The importance of an untracked meal and rest days

audrianna4969 · October 2018

For weeks I’ve been pushing myself harder than usual. Training 7 days a week, skipping rest days while making up excuses that it’s an “active recovery” day, forcing myself to lift heavier and work out longer. I’ve been tracking every calorie, every macro, every ounce of water, every step and everything in between. While it’s definitely paid off, it’s also started to take its toll on me. I could feel my energy declining and despite the fact that I just increased my calories, I still feel like I’m hungry all the time. Well tonight I finally learned a very valuable lesson about the importance of rest days and giving yourself the proper nutrients. My body completely shut down on me in the middle of a workout and I could barely lift the lightest of weights. I ended up having to tap out of a training session which I never do. It was a very humbling moment for me and if I’m being honest, I was a little embarrassed but my trainer was really cool about it. After leaving the gym, I went home and decided to enjoy my first untracked meal in months. I ate until I was full; not when my fineness pal told me to stop. I even finished it with some halo top ice cream. Tomorrow, I’ll start tracking again but tonight, I gave myself exactly what I needed and deserve and that’s a big dose of some untracked love.

NorthCascades · October 2018

You're allowed to track and go over your calorie goal, you know. MFP is a tool, not a master.

audrianna4969 · October 2018

I mean obviously your allowed to. I do sometimes but most of the time I stay within 5grams of my macros and don’t exceed more than 20-30 calories. I’ve been adjusting my TDEE as my goals have been changing so I’m still trying to find that sweet spot. The problem is, you’ll never find it if you can’t be consistent.

kimny72 · October 2018

I'm glad you learned about your limits and gave yourself a break.

But I just want to point out - if the food you are eating to hit your calories and macros is causing you to hit the wall, then your calorie and macro goals are probably not what they should be. Maybe you need to reevaluate your account setup and make sure your weekly goal isn't too aggressive and your macro distribution is working for you.

NovusDies · October 2018

I am not sure that it is good that the only way you can eat more calories is by ignoring them in your log.

A few Sundays ago I ate all of my maintenance calories plus 50 percent more. I didn't stop tracking because I am fine with having days like that on occasion. I am actually more relaxed knowing just how far I went because I really wasn't that bad in the grand scheme of a diet that is almost 9 months old now.

You seem to be too uptight and you pushed yourself to a breaking point. This is a good time to learn from a mistake and relax. The lesson here is not to have untracked meals but to go easier on yourself in all aspects of your journey.

audrianna4969 · October 2018

I totally agree. My trainer said the same thing. I’m probably going to increase another 100-200 calories and see how I feel. I’ve been trying not to increase by too much, too fast.

NovusDies · October 2018

kimny72 wrote: »

I'm glad you learned about your limits and gave yourself a break.

But I just want to point out - if the food you are eating to hit your calories and macros is causing you to hit the wall, then your calorie and macro goals are probably not what they should be. Maybe you need to reevaluate your account setup and make sure your weekly goal isn't too aggressive and your macro distribution is working for you.

This. I meant to hit on this too. I am off my game because I am sick. Good thing @kimny72 is on the case.

jhilkene · October 2018

Getting burned out is one thing...
Having a free day to enjoy a dinner and/or dessert is another.

Evelyn_Gorfram · October 2018

audrianna4969 wrote: »

For weeks I’ve been pushing myself harder than usual. Training 7 days a week, skipping rest days while making up excuses that it’s an “active recovery” day, forcing myself to lift heavier and work out longer. I’ve been tracking every calorie, every macro, every ounce of water, every step and everything in between. While it’s definitely paid off, it’s also started to take its toll on me. I could feel my energy declining and despite the fact that I just increased my calories, I still feel like I’m hungry all the time. Well tonight I finally learned a very valuable lesson about the importance of rest days and giving yourself the proper nutrients. My body completely shut down on me in the middle of a workout and I could barely lift the lightest of weights. I ended up having to tap out of a training session which I never do. It was a very humbling moment for me and if I’m being honest, I was a little embarrassed but my trainer was really cool about it. After leaving the gym, I went home and decided to enjoy my first untracked meal in months. I ate until I was full; not when my fineness pal told me to stop. I even finished it with some halo top ice cream. Tomorrow, I’ll start tracking again but tonight, I gave myself exactly what I needed and deserve and that’s a big dose of some untracked love.

I think what happened during your training session may have less to do with tracking; and more to do with pushing yourself harder than usual, training 7 days a week, skipping rest days, and forcing yourself to lift heavier and work out longer. Plus not increasing your calories enough so that you don't feel hungry all the time and find your energy level declining.

You can track your cheat days, and you can even track any binges. I track everything; and when I ate a half-tub of ice cream and a tube of cookie dough, writing them down in my diary did not increase their calorie content at all.

Also, if you're not giving yourself the proper nutrients using MFP and the food diary, I think you might not be doing everything quite right.

audrianna4969 · October 2018

I see what you’re saying and don’t get me wrong, I do go over my calories sometime . Not by much but it does happen. My whole point is that sometimes it feels good not know. I’ve literally tracked everything since early July. Even when I do go over, I still usually track it but I think it’s perfectly fine to have one meal every once in a while that you don’t track. It might make you feel better to know how much you go over but I’m the kind of person who will dwell on the numbers.

NorthCascades · October 2018

kimny72 wrote: »

I'm glad you learned about your limits and gave yourself a break.

But I just want to point out - if the food you are eating to hit your calories and macros is causing you to hit the wall, then your calorie and macro goals are probably not what they should be. Maybe you need to reevaluate your account setup and make sure your weekly goal isn't too aggressive and your macro distribution is working for you.

My performance on the bike has been suffering lately. I just stopped being able to get my heart rate over a certain point, which made me slow, and I'd get left behind on the hills.

I was looked at the nutrition report here, and I've been eating crazy low carb. I didn't realize it because I eat some carbs, and because people aren't really good at remembering how much of what. Anyway, you need carbs to be fast on a bike, I lost my speed, MFP was able to tell me why.

That's the value of tracking. I don't need an app's permission to eat, but I want the data to be available if I need it.

audrianna4969 · October 2018

I just want to say that 90% of the food I consume is whole organic food so when I said proper nutrients, I should have said proper amount of calories. The actual nutrients that I’m consuming is fine.

audrianna4969 · October 2018

I am aware that I need to eat more calories. This post was meant to encourage others who may be struggling with similar things. It wasn’t so much to ask others what I’m doing wrong. I have a trainer and a nutritionist who I’m working with. I do appreciate the feedback though. It just feels a little harsh

NovusDies · October 2018

audrianna4969 wrote: »

I see what you’re saying and don’t get me wrong, I do go over my calories sometime . Not by much but it does happen. My whole point is that sometimes it feels good not know. I’ve literally tracked everything since early July. Even when I do go over, I still usually track it but I think it’s perfectly fine to have one meal every once in a while that you don’t track. It might make you feel better to know how much you go over but I’m the kind of person who will dwell on the numbers.

As long as what you are doing works for you I don't say anything about how you log or your methods. I hope that you can tweak what you are doing so that it does work in a sustainable way moving forward and then people like me won't be concerned.

I think it is very important that all of us know when to adapt. It is how we can make a small failure work in our favor. My plan is not perfect and I don't have all the answers. I have made an alteration in the last month after learning from a mistake.

kimny72 · October 2018

audrianna4969 wrote: »

I am aware that I need to eat more calories. This post was meant to encourage others who may be struggling with similar things. It wasn’t so much to ask others what I’m doing wrong. I have a trainer and a nutritionist who I’m working with. I do appreciate the feedback though. It just feels a little harsh

The replies you are getting are out of concern, not criticism. Because it sounds like you are going to jump right back into the car you just crashed into the wall. So many people think they have to eat certain foods or cut out all their favorite treats, losing weight as quickly as possible and it often leads to exactly what you are describing - exhaustion and burnout.

We just want you to take it easy on yourself and realize that there is a lot of room in between "90% clean organic whole food and exercise 7 days a week while working with a trainer and a nutritionist" and doing nothing. And most of us lived in that in between the entire time we were losing weight and getting fit

But absolutely it's good for people to know that no matter what kind of plan they're on, there's nothing wrong with taking a day off every once in awhile. I sincerely wish you the best an hope you really do slow down a bit.

garystrickland357 · October 2018

Find an intensity of working out and logging that you can maintain. 9 years ago I burned out. One day I said, “It’s too hot. I’m not working out today.” That one day turned to two. That turned to two weeks. That turned into nine years and 75 pounds of weight.
Burnout is a real thing.
Take your rest days. Your body will thank you. Your brain will thank you.
Log your food, but don’t let it take control of your life.
Fitness and diet should make your life better - not BE your life.
I wish you good luck.

Evelyn_Gorfram · October 2018

audrianna4969 wrote: »

I see what you’re saying and don’t get me wrong, I do go over my calories sometime . Not by much but it does happen. My whole point is that sometimes it feels good not know. I’ve literally tracked everything since early July. Even when I do go over, I still usually track it but I think it’s perfectly fine to have one meal every once in a while that you don’t track. It might make you feel better to know how much you go over but I’m the kind of person who will dwell on the numbers.

kimny72 wrote: »

audrianna4969 wrote: »

I am aware that I need to eat more calories. This post was meant to encourage others who may be struggling with similar things. It wasn’t so much to ask others what I’m doing wrong. I have a trainer and a nutritionist who I’m working with. I do appreciate the feedback though. It just feels a little harsh

The replies you are getting are out of concern, not criticism. Because it sounds like you are going to jump right back into the car you just crashed into the wall. So many people think they have to eat certain foods or cut out all their favorite treats, losing weight as quickly as possible and it often leads to exactly what you are describing - exhaustion and burnout.

We just want you to take it easy on yourself and realize that there is a lot of room in between "90% clean organic whole food and exercise 7 days a week while working with a trainer and a nutritionist" and doing nothing. And most of us lived in that in between the entire time we were losing weight and getting fit

But absolutely it's good for people to know that no matter what kind of plan they're on, there's nothing wrong with taking a day off every once in awhile. I sincerely wish you the best an hope you really do slow down a bit.

I'm really sorry I came off sounding harsh. My post was indeed meant out of concern rather than criticism ("oh no! this poor person's driving themselves to the point of exhaustion and physical breakdown! we gotta stop them, quick!").

And of course; just as you can track anything and everything that you eat; you are also more than free to not track your cheat meals, binges, or anything else you'd rather not. I'd meant to make that clearer in my earlier post.

I'm someone who would obsess over not having the numbers ("just how much was it? will it make a big difference spread over a week? a month? ...which of my macros did it bump? which ones did it short?"), which sometimes makes me forget that the vast majority of people are just the opposite.

audrianna4969 · October 2018

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate the support. Today will be a rest day for me and I am adjusting my TDEE to allow at least 100 more calories since I’m obviously burning through them. I’m going to see how I feel in a week and then make more adjustments if I need to. Like I said, it’s really hard to find that sweet spot.

NovusDies · October 2018

I doubt 100 calories is going to be enough. I know you are a little reluctant to get more 'harsh' help but if you post your stats (age, gender, current weight, height, selected activity level, current calorie goal, and what you think your current TDEE is) you might get a better idea of what you need to be doing. I know you have a trainer and a nutritionist but we have seen a lot of people come through here with incorrect calorie goals from one or both.

Your TDEE is not a static number. It goes up and down. This is why 100 calories is not likely to be enough of a buffer. It is one of the reasons MFP uses the NEAT system so that you know to eat back (some or all) of your exercise calories to make sure your activities are properly fueled.

TavistockToad · October 2018

audrianna4969 wrote: »

I am aware that I need to eat more calories. This post was meant to encourage others who may be struggling with similar things. It wasn’t so much to ask others what I’m doing wrong. I have a trainer and a nutritionist who I’m working with. I do appreciate the feedback though. It just feels a little harsh

did either professional raise concerns with you prior to you crashing and burning?

ETA: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks

audrianna4969 · October 2018

I’m currently getting 2000 calories a day but I’m also trying to build muscle so I know I need to eat more. My trainer has recommended that I get more like 2200-2300 Cals a day but he also has told me not to add 200-300 calories too quickly since my body has to adjust. But you’re right, I have been reluctant to add extra calories. It just seems like a lot to me but then again, I’ve never trained this hard before.

The importance of an untracked meal and rest days

Replies

Categories