choc lol) but nuts are a good shout - I did buy some macadamias last week (not as healthy as almonds but more delicious).
    Honestly ambulance work is fairly sedentary - I walk 3-5000 steps on a 12 hr shift - I used to do more during an office day in my previous life - the only hard work we do is lifting (which is why I weight lift at the gym - and mfp doesn’t allow you to deduct calories for weight lifting)
    I just double checked my activity level etc cause it was set up ages ago and it is down as active - I think my calories are low cause I’m very short
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    That just makes me want to bang my head against the wall. You don't want to do prep AND you are avoiding prepackaged (PP) stuff? Oi Vey!

    You do understand that whatever you think is bad about PP food that undereating is worse for you, right? I get not wanting to eat a PP meal everyday but what is wrong with a few meals a week? Also, in your situation it shouldn't matter if almonds are more healthy than macadamias because eating a doughnut is healthier than undereating.

    This is the kind of thing that scare me honestly. When someone puts extra restrictions on themselves so they can "justify" eating too little. Your non cheating cheat day is your body telling you something. Please listen.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,988 Member
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    NovusDies wrote: »
    That just makes me want to bang my head against the wall. You don't want to do prep AND you are avoiding prepackaged (PP) stuff? Oi Vey!

    You do understand that whatever you think is bad about PP food that undereating is worse for you, right? I get not wanting to eat a PP meal everyday but what is wrong with a few meals a week? Also, in your situation it shouldn't matter if almonds are more healthy than macadamias because eating a doughnut is healthier than undereating.

    This is the kind of thing that scare me honestly. When someone puts extra restrictions on themselves so they can "justify" eating too little. Your non cheating cheat day is your body telling you something. Please listen.

    ^^This. Except maybe not the doughnut, if I'm recalling correctly that you have gluten sensitivity. But you don't need to add restrictions like no packaged food to make your life harder and put more food off limits.

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